History with Military History

History with Military History is a combination that places the study of warfare, armed forces, and the experience of conflict within the broader context of historical scholarship. Military history has sometimes been narrowly conceived as the study of campaigns, tactics, and commanders, but at university level it engages with much wider questions: how wars begin and end, how they affect civilian populations, how societies mobilise and demobilise, how military institutions shape and are shaped by the societies they serve, and how the memory and legacy of conflict influences later generations. History as a discipline provides the methodological and intellectual framework within which these questions can be investigated rigorously.

At Goldsmiths' College, this three-year full-time degree situates military history within Goldsmiths' broader commitment to critical and socially engaged historical practice. You will study history across periods and regions, developing your skills in primary source analysis, historiographical debate, and the construction of historical argument in writing. The military history strand explores the history of warfare from early modern to contemporary periods, examining not just battles and campaigns but the social, cultural, and political dimensions of military life and armed conflict.

You will engage with questions about the experience of soldiers, the representation of war in culture, the relationship between military technology and society, and the ethics and legacies of different conflicts.

Graduates pursue careers in education, heritage and museums, defence and security sectors, journalism, the civil service, and policy organisations with interests in defence and foreign affairs. The analytical and writing skills historical training develops are widely valued. Many graduates continue into postgraduate study in history, military history, security studies, or international relations, and some pursue research careers in the rapidly developing field of military and war studies.