Discipline of History

The Discipline of History at the University of Adelaide has a long and rich tradition of scholarly and teaching excellence. Its reputation has been built since the early 20th century by a succession of eminent historians: George Cockburn Henderson, Sir Keith Hancock, G.V. Portus, Kath Woodruff, Hugh Stretton, George Rudé, Bill Gammage, A. Lynn Martin, Stephen Large, Trevor Wilson, Norm Etherington and Wilfrid Prest. Our current academic staff, who hold advanced degrees from Oxford, the University of London, the University of Melbourne, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Adelaide, Monash, and Carnegie-Mellon University, among others, continue to build on this foundation, and have gained national and international recognition for their research and writing in British and European, Australian, Southeast Asian and American history.

History students —whether undergraduate, honours, or postgraduate—join this tradition with our current staff members in an invigorating intellectual experience. That experience is made invigorating, not only by the rich array of courses we offer in European, Australian, American, and South Asian history, but by staff members who believe that good teaching lies at the heart of the university experience. The courses we offer provide the opportunity to think, talk, and write about issues that remain pertinent today. Student surveys consistently show that students think highly of our courses and rate our teaching very highly; in addition, our staff have collected numerous accolades and awards for the quality of our teaching and supervision.

The major in history consists of eight courses, including a “capstone” course that may be taken after the completion of fifteen units of study in history. Because history students gain broad, social, political, and cultural understanding, as well as skills in research, analysis, and writing, history provides an excellent foundation for a broad range of interesting careers in public service, journalism, teaching, law, and business. Students who complete a major in history with a strong record of achievement may also opt to continue their studies in an Honours year. The BA (Hons) in history lays the foundation for further academic study (the MA and PhD) in history, but it also serves as a badge of excellence and accomplishment to potential employers.

School of History & Politics handbook.

Information about enrolment, including courses available in 2009, is available from the Faculty website.