Semester One

100-level

HIST133
Medieval Europe: from Rome to the Black Death
Description
A survey course covering a range of themes in Western European history including social and economic developments, government, religion and warfare (c. 300 - 1400).
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Restrictions
HIST125, HIST130
HIST137
Modern World History
Description
This course explores some of the major ideas and events that have shaped world history since 1945 and asks: Which are stronger, the forces for world unity or the forces for fragmentation? The first half of the course looks at the immediate post-war period. This is the time when Europe declines, European colonies become new nations and the United States of America (U.S.A.) gains power. It is the time of the Cold War when the world is divided by 'an iron curtain' between western capitalist states led by the U.S.A. and eastern bloc communist states centered on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The second half of the course looks at the world after the collapse of communism. We study the global impacts of the struggle for resources and the increasing prominence of terrorism in the modern world.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points

200-level

HIST239
The First World War: Total War in Europe
Description
The First World War is often described as a total war. Between 1914 and 1918 over 9 million combatants were killed and European nations deliberately targeted civilians for attack. Governments gave themselves extraordinary powers over people’s lives as they tried to turn whole societies, economies and cultures to the war effort. The results of this ranged from social and political reform to revolution, genocide and the collapse of empires. Students will explore the war’s impacts on the people of Europe, investigating its origins; military, political and social developments; and the legacies of both peace diplomacy and war cultures. Focusing primarily on Britain, France and Germany, this course asks how the experience and endurance of total war affected Europe, and what this meant for the modern world.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST301, HIST302, HIST305, HIST339
HIST243
Kiwi Culture
Description
This course explores the invention of kiwi culture from first Maori contact with Europeans to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. Key questions asked are: How has national identity formed? What kiwi traditions have emerged? Who is a New Zealander and who is excluded from dominant concepts of nation? What aspects of culture are indigenous and how much is copied from overseas? Topics under examination include key defining moments, peacekeeping, sport and leisure, food, beauty, fashion, arts and crafts, literature and music, kiwi icons, kiwiana, overseas fame, sexuality and morality, environmentalism, national disasters, immigration and multiculturalism.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST352
HIST247
Slavery to Freedom in World History
Description
This course focuses on histories of slavery and bonded labour from the ancient to the modern world. It explores the links between histories of unfree labor, ideas of citizenship and the influence of ‘enlightenment’ thinking in the shaping of modern democracies.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST371
HIST262
Maori and Indigenous Development
Description
This course will examine Maori and Indigenous development. Students will explore both historical and contemporary developments and the factors which have affected Maori and Indigenous engagement with globalisation. For example the course will look at areas such as economic development, education and health, amongst others.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or MAOR or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
MAOR212, HIST379
HIST274
The Soviet Experiment and Its Aftermath
Description
The emphasis is on Russia's 20th century Communist experience and its many legacies in the fast-changing post-Soviet society. Together we will examine the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution and the greatest social experiment in the history of humankind that followed it. The course will explore the roots of Stalinism, the causes and consequences of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, the space race and other Cold War competitions between the superpowers, Gorbachev's reforms and the collapse of the USSR. Was the end of the Communist rule in the Soviet Union predetermined?
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST, EURA, or RUSS, or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
RUSS218, RUSS318, HIST374, EURA214
HIST292
Modern Histories of Ngai Tahu
Description
The story of Ngai Tahu is a fascinating example of a small impoverished community of tribal members who by the 1970s had been reduced to a membership of less than 400. Within two decades this tribe had emerged as one of the largest corporations in the South Island with a tribal membership of over 40,000. It is the largest land-owner in the South Island with significant interests in fisheries and tourism. Explaining how and why this happened will be one of the core themes of this course. The first part of this course will look at some of the early history of Ngai Tahu through to their movement from its pre-contact era to initial contact with early explorers, the settler government and the subsequent land transactions that ran from 1844 to 1864. The second part of this course will trace Ngai Tahu’s claim over nearly 150 years and the concurrent development and implementation of corporate structures. It will then turn to an overview of how Ngai Tahu and the Crown negotiated one of the largest Treaty settlement packages in the nation's history, but also what opportunities and challenges that brings today.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or MAOR, or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
MAOR285
HIST295
Crime, Criminology and Policing in Modern Europe since 1750
Description
Beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, this course traces the development of crime, criminology and policing in modern Europe. Paying particular attention to the rise of competing biological and sociological models of criminality and the birth of forensics, the course examines the social, political and professional implications of attempting to put the investigation, understanding, and punishment of crime on a scientific footing. Topics covered will include: crime and insanity, Lombroso and the born criminal, the professionalisation of policing, and the development of fingerprinting and crime scene analysis.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA, or 60 points at 100 level from Schedules C or E of the BCJ.
Restrictions
HIST395

300-level

HIST339
The First World War: Total War in Europe
Description
The First World War is often described as a total war. Between 1914 and 1918 over 9 million combatants were killed and European nations deliberately targeted civilians for attack. Governments gave themselves extraordinary powers over people’s lives as they tried to turn whole societies, economies and cultures to the war effort. The results of this ranged from social and political reform to revolution, genocide and the collapse of empires. Students will explore the war’s impacts on the people of Europe, investigating its origins; military, political and social developments; and the legacies of both peace diplomacy and war cultures. Focusing primarily on Britain, France and Germany, this course asks how the experience and endurance of total war affected Europe, and what this meant for the modern world.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
HIST352
Kiwi Culture
Description
This course explores the invention of kiwi culture from first Maori contact with Europeans to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. Key questions asked are: How has national identity formed? What kiwi traditions have emerged? Who is a New Zealander and who is excluded from dominant concepts of nation? What aspects of culture are indigenous and how much is copied from overseas? Topics under examination include key defining moments, peacekeeping, sport and leisure, food, beauty, fashion, arts and crafts, literature and music, kiwi icons, kiwiana, overseas fame, sexuality and morality, environmentalism, national disasters, immigration and multiculturalism.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST243
HIST366
Takahi: Colonisation
Description
Colonisation has had a significant effect on the shaping of contemporary New Zealand society. This course will cover key events in the colonisation throughout New Zealand’s brief colonial history. This course utilises different theories of colonisation to critically examine the continued subjugation of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa and around the world. Special attention will also be paid to breaking down the power relationships that have emerged between coloniser and colonised.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CULT, HIST, or MAOR, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
MAOR317, RELS322, CULT302
HIST374
The Soviet Experiment and Its Aftermath
Description
The emphasis is on Russia's 20th century Communist experience and its many legacies in the fast-changing post-Soviet society. Together we will examine the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution and the greatest social experiment in the history of humankind that followed it. The course will explore the roots of Stalinism, the causes and consequences of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, the space race and other Cold War competitions between the superpowers, Gorbachev's reforms and the collapse of the USSR. Was the end of the Communist rule in the Soviet Union predetermined?
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from EURA, HIST, or RUSS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
RUSS218, RUSS318, HIST274, EURA214
HIST379
Maori and Indigenous Development
Description
This course will examine the history of Maori economic development. Students will gain an understanding of recent developments and the factors which have affected Maori engagement with globalisation over the past two hundred years.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST or MAOR, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST262, MAOR212
HIST395
Crime, Criminology and Policing in Modern Europe since 1750
Description
Beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, this course traces the development of crime, criminology and policing in modern Europe. Paying particular attention to the rise of competing biological and sociological models of criminality and the birth of forensics, the course examines the social, political and professional implications of attempting to put the investigation, understanding, and punishment of crime on a scientific footing. Topics covered will include: crime and insanity, Lombroso and the born criminal, the professionalisation of policing, and the development of fingerprinting and crime scene analysis.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or CRJU201 and either CRJU202 or LAWS202, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST295

Semester Two

100-level

HIST127
American History
Description
The history of British America and the US from 1492 to the present.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Restrictions
HIST119, HIST120, AMST127

200-level

HIST253
Renaissance and Reformation Europe
Description
A thematic study of two major transformations in European History between c.1350 and c.1620.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST373
HIST254
Making Imperial Britain, 1780-1914
Description
This course explores social, cultural, political and economic developments in the history of Britain and its empire between 1780-1914. The course focuses mainly on events within the British Isles, but also investigates the expansion and operation of the British empire. A major concern of the course is the development of British identities, which is explored in the context of varying conceptions across the four nations of the British Isles as well as by Britons in the empire.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST376
HIST255
Heroines in History
Description
Heroines' histories will be used to represent different moments of womanhood and femininity, women's place in domesticity, war, religion, education, politics and governance. Themes include spirituality, health and well-being, warrior and regal identities, cross-dressing, martyrdom and untimely death, imperialism, science and technology and glamour. Heroines to be studied include Boadicea, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, Florence Nightingale, Kate Sheppard, Marie Curie, Te Puea, Jean Batten, Rosa Luxemburg and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CULT or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST361, GEND215, CULT336
HIST257
America in Revolution and Civil War
Description
This course explores the basic political ideas and institutions of early America in association with a close examination of the American revolution and the Civil War. It considers ideas from multiple perspectives and by means of close reading of texts of multiple genre including political essays, letters, fiction and autobiography.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST377
HIST268
Te Tiriti: The Treaty of Waitangi
Description
This course uses the Treaty of Waitangi to frame examinations of contemporary New Zealand society. We ask questions designed to highlight and emphasise the relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi to everyday New Zealanders. In addition, the course looks at the importance of this document in the maintenance of Crown and Maori relations. Topics covered range from the signing of the Treaty, and historical developments, to the protest movements and activism of the continuing Maori renaissance period, race relations and one law-for-all.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST, CULT, HSRV, MAOR, POLS, or SOCI, or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
MAOR219, POLS218, POLS258, SOCI209, HSRV207, CULT219
HIST269
The Rise and Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, 1944 - 1991
Description
The end of the Cold War and of Eastern European communism in 1989-1991 did not mean the loss of global interest in developments in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. On the contrary, the recent history of these countries, the period of their post-communist transition to political democracy and a market economy, has been marked with new instabilities, crises and wars which have had serious implications for global trends. This course is designed to provide a broad background to an understanding of the political, socio-economic, and cultural developments in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe as an essential prerequisite to understanding the modern world.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or EURA, or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
EURO226, EURO222, HIST264 (prior to 2006), INCO225, HIST386, EURA226, EURA326, EURO326, HIST329
HIST283
Ethnicity, Racism and Genocide
Description
This course provides a critical introduction to the historical and anthropological study of ethnicity, racism, genocide and migration.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST, ANTH, MAOR, PACS, or SOCI, or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
ANTH223, MAOR230, PACS204, SOCI223
HIST293
Fascism and the Far-Right in Europe
Description
This course examines the rise of Fascist movements in Italy, Germany, France and Eastern Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before considering the far-right and fascist regimes created by Franco, Mussolini and Hitler. The course also reflects on the state of the European radical right today.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST393

