Do any of the following issues sound interesting to you? Why did Britain have an Empire? How did Hitler come to power? What factors prompted decolonisation after 1945? How did America enter the Second World War?

If so, History is the right subject for you. History is the key subject that helps to inform our understanding of a rapidly changing world. Without this knowledge of the past nobody would be able to comprehend the present. At Coventry, students of History study the evolution and interaction of different states across the globe. Students will have the opportunity to understand the events of their own time by focusing on important developments. This includes the study of war, revolutions, social movements, political struggles and democratic advances in diverse locations including Britain, Europe, the USA, Russia, Latin America and Africa.

• The Rise of the Modern State in Europe, 1860 – 1939
• From Empire to Welfare:Britain 1900-1951
• World Politics: Globalization, Power and Order
• World Politics Since 1945
• Introduction to Political Ideas
• Methods and Approaches in the Social Sciences and Humanities
• The International History of Europe Since 1900
• The Making of Modern Russia
• Mao’s China: from Feudalism to Modernisation
• A History of International Crime
• History of Modern Political Thought
• Britain and the World in the Twentieth Century
• Understanding Society (level one)
• Tradition and Controversy in Social Theory (level two)
• Contemporary British Government

This module will examine the development of the modern state in Europe from the 1860s to the end of the 1930s. In this context, the following topics will be covered: the unification of Italy and Germany; the impact of industrialisation; France under the Third Republic; Nationalism in German and Austria- Hungary; Tsarist Russia; the outbreak of the First World War and its impact on the State in Europe; the Bolshevik Revolution; Russia under Stalin; Fascist Italy; the crises of the international economy, 1919-1939, and National Socialist Germany.

The aim of this module is to analyse the transformation of Britain during the period of transition from late Victorian Imperialism, with its emphasis on individualism and self-help, to the creation of the welfare state. The main themes considered are state-society relations, the effect of social, political and economic change upon the people of Britain and Britain’s changing world role in the first half of the twentieth century.

This module examines the debate concerning globalization and its impact on the international system, especially the issue of whether the state is declining as the central entity in world politics given the rise and significance of non-state actors. It explores how power has been dispersed across this variety of actors, and how these actors interact to establish world order.

The module provides a survey of the major developments in world politics since the end of the Second World War. This includes the dominant relationship between the superpowers, the consequences of decolonisation and the emergence of the 'Third World', the development of European integration and the spread and final collapse of communism and its effect on world politics at the end of the Cold War.

This module aims to introduce students to some of the key concepts employed in the study of politics and to enable them to use them in order to gain an insight into the working of modern political systems and the ideas and theories underlying them. The module specifically examines the concepts of Politics, The State, Nationalism, Anarchism, Political Obligation, Civil Protest, Direct and Representative Democracy.

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the history of the relations between the major European powers in the twentieth century. The foreign policies of Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union will provide the focus of this module. This module will examine the development of the European states system and thereby provide students with the essential background for understanding contemporary Europe.

The module is designed to provide students with an overview of Russian modern and contemporary history from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin. Key personalities and periods will be discussed against the background of enduring themes in Russian development, including chief characteristics of Russian civilisation, popular mentality, competition with the West, reforms and revolutions, state-society relations, and others.

This module examines the history of Mao Zedong's leadership and politics in China, mainly from 1949 to 1976. It analyses the socio-economic and political importance of the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949, the underlying ideological principles of Mao's distinctive path to Marxism, and the main policy achievements of Maoism in the subsequent three decades.

This module, taught entirely in English, aims to provide students with an understanding of the impact of the Mafia and organised crime on Italy, Europe and the world. It furthermore analyses the cinematic representation of the Mafia. Students will also learn about the Mafia wars against the Italian state in the 80s and discuss the way in which the Italian and international mafias have changed after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

This module provides an introduction to the history of modern political thought. It focuses on the following areas of modern political thought: Machiavelli: politics as the pursuit of power; Hobbes, the sovereignty of the secular state; Locke: natural rights and government by consent; Rousseau: the general will and "true" freedom; Burke: tradition, order and the roots of conservatism.

This module examines the main phases of British foreign policy from the 1900s to the twenty-first century. It pays attention to major events such as Appeasement, the Second World War, the Suez Crisis, the Falklands Crisis and the Gulf War. Focus is attached to the Empire and Commonwealth, as well as major relationships with the United States and the European Union.

This introductory module aims to provide students with an understanding of sociology as an academic discipline in the broadest sense. Key aspects of social life in contemporary societies will be examined. Above all, the module seeks to impart an appreciation of a range of sociological perspectives with regard to substantive issues in modern societies.

The purpose of the module is to provide the student with an appreciation of 'classical' social theory – in particular, the work of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Students will be introduced to debates and controversies surrounding their work. As the range and diversity of these three social theorists is immense, this module is necessarily selective, concentrating on particular themes and issues.

This module aims to introduce and analyse the system of government in Britain, with special emphasis on assessing whether these institutions are appropriate for British society in the twenty-first century. Key institutions (such as the Constitution, Parliament, the Cabinet, the Civil Service, local government, and the European Union) will be examined to explore their role in the British political system.