Studying History

The study of History is central to our development as human beings. It isn’t a subject that’s stuck in the past, but a dynamic subject which shapes our future by looking at how historical events have created the worldwide society we live in today. 

Studying history will help you understand the value and significance of world events in the past. In the process you’ll gain a deeper understanding of social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity. 

Knowing how people lived in the past, the differences and similarities with how we live now, helps to understand why people act the way they do today.

How reliable is your memory?

Memories, whether oral or written, are the foundation of history. Because of this, the study of history involves a great deal of analysis and interpretation - 'facts' become more complicated than they first appeared.

The study of history seeks to draw historical facts from a mass of otherwise random traces which litter our view of the past. Such traces, often distorted by the passage of time, require careful investigation and interpretation if they are to be made into a clear, yet mature, narrative of past events.

Does who you are matter to History?

Because much of history is based on interpretation, it is important to be aware of your own social and cultural biases and preconceptions. As an International College, our students' attitudes and behaviours are diverse depending upon their cultural background. This provides a rich starting point for teaching and learning on the course, especially in the context of interpreting and evaluating evidence.

You can study history on the International Baccalaureate (IB), A-level or University Foundation courses.

Whichever course you are on, studying history will combine a rigorous narrative approach with a historiographical one, throwing up many opportunities for research and analysis, discussion and debate.

Find out more about studying history on the IB
Find out more about studying history at A-level
Find out more about studying history on the University Foundation

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Did you know…?

• Ancient Egyptians used slabs of stones as pillows.
• In Ancient China, doctors could receive fees only if their patient was cured. If it deteriorated, they would have to pay the patient.
• In the 1800s, if you attempted suicide and failed, you would have to face the death penalty.
• Niagara Falls experienced a break of half an hour in 1848, when an ice jam blocked the source river.
• Spider webs were used to cure warts during the Middle Ages.
• The Holy Roman Empire was primarily based in Germany.
• Abdul Kassam Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. Four hundred camels carried the 117,000 volumes.
• Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but were invented in India by the Hindus.
• Celtic warriors sometimes fought their battles naked, their bodies dyed blue from head to toe.
• China is the world's oldest known continuous civilization.

International Baccalaureate: History course structure

On the IB you can choose to study history at either Standard level (SL) or Higher level (HL). Some of the topics below are for Higher Level students only, indicated by ‘HL’. SL students study 4 lessons per week, HL students study 6 lessons per week - in their extra two lessons, HL students study an additional topic.

Year One: Autumn Term

Causes, practices and effects of wars

• Different types of 20th century warfare; civil, guerilla, limited, revolutionary; ‘total war’
• Origins & causes of war; long-term, short-term & immediate causes (‘catalysts’), failures of democracy
• Nature of 20th century wars; technological developments, tactics & strategies by air, land & sea; the home front & the role of women; resistance & revolutionary movements
• Effects & results; treaties & armistices; political repercussions, territorial changes & attempts at collective security; social & cultural effects, changes in the status of women; post-war economic problems.

You will study a selection of material about the following specific wars, with alternative examples studied in other parts of the course, which can be used in answers to open-ended questions:

• The First World War (1914-18)
• The Chinese Civil War (1927-37, 1946-9)
• The Spanish Civil War (1936-9)
• The Second World War in the Pacific (1941-45)

Regional study (HL only): Europe & The Middle East in the Twentieth Century

Higher Level students will also study the following topic during this term: Revolutionary Russia & Lenin’s USSR, 1904-1924.

Year One: Spring Term
6 lessons per week (4 for SL)

Peacemaking & peacekeeping: International Relations, 1919-39

• The aims of the Peacemakers: Wilson & the Fourteen Points;
• Terms of the Treaties: 1919-20: Versailles, St Germain, Trianon etc.;
• Geopolitical & economic consequences of the treaties on Europe; the establishment & impact of the mandate system;
• Enforcement of the provisions of the treaties: US isolationism; disarmament – Washington, London & Geneva conferences;
• League of Nations; collective security & early attempts at peacemaking & peacekeeping (1920-25);
• The Ruhr Crisis (1923); Locarno & the ‘Locarno Spring’ (1925);
• Depression & threats to international peace & collective security: Manchuria (1931-3) & Abyssinia (1935-6)

Regional study (HL only): Europe & the Middle East in the Twentieth Century

Higher Level students will also study the following topic during this term: Weimar Germany, 1918-33.

