This course is not currently offered, please contact the school or faculty of your program.

Course description

History is everywhere in the contemporary world. Whether as education, entertainment, nostalgia or escapism, the past is constantly being used and abused in contemporary cultures. This unit will scrutinise the use of history in popular and consumer cultures around the world. Students will examine the creation, representation and delivery of historical knowledge in film, television, literature, theatre, online media, public spaces and the visual arts. Through lectures, readings, viewings, listening and group discussions we will decode historical knowledge in contemporary cultures. Students will also consider the ways in which techniques of historical evidence, narrative, argument and interpretation translate in practice from one genre to another.