History Special Interest Group Seminar: Developing historians not historical tourists.
25 May 2010
17:30 to 19:00 , Room 790 Institute of Education
Barny Nemko
This presentation will discuss some of the issues surrounding trips and in particular the issue of 'historical tourism'. It will draw from research from a MA dissertation and a recent article in Teaching History. The findings suggested that pupils often fail to recognise that monuments are constructed to reflect a particular interpretation of the events they commemorate or celebrate.
The research involved a small sample of students who constructed their own photographic displays following a school trip to Ypres. Qualitative analysis suggested that many young people still viewed the Battlefields as 'sites of memory' and were not prepared to think critically about their construction. The National Curriculum calls for historical visits but is the purpose of such visits to appreciate or evaluate?
For further information please contact Dr Arthur Chapman : a.chapman@ioe.ac.uk