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MA History, Power, and Identity

University of Essex

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University of Essex

Course options

3 options available

  • Qualification

    MA - Master of Arts

  • Location

    Colchester Campus

  • Study mode

    Full time

  • Start date

    01-SEP-25

  • Duration

    1 year

Course summary

What does it mean to be powerful or powerless? Across different times and places, how have people and groups used or abused power, and how have they gained or lost it? In a world threatened by the rise of far-right groups, invigorated by mass protests such as Black Lives Matter or #MeToo, and rocked by political, economic, and cultural crisis, this MA traces the historical roots of some of today’s most urgent fights for power.

We look at the ways and means by which power has operated in the past to consider who has power, why it might be shared, and how it is resisted. We examine different sites of power, from bodies to institutions, and its multiple workings, from slavery and torture to consumer decisions and food sustainability. The struggle for power can be reflected in racism, sexism, and homophobia - attacks on people’s identities to reinforce the dominance of one group or ideology. Yet those identities are also sources of pleasure, celebration, and resistance, whether through conflict or cooperation. Power can also be shared within communities, whether to bolster the dominant group or to provide more social equity.

This MA explores urgent questions about how systems of power shaped, and continue to shape, people’s lives, opportunities, and identities, including:

  • What is power, and how have these meanings changed over time?
  • When and why do people cooperate with power or resist it?
  • What are the sites of power and its contestation?
  • How has power and conflict shaped the experiences of race, gender, class and sexuality in diverse past cultures?
  • Can we fundamentally reimagine the ways that power might be shared more equitably within society?

In our Department of History, you are taught by award-winning academics from all over the world: our corridors are truly cosmopolitan. We also provide you with opportunities to explore local history and have close ties with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK.

Your future

We have excellent links with the research community, both in the UK and worldwide, so many of our students have gone on to teach in higher education institutions. Others have found employment in archives, research, managing research funds, other forms of educational provision, the Civil Service, the National Health Service, and management.

Tuition fees

Students living in Hong Kong
(International fees)

£ 21,700per year

Tuition fees shown are for indicative purposes and may vary. Please check with the institution for most up to date details.

University information

University of Essex

University of Essex

  • University League Table

    30th

  • Campus address

    University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom

VIEW PROFILE
The careers team offer dedicated international careers advice and support throughout studies and after graduation.
Central London is easily accessible from all of the university's campuses.
Gain access to the curriculum from nine European universities through the YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe) virtual campus.

Subject rankings

  • Subject ranking

    History

    58th out of 91 10

  • Entry standards

    / Max 204
    130 64%

    37th

  • Graduate prospects

    / Max 100
    57.0 57%

    77th

    14

  • Student satisfaction

    / Max 4
    3.11 78%

    62nd

    17

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