Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
The importance of public history
The way that people engage with history has, arguably, never been more important. On the one hand, the growth of ‘alternative facts’ has made the establishment of factual narratives more crucial. On the other, the Black Lives Matter and Decolonising the Curriculum movements have shone new light on neglected histories.
One of these is about challenging the rewriting of the past, the other is about revising our understanding of the past to better comprehend our impact on the world around us.
Students in the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities are encouraged to engage with these debates in a module called The Public and the Past. From examining debates around museum exhibits, to the role of slavery in funding country houses, to how history is presented to the public in film, TV, and on digital platforms, students learn to engage with how our history is used for different purposes, and how the public engages with a topic that remains of enormous general interest.
For their second assignment, students on the module were asked to design a poster on the importance of public history, focusing on a particular topic or theme. Below is a snapshot of their excellent work, as well as their thoughts on why public history is important to understanding Britain and the world today.
Molly Allman, studying BA (Hons) Creative Writing in Contemporary Culture said,
“I chose to focus on Grimsby’s cultural heritage for this assignment because it’s my home-town, going back at least three generations. My great grandfather was a trawlerman, and many other relatives worked on the docks, or in connection to the fishing industry, as most people who lived and worked in Grimsby during the 40s, 50s and 60s did.
What was most interesting about this assignment was having the opportunity to behave like a tourist in the town I was born in - to visit familiar places with an academic mindset and assess them for their effectiveness at communicating the heritage of the area.
The contrast between the experience of a member of the public visiting the Fishing Heritage Centre and the experience of visiting St James’ Square is distinct, but both offer valuable insights into Grimsby’s cultural and industrial heritage. Having completed Public and the Past module, I think I have a wider understanding of how broad a category public history is, and a deeper appreciation of its uses, values, and connections to academia.”
Annie Baxendale, studying BA (Hons) History said,
“I chose to focus on the value of women’s history to public history. The history presented to the public and celebrated was from a male perspective, and women in history have been ignored.
I thought that the examples I chose were good illustrations of public history because they represent three different methods of presenting history to the public. Also, all the various examples show how public history can be represented for people of different ages, and how the different outputs can change the accessibility of public history.
The aspect I found most interesting is depending on how the public history is presented changes and shapes the public's opinion. This often includes the exclusion of histories of minorities and marginalised groups, including the history of people of different races and ethnicities, the history of LGBTQ+ people, as well as women’s history.
Learning about this in the Public and the Past module was exciting because it was an opportunity to view history from a different perspective. It was an insight into what history is popular in the wider public and how accessible it is to people.”
Charlie O’Brien, also studying BA (Hons) History said,
"I chose the themes of film and museums to dissect war because they are both examples in which the medium became more thoughtful and reflective over time. I think this makes them good examples as they highlight a more significant trend in public history – it has progressed from an aesthetic medium and an exercise in propaganda to one that seeks to tell a story and ask some difficult questions. Additionally, with film and museums being two of the most popular forms of public history, it allowed me to think about how these themes are portrayed to the masses.
The aspect I found most interesting was the evolution of war films. It makes sense that the role of the war film would be dramatically different in war and peacetime. Films being released during a global conflict, where conscription was in place, could not truly examine war and risk discouraging potential conscripts or terrifying the families of soldiers. In the wake of these wars, the focus shifted to honouring the memory and genuinely appreciating the sacrifice made by veterans. This led to much more graphic, melancholic films and often upsetting.
Overall, I enjoyed studying public history as it can help explain changing attitudes towards a topic and show the opinions of a nation rather than just that of its eminent historians.”
