1. Australian Curriculum: History (Senior) Update and Advice Dec 2012 Ingrid Purnell Manager, Publishing and Australian Curriculum Projects History Teachers’ Association of Victoria

2. Background Howard government convened Australian History Summit in 2006 to develop national curriculum in History, with Australia as key component Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) established by Rudd government in 2008 Phase 1 subjects (highest priority): English Mathematics Science History Australian Curriculum (AC) History (Foundation–10): Being implemented in some form from 2013 in the majority of states and territories. In Victoria it comes under AusVELS Senior AC History (11–12): Yet to be confirmed Two courses have been proposed: Ancient History and Modern History States and territories have given feedback to ACARA Australian Curriculum

3. Current ACARA draft: Ancient History Acknowledgments to Pat Hincks for course summaries Unit 1: Investigating the Ancient World Focus The nature of evidence of the ancient past Interpretations and representations The preservation, ownership and display of ancient materials Topic 1 Study ONE of the following ancient sites, events, individuals or groups: Site: Thera (Santorini); OR Masada Event: Battle of Kadesh; OR Roman Games; OR Late Roman Empire in West Individual: Cleopatra; OR Alexander the Great; OR Cao Cao Group: Hebrews and the Exodus; OR Early Christians Own choice of ancient site, event, individual or group to 650 CE AND Topic 2 Study TWO of the following issues regarding preservation and display: Historical authentication (Piltdown Man; Turin shroud; Priam’s treasure; KV5) Preservation/conservation (Mycenae; Persepolis; Teotihuacan; terracotta warriors) Cultural heritage and role of museums (Nefertiti bust; Parthenon sculptures) Treatment and display of human remains (Indigenous Australians; mummified remains; Bog Bodies) DRAFT ONLY

4. Current ACARA draft: Ancient History Unit 2: Ancient Societies Focus How people lived in the ancient world Social, political and economic institutions Topics Study TWO of the following topics, incorporating historical skills: Old Kingdom Egypt Egypt in Ramesside Period Bronze Age Mycenae Sparta (c. 700–371 BCE) Persia (559–330 BCE) Rome (753–264 BCE or 264–133 BCE) Ptolemaic Egypt Qin and Han China Israel (961–637 BCE) Assyria (721–627 BCE) Features Study ONE feature: Slavery; OR Death and burial; OR Art and architecture; OR Weapons and warfare; OR Technology and engineering; OR The family; OR Beliefs, values and rituals DRAFT ONLY

5. Current ACARA draft: Ancient History Unit 3: People, Power and Authority Focus Nature and exercise of power Role of individual in society Political, military, religious and economic features Topics Study ONE of the following topics, incorporating skills: New Kingdom Egypt Persia (560–465 BCE) Archaic Greece Rome (133–63 BCE or 63 BCE–14 CE) Late Han China and Three Kingdoms Individuals Study ONE of the following individuals: Egypt: Hatshepsut; Thutmose III; Akhenaten Persia: Darius 1; Xerxes Greece: Solon; Themistocles; Cimon; Pausanius Rome: Marius; Sulla; Pompey; Caesar; Antony; Augustus China: Liu Bei; Zhuge Liang DRAFT ONLY

6. Current ACARA draft: Ancient History Unit 4: The Ancient World: Sites and Developments Focus Significant sites and developments Social, political, religious and economic institutions Events and individuals Topics Study ONE of the following sites or developments: Thebes – East and West New Kingdom imperialism and diplomacy The Athenian Agora and Acropolis Athens, Sparta and the Peloponnesian War The Julio-Claudians and ‘Imperial’ Rome Pompeii and Herculaneum Key concepts Perspectives Interpretations Contestability Conservation Custodianship DRAFT ONLY

7. Current ACARA draft: Modern History Unit 1: Understanding the Modern World Focus Developments or turning points that have helped to define modern world Application of reason to human affairs Transformation of production, consumption, transport and communications Challenges to social hierarchy and privilege Assertion of inalienable rights Principles of government by consent Topics Study TWO topics, with at least ONE from the following list: The Enlightenment (1750–89) American Revolution (1763–1812) French Revolution (1774–99) Industrial Revolutions (1750–1890s) Revolutions in Health and Medicine (1790s–1918) Key concepts Significance Changing representations and interpretations Historical legacy DRAFT ONLY

8. Current ACARA draft: Modern History Unit 2: Movements for Rights and Recognition in the 20 th Century Focus Significant movements that led to social change Individuals, groups and institutions that have challenged established structures to transform society Topics Study TWO of the following twentieth-century movements: Women’s rights Recognition and rights of indigenous peoples Decolonisation Civil rights in the USA Workers’ rights Key concepts Factors leading to the development of movements for change The changing nature of these movements throughout the twentieth century Changing perspectives of the value of these movements How their significance is interpreted DRAFT ONLY

9. Current ACARA draft: Modern History Unit 3: The Rise of Modern Nations Focus Crises that confronted nations and their responses to these crises The path of development that was taken The social, economic and political order that was established Internal divisions and external threats Topics Study ONE nation from List 1 and ONE nation from List 2: LIST 1 USA, 1917–1945 Australia, 1916–1949 Germany, 1918–1948 Russia and Soviet Union, 1905–1948 LIST 2 Japan, 1937–1960s India, 1919–1971 Indonesia, 1942–1965 China, 1937–1976 DRAFT ONLY

10. Current ACARA draft: Modern History Unit 4: The Modern World Since 1945 Focus Significant and distinctive features of the modern world Nature of the world order Evolving politics of violence Emergence of Asia as a political and economic force Nature of engagement by and with Australia, and implications of globalisation, increased mobility and rising living standards Topics Study ONE of the following topics, focusing on 1945–2010: The changing world order Movements of people Engagement with Asia The struggle for peace in the Middle East Towards a globalised economy Key concepts Cause and effect; Change and continuity; Significance; Empathy; Contestability; Changing representations and interpretations DRAFT ONLY

11. HTAV Response: Ancient History Draft General Too much focus on knowledge and not enough on understanding Excessive content, allowing no time for reflection, comparison, synthesis Skills underrepresented in topic dot-points (though stated elsewhere) Specific Unit 1: Lacks narrative, meaningful chronology, coherence; lack of parity between options Unit 2: Better, but too many dead-end topics; too prescriptive Unit 3: Would be interesting for students; good links between individual and society; includes some study of females (e.g. Cleopatra) Unit 4: Hard to compare a site and a development; excessively challenging texts on Tacitus and others Suggestion Begin with event of inherent human drama (e.g. Caesar assassination) and ‘travel’ backwards and forwards in time from this point, using primary sources and historiography to pursue an engaging inquiry Overall Some promising elements There may be interest in reintroducing senior Ancient History Teacher Feedback

12. HTAV Response: Modern History Draft General Lacks significant or sustained study of Australian history Lacks coherence, depth and strong pedagogical framework Excessive content will hamper deep understanding (skills poorly embedded) Neither an effective ‘survey’ of a period nor a detailed thematic study Specific Unit 1: Enlightenment too challenging for Unit 1; Revolutions in Health and Medicine not comparable with armed revolutions and lacks interest Unit 2: Repetition with Year 10; too much on politics/rights; poor chronology Unit 3: Can’t cover ideological aspects of revolutions in time given; Britain not covered; India interesting; repetition with Year 9; not much on women Unit 4: Lacks human interest; too broad and ‘demographic’; overlap with VCE Global Politics; Middle East option interesting Suggestion Begin with event of inherent human drama (e.g. Chamberlain’s ‘Peace in our time’ speech) and ‘travel’ backwards and forwards in time from this point, using primary sources and historiography to pursue an engaging inquiry Overall Course would struggle to compete with other VCE subjects; not viable alternative to popular History subjects available now Victorian teachers want depth, coherence, and sustained Australian history Teacher Feedback

13. Current Issues for Senior History Expected review of current VCE History courses: viability, incorporation of AC content? Victoria: AusVELS, more school autonomy Implications of F–10 implementation How ACARA will respond to feedback on drafts Senior History Debates over the place of Australian history Digital learning and National Broadband Network Victorian and Australian Baccalaureates

14. Advice for Teachers Teach current VCE History until 2014 Familiarise yourself with Senior AC drafts Gradually prepare junior students for senior History Inform HTAV of F–10 implementation issues Advice Subscribe to ACARA and VCAA updates* Make use of HTAV books and events Give HTAV your feedback on current VCE History * www.acara.edu.au/new_media/subscribe.html www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/correspondence/bulletins/bulletinonlinesubscribe.aspx

15. Useful Websites Revolutions France www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook13.asp Russia www.st-petersburg-life.com/st-petersburg/1917-russian-revolution America www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/ China www.sinohits.net/posters/index.htm Renaissance Italy www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/italian-renaissance-villas-and-gardens/ Australian History www.aussieeducator.org.au/tertiary/subjects/history/australian/australianhistory.html Twentieth Century www.besthistorysites.net/index.php/modern-history

16. HTAV Resources Renaissance Italy Sample Exams Teacher Pack Revolutions Sample Exams Teacher Pack Liberating France Reinventing Russia Forging America China Rising Australian History Sample Exams Exam Revision Guide Nation, Race and Citizen The Depression World War II Vietnam War The Colonial Experience Twentieth Century Twentieth Century 1900–1945 Twentieth Century 1945–2000 Teacher CD-Rom Update prepared December 2012