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Summer School: History

Study History at our Summer School, with specialist access to the world-famous Mass Observation Archive.

Module information

This programme takes place over one module:

Session One 

• British History from Regency to Radicalism

  Module code: IS442

  On this programme, you’ll develop an overview of what’s changed (and what hasn’t) in British society and culture since the early nineteenth century.

  We’ll use historical debates to provide a context to questions which remain highly important in Britain today:

  • why does Britain, uniquely in Europe, still have a monarchy?
  • why is social class still such an important aspect of how the British see themselves?
  • why have statues of nineteenth-century imperial figures become a source of such violent controversy since the emergence of the BLM?
  • In what ways has ‘Brexit’ revealed Britain’s difficulty to confront its national decline over the last hundred years?
  • how might movements for racial and social justice in contemporary Britain work within a specific British radical paradigm?

  We’ll answer these questions by looking at the last two centuries of British history, confronting the longer-term patterns of continuity and change which are still playing out in a nation which struggles to confront both its past and its present.

  Topics covered include:

  • aristocracy and monarchy since 1800
  • nineteenth and twentieth century movements for social change
  • advocates and critics of the British empire
  • explanations for British ‘decline’ in the twentieth century
  • gender and sexuality, 1800-1914
  • youth and popular culture since the 1930s

  Learning outcomes:

  • To understand methods of historical study as a disciplinary approach
  • To understand the role of the British imaginary in historical forces since the 19th Century
  • To investigate the influence of events across historical periods
  • To develop powers of analysis, comprehension, and articulation commensurate with the study of society and the humanities

  Teaching method: lecture, seminar, fieldwork
  Assessment: portfolio (90%), observation (10%)
  Contact hours: 40 hours
  Credits: 15 Sussex Credits
  Level: 4

Session dates

• Session One: 30 June - 18 July 2025
• Session Two: 21 July - 8 August 2025

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Follow our top tips for choosing your modules. You can also find out about our teaching structure, assessment process and how your credits transfer back to your home institution.

Which school will I study in?

You'll study in the History department, which is part of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities.

History at Sussex is a transformative discipline which fosters global engagement and social responsibility. You’ll benefit from our cutting-edge historical research and gain a critical, adventurous mindset which can be applied to a wide range of careers.

Our History research

Our historians explore unfamiliar histories and understand what we can learn from them and share them with the world. Whether that's environmental or diplomatic history, or the history of ideas, emotions, sexuality or youth culture. We explore these histories in a global context, highlighting the historical roots of contemporary injustices and probing expressions of resistance to power.

Find out more.

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