Applying to Oxbridge for History/Politics

Transcription

1 Applying to Oxbridge for History/Politics Degree options History Joint honours (Ancient and Modern or with language/politics/english/economics) PPE/SPS The basic History course Cambridge Course outline The basic difference between Parts I and II is that Part I concentrates on breadth of historical understanding and Part II on depth. Throughout the course there is ample scope for you to pursue your personal interests and experiment with different historical approaches. Specialist papers allow you to work with a variety of source materials: in the past few years, these have included music, art, cartoons, other visual images, and coins. Part I A wide range of options Years 1 and 2 Part I lasts two years (six terms) and comprises six papers. The first five are chosen from 23 papers on offer, and you study one each term for the first five terms. You take at least one period of British political history and one of British economic and social history. For the other three papers it is possible to study any period of European history from the Greeks to the present, periods of extra- European history, the history of the USA, and/or the history of political thought. If you wish, you may specialise, for example in ancient and medieval papers, or almost entirely in the twentieth century. For the sixth component, Themes and Sources, you will complete a 5,000 word essay. There is a very wide choice of topics, typically investigating a major theme in comparative history (such as gender, democracy, revolutions or music). The essay is written over a period of some months, and involves individual research. Part II An even wider range of options! Year 3 Students who have taken Part I then take a one-year Part II. (The two-year Part II is for those who have taken a one-year Part I in another subject.). This consists of five units: a general paper, Historical Argument and Practice four other papers chosen from nearly 40 options in all, ranging across the centuries and continents. You can substitute a dissertation on a topic of your choice for one paper.

2 Oxford 1st year Courses Four papers are taken: History of the British Isles General history (primarily European) Historical methods (choice of Approaches to history; Historiography; Tacitus to Weber; Quantification; one of seven foreign texts) Optional subject (choices include Theories of the state; Conquest and colonisation: Spain and America in the sixteenth century; Culture, society and politics in England, ; Working-class life and industrial work in Britain ) 2nd and 3rd year Courses Six subjects are taken: History of the British Isles General history Further subject (choice of about 30, including: Anglo-Saxon archaeology of the early Christian period; China in war and revolution, ; The Near East in the age of Justinian and Muhammad, c.527 c.700; Society and government in France, ; The first industrial revolution; Imperialism and nationalism, ; Modern Japan, ; The Soviet Union, ) Special subject: a paper and an extended essay (choices include: The Norman conquest of England; Politics, art and culture in the Italian Renaissance, Venice and Florence c ; The Scientific movement in the 17th century; English architecture, ; Political pressures and social policy ; The Russian Revolution of 1917; India, : Contesting the nation; Nazi Germany, a racial order, ; The Great Society era, ; The Northern Ireland troubles, ) Disciplines of history Thesis Assessment First University examinations Four written papers Assessment Final University examinations Five written papers; one extended essay, one thesis; an additional thesis may be offered

3 Testing Oxford has a History Aptitude Test, which is sat by all applicants to the university on 5 th November. There are sample papers on the faculty website. Individual colleges may also ask you to submit up to 2 pieces of work from your A level studies. Cambridge does not have a specific, universal test but individual colleges may well give you a short test at interview as well as asking for work to be submitted in advance Making choices The course research the nature of the course at each university. As you can see from the above, there are significant differences in how they are organised, though many of the options are similar The college some colleges have reputations for academic quality, generally or in particular faculties. This might sway your decision. Some colleges have been successful outlets for MCS boys in the recent past. This might sway your decision. Some of the department went to these universities and have contacts/knowledge within them. This might sway your decision. Some colleges have pretty quads and good food. This will NOT sway your decision Use the careers library, Dr Shrimpton, the department and the websites for advice and research The Personal Statement All candidates will claim to have a passion for history. You need to provide evidence to support this (often preposterous) claim. What have you read? School textbooks don t count have you been inspired to go beyond the syllabus and look at a particular issue or personality? Have you embarked on your individual study? Do you subscribe to a history magazine or do you read one in the school library? (most of you cannot possibly claim this to be true as they remain largely untouched) Do you follow historical debates in the TLS or the New York Review of Books? Do you listen to Radio 4 or watch historical documentaries? Have you entered a 6 th form essay competition? Do you visit sites of historical interest, other than the Eagle and Child? Help and preparation We are here to help and advise in a number of different ways Reading suggestions (see list attached) Oxbridge lunchtime sessions. These will start next term and will discuss general historical issues (and will focus on HAT preparation before 5 th November) History Society. I want this to be much more active next year. Your role will be to invite and host speakers, generate ideas and give a small paper to the group Interview practice. Once the interviewees are known, we will give you a mock interview here and, hopefully, arrange for one at another local school Ultimately, though, you should take it upon yourselves to read and research

4 Reading List The only thing an interviewer can expect you to know about is the A level material you ve studied and any additional topics you included in your personal statement. Make sure you are secure on these. However, s/he would be entitled to hope that you d also have some ideas about the discipline of history the nature and purpose of the subject, the way it s researched and written, the changing trends over time, the different branches of the subject and the major debates among historians. You are likely, too, to have your own personal interests around which you ve read/watched/visited. Here, though are some titles that crop up regularly on these lists. Try to dip into a few of them over the summer and have a go at a couple of the essays suggested beneath. The nature of history What is History? The Practice of History In Defence of History The Pursuit of History The Nature of History What is History Now? On History E.H Carr G.R Elton R. Evans J. Tosh A. Marwick D. Cannadine (ed) E. Hobsbawm Books to complement your A2 studies Henry VIII J. Scarisbrick The Stripping of the Altars E. Duffy The Tudor Regime P. Williams Astrea F. Yates Elizabeth I W. MaCaffrey The Reign of Elizabeth I C. Haigh (ed) New Worlds, Lost Worlds S. Brigden The Puritan Revolution C. Hill Charles II R. Hutton Recognised Classics/Influential Works The Making of the English Working Class E.P Thompson Religion and the Decline Of Magic K. Thomas The Cheese and the Worms C. Ginzburg The Great Cat Massacre R. Darnton Classical and Renaissance Political Thought and Philosophy On Monarchy Dante Politics Aristotle Republic Plato The Prince Machiavelli Utopia More Leviathan Hobbes 19 th and 20 th Century Political Theory Das Capital K. Marx The Communist Manifesto K. Marx and F. Engels Open Society and its Enemies K. Popper Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media N. Chomsky

5 Economy and Society M. Weber 19 th Century English Political Literature A Tale of Two Cities Dickens North and South Gaskell The Barchester Chronicles Trolloppe 19 th and 20 th Century Foreign Political Literature Germinal Zola Fathers and Sons Turgenev The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky Anna Karenina Tolstoy My Childhood Gorky One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Solzhenitsyn For Whom the Bell Tolls Hemingway You should also be aiming to attempt a couple of essays. Try these for size 1. How successful was Elizabeth I in creating and manipulating her own image? years of illusion followed by 15 years of disillusion. How convincing is Christopher Haigh s assessment of the reign of Elizabeth I? 3. Elizabeth I s successful consolidation of her royal authority in the years owed less to her own political skills than to the unpopularity of Mary I. How justified is this view? 4. To what extent was the decline of Catholicism in Elizabethan England bound to happen? 5. Neither Protestantism nor Elizabeth was in any real danger from the Catholic threat? How far is this true of the period ?