Unit name | Horrible Histories And All That |
---|---|
Unit code | HIST30119 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Reeks |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
none |
Co-requisites |
none |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What makes a historian and a history? Many historians have been conscious of the need to tell great and memorable stories: to what extent have they sacrificed their academic credentials to do so? This unit will focus on storytellers and their techniques, from novelists and children’s historians, to ‘Twitterstorians’ and dramatists, and even comic books and video games. Indeed, the impact of new technology and media, combined with the self-consciously public role of the historian, is rapidly increasing the number of forums in which historical discourse might take place. Whether through stage-plays, social media, or television documentary, historians have found new ways to tell their stories, and storytellers have found in history a compelling subject matter. This unit will consider what it means to be a historian in the twenty-first century: does the blurring of the lines between academic and popular cultures amount to a window of opportunity, or a compromise of intellectual values?
This unit aims to:
Provide students with a sense of the range of employment opportunities in sectors adjacent to historical research.
Successful students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
1 x 2500-word Mock Proposal (50%) [ILOs 1-5]
1 x Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-4]
Andrea Grosso Ciponte and Dacia Palmerino, Renegade: Martin Luther: The Graphic Biography (2017)
Terry Deary and Neil Tonge, Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors (2017)
Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (2017)
Lubaina Hibid, Naming the Money (2004)
http://lubainahimid.uk/portfolio/naming-the-money/
Richard McGuire, Here (2014)
Kate Summerscale, The Suspicions of Mr 'Whicher (2008)