History and Politics

In the History and Politics course from The Open University, you’ll tackle such exciting and challenging issues as power and equality, debates in politics at the national and global level, culture and beliefs, imperialism and resistance, class and gender. You’ll learn the skills of both the political scientist and the historian in studying historical and contemporary political debates as well as analysing contested political issues and future trends and investigating a range of critical approaches to analysing history and politics.

Key features of the course

– Discover why the ‘long’ nineteenth century was such an exciting period in the history of the British Isles
– Explore the political ideas, institutions and processes that help govern our world
– Develops skills relevant to political and historical research and writing directed to a range of audiences
Skills for career development

Studying history and politics provides you with an adaptable set of skills that can lead in many directions and are greatly valued by employers. Beyond subject knowledge these include critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and communication. You’ll sharpen your IT, writing, and independent thinking and information auditing skills, as well as develop an ability to assimilate and evaluate relevant information when constructing an argument to a variety of audiences. These are key skills in complex organisations and independent endeavours, and are highly sought after in the world beyond study – whether you’re already working, volunteering, starting, changing or looking to progress your career.