Department of International History, LSE

Call Directions Website Contact the university

Department of International History, LSE LSE's Department of International History teaches and conducts research on the international history

LSE's Department of International History teaches and conducts research on the international history of Britain, Europe and the world from the early modern era up to the present day. The department encourages debate and discussion of past events and historical controversies. Within an international framework its members explore such major subjects as the causes and conduct of wars; the crafting of peace settlements; the development of societies over time and their transnational connections; the emergence of empires and their governance; the rise of nationalism; the interactions between the state and religious beliefs; colonialism and decolonization; civil wars and insurgencies; the world wars of the twentieth century; and the development and ramifications of the Cold War. With a permanent academic staff of 27, around 190 postgraduate students, and 300 undergraduates, we are a large, diverse and welcoming Department, whose members are drawn from all over the world. We are committed to academic excellence and providing an absorbing learning environment for all our students, who we aim to give the fullest possible opportunity to fulfil their full potential. The Department of International has performed impressively in several recent university league tables. The QS World University History Subject Table for 2019 ranks History at LSE 6th overall in the world and one of 3 UK and European universities in the top 10.

The LSE-Yale Seminar in Contemporary International History — a joint seminar between the LSE International History Depar...
02/10/2026

The LSE-Yale Seminar in Contemporary International History — a joint seminar between the LSE International History Department and the Department of History at Yale University — starts on Tuesday 13 October (6pm UK) with it’s first seminar ‘Catholic Anticommunism, the Spanish Civil War and State Building in Colombia, c.1930-53.’ delivered by Dr Charlotte Eaton.

Email Tanya Harmer ([email protected]) to register for either in-person on online attendance.

A couple snaps from our Welcome “Pub” Quiz last night!Thanks to all the teams who turned out to tussle for the top spot ...
02/10/2026

A couple snaps from our Welcome “Pub” Quiz last night!

Thanks to all the teams who turned out to tussle for the top spot and of course a huge thanks to Dr Paul Keenan who drove proceedings as our resident Quizmaster.

Looking forward to the next instalment in the Winter Term!

Join us on Tuesday 20 October for the launch of Professor Marc Baer’s recently released book “Children of Abraham: The S...
01/10/2026

Join us on Tuesday 20 October for the launch of Professor Marc Baer’s recently released book “Children of Abraham: The Story of Jewish-Muslim Relations”.

Muslims and Jews have lived together for more than 1,400 years, in relationships shaped by cooperation and conflict. Yet contemporary debate often reduces this complex history to antagonism alone.

Professor Marc David Baer discusses his latest book, Children of Abraham: The Story of Jewish-Muslim Relations, his timely new account of two groups whose intertwined histories continue to shape our world.

From seventh-century Arabia to medieval Spain to the Modern Middle East, Baer challenges myths and counter-myths, offering a vital conversation about history, memory and understanding.

To register for this event, visit the Events tab on our website (see the link in our bio).

The Sceptic Isle, which offers a bold new reinterpretation of the British experience in World War II, was published by O...
29/09/2026

The Sceptic Isle, which offers a bold new reinterpretation of the British experience in World War II, was published by Oxford University Press on 27 August.

Professor Casey's publicity for the book has included: speaking on the BBC HistoryExtra podcast; lecturing at the National Army Museum, in the opening event at the Chelsea Literary Festival (4 September); delivering a livestream lecture on WW2 TV (23 September); writing the following articles: ‘Persuasion Not Coercion: British Politics in the Second World War’ and ‘Page 99 Test: The Sceptic Isle'; and being interviewed by Hugo Rifkind on Times Radio (27 August) and Paul Ross on TalkSport (18 September), after The Sceptic Isle was chosen as Talk Radio’s book of the week.

You can find links to all the above on the News page of our website!

Applications are open for our Masters programme, LSE-PKU Double Degree in MSc International Affairs!Organised jointly by...
29/09/2026

Applications are open for our Masters programme, LSE-PKU Double Degree in MSc International Affairs!

Organised jointly by LSE and Peking University (PKU), this double master’s degree offers an outstanding opportunity for graduate students and young professionals to study the international relations of China and the Asia Pacific region, as well as the theory and history of global international relations.

Application deadline: 22 March 2027

You'll engage at an advanced level with the latest academic research and undertake your own research-based term work and dissertation. This programme will be a good preparation for further research work or for a career in education, public administration or the private sector, the media, politics and law.

