AIH240 - Using and Abusing the Past
Unit details
| Year | 2025 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes: | Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online |
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Unit Chair: | Trimester 2: Bart Ziino |
| Prerequisite: | Nil |
| Corequisite: | Nil |
| Incompatible with: | Nil |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment: | 1 x 1-hour on-campus lecture per week 1 x 1-hour on-campus seminar per week |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment: | 1 x 1-hour online lecture (recordings provided), 1 x 1-hour online seminar per week |
| Typical study commitment: | Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. This will include educator guided online learning activities within the unit site. |
Content
Why is there such heated dispute about the past these days? Why are statues being defaced, apologies being made for past deeds and school curricula revised? Is history just the sum of past events, or does it have uses in the present that we should understand and interrogate? Whose story matters? In this unit students will examine the integral relationship between the study of history and understanding the contemporary world. By examining changes in the thought and practice of history, students will become familiar with the proliferation of different kinds of histories that underpin current conflicts over the past around the world. Themes in the unit include the professionalisation of history in the nineteenth century, the emergence and outcomes of new forms of history in the twentieth century and the breaking down of certainty in how we interpret the events of the past.
Learning Outcomes
| ULO | These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: | Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) |
|---|---|---|
| ULO1 | Demonstrate an understanding of the variety of different intellectual approaches that have informed study of the past over several centuries and the effects they have today. | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking |
| ULO2 | Display a critical awareness of the relationship between past and present, and 'historians' methods of investigating that relationship | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities |
| ULO3 | Identify and critically evaluate approaches to history from a range of historical works in different periods and places in an independent manner | GLO2: Communication GLO5: Problem solving |
| ULO4 | Demonstrate an understanding of the political power of the past in the present in societies around the world | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO8: Global citizenship |
Assessment
| Assessment Description | Student output | Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit) | Indicative due week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1: Reflection on the role of the historian | 200 words | 5% | Week 1 |
| Assessment 2: Essay | 1000 words | 25% | Week 5 |
| Assessment 3: Essay | 2000 words | 50% | Week 10 |
| Assessment 4: Reflection on the role of history | 800 words | 20% | End-of-unit assessment period |
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
Learning resource
The texts and reading list for AIH240 can be found via the University Library.
Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
Unit Fee Information
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current Students website.