History

Program Overview

The History major at the University of Western Australia equips students with a comprehensive understanding of the past, fostering critical thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to interpret historical evidence. Through a wide range of modules and teaching methods, students explore humanity's past experiences, developing skills highly valued in diverse careers and preparing them for further study. The program also offers opportunities for study abroad and can be combined with other majors for a more specialized degree.

Program Outline

It delves into fundamental questions about humanity and illuminates the present through the lens of history.

• Objectives: The program aims to equip students with the ability to:
• Understand other times, societies, and cultures.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the world through reference to humanity's past experience.
• Demonstrate knowledge of major historical developments across various times and places.
• Identify key issues in complex historical material.
• Critically evaluate different interpretations of historical events.
• Describe and interpret evidence of past human experience, proposing explanations with reference to concepts like power, myth, representation, culture, gender, race, colonialism, and social structure.
• Formulate logical arguments.
• Conduct independent research using historical resources.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the causes of historical change in various times and places.
• Description: Studying history at UWA involves engaging with the wonders and horrors of the past, joining in its telling and retelling.
Students can uncover the deep causes of events like the American Revolution or the First World War and discover how women and men experienced the medieval world or the colonization of Australia. The program emphasizes the complexities involved in historical pursuits and requires students to use both imagination and reason. It immerses students in discovery, debate, discussion, understanding, surprise, and awe, fostering rigour, reason, questioning, imagination, and passion.

Outline:

• Content: The History major spans millennia and encompasses the study of humanity, drawing on sources from everywhere and everything.
It covers a wide range of topics, including:
• The American Revolution
• The First World War
• The medieval world
• The colonization of Australia
• Environmental history
• The history of human rights
• The history of sport
• Family history
• Crime and punishment
• African American history
• Australian foreign wars
• African history
• The history of Christianity
• Twentieth-century Britain
• Renaissance, Reformation, Revolt: Europe 1450–1650
• Russia and the Soviet Union 1900-2000
• Structure: The program is structured across three levels:
• Level 1:
Students take units to the value of 12 points from a selection of courses like HIST1001 Clash of Empires, HIST1003 Love, Belief, and Death in Europe, 800-1800, HIST1103 Europe to Hell and Back 1890-1945, HIST1104 The History of Human Rights, and HIST1901 Environmental History.
• Level 2: Students take units to the value of 18 points from a wider selection of courses, including GEND2902 Masculinity, Nostalgia and Change, HIST2005 Hitler, the Holocaust and the Historians, HIST2006 Imperial America—1845 to Present, HIST2007 Thinking History: The Future of the Past, HIST2008 White Supremacy, HIST2011 Britain and Ireland: The Making and Breaking, HIST2013 Medieval and Early Modern Women, HIST2014 The City in History, HIST2015 Looking for Australia: From the Deep Past to Federation, HIST2016 When Empire Strikes: Imperial Expansion, Resistance, and Rights from Europe to Australasia, HIST2017 The History of Sport: Belonging and Identity, Protest and Celebrity, HIST2021 Who Do We Think We Are?
Doing Family History, HIST2202 Civilisation and Barbarism in European Culture, HIST2215 Australian Underbelly: A Criminal History, HIST2224 American Outlaws: Crime and Punishment in the United States, HIST2345 Renaissance, Reformation, Revolt: Europe 1450–1650, and HIST2917 Russia and the Soviet Union 1900-2000.
• Level 3: Students take all units (6 points) of HIST3001 History in 4D and 12 points from a selection of courses, including GEND3901 Feminist Thought, HIST3004 Twentieth-century Britain, HIST3005 African American History: Freedom Struggles from Plantation to Prison and Beyond, HIST3007 Crime and Punishment in Britain 1600–1900, HIST3008 From Sudan to Saddam: Australia's Foreign Wars, HIST3010 Introduction to African History, HIST3012 Rights, Rule and Power: From Magna Carta to the French Revolution, HIST3014 Intimate Strangers: Journeys in Indigenous Australian History, HIST3017 Mysticism, Melancholy and Madness, HIST3302 Imagining the Nation in European Cultural History, and HIST3456 History of Christianity.
• Course Schedule: The History major is offered both full-time and part-time, with starting dates in Semester 1 and Semester 2.
The program typically takes 3 years for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and 4 years for a Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil [Hons]).
• Individual Modules: The program offers a wide range of modules, each with its own specific focus and content.

Teaching:

• Teaching Methods: The program utilizes a variety of teaching methods, including:
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Independent research
• Group projects
• Presentations
• Faculty: The History program is taught by experienced and qualified academics who are experts in their respective fields.
• Unique Approaches: The program emphasizes critical thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to interpret and evaluate historical evidence.
It encourages students to engage with diverse perspectives and to develop their own interpretations of the past.

Careers:

• Potential Career Paths: Graduates of the History major can pursue a wide range of careers, including:
• Historical research and writing
• Teaching
• Journalism
• Librarianship and archival management
• Government agencies
• Museums
• Cultural heritage and tourism
• Business administration
• Politics
• Publishing
• Opportunities: The program provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a variety of careers.
It develops their research, analytical, and communication skills, which are highly valued in the workplace.
• Outcomes: Graduates of the History major are well-equipped to pursue careers in fields that require strong research, critical thinking, and communication skills.
This allows students to gain international experience and to broaden their perspectives.
• Popular Combinations: The History major can be combined with other majors to create a more specialized degree.
Popular combinations include:
• Classics and Ancient History
• English and Literary Studies
• Political Science and International Relations
• Alumni Story: Dr. Mathew Trinca, Director of the National Museum of Australia, completed his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History at UWA.
He credits his experience at UWA with providing him with the intellectual and professional courage to pursue a career in history and heritage.