B.A. in History Courses at Trinity College
Is this the right course for you?
If you are interested in discovering our past, in developing a critical perspective on previous and current interpretations of history and working toward the development of new perspectives on our past, this course is right for you. History at Trinity aims to encourage the greatest possible critical independence among those learning the techniques and the methods of historical research and writing.
Course content
The history programme at Trinity has been constructed on clear pedagogical and intellectual principles. In the first years the courses are designed to provide you with a systematic knowledge of European and Irish history, with options in American and other non-European courses, as well as to introduce you to particular aspects of history along socio-political, cultural and economic lines. In the second part of the programme (in the Sophister years) a very wide degree of choice is made available to students from a broad range of specialist courses offered by those actively engaged in research on these topics. An independently conceived, researched and presented dissertation is a key element of the final year.
The Freshman years
The Junior Freshman (first) year:
Single honor (TR003) students take full-year and half-year options from the five areas outlined below, amounting to the whole study requirement for their academic year:
Students in the TSM (joint honor) programme take full-year and half-year options from the five areas outlined below, amounting to half their study requirement for the academic year:
History of Europe 1000-1250: Covers European history in the central middle ages and deals particularly with the internal history of France, Germany, Italy and Byzantium. The emphasis is on political and institutional developments, ecclesiastical history, history of political thought, intellectual history and the development of schools, the religious orders and religious dissent. The history of the papacy is also considered in great detail.
History of Britain 1000-1485: Covers most of the major historical developments in Britain from the end of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom until the accession of the Tudors in 1485. While the emphasis is on a chronological analysis of political events within the period, many important socio-economic questions are also covered.
History of Ireland 1014-1534: Topics and trends rather than a narrative of events are emphasised on this course. Particular attention is given to the development of Gaelic Ireland, patterns of settlement, the economy, the church and religion, politics and the constitution, Anglo-Irish relations, war and civil disturbance, and government and society.
History of Europe 1500-1700: Highlights political, social and cultural developments across the whole of Europe by selecting specific common features and studying variants of these in certain countries. Reform of state and society, the first and second reformations (Protestant and Catholic), the changing patterns of early modern risings, and revolts and civil wars play a leading role in the subjects covered.
Learning for Historians: Learning for Historians is designed to familiarise students with the essential skills required for historical research and academic writing. Throughout your first term, a combination of weekly tutorials and themed exercises will introduce you to a variety of topics ranging from using the library’s collections and making the most of the internet for historical research to preparing a bibliography and presenting your findings in essays and assignments.
The Senior Freshman (second) year:
You will be introduced to courses in modern Irish, British, European and American history.
All students take either a full year course in History of Continental Europe since 1870 or in History of Ireland 1800 to the present and select full or half year options from the list below amounting in all to a whole study requirement for the academic year in the case of Single Honor students or a half requirement in the case of Two Subject Moderatorship students. In the case of TSM students, their options are chosen from the first six topics in the list below:
Ireland, Britain and Western Europe, 400-1000
History of Europe, 1250-1500
History of Britain since 1603
History of the USA since 1607
Culture and politics in Europe, 1700-1870
History of Ireland, 1500-1800
History of political thought
The economy of Ireland
Introduction to sociology
We offer a range of subjects within three different categories:
List I courses – these are primary source based specialist courses which involve intensive research and writing.
List II courses – these are primarily historiographically based special subjects which are accompanied by a general course (Thinking history) on the concepts, methods and debates of modern day historians.
List III courses – these are broader thematic and analytical courses based upon a combination of primary materials and secondary commentaries.
Those studying single honor History choose one from each list in their Junior Sophister (third) year and a further choice from List I and List III in their Senior Sophister (fourth) year. The research dissertation is undertaken in the Senior Sophister year.
Those studying TSM History choose one course from List I and take the course Thinking history in their Junior Sophister year. TSM students normally follow the same pattern as single honors students in the Senior Sophister year
Taught courses arise from the specialisations of the teaching staff and vary from year to year. Current options in the Sophister (third and fourth) years include :
The archaeology of medieval castles
Empire and Papacy in the eleventh century
The Reformation in Europe, 1500-1535
History and heritage
Revolution and civil war in Ireland, 1919-1923
The Weimar Republic
World War II, France and its historians
The United States from Truman to Kennedy
The politics of national salvation in Ireland, 1957-1969
Contemporary political theories
Sub-Saharan Africa since 1875