History with Film Studies

History with film studies is a combination that reflects on how our understanding of the past has been shaped by the most powerful visual medium of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. History asks what happened, why, and what it means, using the evidence that survives to reconstruct and interpret the past. Film studies brings a different and complementary perspective: how has moving image represented history, what choices have filmmakers made in depicting historical events and periods, and what can those choices tell us about the societies and moments in which the films were made?

This three-year, full-time programme at the University of Essex develops your historical knowledge and research skills alongside your ability to analyse films and screen media as historical documents and cultural artefacts. You will explore how the study of history and the study of film illuminate each other, how the advent of cinema has changed the way history is documented and experienced, and how historians have used film as both a primary and secondary source. The combination is particularly suited to students interested in twentieth-century history, memory studies, propaganda, and the relationship between popular culture and historical consciousness.

Graduates pursue careers in teaching and education, journalism, the cultural sector, broadcasting, archiving and heritage, and academic research. The combination of historical analytical skills and media literacy is valuable in roles that require both rigorous research and the ability to engage popular audiences with historical content. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in history, film studies, media history, or cultural studies, and the degree provides a strong foundation for academic research careers in either discipline or in the interdisciplinary spaces where they meet.