Overview
History and Sociology each have their own theoretical underpinning and academic conventions and the study of both disciplines provides a valuable opportunity to develop more versatile skills and perspectives as well as an appreciation of interdisciplinary connections. Applying ideas from one discipline should also enhance the student’s understanding and enjoyment of the other. Combining the study of two subjects is both challenging and rewarding, increasingly appealing to self-motivated, independent-minded students who are intellectually and vocationally ambitious.
Content and Modules
First year modules:
History - Introduction to Historical Studies, From Cradle to Grave in England 1560 - 1720, Introduction to Political Ideas.
Sociology - Sociology and the Modern World, Understanding Social Change, Social Inequalities, Social Science Research Skills.
Second year modules:
History - Listening to the Past, Mentalities of Empire 1750 - 1950, Britain in the Nineteenth Century, Research Methods for History (Compulsory for History Major students and joint honours students intending to do a History dissertation)
Sociology- Sociology of Health and Illness, Globalization, Exploring Family Lives, Understanding Deviance, Quantitative Data in Social Science, Social Theory, Qualitative Data in Social Science (Compulsory for Sociology Major students and joint honours students intending to do a Sociology dissertation).
Third year modules:
History - Families in England 1600 - 2000, Aspects of East Anglian Histrory, The Spanish Civil War.
Sociology- Gender, Sexuality and Crime, Changing Education, Media, Culture and Sociology.
Undergraduate Dissertation - 40 credits
Note
UCS Bury St Edmunds reserves the right to withdraw optional module choices within each discipline at levels five and six. Optional choices in appropriate subject-designated modules may be also available at UCS Ipswich.
Further Information
Teaching,learning and assessment
The course team have a commitment to high quality teaching and learning. They use a range of different assessment strategies to assess and facilitate student learning and include: unseen examinations; seen, open-book or take-away examinations; essays and reports; critical reviews, book reviews, workshop reports, analytical exercises; individual or group presentations; a dissertation, computer-based assessments and informed discussion and debate via module seminars and blogs.
After the course
Graduates of combined honours degrees have the advantage of a broader academic viewpoint, having developed valuable transferable skills as well as sound knowledge of History and Sociology, providing excellent preparation for a wide range of careers. Graduates are now far more likely to change jobs during their working life, so having two areas of expertise and skills can pay dividends. Employers are increasingly prioritising the need for people who have a range of subject knowledge and skills and are not necessarily looking for a particular discipline.As History is a recognised National Curriculum subject, a popular career route is in teaching after Post-graduate training.