History may be concerned with the past, but it has contemporary relevance. It is impossible to understand the present without knowledge of the past. History covers British, Continental European, Asian and American history from the Roman period to the end of the 20th century. It considers such issues as national, local and regional identities, gender, class, ethnicity, religion, transformations of power structures and the relationship between state and society, from a number of scholarly approaches.

A major strength of the degree is the emphasis placed on the examination and interpretation of a wide range of primary sources. These include film, newspapers, census returns, television broadcasts, parliamentary papers, letters, wills, inventories, novels, plays and poems, works of art, architecture, landscape and oral testimony.

Overall, the first year of the history programme provides essential training for undergraduate study in areas such as historiography and research methods. Students are challenged to begin to develop their own arguments and to take ownership of their own learning.