HIS8121 : Dealing With Difficult Pasts: International Public Histories
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Jack Hepworth
- Lecturer: Dr Jen Kain, Dr Nicola Clarke
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module draws upon diverse public history projects from multiple national contexts to introduce postgraduate students to the theory and practice of difficult public history. The team-taught module draws upon international case-studies from experts in Newcastle as well as guest lecturers and experienced public history practitioners from around the world. The module offers resources with which to explore important concepts, themes, and methodologies among public historians and practitioners exploring contested histories. Students will develop critical awareness of how public historians - including curators, activists, academics, broadcasters, and heritage professionals - have addressed difficult pasts around the world.
Outline Of Syllabus
This module considers a range of international case-studies to introduce students to the key theoretical and practical dimensions of difficult public history. Students will explore a range of approaches to public history as 'the use of the past in the present', including important concepts such as:
- History, memory, and historical consciousness;
- Contested memory;
- Legacies of conflict;
- Historical justice and social justice;
- Living history and dark tourism;
- Curating colonial pasts;
- Public history and activism;
- Political uses of the past;
- Shared authority.
Studying public history projects in a range of global contexts, students will develop subject-specific knowledge of unfamiliar case-studies, as well a a broader critical understanding of the theoretical, ethical, and practical considerations which public history practitioners face when addressing difficult and contested pasts. Students will be introduced to some fundamentals of project planning. Skills workshops will introduce key principles of writing for wider publics, planning projects, and developing funding applications.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Two in person lectures with guest lecturers dialled in vitually. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 5 | 1:00 | 5:00 | In-person lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 55 | 1:00 | 55:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 58 | 1:00 | 58:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 7 | 2:00 | 14:00 | Seminars |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 60 | 1:00 | 60:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures introduce students to key case-studies: five lectures take place synchronous in person, and two of the lectures will have external public history practitioners from around the world attending virtually.
Small group teaching allow students to hone their ideas from critical reading and to develop their skills in group work and collaboration.
The module's three workshops scaffold students' skill practices, and are designed specifically to support students' preparation for the module assignments.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reflective log | 2 | A | 40 | For this assignment, students collate their critical reflections - in line with the principles of reflective thinking - through the module (2,000 words) |
| Research proposal | 2 | M | 60 | For this assignment, students complete a grant application for an original public history project (2,000 words) |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 2 | M | Students have the option to submit for feedback a formative assignment. The assignment is a one-page plan of their Research Proposal summative assignment (i.e. the grant application) |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Reflective writing is an important practice for public historians, developing skills in linking theory to practice. Students will be expected to undertake reflection each week and to collate and submit their logs totalling 2,000 words.
Project planning is a core part of the public historian’s toolkit. The project plan is a formative assessment early in the semester, and it helps students to prepare their ideas for the major assignment (the grant application).
Grant-writing represents another vital skill for public history practitioners.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- HIS8121's Timetable