- On this page
The Department of History covers a broad range of the political and social history of Britain and Europe from the late middle ages to the present, with additional expertise in imperial history and in heritage studies. It has particular strengths in policing and crime (embedded in a multidisciplinary research group), medical history, and imperial history (supported by the University’s multidisciplinary Ferguson Centre for Asian and African Studies). We welcome applications from students interested in studying full- or part-time for a PhD in early modern, modern, international, heritage, imperial or medical history.
Key facts
- Leading national and international role played by the History Department’s European Centre for the Study of Policing and Justice, with close links to social policy colleagues via the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research.
- Leading scholars in the fields of criminal justice history, the history of medicine, early modern, imperial, central European history and heritage.
- Key research areas supported by multidisciplinary groups, notably in criminal justice history, empire, gender and heritage.
- Regular training events enable students to combine training and networking.
- Competitive full-time studentships available, funded by the Faculty of Arts.
- Particular expertise in supporting part-time students.
Facilities
The University houses an important archive of material for police history collected from individuals and organisations from the police service.
The Open University’s library offers outstanding access to one of the UK’s largest collections of online resources, and our postgraduate students benefit from access to collections of both primary and secondary source materials, online journals, periodicals, and other online publications.
Further information
If you have an enquiry specific to this research area please contact:
- Name:
- Professor James Moore, Postgraduate Admissions Tutor
- Email:
- arts-history-pg-enquiries@open.ac.uk
- Phone:
- +44 (0)1908 653266
For general enquiries please contact the Research Degrees Team via the link under ‘Your questions’ on the right of the page.
Publications
Research publications by Open University staff are available through Open Research Online (ORO), the university's repository of research publications and other research outputs. ORO can be searched or browsed by staff name or subject.
The following list, generated from ORO, provides a flavour of the most recently published work in History:
- Coombes, Annie E.; Hughes, Lotte and Karega-Munene, (2013). Managing Heritage, Making Peace: History, Identity and Memory in Contemporary Kenya. London, U.K.: I B Tauris.
- Brunton, Deborah (2013). Health and wellness in the 19th century. Health and Wellness. Santa Barbara: ABC Clio (In Press).
- Mombauer, Annika (2013). The Fischer controversy, documents, and the ‘truth’ about the Origins of the First World War. Journal of Contemporary History, 48(2) pp. 290–314.
- Mombauer, Annika (2013). The Fischer controversy 50 years on. The Journal of Contemporary History, 48(2) pp. 231–240.
- Williams, Chris A. (2013). Directing Britain's police, 1780-1980: from parish constable to the national computer. Manchester: Manchester University Press (forthcoming).
- More publications relating to History
Research degrees
Your questions
For advice about applying for a research degree, or sponsoring a research student, send us an email or call +44 (0)1908 654882.