History

How does Ukraine protect its monuments in the current war? What policies should Dutch authorities develop concerning art stolen during the Second World War? What should be done with disputed statues related to Europe's colonial past?.These types of questions are pressing in our changing world, in which conflict and inequality necessitate us to rethink our attitudes towards the past and its cultural and material heritage. The Master's track History and Heritage Consultancy at the University of Groningen teaches you how to expertly approach questions about the meaning and uses of (contested) heritage. The track is unique in its dual focus on historical analysis of heritage and professional skills—such as effective communication, grant writing and project management—required for working in the heritage and public sector.

History and Heritage Consultancy offers a broad range of methodological and research courses, which allows for a specialization in your personal field of interest and flexibility in your planning. You learn to interrogate the complexities of history and heritage present in buildings, objects, practices, customs and opinions of the past. You also develop relevant professional skills—for example, by completing assignments for public or heritage institutions, such as the Groninger Museum—which prepare you for immediate employment in the field of history and heritage.

You can follow this programme both full-time and part-time. If you wish to enrol to this programme per 1 February, please contact the study advisers.

How can historians help tackle problems within organizations? How can historical knowledge and skills contribute to detecting blind spots in organizations and thereby improve their effectiveness and social impact?.The Master's track History and Contemporary Politics at the University of Groningen prepares you to answer these types of questions about the inner workings of organizations. You are taught how to gain historical insight in long-term problems within organizations and how to solve these, after which you become an expert in using the past to solve current issues. The track is unique in its implementation of historical thinking to all kinds of organizations.The track focuses on the interconnection of politics and policy, democracy and legitimacy, and on the implementation and legal aspects of policy. You will contribute to solving societal problems by implementing historical knowledge and research by developing Learning Histories. This theory-based but practically applicable method requires the writing of a learning history that reveals certain blind spots within an organization's past by analyzing sources and conducting interviews. During your studies, you will be assigned to an organization to develop and practice these skills in a practical manner.You can follow this programme both full-time and part-time. If you consider to enrol in February, please contact the study advisers.

Could climate change have impacted the fall of the Roman Empire? How do societies historically cope with crises, such as flooding or warfare? How can we understand wealth disparities from a historical perspective?.Contemporary societies face many crises that put the sustainability of our communities under strain. Because these sustainability crises often trace their roots back to the past, historians possess unique knowledge and skills to help develop solutions to these challenges in the fields of policy, applied research, and education at national and international levels.

The Master's track History, Sustainability and Society (HSS) trains students who are passionate about seeking answers to contemporary societal crises of sustainability from a historical global perspective. Located at the heart of the Hanseatic city of Groningen, the second oldest university in the Netherlands, you will be taught by international colleagues from across the History Department. You will also have the opportunity to attend guest lectures and classes from related disciplines at the Faculty of Arts, for example, International Relations, Politics, and Arctic Studies.

As an HSS student, you will follow the core course of the track 'Crises of Sustainability: Historical and Global Perspectives'. We will discuss the conditions that have created crises and undermined sustainability, ranging from the most recent global wars and conflicts to the Industrial Revolution and the Crusades, and the collapse of the Roman Empire. You will learn methods and sources for studying crises historically, but also strategies to address them in our time.

For the remaining courses, the HSS programme allows you to build your own trajectory by deepening into the themes of environment (including fossil fuels, agriculture and water), health and wellbeing, economic development, and conflicts and wars. You can do so by choosing from research seminars and methods courses, and the hands-on course ‘Masterclass' (see Programme). In the HSS track, you also have a unique opportunity to undertake an internship (MA work placement) at the institution of your choice and under the mentorship of our academic staff members. Thanks to our collaboration with the Arctic Centre, you will also be able to collaborate with a vast network of Dutch and International partners who work on cooperation projects about sustainable development and the relationship between humans and the environment. All these options offer a distinctive way to explore labour market pathways in a guided and structured manner.

You can follow the HSS programme both full-time and part-time. If you wish to start this programme on 1 February, please contact the study advisors.

Check our MA History Instagram page for the student-led and other research activities.