Master’s in Twentieth-Century British History
This London-based programme enables students to examine Britain’s history in the twentieth century, focusing on the period from the death of Queen Victoria to Margaret Thatcher’s resignation in 1990. It is led by Simon Heffer, Professor of Modern British History in the University and a leading authority on the period.
The course includes a series of seminars (see below), given by a range of eminent guest speakers, to supplement students’ private research. These will provide a broad chronological survey of the period and an introduction to major themes in the political and social history of 20th century Britain, and are intended to stimulate ideas for research by students. All the seminars (apart from Dr Harris’s, which will be online) are to be held at in the elegant surroundings of the Reform Club, 104 Pall Mall, London SW1, at 6.30 pm on the given dates. Supervisory meetings will be held at the University’s offices at 51 Gower Street, Bloomsbury (near the British Museum) or by video link.
The programme’s main focus is on politics and society, but also discusses cultural history and historiography. Guest speakers will include the contemporary historians Sir David Cannadine, Vernon Bogdanor, David Kynaston, Dominic Sandbrook, Jane Ridley, and Michael Bentley.
Assessment is via a dissertation of approximately 25,000 words on a topic of the student’s choosing, which is completed under the guidance of a supervisor and submitted at the end of the academic year.
2025/26 Seminar Programme
The academic year begins in September and Professor Heffer, as Course Director, will be available to all students before the seminar programme gets under way to discuss dissertation topics and independent research. A full bibliography will be issued to all students in September so that the autumn can also be used for essential background reading.
Seminars and Dinners 2025-2026
Each guest speaker seminar begins at 6.30pm and is followed by a dinner. The cost of all post-seminar dinners is included in the tuition fees.
The seminar meets on selected Thursdays between October and June. Unless otherwise stated, all seminars and dinners take place at Reform Club, 104 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5EW. You can view the location on Google Maps. The nearest Tube Stations are Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross.
Please note that the two seminars marked with an asterisk will take place online.
2 October 2025
Professor Simon Heffer (The University of Buckingham), ‘Edwardian Britain: Myth versus Reality’
*16 October 2025 (online)
Professor Simon Heffer (The University of Buckingham), ‘The Domestic Impact of the Great War, 1914-1919’
Monday 3 November 2025, 10:00-17:00
Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BE
Induction Day for New Research Students in the Humanities
Please note that attendance at the Induction Day seminars is compulsory for all first-year research students.
13 November 2025
Professor David Dilks (University of Leeds), ‘Appeasement Britain: the Rise of Fascism and Political Crisis in Britain during the 1930s’
26 November 2025
Professor Daniel Todman (Queen Mary University of London), ‘The Home Front in the Second World War’
11 December 2025
Professor Sir Vernon Bogdanor CBE FBA (King’s College London), ‘The Evolution of the Post-War Consensus’
15 January 2026
Dr David Kynaston (Historian in private practice), ‘ “They’d never had it so good”: British Society from Suez to the Beatles’
29 January 2026
Dr Tim Aker (The University of Buckingham), ‘The Collapse of the Post-War Consensus and the Rise of the Thatcherite “Right”’
*12 February 2026 (online)
Dr Robin Harris (Former Director of the Conservative Research Department, 1985-88), ‘Margaret Thatcher and her Court: the Iron Lady Observed’
19 February 2026
Dr Geraint Thomas (Peterhouse, University of Cambridge), ‘The Triumph of Labour? Working-class Unrest and the Transformation of Politics in 1920s Britain’
26 February 2026
Professor Michael Bentley (St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford), ‘Writing the History of the Twentieth Century: Modern British Politics and its Historiography’
18 June 2026, 14:30-18:30
Vinson Building and the Humanities Research Institute, University of Buckingham
Research Day in Twentieth-Century British History: ‘The British Empire in the Twentieth Century’
Note: The programme for the Research Day, which will include presentations by current doctoral students and visiting
Graduate studies in twentieth-century British history
Associate Students
For those who wish to attend the seminars and to join the post-seminar dinners with the visiting speakers, it is possible to join the programme as an Associate Student. Associate Students do not enrol for the MA and do not have to submit any written work, but they are otherwise full members of the seminar and free to take part in discussion. There is also a substantially reduced fee.
For further information, please contact humanitiespg-admissions@buckingham.ac.uk