HSY2060

The uses of the past

Graeme Davison and others

8 points
* Two lectures and one tutorial per week
* Second semester
* Clayton

Objectives Those students undertaking the subject will be expected to develop a critical understanding of the uses of history in contemporary public discourse and to acquire practical skills in textual analysis and fieldwork.

Synopsis Can we learn from the past? Can we escape it? How do changing understandings of the past influence current events and beliefs? This subject examines the contemporary uses of the past through a critical examination of current literature, film, case-studies - both Australian and international - and fieldwork. It is designed to strengthen linkages between academic and `public' history and to enhance appreciation of the vocational applications of history. Among the issues to be discussed are history and nation-building, as exemplified in national birthdays, the cult of national heroes and national monuments; the concept of heritage as exemplified in historical preservation and museums; the uses of the past in enhancing personal and group identity as illustrated by family history and genealogy; and the role of history in the efforts of oppressed or marginal groups to throw off the burden of the past. Case studies will include the Shrine of Remembrance, the historiography of South Africa and Nationalist India, the Mabo judgment, the issue of German war-guilt, and the Demidenko affair. Some of the instruction will take place through field excursions, films and debates as well as lectures and tutorials. Written work will be designed to give students experience in writing for non-academic as well as academic audiences.

Assessment Fieldwork exercise (1000 words): 30%
* Reflective essay (3000 words): 40%
* Classroom test (1 hour): 10%
* Literature review (1000 words): 20%

Recommended texts

Attwood B (ed.) In the age of Mabo: History, Aborigines and Australia Allen and Unwin, 1996
Davison G and McConville C A heritage handbook Allen and Unwin, 1991
Davison G The use and abuse of Australian history Allen and Unwin, forthcoming
Griffiths T Hunters and collectors: The antiquarian imagination in Australia CUP, 1996
Hamilton P and Darien-Smith K (eds) Memory and history in twentieth-century Australia OUP, 1994
Lowenthal D The past is a foreign country CUP, 1985
Read P Returning to nothing CUP (forthcoming)
Rickard J and Spearritt P Packaging the past: Public histories MUP, 1991
Riemer A The Demidenko debate Allen and Unwin, 1996
Tosh J The pursuit of history: Aims, methods and new directions in the study of modern history Longmans, 1984
Thelen D (ed.) Memory and American history Bloomington, 1990
Thompson A Anzac memories: Living with the legend OUP, 1994