HISTORY & HISTORIANS Contested Pasts Queen’s University of Belfast School 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 students

Approach of Module 1) ‘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 & Assessment Part 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 ( 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