MA in Medical History

The MA in Medical History offers an excellent opportunity for the study of the history of medicine, health, the body and disease to students desiring a postgraduate qualification in this field, either in its own right or as preparation for a further research degree at doctoral level. It can also be studied as part of continuing professional development for health service professionals seeking a historical dimension to their clinical practice: study may be focused around a specific area of practice through the guided independent study module Fieldwork in Medical History.

The MA may be completed either full-time (one year) or part-time (two years), and may form the first year of a four-year PhD programme.

The MA programme draws on the expertise of a range of staff with specialised knowledge in this field, including Professors Mark Jackson and Joseph Melling and Drs Kate Fisher and Sarah Toulalan, as well as a number of postdoctoral research fellows in the Centre. The potential periods of study range from medieval to modern and may include the study of bodies, gender and sexualities as well as diseases, health and medicine.

Modules offered may include:

HISM169 Theory and Practice of History I (15 credits)
HISM170 Theory and Practice of History II (15 credits)
HISM403 Dissertation (90 credits)
HISM416 Medicine and Society in the Middle Ages (30 credits)
HISM034 Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern England (30 credits)
HISM171 Organising Knowledge in Early Modern Europe: Writing, Reading, Collecting 1500 - 1800 (30 credits)
HISM031 Gender, Society and Culture in Early Modern England (30 credits)
HISM406 Witchcraft in History (30 credits)
HISM164 The Darwinian Revolution
HISM200 Work, Health and the State: the UK Experience in International Perspective, 1830 - 1950 (30 credits)
HISM205 Health and Medicine in Modern Britain (30 credits)
HISM477 Sexual Discoveries: Reception of ‘Erotica' from 'Other' Cultures in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (30 credits)
HISM033 Fieldwork in Medical History (30 credits)

Funding from the Wellcome Trust for one MA bursary is available each year. For further details, please contact:
Claire Keyte (telephone 01392 723289).

Programme specification

The programme specification for the MA in Medical History gives full details of programme structures and requirements, educational aims, programme outcomes, teaching, learning and assessment methods etc.

Programme Director

Dr. Julia Crick