History

This course runs for two years and covers key events from the 19th and 20th centuries, and a personal investigation in Year 13 into events that pre-date 1750.

There is a breadth study which is called ‘The Making of a Superpower’ and centres on the history of America between 1865 and 1975. Students will study important issues that turned the USA from a country that was locked into an ideology of isolationism into a world superpower. The course focus is on change, continuity, and cause and consequence. Whilst studying this unit the students will investigate key questions such as how the government, political authority and political parties change and develop; how did the role of the USA in world affairs change, and how united were the States during this period?

The course also includes a depth study module entitled ‘Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906- 1957’. In this module students will study how the Liberal Party dealt with the crisis it faced after 1906; the impact of the Great War on the political and domestic life of Britain, the ‘Hungry Thirties’, the People’s War and Peace 1939-1951, and how far Britain emerged as an affluent society between 1929 and 1957.

The course also includes a non-examined assessment – the historical investigation – which is based on an historical topic that pre-dates 1750. This is a challenging but rewarding piece of work which helps develop extended writing skills and serves as a strong introduction to undergraduate study of the subject.