History major
Its scope spans millennia, its object of study is humanity, its sources are everywhere and everything.
History's endeavour is unashamedly vast, daunting and challenging. In submitting the past to the scrutiny of the present, it explores among so much more the experience of wars, revolutions, conflicts and diasporas, nations, empires, economies, cultures, emotions and people from the most elevated to the lowliest. In History there are no taboo areas and no questions are off limits. Doing History means learning how to learn about the past, it means engaging with its wonders and horrors, and it means joining in its telling and retelling. Doing History immerses you in discovery, debate, discussion, understanding, surprise and awe, and it requires of you rigour, reason, questioning, imagination and passion. By doing History, you become part of the process by which humanity's memory itself comes to be made.
Outcomes
Students are able to (1) demonstrate a capacity to understand imaginatively other times, societies and cultures; (2) demonstrate an awareness of the world we live in, through reference to important aspects of humanity's past experience; (3) demonstrate a knowledge of major historical developments in a range of times and places; (4) identify main issues in a body of complex historical material; (5) critically evaluate differences and issues in others' interpretations of historical events; (6) describe and interpret evidence of past human experience, proposing explanations for the content of such evidence with reference to concepts such as power, myth, representation, culture and social structure; (7) independently formulate a logical argument, supported by relevant evidence; (8) express ideas in clear, cogent and correct English; (9) conduct independent research by locating and organising information relating to a specific question or problem; (10) utilise historical resources for research exercises and apply critical and analytical tools to them; and (11) demonstrate a knowledge of the causes of historical change in a range of times and places.
Degree-specific major
History can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:
BP001 Bachelor of Arts
BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
History is a degree-specific single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- three Level 2 units
- three Level 3 units
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2020 |
Note: Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2021 or 2022.
Specialisations are optional; students may enrol in a History major with no specialisation.
Level 1
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | HIST1001 | Clash of Empires |
|
| S1 | HIST1003 | Love, Belief, and Death in Europe, 900-1800 |
|
| S1 | HIST1103 | Europe to Hell and Back 1890-1945 |
|
| S2 | HIST1901 | Environmental History |
|
Level 2
Take unit(s) to the value of 18 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | GEND2902 | Masculinity, Nostalgia and Change |
|
| N/A | HIST2001 | Restaging the Past: Cinema and the Practice of History |
|
| N/A | HIST2005 | Hitler, the Holocaust and the Historians |
|
| S1 | HIST2006 | Imperial America—1845 to Present |
|
| N/A | HIST2007 | Thinking History: The Future of the Past |
|
| N/A | HIST2008 | White Supremacy |
|
| S2 | HIST2011 | From 'Glorious Revolution' to Industrial Revolution: Making Britain, 1688–1888 |
|
| S1 | HIST2013 | Medieval and Early Modern Women | |
| N/A | HIST2014 | The City in History | |
| N/A | HIST2015 | Looking for Australia: From the Deep Past to Federation | |
| N/A | HIST2016 | When Empire Strikes: Imperial Expansion, Resistance, and Rights from Europe to Australasia | |
| S1 | HIST2202 | Civilisation and Barbarism in European Culture |
|
| S2 | HIST2224 | American Outlaws: Crime and Punishment in the United States |
|
| S2 | HIST2345 | Renaissance, Reformation, Revolt: Europe 1450–1650 |
|
Level 3
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | HIST3001 | History in 4D |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | GEND3901 | Feminist Thought |
|
| S2 | HIST3004 | Twentieth-century Britain |
|
| N/A | HIST3005 | African American History: Freedom Struggles from Plantation to Prison and Beyond |
|
| N/A | HIST3007 | Crime and Punishment in Britain 1600–1900 | |
| N/A | HIST3008 | From Sudan to Saddam: Australia's Foreign Wars |
|
| S1 | HIST3010 | Introduction to African History |
|
| S1 | HIST3011 | Vikings, Crusaders, and Mongols: Medieval Europe in Conflict |
|
| S2 | HIST3012 | Rights, Rule and Power: From Magna Carta to the French Revolution |
|
| S2 | HIST3014 | Intimate Strangers: Journeys in Indigenous Australian History |
|
| N/A | HIST3016 | Eyewitness to the Past: Photography and History |
|
| S1 | HIST3017 | Mysticism, Melancholy and Madness |
|
| N/A | HIST3302 | Imagining the Nation in European Cultural History |
|
Choosing your degree-specific major
You must satisfy the requirements of a degree-specific major before you complete your course. The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you to try out a number of different subjects to see what interests you before nominating your degree-specific major. You have the choice to either nominate your degree-specific major when you first enrol in the course or delay nominating it until your second year.
