New GCEs for 2008



GCE History (2040)

AS outline

At AS, this specification supports historical study that should promote an understanding of change and development over time (Unit 1) plus an understanding of change over a short period studied in depth (Unit 2).

The AS specification has 2 units:

Unit 1

Topic list

  • The Crusading Movement and the Latin East, 1095–1204
  • Britain, 1483–1529
  • The Reformation in Europe, c1500–1564
  • Britain, 1603–1642
  • Absolutist States: The Reign of Louis XIV, 1661–1715
  • France in Revolution, 1774–1815
  • Britain, 1815–1865
  • Tsarist Russia, 1855–1917
  • The Development of Germany, 1871–1925
  • Russia and Germany, 1871–1914
  • Britain, 1906–1951
  • USA, 1890–1945
  • Totalitarian Ideology in Theory and in Practice, c1848–c1941.

Assessment

Written Paper:1 hour 15 minutes
Weighting:50% of total A/S marks/25% of total A Level marks

Written paper chosen from one of 13 options. 2 questions to be answered from a choice of 3 two-part questions. Tests understanding of change over time.

Unit 2

Topic list

  • Conqueror and Conquest, c1060–1087
  • The Church in England: the Struggle for Supremacy, 1529–1541
  • The Reign of Henry IV of France, 1589–1610
  • Britain, 1629–1642: the Failure of Absolutism?
  • The Reign of Peter the Great of Russia, 1682–1725
  • Challenging British Dominance: the Loss of the American Colonies, 1754–1783
  • The Forging of the Italian Nation, 1848–1871
  • Britain and Appeasement, 1919–1940
  • A New Roman Empire? Mussolini’s Italy, 1922–1945
  • The Impact of Stalin’s Leadership in the USSR, 1928–1941
  • Life in Nazi Germany, 1933–1945
  • Anti-Semitism, Hitler and the German People, 1919–1942
  • The Impact of Chairman Mao: China, 1946–1976
  • The Campaign for African-American Civil Rights in the USA, 1950–1968
  • The USA and Vietnam, 1961–1975
  • A Sixties Social Revolution? British Society, 1959–1975
  • Liberal Democracies: Power to the People?
  • Britain, 1902-1918: The Impact of New Liberalism

Assessment

Written Paper:1 hour 30 minutes
Weighting:50% of total AS marks/25% of total A Level marks

Written paper chosen from one of 17 options. 1 compulsory two-part, source-based question + 1 structured two-part question from a choice of 2. Tests understanding of a significant period of history in depth.





Key documents


Further information