Global History: Empires, States and Cultures

Taught by experts in African, Asian, Atlantic, European and Middle Eastern histories, societies and cultures, our MA Global History: Empires, States and Cultures will expand and deepen your understanding of world history through the exploration of global perspectives and interconnections across geographical and national boundaries. The course will introduce you to a wide range of themes in global history, including empires, nations, decolonisation, migration and diaspora, economies and commerce, environmental history and the transnational history of ideas. You will be encouraged to think expansively about connections between different approaches to global history and to undertake specialised research into particular regions of the world, such as South and East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the USA.

The compulsory module explores specific topics and challenges in writing global history. You then choose three option modules from a wide variety offered in history, classics and archaeology and other subject areas, opting, if you wish, to take a focused pathway through the degree by specialising in the history of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, or the imperial and postcolonial periods.

Throughout the degree, you will be encouraged to develop both theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding the historical development of globalisation, as well as learning research methods and accessing primary sources that will enable you to specialise in a topic of your choosing and write a dissertation.

The course offers you training to continue on to PhD research, if you wish, but it will also equip you with specialist knowledge and transferable skills for a wide range of careers, including policy research, media, NGOs and public history.

Highlights

Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists and archaeologists in the same team of academics investigating every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.

All Master’s students are eligible to apply for our prestigious Eric Hobsbawm Scholarships, subject to availability. One of the most influential historians of the twentieth century, Eric Hobsbawm taught at Birkbeck for over five decades and embodied what is central to our teaching and research: a continued commitment to critical enquiry and public engagement.

We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources. Situated very close by are: the Institute of Classical Studies, with its library, training facilities and seminars; the British Museum, with its extensive collection of classical antiquities; and the British Library, the largest national library in the world.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue career paths in research and archiving, education, the heritage industry, publishing, journalism and the media, and the charity sector. Possible professions include:

historian

higher education lecturer

archivist

journalist

heritage manager

politician’s assistant

academic librarian

museum/gallery curator.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.