European History|Russian and East European Languages and Cultural Studies

The ‘Revolutions of ‘89’ in Eastern Europe and the USSR have variously been understood as: processes of regime change and democratisation; a...

The Crisis of 1989 and the New Global Revolutions (SESS0050)

The ‘Revolutions of ‘89’ in Eastern Europe and the USSR have variously been understood as: processes of regime change and democratisation; a new model of revolutionary change; a historical counterpart to the Great Revolutions of 1789, 1848 and 1917; an episode of imperial collapse; the implosion of economically irrational systems; the triumph of Western ideologies of liberal democracy and liberalism; and as a historical moment when lost traditions of critical civil and intellectual engagement were rekindled. This multi-disciplinary module explores the collapse of communism from 1989 in a global, comparative and historical context and from a variety of perspectives. As well as considering the immediate events, institutions and processes surrounding the demise of state socialism, it introduces a range of historical and comparative reference points which can be used to understand the ‘Revolutions of ‘89’ – and considers how the 1989 revolutions themselves can be used as a prism to explore contemporary processes of change and to understand the contingent and potentially fragile nature of all economic and political systems. Its distinct thematic focus allows students to develop a genuinely multi-disciplinary perspective by bringing together and critically contrasting insights gained in the study of economics, history, political science and economic and political ideas undertaken earlier in the HPE programme.

This module trains you in the research and writing skills you need to successfully complete UCL’s MA programme in History. The topics it covers include...

Research and Writing Skills for the MA in History (HIST0848)

This module trains you in the research and writing skills you need to successfully complete UCL’s MA programme in History. The topics it covers include finding historical materials in London and online, types of primary source materials and methods for using them, framing essays historiographically, structuring historical arguments, designing a dissertation topic, conventions for referencing, and using bibliographic software.  The module may be especially helpful for students who have first degrees in disciplines other than history or have not previously written a dissertation on a historical subject.

 