Module Code - Title:
HI6201
-
INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HISTORY: THEORY AND PRACTICE
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
The link between public history skills and knowledge in the university and the broader community will form a central plank of the module. The module will facilitate students to undertake research in the area of public history and to carry out appropriate consultancies to support these objectives. This module examines the history and theory of the practice of public history.
Syllabus:
This discursive module examines the origins, development and key concepts of public history as a field of study and practice. It discusses and critically evaluates contemporary issues, controversies, and current debates surrounding public history practices, cultural heritage curation, interpretation and exhibition, among them: commemoration, celebration, commodification; place memory and preservation; modern museum strategies and standards; oral history and community-based participatory research; the business of history; public history and civic responsibility; history as entertainment.
Practical and ethical questions around the presentation and consumption of history in the public sphere will also be addressed. The material covered is underpinned by theoretical literature complementing an assessment of public history initiatives. Different aspects of public history are discussed using an integrated case study approach with examples from Ireland and further afield.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: understand the origins and evolution of public history and display a sound knowledge of the major debates in the field; identify and evaluate key public history initiatives in Ireland and internationally; interpret motivations and mission statements of selected cultural heritage stakeholders in Ireland and internationally; analyse public and collective representations of the past in digital and other media; demonstrate skills and competences to conduct research on topics relating to public history and its consumption;
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: display a firm understanding of ethical, theoretical and practical issues pertaining to the field of public history and communicating history to audiences outside the academy; reflect on their own public history study and practice, articulating career goals or potential areas of specialism.
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
Not applicable
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
This is a fully online module where students will obtain knowledge relevant to contemporary issues and debates in the field of public history, and the role
of academia in the community, while conducting and communicating research at an advanced level. It will be relevant to clarifying their own learning goals and research objectives while promoting a community-building and peer-support ethos. Learning will be facilitated through online lectures, case studies, videos, podcasts, assigned readings, discussion forums, chatrooms, and guest lectures.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
Dean, David (ed.) (2018)
A companion to public history
, Wiley Blackwell
Cauvin, Thomas (2016)
Public History: a textbook of practice
, Routledge
Kean, Hilda, & Martin, Paul (eds) (2013)
The public history reader
, Routledge
Gardner, James, and Hamilton, Paula (eds) (2017)
The Oxford handbook of public history
, Oxford University Press
Other Relevant Texts:
Frisch, Michael (1990)
A shared authority: essays on the craft and meaning of oral and public History
, State University of New York Press
Black, Jeremy (2014)
Contesting history: narratives of public History
, Bloomsbury Academic
de Groot, Jerome (2016)
Consuming history: historians and heritage in contemporary popular culture
, Routledge (2nd ed.)
Sayer, Faye (2015)
Public history: a practical guide
, Bloomsbury Academic
Bourke, Marie (2011)
The story of Irish museums 1790-2000: Culture, identity and education
, Cork University Press
Tilden, Freeman (2008)
Interpreting our heritage
, University of North Carolina Press (4th ed.)
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
MAPHCHTFA - PUBLIC HISTORY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
MAPHCHTPA - PUBLIC HISTORY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Autumn
Module Leader:
karol.mullaneydignam@ul.ie