To plan the first year of your study without nominating a degree-specific major, you are advised to choose units that will pave the way to two or more degree-specific majors that are of interest to you. For examples of the choice of units available in first year, search the first-year study plans .
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
The following example illustrates how the History degree-specific major can be included in the Bachelor of Arts course.
There are more choices open to you. For more examples, search the study plans .
Choosing a second major
You also have the option to choose a second major from those available in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students. or Bachelor of Science course, giving you the opportunity to pursue your interests no matter how different they are.
The following example illustrates how the History degree-specific major can be combined with a second major in the Bachelor of Arts course.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .
History can also be taken as a second major.
Second major
History can be taken as a second major in the following degree courses:
- BP001 Bachelor of Arts
- BP006 Bachelor of Biomedical Science
- BP002 Bachelor of Commerce
- BP003 Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students.
- BP004 Bachelor of Science
- BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
The History second major is a single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- three Level 2 units
- three Level 3 units
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2020 |
Note: Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2021 or 2022.
Specialisations are optional; students may enrol in a History major with no specialisation.
Level 1
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | HIST1001 | Clash of Empires |
|
| S1 | HIST1003 | Love, Belief, and Death in Europe, 900-1800 |
|
| S1 | HIST1103 | Europe to Hell and Back 1890-1945 |
|
| S2 | HIST1901 | Environmental History |
|
Level 2
Take unit(s) to the value of 18 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | GEND2902 | Masculinity, Nostalgia and Change |
|
| N/A | HIST2001 | Restaging the Past: Cinema and the Practice of History |
|
| N/A | HIST2005 | Hitler, the Holocaust and the Historians |
|
| S1 | HIST2006 | Imperial America—1845 to Present |
|
| N/A | HIST2007 | Thinking History: The Future of the Past |
|
| N/A | HIST2008 | White Supremacy |
|
| S2 | HIST2011 | From 'Glorious Revolution' to Industrial Revolution: Making Britain, 1688–1888 |
|
| S1 | HIST2013 | Medieval and Early Modern Women | |
| N/A | HIST2014 | The City in History | |
| N/A | HIST2015 | Looking for Australia: From the Deep Past to Federation | |
| N/A | HIST2016 | When Empire Strikes: Imperial Expansion, Resistance, and Rights from Europe to Australasia | |
| S1 | HIST2202 | Civilisation and Barbarism in European Culture |
|
| S2 | HIST2224 | American Outlaws: Crime and Punishment in the United States |
|
| S2 | HIST2345 | Renaissance, Reformation, Revolt: Europe 1450–1650 |
|
Level 3
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | HIST3001 | History in 4D |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | GEND3901 | Feminist Thought |
|
| S2 | HIST3004 | Twentieth-century Britain |
|
| N/A | HIST3005 | African American History: Freedom Struggles from Plantation to Prison and Beyond |
|
| N/A | HIST3007 | Crime and Punishment in Britain 1600–1900 | |
| N/A | HIST3008 | From Sudan to Saddam: Australia's Foreign Wars |
|
| S1 | HIST3010 | Introduction to African History |
|
| S1 | HIST3011 | Vikings, Crusaders, and Mongols: Medieval Europe in Conflict |
|
| S2 | HIST3012 | Rights, Rule and Power: From Magna Carta to the French Revolution |
|
| S2 | HIST3014 | Intimate Strangers: Journeys in Indigenous Australian History |
|
| N/A | HIST3016 | Eyewitness to the Past: Photography and History |
|
| S1 | HIST3017 | Mysticism, Melancholy and Madness |
|
| N/A | HIST3302 | Imagining the Nation in European Cultural History |
|
Choosing a second major
The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you the option of including a second major. You have the choice to either nominate your second major when you first enrol in the course or delay it until your second year. For a major to be recorded on your academic record it must be nominated before the requirements of the course are completed.
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
The following example illustrates how History can be included as a second major in an undergraduate degree course.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .
History can also be taken as a degree-specific major.