Modern And Contemporary History

Modern and contemporary history is the study of the relatively recent past, from the revolutions and industrial transformations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the world wars and colonial period to the post-war decades and the present. It is a field of enormous scope and continuing controversy, engaging with events whose consequences are still being lived out and whose interpretation remains actively contested. Studying history at this level develops not only knowledge of the past but a rigorous approach to evidence, argument and the complexity of causation.

At Bangor University, this programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year, a work placement and a year abroad, making it a particularly well-supported pathway through the discipline. The foundation year builds the academic skills and historical knowledge you need before progressing to the full degree. The sandwich and placement elements give you direct professional experience in relevant settings, which might include archives, museums, heritage organisations, journalism, policy bodies or other contexts where historical knowledge and research skills are applied.

The year abroad provides the opportunity to study modern and contemporary history in a different national context, where different national memories, archives and interpretive traditions offer fresh perspectives.

You will study the major themes of modern and contemporary history, including revolution and reform, empire and decolonisation, fascism and democracy, war and peace, and the social and cultural changes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Primary source research, historiographical analysis, essay writing and oral discussion are central to the discipline.

Graduates go into careers in education, journalism, heritage, archives, public policy, charities, the civil service and many other fields where the skills of historical analysis, research and communication are valued. Some go on to postgraduate study in history or related disciplines.