The Optional Subjects are based on close study of selected primary texts or documents, and offer an opportunity for more specialized study than is possible in the outline papers. They provide a first indication of the range of the interests of members of the Faculty, and are often taught by experts in the particular field of the subject. (Further opportunities for specialized study follow in the Further and Special Subjects in the Final Honour School). Note that some colleges may restrict the choice of Optional Subjects.
Optional Subjects are taught in tutorials or classes, normally in Trinity Term, and almost all are provided with lecture courses. Six hours of tutorial teaching are provided for the Optional Subjects. They are examined in three-hour unseen papers, and you are required to complete three answers.
Below is a list of current Optional Subjects, although the list of subjects offered may vary from year to year.
- Theories of the State (Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx)
- The Age of Bede c.660–c.740
- Early Gothic France c.1100–c.1150
- Conquest and Frontiers: England and the Celtic Peoples, 1150–1220
- English Chivalry and the French War c.1330–c.1400
- Crime and Punishment in England, c.1280-c.1450
- Nature and Art in the Renaissance
- Witchcraft and Witch-hunting in Early Modern Europe
- Nobility and Gentry in England, 1560–1660
- Conquest and Colonization: Spain and America in the Sixteenth Century
- Revolution and Empire in France, 1789–1815
- Women, Gender and the Nation: Britain, 1789-1825
- The Romance of the People: The Folk Revival from 1760 to 1914
- The American Empire 1823–1904
- The Rise and Crises of European Socialisms
- Working-class Life and Industrial Work in Britain, 1870–1914
- The World of Homer and Hesiod
- Augustan Rome
- [19]. Industrialization in Britain and France 1750–1870 ( as specified for Honour Moderations in Modern History and Economics: available only to candidates in this school)
