that's not who i thought i was
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Recent times have seen an explosion of interest in history. Ashton and Hamilton (2007, p. 21) argue that “most people regard film and television, whether fiction or documentary, as a major source of [their] historical knowledge”, and Rosenstone (2006) concurs, asserting that “visual media is the chief conveyer of public history in our culture” (p. 12). For Lorenz (1994) “television and film have replaced the book as the most important media of information” (p. 27). It is in this context that the family history television program Who Do You Think You Are? – initially airing in 2004 and now in its ninth season – had by 2007 become the second most popular non-fiction programme ever shown on British television, its emotional and psychological resonances far exceeding producer expectations (Cannell, 2011). Using a celebrity avatar to ‘stand in’ for the audience, the programme cleverly contextualises family histories within broader social history narratives (De Groot, 2009; Kramer, 2011), supporting through an act of public pedagogy, the avatar and audience to “make sense of their own lives and their connection to the lives of others” (van Dijck, 2004, p. 262). Situated within a growing educational interest in public history and historical consciousness (Seixas, 2004; Straub, 2005), this paper examines what educators can learn from the process of reception involved in the celebrity’s pedagogical encounter with rival, challenging, or unexpected histories.TRANSCRIPT
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Emma Shaw & Robert J. ParkesUniversity of Newcastle
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History Boom• Decline of academic history
• Concerns over school history (national curriculum as response?)
• Increase in popular history
• Stats if possible? Historics? History is at every turn.
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Family History /Genealogical Boom
• The popularity of family history research- One of the top 5 leisure pursuits- One of the top three internet search topics- Statistics
• Possible motivations- Increasing secularization of Australian society- Nationalistic concern in the face of multiculturalism and trans-
national migration- Fracturing of traditional family structures
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Genealogical Television2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Who Do You Think You AreSo You Think You’re Royal (UK)100% English (UK)
You Don’t Know You’re Born (UK)Coming Home (Wales)My famous family (UK)Who’s Been Sleeping in My House (AU)Faces of America
Find My Past (UK)
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2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013UK
Poland
Canada
Australia
Ireland
Germany
South Africa
Sweden
Russia
United States
Denmark
Netherlands
Norway
Israel
Finland
Czech Repub.
Portugal
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Who Do You Think You Are?
• Initially hailed as an alternative social history of Britain
• Popularity statistics
• Fascination for the audience
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Brand Expansion/Enterprise
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Who Do You Think You Are?Television Show Structure
• Celebrity Avatar
• Simplistic format
• Emotional journey
• Genealogical tourism
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How do the celebrities position themselves at the beginning of their journeys?
• Four episodes in this paper- Christine Anu- Catherine Freeman- Melissa George- Rod Marsh
• Character attributes:- Where did I get…? - How am I…?- Who am I like…?
• Search for Belonging- Where do I fit?• Great Expectations- My family history will fill in the gaps…
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How do the celebrity avatars relate to their genealogical past?
Historical Empathy Definition
Differentiated (Contextualised) historical empathy
People in the past thought differently than we do now, and not everyone in the past thought the same way. People in the past have a diversity of attitudes that are understood in the context of their cultures, positions, affiliations, allegiances, and times.
HISTORICITY
Restricted historical empathy People in the past thought differently than we do now. People in the past have unique views that are understood in the context of their cultures, situations, and times (all of which are different to our own).
Everyday empathy People in the past are represented as thinking just the same as we do. Present attitudes are projected onto people in the past, and past situations are understood as identical to present circumstances.
PRESENTISM
Stereotypical empathy People in the past are represented as thinking differently than we do now, but the account is of general stereotypes of people in the past.
Ahistorical empathy People in the past are acknowledged to have thought differently, but they are positioned as being not as smart as we are or irrational. People’s actions in the past are found wanting (based on ignorance or other deficits).
Lee & Ashby (1987)
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How do the celebrity avatars relate to their genealogical past?
