History in the Present

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This module will involve looking at how events, people, places and objects from the past have taken on a 'history' and at how we encounter it in the present day. This will include looking at how a particular incident has been remembered or commemorated, perhaps in a painting, a monument, a ceremony or even a song, and the kinds of meaning attributed to it over time. It could also mean looking at how a particular location has become a site where the past is encountered, perhaps through exhibitions, street names or city design; at individuals whose reputations reflect changing approaches to the past; or at objects which are taken to represent past experiences. It may also involve considering how specific events or people might be made use of to advance political claims, whether over contested territory or for the inclusion of excluded communities. The module will make use of case-studies selected from different periods and places. It will also involve looking at how we might understand the multiple ways in which the past can be conveyed and presented to, or participated in by, different audiences. In 2025-6 a thread connecting several of the lectures and tutorials will be questions of national, imperial and colonial pasts.