Summer School: History

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

Students in a seminar

Summer School Programme 2025

Applications open on Monday 2 December 2024. Some modules may be subject to change.

Register your interest and we'll let you know once applications open for the 2025 programme.

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

The University of Sussex reserves the right to cancel modules due to staff availability, student demand, minimum enrolment, or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of such changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Not sure how to choose?

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.

Contact us

If you are studying at Sussex for a summer and have questions, email summer@sussex.ac.uk.


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