MA Public History. Masters Degree

Transcription

1 VALIDATION ABOUT THE COURSE This is a one-year full time, or two-year part time postgraduate course. It is aimed at students with a passion for history, but does not necessarily require an undergraduate degree in the subject. The course covers the role of history in the public arena: museums, documentaries, monuments, lectures, guided tours and community events are just some of the things that constitute Public History. It also examines the relationship between history and politics, and the powerful influence of history on contemporary society. WHAT WILL I STUDY ON THE COURSE? Emphasis is placed upon students using course concepts to develop their own interests. Students write a portfolio of nine pieces of work (including pieces of public history) and a dissertation, or produce a larger piece of public history as an alternative. Throughout students are encouraged to pursue their own interests and to prepare their work for publication and presentation. Full time route: Term 1 Concepts of Public History Further Concepts of Public History Term 2 Public History and the Politics of Inclusion Consuming and Producing Public History (with Student Placement) Term 3 Dissertation/Dissertation Alternate Part time route: Term 1 Concepts of Public History Term 2 Public History and the Politics of Inclusion Term 3 Student Placement Term 4 Further Concepts of Public History Term 5 Consuming and Producing Public History Term 6 Dissertation/Dissertation Alternate Examples of topics might include: Writing myself into history, contested ideas of heritage, collectors and their pasts, personal memory and national histories, picturing the past: reading the family photo album, memory and movement, creating collective identities. The course is validated by The Open University. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS This is a postgraduate course. We expect most, though not necessarily all, candidates to have first degrees in a relevant subject. Applicants do not need to have a first degree in History, but do need to be able to demonstrate their ability to study at postgraduate level. Recent students have had backgrounds in Art, Engineering, Media Studies, Design, Science, Literature, Languages, Classics as well as History. They have included teachers, lecturers, artists, stately home guides, archivists, local tourist guides, archaeologists, museum workers, oral historians, trade union activists, journalists, family historians and adult educators. Dr Ruth Percy is very happy to discuss the course and admission requirements with potential applicants prior to formal application and interview. COURSE AND APPLICATION DATES This course starts in September and applications close on 15th August. For enquiries, please contact Hannah Jones, the Academic Registrar on or Programme Co-ordinator, Dr Ruth Percy on CAREERS A Public History Masters is not only useful preparation for work in heritage, museums, and archives but, because it combines attention to detail with broad analysis, it is also highly valued in a range of careers including policy development, civil service, finance, IT, data analysis, and journalism. STAFF All tutors are actively engaged in research and scholarly activity Dr. Ruth Percy Ruskin College 2015 page 1

2 MODULES Concepts of Public History Students who enter the programme come from a variety of backgrounds and this first module discusses the concepts and theories of public history at the same time that it develops historical analytical skills and academic writing. Readings include: Hilda Kean and Paul Martin eds., Public History Reader (London: Routledge, 2013); Hilda Kean and Paul Ashton eds., People and their pasts (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009); Jerome de Groot, Consuming History (London: Routledge, 2009); Stefan Berger, Heiko Feldner, and Kevin Passmore, History Writing: Theory and Practice (London: Bloomsbury, 2010) Further Concepts of Public History Building upon the first Concepts module, this module further develops historical skills and students apply abstract theoretical ideas as we examine a number of case studies and students begin to think about how they might create a piece of public history. Readings include: Georg Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century (Middletown, CT Wesleyan University Press, 1997); John Tosh, Historians on History (Harlow: Longman, 2000); Tim Benton ed., Understanding Heritage and Memory (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010) Public History and the Politics of Inclusion This module considers who is included and who is excluded in public history and why. As seminars engage with various forms of public history students will apply the theories, concepts, and skills developed in the previous modules. Readings include: James O. Horton ed., Slavery and Public History (New York: The New Press 2006); Edith P. Mayo, Women s history and public history: The museum connection The Public Historian (1983); Sonya Michel, The National Women s History Museums apparently doesn t care much for women s historians New Republic (2014). Consuming and Producing Public History The emphasis of this module is on doing public history students are thus required to attend at least 10 public history events/sites (including at least 1 talk, at least 1 radio/television programme, and at least 1 museum). Seminars will examine the impact of the different medium as students prepare their own piece of public history. A placement in the public history sector constitutes part of this module although it does not necessarily have to be completed concurrently. Current partners include Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; Oxfordshire County Museum, Woodstock; Bishopsgate Institute Archive and Library, London; and the British Museum s Portable Antiquities Scheme and students are welcome to develop their own placements in consultation with their tutor. Readings include: Ludmilla Jordanova, History in Practice (London: Hodder Arnold, HOW TO APPLY FOR THIS COURSE In addition to completing the application form you need submit: A piece of writing of between 1,000 and 2,000 words about an exhibition, television programme, film, event, or piece of writing which has excited you in public history. An explanation of what you have previously done which makes you want to do this Public History MA course and what you hope to get from it A short cv including details of educational qualifications, employment, and voluntary,political or cultural work Evidence of qualifications gained (photocopies please) Names and addresses of two referees including one who can comment on your written or academic work You can apply for courses online via the Ruskin College website or you can download a pdf of our application form. Send printed application forms to: Academic Registrar, Ruskin College, Ruskin Hall, Dunstan Road, Old Headington, Oxford, OX3 9BZ You can request a hard copy of the application form to be sent to you by contacting Reception at Ruskin Hall on or enquiries@ruskin. ac.uk FUNDING YOUR STUDIES Students are responsible for the payment of their own fees on this course. Further information on funding can be found in our fees and funding support sections on the website: FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Hannah on or enquiries@ruskin.ac.uk Ruskin College 2015 page 2

