Module manager: Dr Adam Cathcart
Email: A.Cathcart@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
This module is not approved as an Elective
Today’s historians are as likely to be involved in debates on the toppling of statues as they are working in an archive. From twitter storms to media controversies, from podcasts to museums, the module helps students think critically about the history that surrounds us. We think about how the political present shapes the terms of academic debate – not only in Britain but around the world – and the impact that historians can have in contributing to public understanding of the past. Students also learn how to communicate their own research to different audiences and through different kinds of media. We explore the ethical implications of public history and the ways in which historians can learn from, as well as inform, the people and communities with which they work.
This module aims to help students understand how history is communicated, consumed, and contested in the contemporary world. Two-hour weekly seminars will allow students to debate and interrogate key issues relating to way that academic historians engage with broad public understandings and perspectives on the past.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically assess the main audiences for history outside of academia.
2. Reflect critically and sensitively on the ethical responsibilities of historians doing public history
3. Apply public history techniques to the study of a chosen aspect of the past
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Employ effective strategies for communicating with non-academic audience.
5. Apply the technical skills to write and present a podcast
6. Work collaboratively to produce a coherent presentation on a methodological aspect of public history
The following is an indicative list of subjects that might be covered in the module:
- Historians and social media
- Contested commemorations in history
- Public history and collective memory
- History and museums
- The ethics of history
- Engaged research and collaborative history
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practical | Delivery type 1 | Number 2 | Length hours 2 |
| Seminar | Delivery type 10 | Number 2 | Length hours 20 |
| Private study hours | Delivery type 278 | ||
| Total Contact hours | Delivery type 22 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | Delivery type 300 | ||
Students will receive written feedback on a 500-word plan for their presentation. Written feedback on the presentation will help students plan for podcast, as will a two-hour podcast training workshop.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment type Presentation | Notes In-class group presentation (20 minutes) | % of formal assessment 50 |
| Assessment type Assignment | Notes Podcast (15 minutes) | % of formal assessment 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | Assessment type 100 | |
Presentation: in-class presentation in small groups that reflects on the methods/techniques of an aspect of public history Podcast: a 15-minute podcast in which a chosen aspect of the past is evaluated for a public audience (students will be encouraged to engage on an aspect of the MA dissertation).
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 18/10/2024
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team