History

Our research in History is vital in shaping our understanding of the present and the future. By studying how everyday people throughout time have responded to upheaval – and how their experiences, culture, values and activities shaped their identities and behaviour – we can better understand our own society, and how it may change in the future.

Focusing on Europeans who lived between the 15th and 18th centuries, our research in early modern history is looking at the lives of people in Europe, and how they made sense of their lives and formed their identities during a time of incredible change.

Our research in British social and cultural history is exploring the lives of ordinary people in Britain, at all levels of society, and charts the formation and change of British culture through the experiences of its population.

And within our urban cultures research, we're exploring the relationship between people and the urban environment of the city, and how living in a predominantly urban society affected – and continues to affect – those within it.

We're also studying the complex communities, cultures, and subcultures that are born out of this connection, and the role they play in creating division or unity within society.

Explore our History research areas of expertise

Find out more about our History research – and learn more about our recent projects, the academic and industrial partners with whom we collaborate, and the major funders who fund our work.

Interested in a PhD in History?

Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our History postgraduate research degrees page.