British/Imperial History at the University of Kansas

The history of the British Isles, and of British possessions overseas, is among the most historically rich of any area of the world. Two things make Britain so important and unavoidable for the professional historian. First, the momentous nature of what has happened in these islands for the politics, culture, philosophy, economy, science and technology of the rest of the world. Whether we are explaining the rise of parliament and the common law; or the resistance to various forms of European political totalitarianism; or the splitting of the atom, the invention of the computer and the discovery of DNA, we are drawn to British history. Second, the historiography of the British Isles is as extensive and sophisticated as that of any civilization anywhere. Whether in social history, administration, literature, the arts, high or low politics, the sources in Britain survive to a remarkable degree, and a succession of scholars of outstanding ability has been drawn to work on them: we can learn as much about the historian's art by following this historiography as any other. The University of Kansas offers students an integrated array of courses from the earliest times to the present, and concentrating, at graduate level, on the period from c. 1500.

Resources for British history at KU are outstanding. The British Seminar, meeting at the Hall Center for the Humanities, provides a forum for graduate students and Faculty in an interdisciplinary setting. The Watson Library, the main library at the Lawrence campus, is complemented by the Spencer Research Library. This institution, with holdings in manuscripts and printed books from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, is a major collection that may in some ways be compared with the Clark Library and the Huntington Library in California, the Newberry Library in Chicago and the Folger Library in Washington. Kansas is for these reasons far ahead of the resources available at most of its peer universities.

Faculty in the British Imperial at the University of Kansas

All have additional interests outside these areas (described on the History Department's web page). Thematically, they include modern social history, including social policy and criminology; Ireland; religion; political thought; literature; colonial America; cultural and intellectual history.

Guide to Graduate Study

This guide to the field of study, Great Britain and the Empire, is a formal description of the minimum requirements of the Ph.D. and M.A. degrees. It is no substitute for discussion with the graduate advisor in British history, Professor Bailey. If you have any questions concerning the program in Britain and the Empire, please consult him.

Requirements of the Ph.D. Degree

A. Departmental requirements

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, the following departmental requirements must be met. For fuller details, see the Graduate Handbook.

Every doctoral student shall offer three fields: a major field, upon some aspect of which the dissertation shall be written, and two secondary fields. The secondary fields of each student shall be chosen from two different major fields. None of those major fields may be the one including the student's area of emphasis. A field outside of history may be offered as one of the two secondary fields, but a student may offer both secondary fields in history. A student wishing to do a fourth field may petition the Graduate Board.

A reading knowledge of at least two foreign languages, approved by the student's examining committee as appropriate to the student's field of interest, is required. Satisfactory evidence of ability to read one of these languages should be presented before enrollment in the second semester of work toward the Ph.D. degree. The second language requirement must be satisfied by the time the student takes his/her oral comprehensive examination and before enrolling in dissertation hours.*

The comprehensive examination shall consist of a series of written examinations covering each of the student's fields, followed by an oral examination covering all of the fields.

The student will have passed all written exams before the oral comprehensive exam. No student shall be permitted to take the oral part of the comprehensive examination before completing a minimum of five colloquia and seminars; three must be in the major field and one in each of the secondary fields. At least two of the five must be research seminars taken with different faculty members, and, where possible, at least one of these must be taken with the dissertation supervisor.

B. Field Committee Requirements

  • For Ph.D. majors the following basic requirements must be met.
  • Two colloquia or classes in early modern Britain and two colloquia or classes in modern Britain. The specific courses are:
    • 541 British History 1500-1660
    • 833 Colloquium in British History 1500-1660
    • 555 Aspects of British Political Thought
    • 558 Religion in Britain since the Reformation
    • 545 British History 1660-1832
    • 548 British History 1832-Present
    • 830 Colloquium in 18th and 19th Century Britain
    • 831 Colloquium in 20th-Century Britain
    • 836 Colloquium in British Political Thought
    • 837 Colloquium in Religion Since the Reformation
  • Graduate Sequence in British History:
    830 Colloquium in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Britain
    831 Colloquium in Twentieth-Century Britain

The courses need not be taken in any particular order, but all four courses must be taken. These courses are considered to be the core of a student's preparation for the field examinations for Britain and the Empire. Readings courses will be used only if the number of students is too small to warrant a formal course.

Additionally, for the written and oral comprehensive examinations, doctoral candidates will be expected to be familiar with the books required for work in the colloquia and seminar.

The doctoral dissertation is the most important aspect of any doctoral student's program of study. Work on the dissertation will be the primary gauge by which faculty can evaluate the student's accomplishment and potential as an historian. This central concern should be kept in mind as a student selects his or her program of study.

Ph.D. majors in Britain and the Empire are strongly recommended to offer, as one of their secondary fields, Modern European history. They should select the two colloquia in Modern European history which best correspond chronologically with the period of their dissertation.

