Unit information: Making History Public in 2021/22

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	Dr. James Watts
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	none
Co-requisites	none
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit introduces students to the field of Public History through a multi-layered approach that integrates scholarly reflection with practical engagement (through the medium of external partnerships) to examine various influential areas in the pursuit and application of history beyond the confines of academia (and to introduce students to the increasingly important role of public engagement in the working lives of academic historians): this may include popular history magazines, heritage sites, documentary film, and museums. Meetings alternate between in-house seminars - during which critical concepts and central debates in public history are studied with academic staff - and external sessions with various Bristol-based practitioners of public history: currently, BBC History Magazine, Icon Films and ss Great Britain. With the editor of Britain's best-selling popular history magazine, students contemplate the challenges of presenting history for a broad readership. With the public engagement manager at Arnos Vale, students learn about the issues involved in interpreting a distinguished Victorian cemetery and managing a large, multiple value/multi-use site. With the creative director of Icon Films, students find out how a programme is conceived, from proposal writing and pitching to commissioning. And with museum professionals at the ss Great Britain, students consider the challenges and opportunities involved in running one of Bristol's most popular visitor attractions, which is also attached to a major research facility, the Brunel Institute.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. To develop a critical understanding of debates about the pursuit, application, promotion and communication of historical knowledge beyond academia.
2. To increase understanding of the value of different modes of representing the past through sessions with external partners and site visits
3. To develop a range of writing skills, including a public history proposal as well as conventional academic essays.
4. To reflect on the interface between historical studies as an academic discipline and the broader contexts of popular culture and social trends.
5. To develop an understanding of the increasingly important role of public engagement and applied history in the working lives of professional historians. On successful completion of this unit, students will have an understanding of key issues and debates in PH, and will have examined case studies of documentaries and exhibitions.
6. Students will also have gained an understanding of the concerns that shape the selection and presentation of history in TV documentaries, museum exhibition, heritage site and magazine formats (audience, budgets, narrative and visual requirements, educational and political issue

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including interactive lecture-style sessions and self-directed exercises.

Assessment Information

This unit is assessed by a 2,000 word public history proposal (marked on a pass/fail basis) and a 3,000 word academic essay (worth 100% of the unit mark)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HISTM2016).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.