History & Political Economy

Course detail Description

Teaching

You will have regular and varied contact with staff and other students in lectures, seminars and supervisions. You will also spend an extensive amount of written work and independent study. Most teaching takes place in seminars, which usually have between 15 and 25 participants and are a forum for discussion in which students have the opportunity to refine their discussion and presentation skills.

From the beginning of the degree, you will analyse primary sources as well as the writings of historians and experts in political economy. We ensure you are exposed to many different approaches to these subjects, and encourage a comparative approach, looking at the connections and contrasts between various times and places throughout the degree. In your final year, you will have the option to conduct supervised research resulting in a 10,000 word dissertation in either history or political economy.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

We will assess your progress and attainment through a range of techniques which may typically include written examinations, assessed essays, oral presentations and a dissertation. You may also benefit from some informal assessment during individual modules to help steer your studies and enhance your learning.

This course is primarily taught at the King’s College London Strand Campus. Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the optional modules you select.

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. Each year you will normally take modules totaling 120 credits.

You are required to take the following History modules:

• 4AAH0001 Historical Sources, Skills & Approaches (30 credits)

Political Economy

You are required to take the following History and Political Economy modules:

• The World Economy and its History (30 credits)
• Principles of Economics (30 credits)

History

You are required to take one 30 credit option module. Choose from a range of options, which may typically include:

• The Making of Britain 400-1400 (30 credits)
• Medieval Europe 400-1500 (30 credits)
• Early Modern Britain 1500-1750 (30 credits)
• Power, Belief & Culture in Europe 1500-1800 (30 credits)
• Europe from 1793 to 1991 (30 credits)
• Politics & Society in Britain, 1780-1945 (30 credits)
• The Worlds of the British Empire, c1730- 1960 (30 credits)
• World History, 1870s-2000s (30 credits)

Political Economy

There are no optional modules for Political Economy in Year 1.

Year 2 Required Modules

After your first year you will choose between the BA and BSc pathways. The following modules are required for both pathways:

History

• The History of Western Political Ideas I: From Plato to c. 1700 (15 credits)
• The History of Western Political Ideas II: From 1700 to the Present (15 credits)

Political Economy

• Political Economy: Approaches, Concepts and Issues (15 credits)

If you choose the BSc pathway you will also be required to take the following Political Economy module:

• Statistics for Political Science I (15 credits)

History

You are required to take one 30 credit module. Choose from a range of options, which may typically include:

• The Northern Ireland Troubles (30 credits)
• History of Feminism (30 credits)
• The Black Death in England (30 credits)
• Faraway so Close: The Middle East since 1800 (30 credits)
• China: From Imperial State to People’s Republic (30 credits)
• The Civilising Mission: French Imperialism since 1750 (30 credits)
• War in the Pacific, 1898 to 1975 & beyond: Strategy & Diplomacy (30 credits)
• An additional range of intercollegiate ‘Group II’ 30 credit modules offered by our partner colleges in the University of London

Political Economy

BA students are required to take three 15 credit modules. BSc students are required to take two 15 credit modules. Choose from a range of options, which may typically include:

• Economics of Politics (15 credits)
• Elections and Political Communications (15 credits)
• Postcolonial Theory (15 credits)
• Political Change in Europe (15 credits)
• International Politics of Energy (15 credits)
• The Political Theory of Capitalism (15 credits)
• Issues in International Politics (15 credits)
• European Union: Power, Politics & Economics (15 credits)
• British Politics (15 credits)
• Political Economy of Immigration (15 credits)
• New Political Economy of the Media (15 credits)
• American Political Development (15 credits)
• Language modules offered by the Modern Language Centre

Second year students also have the opportunity to study abroad for the second semester of the second year. Current partner institutions are:

• University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• National University of Singapore, Singapore
• 3 Campus East Asia (students attend Keio, Yonsei and HKU)
• University of North Carolina (this option is not appropriate for students in the BSc pathway because the required economics modules are not guaranteed)
• Sciences Po Paris, France (basic French language required; this option is not appropriate for students in the BSc pathway because the required economics modules are not guaranteed)
• University of California, USA (this option is not appropriate for students in the BSc pathway because the required economics modules are not guaranteed)
• Georgetown University, USA

Year 3 Required Modules History

Final year students are required to take a 30-credit ‘special subject’ History module from a wide range of options, which may typically include:

• The Global Cold War (30 Credits)
• Romans and Barbarians: The Transformation of the Roman West 350-700 (30 credits)
• The Enlightenment (30 credits)
• The Experience of Power in Nigeria since 1900 (30 credits)
• Red, White and Blues: Jazz and the United States in the 20th Century (30 credits)
• Women & Gender in Early Modern England (30 credits)
• Additional University of London Intercollegiate ‘special subject’ 30 credit modules

Political Economy

There are no required Year 3 modules for the BA pathway in Political Economy. Students on the BSc pathway are required to take the following module:

• Statistics for Political Science II (15 credits)

Students may choose to take a 30-credit dissertation on a topic related to that of their Special Subject module.

If you do not choose this option, you will select one 30-credit Thematic Special Module, from options that may typically include:

• Ritual
• War
• Nations
• God
• Wealth

Political Economy

If you do not choose to take a dissertation in History, you may choose to take a 30-credit dissertation in Political Economy.

Students on the BA pathway who choose a dissertation in Political Economy, will select two additional 15 credit modules. Those on the BSc pathway will select one additional 15 credit module.

Students on the BA pathway who do not choose a dissertation in Political Economy, will select four additional 15 credit modules. Those on the BSc pathway will select two additional 15 credit module.

Options may typically include:

• Democracy and its Critics (15 credits)
• The Economics of Crime (15 credits)
• The Politics of International Trade (15 credits)
• Women and Politics (15 credits)
• Extremism and Populism (15 credits)
• American Foreign Policy (15 credits)
• Peace Science (15 credits)
• Political Economy of the Middle East (15 credits)
• Authoritarianism (15 credits)
• Political Economy of Inequality (15 credits)
• The International Politics of the UN (15 credits)
• Environmental Economics (15 credits)
• Race and Racism in Political Theory (15 credits)
• Language modules offered by the Modern Language Centre

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change.