Description
This module explores the ways in which public and private organisations approach the making and sharing of their own histories. Institutional histories (whether of universities, schools, businesses, heritage bodies, charities and community groups) are often dismissed as celebratory, unscholarly or otherwise problematic but they form a significant element of the wider public history landscape. The forms that they take are diverse, moving beyond publications, websites or museum displays to include film, performance, trails and games. Taught through interactive seminars including archives sessions with Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Special Collections, a walking seminar exploring heritage on the Bloomsbury campus, and field trips to external archives, we will explore the following questions: How is institutional history created, and what audiences does it seek to reach? Whose stories are shared, and what elements might be omitted?Ìý What narrative techniques and linguistic devices are deployed? What is the role of records, archives, material culture and the built environment in the making and telling of stories of organisations and communities? How have institutions engaged in reparative history? How and why has recent activism pushed institutions to tackle difficult histories in new ways?
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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