Fundamentals of Cultural History

Course goals

You familiarise yourself with the historiography of cultural history (the study of cultural history) and analyse famous works of cultural historians to assess changing concepts of culture and acquire knowledge of sources and methods for practicing cultural history.

Learning outcomes: after completing the course, you will have:

• knowledge and understanding of historical developments related to the course topic;
• knowledge of the historiography within the course topic;
• familiarity with the diverse ways in which historical knowledge of the course topic can be relevant to their own job market prospects;
• a skills set enabling them to think, act and communicate at an academic level and in line with academic standards of conduct ('academic integrity').

 
Learning objectives and skills: after completing the course, you will be able to:

• explore a broad historical or historiographical topic in depth;
• critically evaluate different interpretations and formulate their own viewpoint;
• present a well-formulated discourse analysis both orally and in writing;
• collaborate with fellow students on a group presentation;
• link knowledge of historical thinking on the course topic to their own job market prospects;
• connect historical knowledge of the course topic to modern-day social and political issues­
• work in accordance with academic standards.

Content

This is the first course of Specialisation 3:The Power of Culture (English track History)

Cultural history is characterized by striking shifts in the definition of 'culture'. In the nineteenth century the word almost coincided with 'art' and 'civilization', but in the course of the twentieth century it has come to include much more: from popular culture to collective mentalities and the everyday practices people used to make sense of their life, society and world.
 
In this course we explore the history of cultural history through reading classical works. These give you a broad overview of cultural-historical themes and the way in which cultural historians have tackled urgent social issues of their times. You are also introduced to the sources and methods of cultural-historical research. In assignments you investigate primary sources of your own choice in order to learn how different concepts of culture and cultural history work in practice.a

 


 

Additional information

This is the first course of Specialisation 3: The Power of Culture.