AS Level History (Modern)
Starting dates and places
Description
Full Time‘War, Plague and Death’ (Medieval) allows students to study something other than the usual GCSE fare of Hitler or the US; studying this earlier period may appeal to those who are interested in ancient history or classical civilisation. The efficiency and prosperity of the Anglo-Saxon state will be considered as are the reasons as to why William was able to ship 3000 horses in flat-bottomed boats across the channel to invade England. William’s victory at Hastings left him with the rest of the Kingdom to conquer and several topics reflect upon the exercise of authority, of which the building of castles (such as Erddig Castle, the so-called ‘Castle of Wrexham’) and the psychological d…
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‘War, Plague and Death’ (Medieval) allows students to study
something other than the usual GCSE fare of Hitler or the US;
studying this earlier period may appeal to those who are interested
in ancient history or classical civilisation. The efficiency and
prosperity of the Anglo-Saxon state will be considered as are the
reasons as to why William was able to ship 3000 horses in
flat-bottomed boats across the channel to invade England. William’s
victory at Hastings left him with the rest of the Kingdom to
conquer and several topics reflect upon the exercise of authority,
of which the building of castles (such as Erddig Castle, the
so-called ‘Castle of Wrexham’) and the psychological damage caused
by the building of giant cathedrals, are but two examples. The
second part of the topic is a deadly tale of rats and fleas and the
resultant plague. The key questions to ask are: what happens to the
equilibrium of society when half of it lies in mass graves; what
happens to an economy when half of its labourers are removed? The
topic closes with one of the most extraordinary rebellions of
medieval times, the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Why were the peasants
rebelling in support of their King? The unit is completed by the
source analysis of Henry VIII (see below).
‘Tyrants and their People’ includes a module on Henry VIII (both
Medieval and Modern options include this). Everyone knows that
Henry killed a couple of wives (only two!), but students are less
aware of the tyrannical nature of his rule. Henry, with his
monstrous ego, was not an easy man to please; failure Henry equated
with disloyalty, and disloyalty could mean death. Henry was
fanciable and certainly fancied himself, imagining himself to be
potentially the greatest monarch in Christendom. He was handsome,
arrogant, friendly, emotional, athletic, lacking in confidence,
easily swayed, and towards the end of his life, immobile and in
great pain. This was indeed, a man of contradictions; a true
Catholic who stole the wealth of the monasteries; a defender of the
Catholic faith who introduced Protestantism to England; a man
capable of genuine affection and love, and a man who could have men
and women killed while out hunting, with neither care nor
regret.
Moving on to the ‘modern’ module, we find Hitler and Mussolini,
tyrants in a twentieth century and arguably ‘totalitarian’ sense,
anxious to rule and to conquer. Less familiar is the attempt to
create a new man (in Italy, the ‘homo fascistus’) and new woman; in
Germany, the impossibly ripped Aryan fighter or worker or the
generously hipped Aryan woman and breeding machine. The module
establishes the situation in both countries, and assesses how far
circumstances made the accession to power of such peculiar
individuals more or less likely. The growth of Fascist and Nazi
parties is evaluated. The module assumes Hitler’s control and
focuses on how he used his power to transform Germany; its youth,
women and men in the hope of creating a racially pure ‘national
community’. A study of the economy seeks to establish whether
Hitler used the economy to build a war machine or to satisfy German
consumers. Guns or butter? The topics on Mussolini do not only look
at issues of transformation, but also at the methods used by
Mussolini to consolidate his power, such as the use of propaganda
and of force. The war years of both dictators is studied, in
particular, why it was that Hitler was defeated in WWII.
The A2 year is almost evenly split between modern Russian History (1856-1964), and the slightly longer module on the English Civil War.The topics to some extent have common themes; they both share the need to explain the breakdown of (monarchical) authority and they consider the nature and relative significance of social and economic change, as well as the nature of revolution and of revolutionaries.
How you will gain the qualification
At AS, the Henry VIII module is the source evaluation paper
carrying 50% of the marks, while in the case of the medieval module
and the ‘modern tyrants’ module, essay questions are the methods
used to assess student understanding, and so account for the other
50% of the marks. In the case of the A2, the Civil War paper
consists of the evaluation of secondary sources and the writing of
essays, worth 60% of the A2, while the Russian History is studied
through the completion two coursework essays of 2000 words each,
accounting for the final 40%.
Practice for these external exams occurs through regular internal assessment and also very important mock exams.
What qualifications you need
For full-time A-level study, 6 GCSEs at grades A-C are necessary, and for History in particular, while no previous experience is required, if History GCSE is taken, a grade C is necessary. English Language must also be at least a grade C; it cannot be stressed enough, however, that a ‘B’ is very much preferred, as the amount of reading and writing is usually an unexpected burden that some students find a considerable challenge.
Where to next
History provides students with a range of skills, including analysis and synthesis, that many careers seek, for instance law or management. Many historians become accountants! Other careers more obviously connected are, for example, archivist, museum curator, worker in the heritage industry, teacher or lecturer.
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