Module: HIS4103-20 Heritage and Public History

Level: 4

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Cassandra Newland

Module Tutor Contact Details: C.Newland@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

Heritage and Public History will introduce you to ideas about the relationship between history and heritage, and encourage you to ask questions about what we mean by ‘public history’. The module explores topics including:

Definitions of heritage

Heritage and public history

The development of ‘heritage protection’ and what this reveals about changing attitudes towards the past and its place in the present

Collections, collecting and the origins of the museum

Identity, belong, heritage: who is missing?

Preserving the past and its challenges

Heritage, politics and governments: heritage matters?

Natural heritage, conservation and access

The future of heritage?

2.Outline syllabus:

This module has been designed to introduce the concept of ‘heritage’ as an area for critical engagement and debate, through the examination of different ways of defining it and the different ways in which it is used and managed in contemporary society. We will also consider the ways in which thinking about heritage has changed over time, and the extent to which understanding this enables us to reflect on the preoccupations and perceptions of the present and the past.

We will look at some of the major milestones in the development of heritage policy in the UK, from the ‘scheduling’ of ancient monuments to the implementation of the modern planning system; from cabinets of curiosity to the foundation and evolution of modern museums.

3.Teaching and learning activities:

This module is delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops. We also visit museums and heritage sites whenever we can, and you will be encouraged to make independent visits to as many local sites as possible.

Lectures provide students with the broader context of heritage studies and current debates about heritage and history. The seminars provide students the opportunity to then deepen their understanding of the topic by examining particular texts, documents, or debates in more detail, usually by working in smaller groups.

A number of topics are explored through group research and presentations – sharing ideas and analysing them together, building up a collection of case studies on which to draw, or by collaborative work to produce reports or reviews (e.g. research into the learning and outreach strategy of a particular museum; evaluating the presentation and interpretation of a particular heritage exhibition, etc.)

Visits provide students with the opportunity to observe and engage with particular UK heritage sites within the framework of the theoretical and conceptual knowledge they have gained in the lectures, seminars and the practical group work sessions.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type:
• Description: Special Assignment (2000 words)
• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type:
• Description: Group research and presentation project (equivalent to 2000 words)
• % Weighting: 50%