Examinations for Britain and the Empire are described below, including information for both majors and non-majors at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels.

Otherwise, the student is expected to fulfill the general requirements of the Graduate School (see Graduate School Catalog) and the History Department, and each student should discuss these regulations with Professor Bailey at the moment of first enrollment.

Throughout a doctoral student's program of study the relationship with his/her dissertation director is a fundamental one. A student must declare his/her prospective dissertation director early in the second semester of enrollment in the graduate program. Thereafter, the student is encouraged to consult regularly with his/her dissertation director about any matter concerning their work and about their progress toward the Ph.D. degree. Dissertation directors should approve course selection before each enrollment.

Britain and the Empire as a Secondary Field for History Graduate Students

Ph.D. students with seconda[y fields (i.e. non-majors) in Britain and the Empire should choose any three of the colloquia or classes required of majors for the preparation of their field examinations. Students with secondary fields in Britain and the Empire are expected to be familiar with the books required for work in the colloquia and seminars.

Requirements of the M.A. Degree

A. Departmental Requirements

One of two programs may be selected after consultation with a graduate advisor. Proaram I requires satisfactory completion of 24 hours of course work and a thesis for 6 hours of credit. Proaram 11 requires satisfactory completion of 30 hours of course work, 6 hours of which must be in seminars. Within each program the M.A. student may choose after consultation with a graduate advisor one of the following plans.

PLAN A. Three secondary fields, each from a different major field, may be offered. A secondary field is defined as a significant portion of one of the major fields listed in the Graduate School Catalog. One of the secondary fields may be outside the Department of History, but must be closely related to the student's program in history.

PLAN B. The student may offer a major field and a secondary field that is a significant portion of another major field of history. Each student must take History 805, The Nature of History, or an approved course in the philosophy of history. Students in Program I will take 6 hours of History 899, Thesis, and at least 6 hours of colloquia and a research seminar in the 900 series. Students in Proaram 11 will take at least 9 hours of colloquia and 6 or more hours of seminar, 3 hours of the latter with the student's advisor.

B. Field Committee Requirements

(1) In preparation for their field examinations, M.A. students should select two of the colloquia. These courses are considered to be the core of a student's preparation for field examinations in Britain and the Empire. In addition, M.A. students must take one or two research seminars, according to the program and plan chosen. Though not a requirement, students should seriously consider either taken or auditing one or more of the 500-level courses in British history which corresponds chronologically or thematically to their two colloquia (see the above list). Please consult Professor Bailey for advice on these optional courses. (2) Additionally, for their written and oral comprehensive examinations, masters candidates will be expected to be familiar with the books required for work in the colloquia and seminars selected by the students. (3) For the major who has chosen the thesis option, the M.A. thesis is the most important aspect of his or her program of study. Work on the thesis will be the primary gauge by which the faculty can evaluate the student's accomplishment and his or her potential for further work as an historian. This central concern should be kept in mind as a student selects his or her program of study. (4) Examinations for Britain and the Empire are described below, including information for both majors and non-majors at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. (5) Otherwise, the student is expected to fulfill the general requirements of the Graduate School (see Graduate School Catalog) and the Department of History, and each student should discuss these regulations with Professor Bailey at the moment of first enrollment. Throughout a masters student's program, the relationship with his or her thesis director is a fundamental one. A student who selects the thesis option should declare his or her prospective thesis director early in the first semester of enrollment in the graduate program. Thereafter, the student is encouraged to consult regularly-with his or her thesis director about any matter concerning their work and about their progress toward the M.A. degree. Thesis directors should approve course selection before each enrollment. THE CONDUCT OF WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS FOR THE M.A. AND THE Ph.D. IN BRITAIN AND THE EMPIRE For fuller details, see the Graduate Handbook. For each examination year, the British historians will prepare and conduct written examinations for all students being examined for the M.A. and the Ph.D. in Britain and the Empire.

Major fields for the Ph.D. - Great Britain and the Empire

Secondary fields for the Ph.D. and major and secondary fields for the M.A. are:

  • HIST 836 and 837
  • HIST 837 and 830
  • HIST 830 and 831

The major field examinations for the Ph.D. will consist of two examinations each four hours in length. One will cover early modern Britain, the other will cover modern Britain. Major field examinations for the M.A. and minor (secondary) field examinations for the Ph.D. will be four hours in length. Those for secondary M.A. fields will last two hours.

In the preparation of the written examinations the following conditions will be observed:

  1. Normally a student will write on as many questions as there are hours allotted in the schedule above.
  2. A student will have a choice of at least three times the number of questions to choose from as he/she is required to answer. To assist students in preparing for the examinations, the departmental graduate office will maintain a file of previous examinations which may be consulted by candidates.