Course Resources Archive

The historical novel, film or television series are all hugely popular genres. As such they give rise to crucial questions about key concepts such as fact and fiction, identity, the role of the past in the present; questions such as: what falsehoods enter our collective memory as truths; how is one to know what is real and what is imagined -- or ignored -- by producers, directors, or writers? This module will introduce students to these and to the many other different ways the past is put to use in the present and which give rise to a huge range of historical ‘texts’. Alongside those already noted this module will aim to explore something of this range. The past can be seen to be consumed in the present in the form of the museum; as heritage; as component of national identity; as public history; in the built and natural landscape; in various different forms of media. In exploring these representations the aim will be to give students a good grounding in this area, aspects of which they will be able to develop in Level Six.

Module content will vary from year to year but will always focus on the diverse ways history is represented to the wider audience and will explore the importance of the past as a medium through which people strengthen their sense of belonging, and derive inspiration. The module will, nevertheless, take texts, and literary texts in particular, as its starting point and then seek to broaden out student understanding of the idea of the ‘text’ and differing representations of the past.

The module will therefore begin with an introductory explanation of the broad range of historical texts. It will then move onto consideration of literary, televisual and cinematic historical texts in some depth. The second half of the module will take more of a case study approach with actual topics varying from year to year. These will nevertheless focus on questions such as the way in which the past has been used to construct a sense of national identity and ways in which the public consumption of the past has been re-worked as ‘heritage’. This is seen most often and most obviously in museums and possible topics here include the art and science of communication (heritage interpretation) and the role of the museum in identity constructs. The public history movement, seen as a radical challenge to such positions of power and the very different ways in which the past is deployed as public history, is another possible theme. Landscapes are also key historical texts and the past is also multi-represented in the present through various forms of media. By the end of the module, therefore, students should have a significantly deeper grasp of the nature of the historical text and the way it is put to use in the present.

A student passing this module should be able to:

1. Show a good level of understanding of the nature of the historical text and the ways it is put to use in the present.

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the debates surrounding the representations of historical subjects in different media, most notably literary, televisual and cinematic historical texts.

1. Demonstrate the ability to ‘read’ and criticise different historical ‘texts’ and locate them in their contexts

1. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the use of the past as a resource by commercial, educational and conservation institutions.

1. Communicate complex ideas in a variety of ways.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.