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Accessibility statement
Qualification dates
StartEnd
03 Oct 2026Jun 2027
30 Jan 2027Sept 2027
Europe changed dramatically in the century following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. In this module, you’ll explore these transformations through the themes of ideas, power, and everyday life. You’ll engage with a rich variety of sources, from governmental reports, diary entries, and oral testimonies to film, propaganda posters and pop songs. You’ll use online databases to conduct your own historical research, and you’ll engage with the latest historical scholarship. By studying this module, you’ll deepen your understanding of contemporary European history and explore the origins of some of the most pressing issues facing Europe today.
The module is divided into the following three blocks:
Block 1: The Fall of Europe, 1914–1945
This block traces the history of Europe from the outbreak of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. You’ll explore how the First World War was experienced by different groups across Europe and how this conflict led to sweeping political and cultural changes. You’ll learn about vibrant interwar culture and ideological struggle between fascism, communism and liberal democracy. You’ll end this block by exploring the worst moral moment: the Second World War and the Holocaust.
Block 2: The Renewal of Europe, 1945–1989
In this block, you’ll learn about the reconstruction of Europe after 1945 and how two competing visions of Europe emerged in East and West. You’ll explore how and why Europe was divided into hostile camps during the Cold War. You’ll learn how decolonisation transformed European politics and societies, before exploring European culture during the ‘revolutionary’ 1960s. This block also examines how economic crisis and societal discontent challenged governments across Europe, before discussing how and why the Cold War ended.
Block 3: A New Europe, 1989–2014
In the third block, you’ll explore how Europe was initially reunified after the Cold War, and how some of the optimistic assumptions about Europe’s future were progressively challenged between 1989 and 2014. You’ll learn how optimism around European integration and a ‘post-national’ Europe was countered by the rise of nationalist political parties. You’ll explore the theme of war, from the Yugoslav Wars to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. You’ll also examine how neoliberal economic policies transformed Europe after 1989. At the end of the block, you’ll learn about collective memory and commemoration, and why different societies choose to remember – or forget – certain events in European history between 1914 and 2014.
Each block concludes with a Review and Reflect week. In addition to giving you time to review each block, these weeks include live sessions with OU academics and advanced study skills sessions and activities to help you with upcoming tutor-marked assignments.
This is an OU level 3 module. OU level 3 modules build on the skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at OU levels 1 and 2.
Although no particular modules are required before studying this one, we advise that having taken at least one arts and humanities or social sciences module at OU levels 1 or 2 would be advantageous.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
Before starting the module, we’d encourage you to read one or more overviews of Europe since 1914. Here are some suggestions, which you’ll also encounter in the module:
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You will be provided with two module textbooks and have access to a module website, which includes:
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying A337 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
 Europe 1914-2014: the remaking of a continent starts twice a year – in February and October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026 and February 2027.
We expect it to start for the last time in February 2038.
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