The recent and ongoing 'culture wars' over monuments and historic sites linked to slavery and colonialism have underscored the fact that public engagement with the past has serious ethical and political implications.
This short course encourages students to think deeply about the nature of this public engagement, and to think practically about ways of involving under-represented demographics in discussions about the relevance of the past in the present.
This course has a contemporary relevance culturally, politically, and in vocational terms because public history 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, archives, 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 public history and heritage mean 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:
- 27th September 2023 - 20th December 2023.
Prices
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
This module encourages you to think deeply about the meanings, practices and history of public history.
It aims to equip you with critical vocabularies and conceptual frames. These will include, but are not limited to:
- understanding ideas about shared authority over representations of the past
- analysing the genealogy of public history as a concept and its main usages now
- evaluating the distinction between the ‘practical past’ and ‘historical past’
- continuing to reflect on the ways in which ‘past talk’ is invoked in current political debates and controversies, including those that relate directly to ‘contested pasts’ and notions of ‘unwanted heritage’.
Throughout the module students will discuss issues such as:
- what is public history?
- nostalgia and the heritage industry
- careers and professional practice in the museums, galleries, and heritage sectors
- museums, memorials, and sites of conscience
- hidden and marginal histories in the archives
- family and personal pasts.
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.
The two assessments include:
The production of a public history presentation for a student exhibition which is worth 60%.
Students might produce a presentation in the following formats:
- a podcast
- short film
- recorded and transcribed oral interview(s)
- the design of a historical walking tour
- materials produced and arranged for a gallery exhibition
- a history blog
- a newspaper feature or comment piece
- and other forms of output to be discussed by student and tutor.
The time spent researching and producing the presentation should be broadly equivalent to the work required to produce a 4,000 word essay. The pass mark for this component is 50%.
A 3,000 word critical commentary with 40%.
Students are required to situate their exhibition presentation within a critical discussion of public history practices and specialist scholarly writing.
They are expected to draw on a wide range of academic texts, to show a sophisticated understanding of key concepts in the public history field, and to present their work using the conventions of academic writing. The pass mark for this component is 50%.
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.
Book your place now
For more information about this course please contact the Short Courses team: