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
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
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