Preliminary Examination in History
Differences from 2014/15 to 2023/24
A
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1. The
subjectsPreliminary Examination will introduce students to the History degree, which will offer both wide diversity in terms of chronology, geography and historical themes, and a range of methodologies encompassing breadth, depth and theoretical awareness. The examination shall include:-
(1) Outline papers in the History of the
examinationBritish Isles;(2) Outline papers in European & World History;
(3) Papers in a specialist historical (‘Optional’) subject,
thestudiedsyllabuswith reference to primary sources;(4) Methodological or historiographical subjects,
andortheforeign-languagenumbertexts.
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2.
ofThepapersexamination shall beasunderprescribedthebysupervisionregulation from time to time byof the Board of the Faculty of History, which will specify procedures and rules respecting the examination, and will define the lists of specific papers from which candidates will choose within the various subjects described below. These lists will be published by the beginning of Trinity Term prior to candidates beginning their studies for the examination. -
3. The Board shall issue annually the Handbook for the Preliminary Examination in History by Monday of first week of Michaelmas Term in the year of the examination.
B
Each candidate shall offer four papers, as followsspecified in 1 to 4 below.
Candidates must offer papers in 1. History of the British Isles and 2. European & World History taken from two of the three different chronological groups: Early, Middle and Late, as defined by the Board. Candidates who proceed to the Honour School of History will be required to take a further Outline paper in one of these subjects from a third period.
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1. History of the British Isles: any one from a list of Outline papers defined by the Faculty Board.
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The History of the
followingBritishperiods:.(I)Islesc.300-1087;is(II)taken1042-1330;to(III)include1330-1550;the(IV)history1500-1700;of(V)England,1685-1830;Wales,(VI)Scotland1815-1924;and(VII)Ireland,sinceand1900of other territories in so far as they are specifically connected with the History of Britain. -
2.
GeneralEuropean & World History: any one from a list of Outline papers defined by theperiodFacultypapers I: 370-900 (The Transformation of the Ancient World), II: 1000-1300 (Medieval Christendom and its neighbours), III: 1400-1650 (Renaissance, Recovery, and Reform), and IV: 1815-1914 (Society, Nation, and Empire). Candidates will be given a wide choice of questions relating to themes in the history of the period and they are advised not to concentrate narrowly on a particular period or topicBoard. -
3. Optional Subject: any one
offroman approveda list of subjects,examples of which are given below. A detailed list of Optional Subjects, including the prescribed texts, will be published in the Handbook for Preliminary Examination in Historydefined by theBoard of theFacultyofBoard,HistorytobybeMonday of noughth week of Michaelmas Term each year for the academic year ahead. Depending on the availability of teaching resources,studied withthe exception of Optional Subject 1, not all the Optional Subjects listed in the Handbook will be availablereference toallprimarycandidates in any given year. Candidates may obtain details of the choice of options for that year by consulting the Definitive List of Optional Subjects posted at the beginning of the first week of Michaelmas Full Term in the History Faculty and circulated to History Tutors.1.Theories of the State (Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx).2.The Age of Bedec.660-c.740.3.Early Gothic Francec.1100-c.1150sources.-
4.
ConquestOneand Frontiers: England andof theCelticfollowingPeoplessubjects1150-1220.as defined by the Faculty Board: -
5.(a)English Chivalry and the French Warc.1330-c.1400. 6.Nature and Art in the Renaissance.7.Witch-craft and witch-hunting in early modern Europe.8.Nobility and Gentry in England 1560-1660.9.Conquest and Colonization: Spain and America in the Sixteenth Century.10.Revolution and Empire in France 1789-1815.11.Women, Gender and the Nation: Britain, 1789-1825.12.The Romance of the People: The Folk Revival from 1760 to 1914.13.The American Empire: 1823-1904.14.The Rise and Crises of European Socialisms: 1881-1921.15.Theories of War and Peace in Europe 1890-1914.16.Working-Class Life and Industrial Work in Britain 1870-1914.17.The World of Homer and Hesiod, as specified for Preliminary Examination in Ancient and Modern History.18.Augustan Rome, as specified for Preliminary Examination in Ancient and Modern History.
4.Either(a)Approaches to Historyor(b) Historiography: Tacitus to Weber
or(c) Foreign Texts
or(d) Quantification in History
, as specified in the Handbook for the Preliminary Examination in History.
Candidates who fail one or more of papers 1, 2, 3, or 4 above may resit that subjectpaper or subjectspapers at a subsequent examination.