Public History and Society (HIST*3450)

Code and section: HIST*3450*01

Term: Winter 2024

Details

Delivery: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 to 11:20am

Course Synopsis:   

This course examines the “history of History” outside of academic classroom settings, covering some of the diverse ways that commemoration, social memory, and ideas about the past are used (and contested) in modern societies. Focusing on Canada while also accounting for broader patterns in the western world, it traces how governments, companies, and an array of interested parties have directed ideas about the past towards various publics in order to shape their sense of identity and belonging, their understandings of the present and hopes for the future, and their consumption patterns.  

Topics covered include: the use (and abuse) of history for nation-building and nationalist projects; the designation of ‘official’ historical sites and events such as monuments, memorials, centennials, and holidays; the proliferation of memory institutions such as museums and archives; the role of tourism in the rise of heritage preservation; representations of the public past on television, radio, the Internet, and in popular art and literature; and vernacular currents as seen in the work of diverse local historical organizations. 

During the semester students will be introduced to a variety of methodologies and theories that characterize the critical study of public pasts. By the end of the course, they will gain skills in critical thinking, primary source assessment, and communicative writing. Students are expected to keep up with readings and to actively participate in class discussions, and therefore short Reading Notes will be handed in at regular intervals. The other assignments consist of a book review and a paper based on original primary-source research.

Course Format: 

In-person; two 90-minute seminars per week.

Learning Outcomes:  

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Identify and explain key concepts of public history (such as commemoration, tradition, nostalgia, and heritage), and how they can reflect and reshape power relations (political, economic, cultural) in modern societies.
2. Understand how diverse historical perspectives can result from the way historical inquiries are framed by place, culture, and time period.
3. Account for the role of various media in shaping how ideas about history are presented to and received by the public. 
4. Develop a critical understanding of how historical knowledge has been (and is being) used in the public sphere.
5. Summarize and evaluate arguments advanced by historians in academic publications.
6. Assess and interpret primary source materials and critically read secondary material at an advanced level.
7. Develop advanced skills associated with bibliographic research beyond basic search resources.
8. Improve your written analysis and argumentation through two papers.
9. Communicate your ideas and arguments orally, and engage in active listening, through regular, constructive participation in seminar discussions.

Methods of Evaluation and Weights:

• Reading Notes (5x) - 25%
• Book Review and Presentation - 20%
• Paper Proposal - 5%
• Research Paper - 30%
• Participation - 20%

Required Readings:

• Nicole Neatby and Peter Hodgins, eds., Settling and Unsettling Memories: Essays in Canadian Public History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012);
• one (1) recent book on the public past in Canada for the book review assignment, to be selected from a list provided by the instructor;
• other readings, such as articles and book chapters, will be available through Courselink.

*Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.

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