Entry requirements

120 credits including 90 credits in a subject in the humanities or the social sciences. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

A student who successfully completes the course will be able to:

• analyse and evaluate different forms of historical narration
• independently and critically discuss the possibilities and limitations of scientific writing compared to other forms of communication
• account for ethical considerations related to facts and fiction in historical narration
• independently and reflectively produce various forms of historical narration

Content

History is not only a science. Historical academic research exists within a much broader field of history communication, ranging from political debates to popular science, novels, advertising, film, TV, and computer games. Often, these forms of communication, rather than academic research, shape people's perceptions of the past.

The academic discipline of history plays a vital role as a critical counterbalance to all sorts of imaginative and biased narratives. At the same time, artistic and popular cultural representations offer opportunities other than the research publication for disseminating new research findings and for gaining a deeper understanding of people in the past.

The purpose of the course is for students to develop a critical and reflective approach to different forms of historical narration.

The course discusses depictions of the past in literature and various popular culture genres while providing students with practice in creating historical narratives for a non-academic audience.

Instruction

Teaching consists of seminars.

Assessment

Assessments will be based upon written and oral assignments. Students who have missed a small number of mandatory assignments may complete them by the end of the semester at the latest. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may decide to make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.