This joint degree has been established in the conviction that History and Politics can offer complementary approaches to past and present aspects of human activity. The degree not only enables students to set contemporary political problems in their historical perspective, but it also equips them to approach the study of the past with the conceptual rigour derived from political science.
In the first year the course centres on the history, political thought and political institutions of Britain and Europe. In the second and third years it is equally possible to concentrate on British and European themes. However, the presence of numerous options on the politics and history side on American, Asian, Commonwealth and African themes allows students to concentrate, if they wish, on extra-European papers as diverse as Modern Japan, Revolutionary Mexico or India, 1919–1939.
A special feature of the Oxford course is the chance to choose subjects very broadly across the two disciplines, so that it is possible to combine medieval historical options with the analysis of contemporary political systems. The expertise of a number of Oxford’s historians in the history of political thought, the thematic approach taken to the teaching of General History in the first year, and the emphasis placed on the interdisciplinarity in a number of the History papers strengthens the intellectual rigour of this course.
First Year (The Preliminary Examination)
| Students will take four papers on which they will be examined at the end of the first year. | |
| 1. |
Either one of the seven papers in British History, or one of the four papers in General History (primarily European). The British History periods are: Four General (or European) History options are available: |
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2. |
Theories of the State (Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Marx) |
| 3. | Either ‘Approaches to History’; or ‘Historiography: Tacitus to Weber’; or an historical text in a foreign language; or an Optional Subject in Modern History (see list in Modern History: Course Structure). |
| 4. | Introduction to Political Institutions. |
There is also a requirement to undertake a short Information Technology course with assessed coursework.
Second and Third Years
| Students build on their first-year work, bringing the disciplines together in a variety of fruitful ways. The Final Honours School in History and Politics consist of seven papers from the following eight. These must include paper 8, the compulsory thesis, which must be substituted for one of papers 1 or 2 or a politics option from papers 5, 6 and 7. | |
| 1. | A period of British History, provided that (a) the paper may be substituted by a compulsory thesis in History; (b) no candidate may offer a period of British History already offered in the First Public Examination; (c) a candidate who has not offered a period of British or General History before the nineteenth century in the First Public Examination is required to choose at least one such period in the FHS; (d) a candidate who has taken or is taking British History VII (since 1900) cannot also take Politics paper 202 (British Politics and Government since 1900); and a candidate taking British History VI (1815-1924) in the FHS and who is also taking Politics Paper 202 must not substantially duplicate material in the two papers. |
| 2. | A period of General History, provided that (a) the paper may be substituted by a compulsory thesis in History; (b) a candidate who has not offered a period of British or General History before the nineteenth century in the First Public Examination is required to choose at least one such period in the FHS; (c) a candidate taking Politics Paper 212 (International Relations in the era of the Two World Wars) cannot also take General History XIII (1914-45); a candidate taking Politics Paper 213 (International Relations in the era of the Cold War) cannot also take General History XIV (1945-73). |
| 3, 4. | Two of the five 'Core Subjects' in Politics (i.e. PPE papers 201, 202, 203, 214, 220). Note that a thesis may not be substituted for a Politics Core Subject. |
| 5, 6, 7. | One of the following combinations: i. one Special Subject in History (examined in two papers) and one of subjects 201-227 in Politics whichis not offered in papers 3 and 4 above; ii. one Further Subject in History and two of subjects 201-227 in Politics which are not offered in papers 3 and 4 above; iii. one Further Subject in History, one of subjects 201-227 in Politics whichis not offered in papers 3 and 4 above, and one Special Subject in Politics; provided that (a) one of the optional papers in Politics in any of these combinations may be substituted by a compulsory thesis in PPE; (b) a candidate taking Politics Subject 215 (Political Thought: Plato to Rousseau) cannot also take the History Further Subjects in Scholasticism and Humanism or The Science of Society 1650-1800; and a candidate taking Politics Subject 216 (Political Thought: Bentham to Weber) cannot also take History Further Subject Political Theory and Social Science. A candidate taking Politics Further Subject 221 (British Society in the Twentieth Century) cannot also take the History Further Subject British Society in the Twentieth Century. |
| 8. | A thesis, which must be offered in place of either paper 1 British History, or paper 2 General History, or a Politics option in any of the combinations for papers 5, 6 and 7. A thesis offered in place of a Politics optional paper shall be either a substitute thesis or a supervised dissertation submitted in accordance with the regulations prescribed for Politics in the Honour School of PPE. |
Notes:
- Further and Special Subjects in Modern History are identified at Annexe 1 and Annexe 2.
- The core subjects in Politics are listed in (2) above.
- The further subjects in Politics include the following: Modern British Government and Politics; Government and Politics of the United States; Government and Politics in Western Europe; Soviet and Post-Soviet Government and Politics; Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa; Politics in Latin America; Politics in South Asia; Politics in the Middle East; Classical Political Thought up to 1800; Foundations of Modern Social and Political Thought; Marxism; Sociological Theory; The Sociology of Industrial Societies; British Society in the Twentieth Century; Labour Economics and Industrial Relations; The Government and Politics of Japan; Social Policy; Comparative Demographic Systems; Statistical Methods in Social Science.
- For a tabular version of the possible combinations of papers in the Final Honour School of History and Politics, please click here.
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