Historians seek to understand societies by studying change and continuity over time. Everything has a history. From a national constitution to modern consumer culture, from the rise of empires to environmental crises, from the human species to your family, studying history teaches you about the forces that have made the world in which you live. It helps you to understand the present by understanding its past.
The ANU is a national leader in History and offers a wide range of courses covering Australia, Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from ancient times to the recent past. Courses trace themes such as empire, war, terrorism, politics, economics, culture, ideas, identity, crime, health and the environment. Some focus on particular nations or regions, while others focus on global and transnational processes. Some courses focus on concepts and philosophies that underlie historical analysis or techniques of historical research. All our courses develop student skills in historical theory and method.
History is a core discipline in the humanities and social sciences. It gives students knowledge and skills that are valued in any professional context. Our students successfully pursue careers in academia, museums, government, diplomacy, NGOs, journalism, management, teaching and many other fields.
Learning Outcomes
- demonstrate understanding of multiple periods or cultures of the past;
- demonstrate critical understanding of key theoretical and conceptual issues in historical thinking and scholarship;
- examine historical issues by undertaking research, and analysing evidence, according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the discipline;
- construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual or written form; and
- identify and reflect critically on the knowledge and skills developed in their study of History and their relationship to the contemporary world.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This major requires the completion of 48 units, of which:
A maximum of 12 units may come from the completion of 1000-level courses, and
A minimum of 18 units must come from the completion of 3000-level courses.
The 48 units must include:
12 units from the completion of the following compulsory courses:
HIST2110/HIST3110 - Approaches to History (6 units)
HIST3007 - Making History (6 units)
A maximum of 12 units from the completion of the following list:
ECHI1006 - The Australian Economy: Past and Present (6 units)
HIST1209 - Terror to Terrorism: A History (6 units)
HIST1214 - Empires in Global History (6 units)
A maximum of 36 units from the completion of the following:
HIST2022 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History (6 units)
HIST2070 - Emperors, Pilgrims and Crusaders: The World of Byzantium (6 units)
HIST2136 - World at War, 1939-1945 (6 units)
HIST2141 - The Cold War: 1945-1989 (6 units)
HIST2205 - Europe and the Atlantic World, c.1492-1776 (6 units)
HIST2206 - The Great War’s Battlefields: A Study Tour of Gallipoli, the Western Front and Paris (12 units)
HIST2211 - Global Environmental History Since 1945
HIST2214 - The Great War: The Conflict that Changed the World (6 units)
HIST2219 - Tudor-Stuart England, c.1485-1714: Politics, Society and Culture (6 units)
HIST2221 - Britain in the Age of Revolutions and Empires 1688-1848 (6 units)
HIST2226 - Nazi Germany (6 units)
HIST2227 - Australian Political History (6 units)
HIST2231 - Exploration: From Captain Cook to the Astronauts (6 units)
HIST2232 - Crime and Justice: Historical Dilemmas (6 units)
HIST2240 - Democracy and Dissent: Europe Since 1945 (6 units)
HIST2242 - The Soviet Union: From the Russian Revolution to the Collapse of Communism (6 units)
HIST3012 - Topics in History (6 units)
HIST3142 - Indigenous Memory and History (6 units)
A maximum of 12 units from the completion of the following list:
ANTH2025 - Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (6 units)
ARCH2004 - Australian Archaeology (6 units)
ARCH2037 - From Empire to Invasions: the Archaeology of Europe from the Romans to the Vikings (6 units)
ARCH2055 - Archaeological Field Schools and Fieldwork Practice (6 units)
ARCH2058 - European Prehistory from Cultivation to the Celts (6 units)
ASIA2009 - The Making of Modern Japan: From Samurai to Economic Superpower and Beyond (6 units)
ASIA2016 - The Mongol Empire in World History (6 units)
ASIA2037 - History of Modern China (6 units)
ASIA2040 - The Making of Modern Korea (6 units)
ASIA2044 - Chinese History: The Imperial Period (221 BC - 1800) (6 units)
ASIA2270 - India Past and Present: The Impact of Pre-colonial History on India Today (6 units)