3 2000); Stephanie Weaver, Creating Great Visitor Experiences: A Guide for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Gardens, and Libraries (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2007) Dissertation/Dissertation Alternate The final module provides students with the opportunity to bring together everything they have learnt so far in either a 12,000 word dissertation on a topic of their choice made in consultation with their tutor or to produce a substantial piece of public history, again on a topic of their choice made in consultation with their tutor. This course is intended to: Develop students systematic understanding of the theory and practice of Public History at post-graduate level Foster students critical awareness of the latest developments in public history including critical evaluation of different approaches Provide students with extensive opportunities to practice the techniques and concepts of public history Encourage students originality in the acquisition and application of historical research and enquiry Develop students skills in the critical evaluation of current research and debate in public history Enable students to think imaginatively and creatively about the nature of history Build on students existing enthusiasms and historical knowledge to develop new approaches to historical inquiry Outcomes for students Knowledge and understanding Systematically and critically deal with complex historiographical and methodological ideas Critically engage with the debates within and surrounding public history Apply their knowledge and critical understanding of (public) history at a high level Cognitive skills Demonstrate self-direction, knowledge, and originality in tackling and solving problems Think imaginatively and creatively about the nature of (public) history Critically evaluate current research, practice, and debate in (public) history Ruskin College 2015 page 3

4 Practical and professional skills Present historical research to specialist audiences Present historical research to non-specialist audiences Act autonomously in planning and executing research and writing Continue to advance their knowledge through independent work and practice Act as part of a team in planning and executing research and writing Transferable skills Demonstrate initiative, personal responsibility, and decisionmaking in complex and unpredictable situations Demonstrate originality in the acquisition and application of ideas to specific content/practice Confidently share ideas verbally or in writing Develop content appropriate for an on-line forum HOW WILL I LEARN AND BE TAUGHT ON THE COURSE? The programme modules are underpinned by a learning and teaching strategy adopting a range of approaches including presentations, seminars, and one-to-one tutorials. Within classes emphasis is placed on inter-active teaching and learning. Students will be expected to engage personally, in small groups and larger classes, with a range of material and ideas. Students will engage critically and analytically with written, visual, oral and audio-visual material, including IT material and their own material. One-to-one tutorials provide students with the opportunity for individual or small group discussions on work submitted both at the conceptual and the drafting stages. Coupled with the College s Learning Development team, teaching via tutorials allows for strong relationships to develop between staff and students and among students themselves, thus further creating a supportive learning environment. Attention is paid throughout the modules to both researching a range of materials and reflecting on historiographical processes. Particular focus will also be given to current debates in public history. Assessment is varied, including some more traditional academic history essays and reviews, alongside more creative projects that enable students to produce pieces of public history or engage with the sector in other ways. In requiring students to complete nine Ruskin College 2015 page 4

5 pieces of work before they start the dissertation module we are encouraging them to develop a variety of skills. Students are encouraged, and required in two modules, to produce practical work in different formats. This may include new materials for a course they teach; a guided walk and critique; a critique of an exhibition; a new guide for a museum; a video with critical analysis; oral history interviews; or a detailed analysis of an object or visual image. The dissertation or dissertation alternate are viewed as an opportunity for students to bring together everything they have learnt in both an academic form and one more accessible to nonspecialists. The placement is designed to allow students to gain experience and reflect on the public history sector while also producing academic work. The placement constitutes part of the Consuming and Producing Public History module and as such offers another opportunity for in-depth engagement with public history. Students and staff will work together to find a suitable placement students who are already working or volunteering in the public history sector may use that as their placement. Ruskin College 2015 page 5