BA Archaeology and History

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.

Compulsory modules:

Revolutions and Transitions: The Human Journey from 6 Million Years Ago to the Present Day

Archaeology Today: Methods and Practice

Perspectives in History

Gain a geographically and chronologically broad study of history, discovering the potential pathways available to you throughout your degree. You’ll not only examine specific historical contexts, but also the historiographies, methodologies and theories that have shaped historians’ perspectives.  

Making History

Embark on your own research project to refine the transferable skills required for studying, and producing, history at university level. You’ll be guided through the process of effective reading, understanding historiographical debate, and how to write in a concise and convincing manner.  

Optional modules:

Rape in the United States: from Colonisation to Civil Rights

Become familiarised with the changing social and legal understandings of rape in the US. Apply your skills to reflect critically upon the historical basis of contemporary ideas surrounding sexual violence, gender and race.  

Warfare in Early Modern Europe, c. 1500-1715

Consider the relationship between warfare, and its ‘badges, battles and buttons’, with the wider social, economic and political contexts. You’ll be introduced to war and warfare in early modern Europe and study the consequences of war and the historical basis of our contemporary ideas on war.  

Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination 

Examine four real Cold War nuclear episodes and the impacts these events had on fictional imagination of disaster: the 1945 Hiroshima/Nagasaki A-bombings which ushered in civil defence in 1950s America; 1962’s Cuban Missile Crisis; 1983’s ‘Able Archer’ NATO exercise that almost triggered war, and 1986’s Chernobyl disaster in the USSR.  

US Environmental Diplomacy from Nixon to Obama

Explore the evolution of US foreign policy on environmental issues from the Nixon administration to the Obama administration. You’ll be introduced to key ideas and debates on the role of the environment in US foreign policy and learn to reflect critically upon the historical basis of contemporary ideas about global environmental change.  

Arriving in Britain: a History of Immigration, 1685-2004 

Examine the experiences of migrant groups in Britain from the early modern period to the early twenty-first century. Consider the different reasons for migration, forms of persecution and economic motivations, the positive and negative reception to migrants, and how migrants have shaped Britain.  

After Malthus: Sex, Society, Sustainability and the Politics of Population in the Long Nineteenth Century

Discover the legacy of Thomas Malthus’ ‘population principle’ in shaping a series of debates across the long nineteenth century and its influence upon ideas of birth control, natural selection, ‘Social Darwinism’, and environmental sustainability.  

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death

Learn the archaeological methods and theories employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from the modern forensic and older archaeological contexts. Gain insight into how humans have buried their dead over the time, analyse skeletal remains, and conduct fieldwork in a cemetery survey.  

Contemporary World Cultures: an Introduction to Social Anthropology

Gain a general introduction to social anthropology – the study of human societies and cultures. You’ll explore key themes in the discipline through the study of topics including kingship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the role of religion, ritual and witchcraft in social life, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies.  

Presenting the Past: An Introduction to Museum Studies

Optional Language Modules

The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change. 

Optional modules:

Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future

Explore public interpretations of the past and how history has been presented in the world outside of academia. You’ll work collaboratively with external partners on a group project which will challenge you to deal with ‘difficult’ history and conflicting narratives as you engage with wider audiences.  

People, Power and Revolution: Political Culture in Seventeenth-century England

Explore the turbulence of the political landscape in the seventeenth century as you study events such as Charles I’s execution and Oliver Cromwell’s rise to power. You’ll consider the extent ordinary people knew of, or were involved in, politics, what events led to revolution, and how politics compared from the beginning to the end of the century.  

Hollywood Histories: Film and the Past

Tackle film aesthetics and off-camera censorship and reception as you study historical films evoking a different past from the present in which they were made. Ranging from silence to epic, to television to slow-burn docudramas, you’ll question how films reflect or shape popular notions of the past.  

Europe in the Twentieth Century

Explore the geopolitical dynamics of modern European history from the formation of the German nation state in 1971 to the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. You'll consider why twentieth-century Europe was so violent, how warfare has evolved, and how Europe’s role has changed in a contemporary sense.  

Medieval Medicine 

Study classical medical theories through to the plague in the fourteenth century. You'll explore religious concepts, the early Middle Ages, transmission of medical knowledge and medical schools, hospitals and charity, diagnosis and prognosis, women’s health and more. 

‘The Brightest Jewel in the British Crown’: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947

Discover the role of South Asia in international politics and globalisation, exploring key themes in the making of modern South Asia during the period of British colonial rule over the Indian subcontinent and its impact on the wider imperial world.  

