| Unit name | Making History Public |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM2016 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Coates |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Successful completion of HISTM0023 |
| Co-requisites |
none |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit examines the relationship between academic research and the issues surrounding the pursuit, application, promotion and communication of historical knowledge beyond the traditional confines of academia. Through working with a particular external partner, Making History Public' enables students to engage in depth with an area of historical studies that particularly interests them, and to consider the relationship between research in this area, and the ways in which it is represented in the public spehere. This unit aims to deepen understanding of debates about public history and its relationship to the practices and products of academic history. It seeks to familiarise students with differing modes of representing the past and to acquaint them with the increasingly important role of public engagement in the lives of university-based historians. At the core of the unit is a Placement with an external partner, equivalent to ten days' work, that attaches students to a project/initiative/activity that the partner is pursuing and to which students can make a valuable contribution.
Aims:
This unit aims to deepen understanding of debates about public history and its relationship to the practices and products of academic history. It seeks: to familiarise students with issues surrounding the pursuit, application, promotion and communication of historical knowledge beyond the traditional confines of academia; to increase understanding of the value of differing modes of representing the past; and to enhance appreciation of fundamental issues about the nature of history, and the role of public engagement.
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will have developed a critical understanding of debates about the pursuit, application, promotion and communication of historical knowledge beyond the traditional confines of academia. Students will be able to interrogate the relationship between the production of historical knowledge within the academy, and the circulation of knowledge about the past in public discourse. Students will be able to think critically about the techniques whereby academic history is produced, and the challenges posed by the public engagement agenda.
The unit will be taught through a combination of seminars and tutorials, guided reading and independent study.
The assessment is assessed through two pieces of work: the first assignment is a 3,000 word essay inspired by the placement that reflects on issues raised by the placement within the context of relevant scholarly literature.
The second piece of work (assessed on a pass/fail basis) is a Product (broadly defined) based on the Placement. The nature of this Product can vary enormously. It may take the form of a briefing document, a series of recommendations or a guide to a museum's collections for a particular visitor constituency (such as children). In some instances, the Product will simply take the form of a report, based on a diary/work file that all students should keep, on the work undertaken during the Placement.
