HISTORY & HISTORIANSContested Pasts

Queen’s University of BelfastSchool of History and Anthropology

HIS1001

Aims of Module• To introduce first-year students to

history and its study at university:

– To reflect upon the nature of the historical discipline

– To understand the contested and limited nature of historical knowledge

– To explore the dangers of simplistic explanations

– To provide an awareness of differing viewpoints

– To motivate students and highlight the importance of history

• All part of the QAA (2007) subject benchmarks

Module Design Quandries• Motivation - engaging students with

historiography and difficult conceptual questions

• Sources - encouraging students to approach both primary sources and historical writing in a more critical manner

• Skills - developing disciplinary and learning skills

• Logistics - additional teaching resources for c.160-200 students

Approach of Module1) ‘Contested Pasts’

Provide a discursive framework via three case studies: Crusades, Slavery, Rwandan Genocide

2) ‘Public History’ = The Legacy of the Past

3) ‘Public History’= how history is communicated to the public

Structure & AssessmentPart One (weeks 1-7)• Weekly lectures (two) – two weeks for each case

study• Two-hour tutorials each week• Weekly Online Discussion Forum/Journal• Guest speakers• Individual Essay

Part Two (weeks 8-12)• Group Project (‘Public History’)• Group Presentation (week 12)

Workshop Tasks

• Online Discussion Forums– What are the advantages and disadvantages of

this teaching approach?– Potential difficulties in implementation and

how could these be tackled?

• Group Projects and Presentations– What are the advantages and disadvantages of

this teaching approach?– Potential difficulties in implementation and

how could these be tackled?

Online Discussion Forum• Weekly tutorial journal entries

– Students submit six weekly assignments (400-500 words each) on different sources and ‘public history’

– Journals available for all tutorial students to read

• Discussion– Entries and sources discussed in tutorial– General feedback given online by tutor– Individual marks and feedback after three and six

entries– Follow-up online discussion (outside tutorial time) on

related historiographical or historical questions

• Projects– Discussion Forum used by groups to organise and

discuss project work

Structured Feedback

Online Debate

Group Project & Proposal• Aims

– To design a ‘public history’ project (eg. documentary, exhibition, website, etc) based on one case study

– To explore the difficulties in communicating contested and sensitive history to the public

– To examine the relationship between academic and public history

– To understand the limitations of ‘historical truth’– To work in a team and develop communication

skills

Group Work Approach

Structure– Assigned groups of 3-4 students– Scheduled group work for last four

tutorials– Tutor provides weekly, progressive tasks

for groups– Group Project Proposal of 3,500 words +

appendices– Group presentation (15 min) at final

tutorial

Main Problems– Non-attendance by individuals– Lack of individual contributions

Assessment Approach– A single mark for all students for project proposal;

another for presentation– Students lose 10 marks from project proposal mark for

each of group-work tutorials missed.– Students who miss all four group-work tutorials are

marked absent for both the project and presentation.

Motivation– Four weekly tutorials specifically for group work – task-led

by tutor – weekly discussion/feedback from all students.– Using existing skills and imaginative ideas of group

members– Engaging with sensitive and ‘charged’ historical debates– Prize for best project