300-level

HIST329
The Rise and Fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, 1944 - 1991
Description
The end of the Cold War and of Eastern European communism in 1989-1991 did not mean the loss of global interest in developments in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. On the contrary, the recent history of these countries, the period of their post-communist transition to political democracy and a market economy, has been marked with new instabilities, crises and wars which have had serious implications for global trends. This course is designed to provide a broad background to an understanding of the political, socio-economic, and cultural developments in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe as an essential prerequisite to understanding the modern world.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from EURA or HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
EURA226, EURO226, EURA326, EURO326, HIST269
HIST361
Heroines in History
Description
From the days of the Virgin Mary to the advent of Lorde, this course travels through time critically recovering a wide variety of global and local historical heroines. It moves beyond traditional mythological celebration to consider how women's histories have been told, re-told, and represented. What does it take to become celebrated as an icon or role model? Themes include spirituality, health and well-being, warrior and regal identities, politics, governance and domesticity, cross-dressing, martyrdom and untimely death, imperialism, science and technology, education and glamour.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CULT or HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST255, CULT336
HIST372
Contested Heritage: Politics, Power and Practice
Description
This course provides students with a hands-on introduction to the study of heritage. We explore ways we might understand and interpret contemporary heritage practices in a range of contexts, including post-earthquake Christchurch.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
SOCI388, ANTH388
HIST373
Renaissance and Reformation Europe
Description
A thematic study of two major transformations in European History between c.1350 and c.1600.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST253
HIST376
Making Imperial Britain, 1780 to 1914
Description
This course explores social, cultural, political and economic developments in the history of Britain and its empire between 1780 and 1914. The course focuses mainly on events within the British Isles, but also investigates the expansion and operation of the British empire. A major concern of the course is the development of British identities, which is explored in the context of varying conceptions across the four nations of the British Isles as well as by Britons in the empire.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST254
HIST377
American Revolution and Civil War
Description
An examination into the origins of popular government, the genius of American revolutionary politics, and the Civil War which ended slavery.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST257
HIST393
Fascism and the Far-Right in Europe
Description
This course examines the rise of Fascist movements in Italy, Germany, France and Eastern Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before considering the far-right and fascist regimes created by Franco, Mussolini and Hitler. The course also reflects on the state of the European radical right today.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST293

Summer Nov

200-level

HIST278
America and the World into the 21st Century
Description
This course provides an overview of American foreign policy and domestic politics in the second half of the twentieth century.
Occurrences
Summer Nov 2023 start
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST364

300-level

HIST396
Independent Course of Study
Occurrences
Summer Nov 2023 start
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA. Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

Not Offered Courses in 2024

Summer Jan

200-level

HIST294
Recovering Christchurch 1850-2010
Description
As a systematically planned new world city on the edge of empire Christchurch has always been a fascinating place to study. Whose stories have formed the city's written collective memory, and what has been left out? Due to the earthquakes from 2010 the city has a unique rupture, or ending point for its colonial past. As Christchurch considers its future, this course critically remembers its history. Significant aspects of the social, cultural, political and economic history of the South Island's largest city will be investigated through a series of lectures and documentary exercises. Students will gain an overall knowledge of the city's urban history, with opportunity to focus on advanced research topics.
Occurrences
HIST294-24SU1 (C)
Summer Jan 2024 start - Not offered
For further information see HIST294 course details
Points
15 points
Prerequisites
Any 15 points at 100 level in HIST or CLAS120, or any 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
HIST394