Assessment is primarily by examination, although some courses also have an assessed course work component. The courses in London will be taught in English, while those in Beijing will be taught in Chinese or English, giving students a choice about which language they want to use for their study.

Once you successfully complete your studies at both institutions, you'll be conferred Master Degree of Law and Master Degree of Sciences by PKU and LSE respectively.

Full details here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/graduate/lse-pku-double-degree-in-msc-international-affairs

Last week we kicked off the 2026/27 academic year with Welcome Week, which saw new cohorts of students at undergraduate,...
28/09/2026

Last week we kicked off the 2026/27 academic year with Welcome Week, which saw new cohorts of students at undergraduate, master’s and PhD level join us on campus for a range of induction events.

It proved to be a very busy week for our new students and staff with a packed itineraries all round!

These photos show our students and staff at our undergraduate, master’s and PhD receptions. These Welcome receptions offer students the chance to take a load off after busy (sometimes frantic!) starts to the year and to make connections with others in their cohort. Hopefully, connections they will hold on to for years to come! 😁

From us the IH department, we wish all our new students the warmest of welcomes and we look forward to getting to know you over the coming year! 🎉😎🙌

While doing fieldwork in Zambia (mid-April to mid-June), Santiago Garcia-Pardo (PhD candidate) participated in the South...
25/09/2026

While doing fieldwork in Zambia (mid-April to mid-June), Santiago Garcia-Pardo (PhD candidate) participated in the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) podcast series, where he was interviewed about his research on Chile-Zambia relations and CIPEC, as well as the experience of conducting archival research in Zambia.

Watch this podcast in full in here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpZK5nZq_wI

The highly successful “International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond” authored by the Department’s Professor...
24/09/2026

The highly successful “International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond” authored by the Department’s Professors Antony Best and Kirsten Schulze, alongside Jussi Hanhimaki and Joseph Maiolo, has just been published in Greek.

https://utopiapublishing.gr/book/diethnis-istoria/

Join us on Monday 26 October as we (with the Department of Gender Studies and LSE Library) host a roundtable of internat...
23/09/2026

Join us on Monday 26 October as we (with the Department of Gender Studies and LSE Library) host a roundtable of international experts in 'Women of the world unite: the UN Decade for Women and transnational feminisms 1975 to now.'

n 2025, the Women’s Library at LSE organised an exhibition Women of the World Unite: The UN Decade for Women and Transnational Feminisms 1975 to Now to mark the fifty years since the United Nations declared 1975 the International Women’s Year and held the first in a series of conferences to mark the UN Decade for Women.

This cross-disciplinary LSE roundtable discussion and conversation between three world-leading scholars of transnational feminism reflects on the vibrancy, diversity and contestations of transnational feminisms across time and place and on the legacies of the UN Decade for Women and broader movements of transnational feminism historically and in our contemporary moment.

The UN Decade for Women 1975 was a seminal moment in advancing and galvanising transnational feminist struggles. The LSE exhibition highlighted the multifaceted plural nature of feminist struggles around the world, which called for equality alongside struggles against slavery, suffrage, imperialism. colonialism, fascism, capitalism, and militarism.

Register for this event here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/women-of-the-world

This two-year programme is taught by the National University of Singapore and the London School of Economics. It’s desig...
23/09/2026

This two-year programme is taught by the National University of Singapore and the London School of Economics. It’s designed for students interested in studying Asia from an international perspective. The programme is also well-suited for those interested in decentering international history by studying it from an Asian perspective.

Application deadline: 15 March 2027

During your first year at NUS, you’ll be introduced to a wide range of contemporary historical methods, focusing on major historians, current debates about historical practice, theoretical history, and historical interpretation.

This is complemented by a choice of electives covering modern Southeast Asia, Singapore, modern East Asia, China, America, and modern Europe. You’ll also study topics like imperialism and empire, the Cold War, military history, cultural history, and oral history.

In your second year at LSE, you can choose from a wide selection of International History courses ranging from the Ottoman Empire to twentieth-century Southeast Asia. Thematically, courses cover everything from war and peace, to the history of race and gender. While you’ll have the option to study European, North American, South American, and African History, this degree allows you to centre your studies on Asian history in all its rich variety.

These Asian history courses can be further complemented by specialist options on Asia from the Departments of Economic History, Government, Anthropology, and Geography.

For full details here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/graduate/lse-nus-double-degree-ma-asian-and-international-history

Address

Houghton Street
London
WC2A2AE

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+442079556174

Website

, ,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Department of International History, LSE posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to Department of International History, LSE:

Shortcuts

Share

Category