UCAS code: VV14
Duration: three years full time; or four years with a year in Europe

Course aims

The aim of this degree is to provide students with an understanding of societies and cultures in the past with an emphasis on the medieval and modern periods. A central theme is the interpretation of both historical texts and material remains, and the sometimes paradoxical relationship between them.

Course structure

Year One

You will take core modules in Medieval and Early Modern History and a further module on the Making of the Modern World. You will also explore the archaeological past from the origins of the Human species to the twenty-first century, and will be introduced to the aims and methods of Archaeology. Towards the end of the first year you will participate in an excavation training school at the iron age hillfort of Burrough Hill, near Leicester.

Year Two

You will choose a multi-period thematic module on key historical themes such as Race and Ethnicity, Gender, Imperialism, Power, Cities, Landscape and Industrialisation as well as a further history option module from a broad list of topics that currently include:

• Religion in America, 1600-2000
• The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
• Anglo-Saxon England
• France in the Reign of Louis XV

All students take a core module which develops Professional Skills in Archaeology. In addition, you will select two archaeological periods to study in detail. Choices include:

•  Early Prehistory
• Iron Age and Roman Archaeology
• The Mediterranean in the Ancient World
• Medieval and Early Modern Archaeology.

 You will also have the option to study a range of laboratory-based courses, such as Environmental Archaeology and Artefact Analysis. At the end of the year you participate in a research excavation, which can take place anywhere in the world.

Year Three

You write a dissertation on a topic of your own choice, whic may be focused on either History or Archaeology; you are encouraged to use both historical and archaeological sources in your research. You will also choose four specialist modules from a wide selection in both History and Archaeology. Choices from the School of Historical Studies include, amongst many others:

• The Making of Modern India
• British Society from Churchill to Major
• The Weimar Republic: Revolution, Democracy and the Triumph of Hitler
• The Age of Bede and Alcuin.

Archaeological Choices include:

• Warfare, Conflict and Violence in Antiquity
• The Origins of Modern Humans
• Britain in the Roman Empire
• Ceramic Technology
• Archaeological Graphics
• The Archaeology of Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways

These modules are chiefly taught through seminars. This part of the degree is intended to help you handle archaeological and historical problems at a more advanced theoretical level and to refine your skill in evaluating evidence and drawing conclusions from it.

 Next step: request an Information and Application Pack

For further details on your history options, see the School of Historical Studies or Contact the Admissions Team. Tel: 0116 252 2720/2611. Email: arch-anchist@le.ac.uk