• Naturalisation (That’s where it came from) – Nostalgia, Essentialism, Romanticism, “it’s in my genes”
• Rejection (I don’t believe it) – I think this history is wrong. I don’t trust these sources/people.
• Indifference (This doesn’t relate to me) – This is not my history. I don’t identify with this group.
• Assimilation (We are all the same) – There is a universal human nature.
• Transformation (This changes how I think about myself) – I have to reevaluate who I am.
Parkes (2004) & Simon (2005)
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Example #1: Christine Anu• “Do I have singers in my
background…who can I trace it back to?” – Naturalisation
• “Mum told me Kuse was a missionary but deep in my heart of hearts I hope it isn’t true” – Rejection
• “ Kuse was part of an educational, social and political experiment…Christianity was a vehicle and a way of going into the new age” – Assimilation
• “This photograph has changed my life” – Transformation
• “That’s where I get it from – I am a storyteller” - Assimilation
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Example #2: Cathy Freeman• “This is disgusting…it’s just putrid” –
Rejection• “I definitely get my sporting ability from
me grandfather” – Naturalisation• “So I’ve got a military background!” –
Assimilation• “I feel more proud of his achievements
than my own…it’s where I get my strength and courage from” – Naturalisation
• “so the reason for his removal was that he wouldn’t sign a work order, was addicted to drink, and supplied alcohol to aboes” – rejection, not acknowledged
• “ People of Australia see me as a predominantly Indigenous woman, but I am of British ancestry…I have British blood flowing through my veins” - Transformation
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Example #3: Melissa George• “I don’t care what happened in the
past” – Indifferent• “Is there any proof he did that?” –
Rejection• “I don’t think he was a part of that” –
Rejection• “I am hoping to find out he was a
good man…it’s really important for me and my family” – Rejection
• “it’s a great relief to find out he was a kind, sweet, honourable man” – Assimilation
• “Can you read this for me please? It doesn’t look good” – Transform
• “What’s lovely, I have all their faces now” - Assimilation
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Example #4: Rod Marsh• “ I don’t like Yorkies…that must be where I
get my obnoxiousness from” – Naturalisation
• “Who knows the circumstances” – Indifferent
• “He’s had no influence on my life. None.” Indifferent & rejection
• “Whatever his crime was, he couldn’t have been that bad a bloke” – Assimilation & rejection
• “I don’t reckon he did it. That’s my first thought, he’s innocent” – Rejection
• “I know every prisoner says he’s not guilty, but every prisoner is not my great-grandfather” – Rejection
• “Decent Dan Marsh…I don’t respect Jack Dutton, but I do respect Dan Marsh” – Rejection, indifferent & assimilation
• It’s not in the blood…it’s in the name as well” –Assimilation & Naturalisation
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NOW?
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References• Ashton, P. a., & Hamilton, P. (2007). History at the crossroads. Ultimo, Sydney: Halstead Press • Barton, K. C. (2008). Research on students' ideas about history. In L. S. a. T. Levstik, Cynthia A. (Ed.),
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References• Kramer, A.-M. (2011b). Mediatizing memory: History, affect and identity in Who Do You Think You
Are? European Journal of Cultural Studies, 14(428), 428-445.• Lorenz, C. (2004). Towards a theoretical framework for comparing historiographies: Some
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• Rosenstone, R. A. (2006). History on film/Film on History. London, UK: Longman. • Rüsen, J. (2004). Historical consciousness: Narrative structure, moral function, and ontogenetic
development. In P. Seixas (Ed.), Theorizing historical consciousness (pp. 63-85). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Seixas, P. (Ed.). (2004). Theorizing historical consciousness. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.• Simon, R. I. (2004). The pedagogical insistence of public memory. In P. Seixas (Ed.), Theorizing
historical consciousness (pp. 183-201). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.• Straub, J. (Ed.). (2005). Narration, identity, and historical consciousness. New York: Berghahn
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Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 18(2), 261-277. • Yakel, E. (2004). seeking information, seeking connections, seeking meaning: genealogists and
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