Reform and Revolt in the Modern Middle East: Egypt from Ataturk to the ‘Arab Spring’

Examine the key events, individuals and themes that shaped the Middle East in the 20th century, with a particular focus on Egypt. You’ll explore the origins and impact of Arab nationalism, outline the key Arab-Israeli wars and their consequences, and critically appraise the presidencies of Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak.  

The Crusades, 1095-1291

Survey the history of the ‘golden age’ of crusading (1095-1291) and reflect on the crusaders, the crusades, and the crusader states within their historical context. Develop a sophisticated understanding on the religious, political, social and economic reasons for the crusades.  

Encountering the Atlantic World, 1450-1850 

Become introduced to the Atlantic World, discovering the impactful connections made between the 14th and 18th century and their turbulent influence on culture, economies and political structures. Explore how these connections have left an important and, at times, unsettling legacy in the modern world.  

Kingship and Crisis in England, c.1154–1330

Examine continuity and change in English politics from the last twelfth to the early fourteenth century. You’ll learn of the concepts and expectations of kingship (and queenship) and issues, exploring seven reigns spanning the period. 

Women and Medieval History

Explore the role of women throughout the centuries with a particular focus on Western Europe. Learn how social status, cultural revolution, and other social and economic dynamics impacted how these women engaged with, and contributed to, the world around them.  

Black Britain: Race and Migration in Post-war Britain

Explore race in post-war Britain and how immigration has rendered contemporary Britain into a truly multi-cultural society. You'll study the influx of immigration from the 40s, 50s and 60s and the restrictive immigration acts that followed, and analyse the experience of migrants and the political responses of both the white population and black power and civil rights groups. 

Vampires and Victorians: Dracula and the Modern World

Study the history of European society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through the lens of contemporary horror, in particular Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. Through works of gothic fiction, you’ll consider how contemporary fin-de-siècle fears were articulated about the presence of the ‘other’ in Europe, concerns about economic and ‘racial’ decline and changing gender relations. 

The Colonial Experience: Africa, 1879 to 1980

Survey the history of British – and also German, Belgian, and French – colonialism with an outlook into its legacy in Africa, South of the Sahara, 1879. Reflect on how the colonial experience relates to gender, age, social status and initiative. 

Noise Annoys: British Youth Culture, Popular Music and Social Change, 1950s-90s 

Uncover post-war Britain and the explosion of social and political change that was driven by youth culture and music. You’ll also focus on Thatcherism, transformative technological advances, and the perennial shadow of Cold War.  

My Career: Wider Horizons

Enhance your personal career development, critical thinking and consider future career prospects.  

Archaeology and Heritage: Past, Present and Future

Discover how and why archaeologists have excavated and interpreted the material remains of past societies over time. You’ll examine interpretations of the past through to the modern day, spanning the ancient Near East and Classical Greece and Rome. You’ll also examine the evolution of ideas, considering how wider society has changed archaeology and how it may continue to develop in the future.  

Ancient Objects: Materials and Meanings 

Learn the skills, techniques and interpretative frameworks specific to the study of artefacts, including how they’re recorded, analysed and interpreted. You'll be exposed to a wide range of artefacts covering two chronological periods as you explore methodological aspects and analyse data for your dissertation.  

Prehistoric Europe: the First Million Years

Uncover Europe’s pre-history, from the earliest Palaeolithic through to the Iron Age c. 1,600,000 – 800 BC), from Turkey and the Balkans to Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. You’ll consider important research questions and themes such as technology, dietary strategies, life histories, hominin cognitive abilities, settlement and burial archaeology, ritual practice, and comparative anthropology.  

Archaeology Field School and Professional Practice

Gain a practical, hands-on introduction to field techniques and site recording methods used on both urban and rural excavations. You’ll spend four weeks on a departmental excavation and participate in site work including excavation, finds and sample processing, geophysics, survey and aspects, and geoarchaeology.  

Rome's Mediterranean Empire 

Medieval Europe: Power, Religion and Death

Bioarchaeology

Learn the key methods employed in the examination of human and animal skeletal remains from archaeological sites, and utilise skeletal collections held by the Department of Archaeology. You’ll uncover the role of the osteoarchaeologist, and learn how to identify, record and analyse human and non-human remains.  

Changing the Face of the Earth: Past, Present and Future Sustainability

Examine how archaeology, environmental science and anthropology can provide a deep-time perspective on global challenges and sustainability and how they may contribute to future solutions. You’ll explore the historical emergence, sustainability, and collapse of communities and civilisations, alongside the role of humans in changing climate and ecosystems in the future. 

Summer Placement

Take the opportunity to complete a research or professional placement during the summer vacation preceding Part 2 or Part 3 of your degree. You can work alongside a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally, or with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation.  

