Please note you can only select one History subject Why study History: International Relations? History can help you learn how to think and process information and understand the origins of modern political and social problems. Historians have always made a virtue of the importance of making objective judgements based upon wide reading and an understanding of multiplicity of conflicting sources. We value the ability to write clear, literate, synoptic, analytical prose that represents a balanced assessment of the evidence but which is not frightened of drawing bold conclusions. A history training therefore imparts vital transferable skills that are essential to many jobs. Features of the course: International Relations History: British Empire and the Cold War The breadth study begins with the British Empire’s growth through Africa and India. At its peak, the British ruled over 400 million people and you will consider how so small a nation came to rule over so much territory, and the nature of that rule. To that end, you will study Britain's treatment of indigenous peoples and the role of explorers such as Cecil Rhodes, once celebrated for the founding of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) yet now derided by many as a racist, and the subject of campaigns to have his statues taken down. Later in the course, you will study the decline of empire and how Britain had to adapt to life as a lesser power. The Cold War depth study studies how the relationship between the USA and Soviet Union deteriorated to the extent that global nuclear war loomed large over the second half of the Twentieth Century. The course takes in the role of key personalities from Khrushchev and Kennedy to Stalin, Churchill and Chairman Mao, and covers flash points such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Crisis and wars in Korea and Vietnam. The course ends with the resumption of hostilities in the early 1980s, the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the USSR in 1991.