Year One: Summer Term

Individual Investigation
During this term you will conduct an individual investigation, taking into account the following approaches / issues:

• Choosing a topic, setting a question, drafting an outline
• Research, expectations, skills
• Sources
• Bibliography, footnoting
• Plagiarism
• Producing a first full draft; re-drafting & finalising for submission – checking grammar, punctuation, spelling, style & presentation.

Half-term submission deadline for full first draft, beginning of Autumn Term for final draft.

Regional study (HL only): Europe & the Middle East in the Twentieth Century

Higher Level students will also study the following topic during this term: British Domestic & Foreign Policy, 1929-1940.

Year Two, Autumn Term

The Cold War, 1945-91 

• What was the Cold War? 
• Wartime conferences: Yalta & Potsdam
• US Policies in Europe; Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO
• Sovietisation of Eastern & Central Europe; Comecon, Warsaw Pact
• Case Studies: Film and Fact; Hungary, 1956; Berlin, 1947-61; Czechoslovakia, 1968; Korea; Cuba, 1962; Congo, 1960-64; Vietnam; 
• The Arms Race, proliferation & limitation

Regional study (HL only): Europe & the Middle East in the Twentieth Century

Higher Level students will also study the following topic during this term: War and change in the Middle East, 1914-48.

Year Two: Spring Term

The Cold War (continued)

• Sino-Soviet relations; Sino-American relations
• Détente in Europe
• The Second Cold War
• The End of the Cold War, 1987-1991; Case Studies:
  • Gorbachev, the Hole in the Iron Curtain (Hungary)
  • Fall of the Wall (Berlin)
  • The Velvet Revolution (Prague)
  • The Romanian Revolution
  • The Soviet coup
  • The breakdown of Soviet control & break-up of the USSR

Regional Study (HL only): Europe & the Middle East 

Higher Level students will also study the following topic during this term: Aspects of the Cold War In Europe & the Middle East, 1948-91, including Afghanistan & the First Gulf War.

Historical Investigation: Final draft to be submitted at half-term for internal marking & external moderation.

Year Two: Summer Term

Three weeks of revision sessions, including timed practice examination questions for all three papers. The examinations are held from the beginning of May.

Download further detail about studying history at IB

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A-level and University Foundation: History course structure

The A-level and University Foundation courses follow very similar topics.

Year One

In the first year, which counts as an AS level, both A-level and University Foundation students will cover two themes which are fundamental to the whole subject:

• Change and Consolidation: this theme includes how societies change over time and how governments respond to the need for change. The topic for this is ‘The USA, 1890-1945’. 
   
• Periods of Change: this theme looks at significant past periods of time in which wars, catastrophes, laws, policies, actions or inventions changed the way people live. The topic for this is ‘Britain and International Relations, 1919-40’, looking especially at the development of the Appeasement Policy in the 1930s.

If you are studying University Foundation, you will study an additional topic during this year, Historical Enquiry, as described below.

Year Two (A-level only)

For A-level students, in the second year there are again two major learning themes:

• The state and the people: change and continuity: this exciting theme covers the dynamic relationship between the state and citizens over a sixty year period in the context of International Relations during and after the ‘Cold War’. 
   
• Historical Enquiry: the second theme is a study of a particular region of the world (e.g. Africa, India, the Far East) chosen by you, over a period of a hundred years at A2 (or sixty years in the University Foundation Year). It is done as a ‘Historical Enquiry’ and includes individual research for a coursework essay, which can be based on fieldwork.

Suggested reading:

Rowe, C. (2008) AQA History, USA, 1890-1945.
Lowe, N. (2005) Mastering Modern World History. Chapters 3, 4, 5.
Walsh, B. (2001) Modern World History. Section 3, chapters 8 & 9.

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