History

Course summary

Are you curious about how people and the past have shaped modern society? Do you want to undertake a challenging academic subject? Studying A-Level History allows you to do all this and more. • Paper 1: In search of the American Dream: the USA, c. 1917-1996 – This unit traces the dramatic political, economic and social transformation of the USA in the twentieth century, an era that saw the USA challenged by the consequences of political, economic and social inequalities at home and of its involvement in international conflict. • Paper 2: South Africa, 1948-1994: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’ – This unit comprises a study in depth of South Africa during its transition from white minority rule to the free elections of 1994, a long, and at times, dramatic process in which South Africa changed from an apartheid state into a multi-racial democracy. • Unit 3: Protest, agitation and parliamentary reform in Britain, c. 1780-1928 – This unit explores the path taken by Britain to becoming a modern democracy during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It investigates the relationship between authority and mass agitation in Britain, the struggle for greater political representation, and the ways in which the interests and concerns of individuals in society could make themselves known. • Paper 4: Coursework unit on South Africa – Deepening their studies from Paper 2, students carry out an independent investigation into the debate among historians on the reasons for the end of Apartheid in South Africa. They engage closely with academic literature, evaluating the work of a range of professional historians and reaching their own considered judgement on the causes of one of the most monumental events of the 20th century.