Department Statement on Racism and Xenophobia

As historians, we are committed to challenging the persistence of racism and xenophobia, wherever they occur. In that spirit, we wish to express our solidarity with the victims of ongoing violence against Black people and people of colour, and take a stand against racist abuse on social media. We need to recognise that there have been instances of racism and xenophobia at Durham. We acknowledge the long history of xenophobia, racial violence and white supremacy that needs to be researched, understood and taught more widely in order to be challenged effectively; we recognize too that this is not a distant problem, nor something in the past, but is a pressing challenge today, for us. We would like to take this moment to renew our commitment to changing our workplace, learning environment and academic discipline for the better. We all have much work to do.

History Department Podcasts

Listen to our podcast, series one on 'Narratives of Resilience', designed as reflections on the current pandemic and the circumstances it creates. Curated by Prof. Giles E. M. Gasper and Department Filmmaker in Residence Alan Fentiman, the series features research from the department on human responses to crisis and disaster, from the Middle Ages to the present day, from North America, to Britain, Europe, and East Asia. Department of History, Durham University, Podcasts.

Any student wishing to study a module in History needs firstly to confirm with their home departments that their programme regulations will allow it, then we ask that you complete the Elective Request Form Department of History, Module Options.

Welcome to the Department of History, ranked 3rd in The Complete University Guide (2021) and The Times Good University Guide (2020). We are a successful, expanding department, engaged in teaching and research across an exceptional range of chronological, geographical and thematic areas.

World Rankings

Durham is one of the world’s leading universities as shown by our world top 100 position in the QS World University Rankings 2021, where we are ranked 86th.

A record 19 Durham subjects are also in the world top 100 of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020, including 11 in the world top 50 and three in the world top ten.

Durham gains highest-ever global ranking in Arts & Humanities

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject 2020 place Durham University 27th among the world’s leading universities – up three places from last year. This is the fifth consecutive year we’ve ranked in the top 30 for Arts and Humanities in this league table.

Contact Us

Department of History
Durham University
43 North Bailey
Durham
DH1 3EX

Tel: +44 (0) 191 334 1048

Athena Swan Award

In October 2018 the Department of History was delighted to achieve the 'Athena Swan Bronze Award' recognising our commitment to advancing women's careers in academia, progressing our students into academia and improving our work environment for all staff. Find out more information here.