Course summary

A Combined Honours degree at Chester gives you the opportunity to study two subjects. You will spend a fairly even amount of time studying each subject area, with possible opportunities to declare a major – minor towards the end of your studies. History Explore the past with modules covering a thousand years of local, national and international history, with themes ranging from identity, race and ethnicity, politics and justice, to leisure and the landscape to war, conflict and social change. In the historic city of Chester, you’ll be surrounded by connections to the Medieval, Early Modern and Modern periods, enriching your experience and providing opportunities for group field trips and individual exploration. We embrace a range of approaches including social, cultural and political history, but also the study of material culture, digital humanities and the application of history in a practical context to develop your employability prospects. You will challenge existing narratives about the past and be encouraged to think critically about how, and why, these narratives have developed. You will also explore themes and issues relating to race, diversity, gender, imperialism, conflict and climate change. You’ll be able to choose from our wide variety of option modules to tailor your degree to suit your own interests and you’ll have the opportunity to work as a professional historian and produce material for public consumption. During the second year of your degree, you will be able to work directly with history and heritage organisations such as BBC History Magazine and the National Trust; you will also work with local heritage organisations, museums and archives, as well as local schools to apply your degree in a professional context and enjoy unique opportunities that will enhance your enjoyment of the subject, as well as your CV. Politics Look behind media headlines and explore the underlying political issues of both past and present, as you question how we structure our society and how it structures us. Politics at Chester is both theoretical and applied. It is about decision-making, conflict resolution and power, and explores the role of the state, government and institutions. This course asks how we structure society and how society structures us, and presents opportunities to engage with and critique key political ideas, processes and institutions both domestically and internationally. On this course you will look past the assumptions that surround power politics. We explore the underlying political issues and ask age old questions, such as ‘How do we achieve the good society?’; ‘Do the strong do as they please, while the weak suffer?’; and ‘Is the point of politics to change the world?’. The teaching team brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. We may also invite guest lecturers to provide specialist sessions and where appropriate, facilitate visits to political institutions and events with regional MPs and local authorities. Our course has taken students out of the traditional classroom and into a wide variety of field trips, even visiting the EU parliament in Brussels in the past. We have also arranged activities such as voter registration drives.