ASIA2072 - Taiwan: History and Culture (6 units)
ASIA2307 - History of Empire in Asia (6 units)
ASIA3011 - Samurai Society and Social Control in Japan (6 units)
ASIA3030 - History of the State System in South East Asia (6 units)
ASIA3272 - Truth and Falsity in Indian History and Politics (6 units)
CLAS2014 - Democrats, Tyrants, and Emperors: The Art of Government in the Ancient Mediterranean (6 units)
CLAS2015 - Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World: An Age of Transformation and Discovery (6 units)
CLAS3001 - Rome: The Eternal City from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages (6 units)
CLAS3003 - Faith and Belief in Ancient Greece and Rome (6 units)
ENGL2022 - Jane Austen: History and Fiction (6 units)
MEAS2000 - Iranian History and Culture (6 units)
MEAS2003 - Modern Turkey: History, Society and Culture (6 units)
MEAS2006 - Gallipoli: A Transnational History (6 units)
MUSI2234 - Music, History, and Culture (6 units)
PASI2002 - Australia in Oceania in the 19th and 20th Centuries (6 units)
PASI2007 - War in the Islands: The Second World War in the Pacific (6 units)
POLS2100 - Genocide in the Modern World (6 units)
SCRN2003 - Film and History: Hollywood and Beyond (6 units)
A maximum of 12 units may come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| EURO 1004: Europe in the Modern Era | ||
| HIST 1015: Ends of Empire | ||
| HIST 1206: Three American Revolutions | ||
| HIST 1207: 20th Century Australia | ||
| HIST 1208: Australian History | ||
| HIST1209 | Terror to Terrorism: A History | 6 |
| HIST 1212: Globalisation in World History | ||
| HIST 1213: Australia and the World |
12 units from completion of the following course(s):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| HIST2110 | Approaches to History | 6 |
| HIST3007 | Making History | 6 |
A minimum of 12 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| HIST2022 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History | 6 |
| HIST 2107: American Voices | ||
| HIST 2117: Technology and Society | ||
| HIST 2121: Electric Citizens | ||
| HIST 2126: American Sixties | ||
| HIST 2128: Colonies and Post-colony: Nine | ||
| HIST 2133: Race and Racism | ||
| HIST2136 | World at War, 1939-1945 | 6 |
| HIST 2140: Europe in the 20th Century | ||
| HIST2141 | The Cold War: 1945-1989 | 6 |
| HIST2205 | Europe and the Atlantic World, c.1492—1776. | 6 |
| HIST 2213: Real Men | ||
| HIST2214 | The Great War. The Conflict that Changed the World. | 6 |
| HIST2219 | Tudor-Stuart England, c.1485-1714: Politics, Society and Culture | 6 |
| HIST 2220: Late Medieval Western Europe | ||
| HIST2221 | Britain in the Age of Revolutions and Empires 1688-1848 | 6 |
| HIST 2223: French Revolution & Napoleon | ||
| HIST 2224: Colonialism, Sex, Race, Gender | ||
| HIST 2225: Environmental History | ||
| HIST2226 | Nazi Germany | 6 |
| HIST2227 | Australian Political History | 6 |
| HIST 2228: The Enlightenment | ||
| HIST 2229: Sexuality in Aust Hist | ||
| HIST 2230: LatinAmerica:Conquest & Beyond |
A maximum of 12 units may come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ANCH 2014: Homer and the Trojan War | ||
| ANCH 2015: Travellers and Geographers | ||
| ANCH 2016: Law and life in ancient Athens | ||
| ANCH 2017: The Roman Empire | ||
| ANCH 2019: Greek and Roman warfare | ||
| ANCH 2022: The Rise of the Roman Empire | ||
| ASIA2009 | The Making of Modern Japan: From Samurai to Economic Superpower and Beyond | 6 |
| ASIA2016 | The Mongol Empire in World History | 6 |
| ASIA2037 | History of Modern China | 6 |
| ASIA2040 | The Making of Modern Korea | 6 |
| ASIA2041 | Mainland Southeast Asia: Colonial and Postcolonial Predicaments | 6 |
| ASIA2044 | Chinese History: The Imperial Period (221 BC - 1800) | 6 |
| ASIA2072 | Taiwan: History and Culture | 6 |
| ASIA 2085: Southeast Asian History | ||
| ASIA 2163: Rels & Pols: South Asia | ||
| ASIA2270 | India Past and Present: The Impact of Pre-colonial History on India Today | 6 |
| ASIA 2413: Vietnam: Hist & Soc | ||
| ASIA2516 | Indonesia: Politics, Society and Development | 6 |
| ENGL 2074: Jane Austen Hist & Fict | ||
| GEND 2021: Trauma, Memory & Culture | ||
| MEAS2000 | Iranian History and Culture | 6 |
| MEAS 2002: Turkish History | ||
| MEAS2003 | Modern Turkey: History, Society and Culture | 6 |
| MEAS 2108: Gallipoli | ||
| PASI2002 | Australia in Oceania in the 19th and 20th Centuries | 6 |
| POLS 2092: Fascism and Antifascism | ||
| POLS2100 | Genocide in the Modern World | 6 |
| POLS 2115: Revolution! | ||
| SOCY 2053: Imagining the Future |