This short course focuses on one form of public history practice and engagement: heritage.
It examines the relationships between the heritage sector and issues such as identity, nostalgia, social inclusion, and the normalisation of cultural values. Drawing on links with professional expertise in the field the module looks closely at techniques for staging, curating, designing, and storytelling about the past. Students think about what ‘authenticity’ means in the context of heritage sites, and they consider what type of ‘experience’ of the past are provided at such sites for audiences.
This course has a contemporary relevance, culturally, politically, and in vocational terms because heritage has never been more popular than it is at present, but also because the need to critique what kinds of historical narratives are offered within the public space is increasingly recognised, both within and beyond universities
In terms of its vocational dimension, you will study the work of museums, galleries, and heritage sites as producers and gate-keepers of historical knowledge. You will discuss issues such as what historical knowledge is for, whose interests it serves, and who has the power to decide what counts as legitimate historical knowledge.
The course is aimed at people who want to think more deeply about what heritage means in the 21st Century. It is a module on the MA in Public History. Any credit gained on this course can be counted towards the master's degree.
Dates and times
All classes run on Wednesday afternoons on a fortnightly basis from 2-5pm.
The course will run:
- 5th February 2025 - 28th May 2025.
Location
This course will be held at our main campus in Twickenham.
Price
This course can be taken without assessment for £1,300.
The full cost of this course with assessment is £1,550.
St Mary's University alumni, members of staff, and volunteers of Chiswick House will receive a 20% discount.
Content
Students engage with the discourses of public history, heritage, and tourism through the study of a range of sites in West London presented variously to the public as part of Britain’s ‘heritage’.
These sites include Strawberry Hill House, Ham House, Orléans House, Hampton Court Palace, Marble Hill House, and Richmond town centre.
Students observe and critique their current presentation to the public, engaging with issues such as
- the constructed narrative of the building/site
- its ‘preferred’ meanings and significance
- how particular spaces within it are presented in light of that narrative
- considering alternative constructions of the past which might be offered through its physical remains.
Requirements
None but the department will be in touch for a friendly chat after your registration.
Assessment
For participants who choose not to undertake the assignments, a certificate of attendance will be provided.
Participants who complete and pass the course assessments will receive a certificate of accreditation at master’s level.
Students will produce an exhibition piece, which counts for 70% of the mark. Students are required to produce a digital format piece of work that is suitable for display at an end of module exhibition.
Students might produce a presentation in the following formats:
- a website
- a podcast
- a short film
- a set of artefacts arranged as a display
- a history blog
- recorded and transcribed oral interviews
- a plan and guide for a historical walking tour of a space of place of which they have made particular study.
It should represent the equivalent of an essay of 5,000 words.
The second assessment should be a commentary on exhibition piece/output. This is worth 30% of the assessment process.
A written critical commentary that positions the exhibition output within the academic discourse of public history and heritage presentation. It should critique the exhibition in 2,500 words.
Award
Upon successful assessment, learners will be awarded 30 master's-level (Level 7) academic credits. Credits may be transferred onto existing master's degrees at St Mary’s University.
Select a course
Please select which course you would like to book on to:
For more information about this course please contact the Short Courses team: