Uses of the Past
| Module title | Uses of the Past |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH2002 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Ben Phillips (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 240 |
|---|
Module description
In this module you will explore how people in the past used history to explain their present, and how people today use history. You will look at the ways in which the past has been constructed, including the roles people have played, the impact of different cultures, and how things have changed over time. You will explore the authority that different cultures have given to the past, what makes a past ‘authentic’ and ‘powerful’, how notions of good or bad history have changed over time, and you will assess why people have turned to the past in order to make sense of their worlds. You will compare past and present uses of history across different cultures, and the way in which history is used by different states and rulers, and in education, entertainment, and public commemoration. You will also look at how groups have attempted to make sense of their past using a range of sources: for example, chronicles, paintings, films, genealogies, statues, and memorials.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to:
- introduce you to the many and varied ways in which the past has been used, and continues to be used. It will compare the function of history in different cultures of the past and present, addressing its use by different states and rulers, and in education, entertainment and public commemoration.
- address the role that scholars, novelists, film makers, or propagandists, for instance, have played in constructing the past, using reflections on past cultures of historical production to contextualise and critique the function of the academic historian today.
- explore the authority that different cultures have given to the past, what makes a past ‘authentic’ and ‘powerful’, how notions of good or bad history have changed over time, and how and why people draw upon the past to make sense of their worlds.
- examine a range of texts and objects – such as chronicles, paintings, films, genealogies, statues, memorials – through which groups have attempted to make sense of their pasts.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Assess the varying functions of history in both the past and the present, for different cultures and social groups
- 2. Assess critically writing about the past, through consideration of the purposes for which it was created and the functions that it has played in past and contemporary societies
- 3. Analyse, through a particular case-study, the issues involved in the representation of the past to a public audience
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Assess the work of scholars and handle different approaches in areas of controversy
- 5. Collate and critique data from a range of sources
- 6. Understand, recognise, and deploy historical terminology in a comprehensible manner
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Carry out both independent and autonomous study and group work, including presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
- 8. Present complex material orally
- 9. Digest, select, and synthesize evidence and arguments to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument
Syllabus plan
In terms of structure, there are three main elements to the module: (1) Lectures; (2) Seminars; and (3) Workshops. The assessment is based around two major components: (1) a Group Project; and (2) an Individual Assignment.
While the content may vary from year to year, the lectures and seminars for the module typically cover some or all of the following topics: writing about the past; history, education and citizenship; personal histories; collecting, preserving and presenting the past; history and culture; remembering and forgetting the past; legacies of race and imperialism. The lectures are a starting point, providing an introduction to the key issues associated with the individual topics covered on the module. The seminars will then expand on the lectures by asking you to read into case studies associated with the lecture topic, and to discuss the issues in depth.
The workshops on the module will be either “whole cohort” (in which all the students on the module are together in one room, like a lecture) or “tutor led” (smaller groups of students facilitated by individual tutors, like seminars). The workshops carve out time and space for you to think about, and work on, the Group Project and Individual Assignment assessments (in addition to your independent study time), and to get feedback from the tutors on your work.
Together, the lectures and seminars will provide an important foundation for the Individual Assignment assessment. A combination of workshops and seminar discussion will help prepare you for this individual assignment.
For the Group Project assessments, at the start of the module you will be allocated a Group Project topic. The choice of topics varies from year to year depending on who is teaching on the module, but topics that have been offered in previous years which are indicative of what’s typically offered include: Remembering the Space Race; Dark Tourism; Videogames and History; Historical Fiction; Historical Re-Enactments; Uses of the Past in the Ukrainian Present; and Commercial Uses of the Past. Your Group Project tutor does not need to be the same person as your seminar tutor. Once you have selected your Group Project, you will have a series of tutor-led and whole-cohort workshops to help you work towards your Group Project assessments.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | 264 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 9 | Lectures (9 x 1 hour) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 14 | Seminars (7 x 2 hours) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Whole-cohort Workshops (4 x 1 hour). These will be for the whole cohort together in one room. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 8 | Tutor-led Workshops (6 x 1 hour and 1 x 2 hours). These will be seminar-sized groups, facilitated by the tutors on the module, in which youll work towards the assessments. |
| Guided Independent Study | 264 | Reading and preparation for seminars, workshops, and assessment |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poster pitch workshop | 60 minutes | 1-9 | Oral |
| Poster development workshops | 2 x 60 minutes | 1-9 | Oral |
| Individual Assignment workshop | 2 x 60 minutes | 1-7, 9 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0 | 20 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group Project Poster | 30 | 500 words, plus visual materials | 1-7, 9 | Written |
| Group Project Poster Presentation | 15 | 15 minutes | 1-9 | Written |
| Attendance at Tutor-Led Group Project Workshops | 5 | 4 x 1-hour Workshops | N/A | N/A |
| Individual Assignment | 50 | 3,000 words | 1-7, 9 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Project Poster | 200 words, plus visual materials (30%) | 1-7, 9 | Referral/deferral period |
| Group Project Poster Presentation | Individual Presentation of 5 minutes, plus questions (20%) | 1-9 | Referral/deferral period |
| Individual Assignment | Individual Assignment (50%) | 1-7, 9 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
In place of the Group Project Poster, the re-assessment consists of producing 200 words of analysis along with supporting visual materials, which represents that individual’s contribution to such a Group Project Poster.
In place of the Group Project Poster Presentation, the re-assessment consists of delivering an individual, in-person Presentation of c.5 minutes, followed by up to 5 minutes of questions from the marker. If an in-person Presentation is not possible, the re-assessment may involve a recorded presentation. If a recorded presentation is not possible, the re-assessment may involve submission of a presentation script.
The original Individual Assignment remains the same.
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- B. Anderson, Imagined Communities (2006)
- S. Berger & C. Conrad, The Past as History: National Identity and Historical Consciousness in Modern Europe (2014)
- A. Clark, History’s Children: History Wars in the Classroom (2008)
- J. de Groot, Consuming History (2008)
- E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger (eds.), The Invention of Tradition (1983)
- L. Jordanova, History in Practice (Revised 3rd Ed. 2019))
- D. Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country (1985)
- R. Samuel, Theatres of Memory (1998)
- S. Sleeper-Smith (ed.), Contesting Knowledge: Museums and Indigenous Perspectives (2009)
- J. Tosh, The Pursuit of History (2015)
- B. Southgate, Why Bother with History? (2005)
Key words search
Past, History, Heritage, Public History
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/10/2011 |
| Last revision date | 18/02/2025 |