Museum Learning and Engagement

Curatorship and Collections Management

Optional Languages Modules

The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change. 

Optional modules:

Becoming a Revolutionary: the Old Regime and the French Revolution, 1787-1794

Explore the historiographical debates raised by the French Revolution that ended the Old Regime and the long-term origins and immediate causes of it. In particular, explore how the French became revolutionised and how the process of building a new society promoted a new genre of revolutionaries associated with a new political culture, radicalism and rule of terror. 

Heretics and Popes: Heresy and Persecution in the Medieval World

Gain hands-on experience as you analyse a wide range of primary sources from medieval heresy and heretics. Reflect on the phenomenon of medieval heresy and dissent while considering the ways in which the historiography of medieval heresy has evolved.  

Gender in Africa

Study the history of gender in Africa, south of the Sahara, from c.1700 to the present through case studies in West, East, and Southern Africa. Reflect on the range of approaches within gender history and the methodologies applied to recover gendered voices from the past.  

Sexual Politics: Gender, Sex, and Feminism in Britain after 1918

Explore the factors underpinning gender roles from 1918 to the present to develop a wider understanding as to why attitudes of gender, sex and feminism have evolved, considering wider social and academic reasoning.  

Slavery in America

Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84

Examine and evaluate primary sources as you survey the history of punk and the 1970s-80s UK punk scene. Reflect on how culture relates to wider political and socio-economic contexts as you use punk culture as a lens into British history.  

The American Civil War 

Reflect on the historical impact on the American Civil War and how it shaped understandings of what it means to be American, particularly in relation to face. You’ll examine issues of contingency and consider how historians have understood the causes and consequences of the conflict.  

Pirates of the Caribbean: Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750

Study the development of piracy and maritime raiding as a historical phenomenon, and its consequences for early modern empires. You'll reflect on the ways attitudes regarding piracy developed and were understood within differing social contexts and consider historical interpretation of piracy and its significance to politics, economics and gender.  

Utopia: The Quest for a Perfect World

Explore humanity’s most cherished and long-standing dream: the quest for a perfect world. Discover the roots of utopian tradition in contrast to modern ideals of utopia c.1800-c.2000, examining attempts to put utopia into practice in small and large scales – from communes to examples of Yugoslavia and Cuba.  

Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze

Absorb the history of magic as you gain an understanding of medieval practices and theories of magic. You’ll consider the wider social contexts within which they were developed to gain a deeper understanding on why they were welcomed or repressed.  

'Battleaxes and Benchwarmers': Early Female MPs 1919-1931

Assess the aftermath of suffrage and reassess the importance of the 1918 Representation of the People Act on British democracy. You'll examine the impact of the acts in relation to women, and the emergence of female MPs throughout the transformative social, political and economic context of the 1920s.  

Modern Science and the Imperial World, 1750-2000

Examine the relationships between British colonialism and modern science as you distinguish whether European science was misused for the conquest and exploitation of the colonies. You'll analyse whether colonial rule in different parts of the world lead to the creation of new kinds of scientific knowledge while considering how colonised people responded.   

Axis at War: Life and Death in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, 1936-45 

Explore Italian and German society during a war which sparked civil war in Italy and sent millions to their deaths in the Holocaust. You'll examine diaries, letters, secret police reports and Allied Intelligent assessments to gain a view of life under fascism and the differing experiences of the Second World War. 

The United States and the Cold War

Explore the evolution of US foreign policy during the Cold War as you examine the impact of the conflict on US domestic politics and the wider influence of the Cold War on US society and culture.  

Witches, Heretics and Social Outcasts: Europe and its Outsiders c.1250-1550

From Darwin to Death Camps? Evolution and Eugenics in European Society, 1859-1945

Examine the reception of Darwin’s ideas and their influence in shaping social theories. You’ll focus on the shifting perceptions of a desirable social and biological order found in attempts by science, medicine and the State to influence heredity and evolution, regulate sexuality and reproduction, and eradicate disease and defect.  

Dissertation

The Anthropology of Heritage & Cultural Property

The Archaeology of the City of Rome

Biological Anthropology

Post-excavation: Assessment, Analysis and Publication in the Profession

Emergence of Civilisation in Mesopotamia

The Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers

The Archaeology and Anthropology of Food

The Archaeology of Crusading

Dissertation in History

Develop powers of synthesis and analysis and refine your knowledge on your chosen dissertation topic. You'll develop vital research skills as you explore specialised literature and primary sources and articulate a well-versed argument. 

Preparing for Your Dissertation

Prepare for your dissertation under the supervision of a member of the Department. As well as key elements in research design, you’ll begin to think about how you select and engage with primary source material. 

Optional Language Modules

The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.