Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Engaging students with political history : Citizenship in the (very) long eighteenth century

McCormack, M. (2024) Engaging students with political history : Citizenship in the (very) long eighteenth century. In: Larsen, R., Marples, A. and McCormack, M. (eds.) Innovations in Teaching History : Eighteenth-Century Studies in Higher Education. London: University of London Press. pp. 109-124.

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McCormack_Engaging_students_with_political_history_2024
McCormack_Engaging_students_with_political_history_2024.pdf - Published Version
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Abstract:
For a long time, political history dominated the teaching of history in British universities. Certainly until the social history revolution of the 1960s, the type of history that was taught was predominantly political, and was of very particular types. Whig histories focused on English constitutional development, concentrating on the improvement of institutions and lauding the efforts of privileged actors who contributed to this design; and even critiques of this approach tended to be establishmentarian and elitist in their outlook. Following the rise of social and then cultural history, political history became more marginal in the profession, and indeed has often been the type of history that progressive histories have defined themselves against. This chapter will reflect on how best to approach this now less familiar form of history with undergraduates, who often have negative preconceptions about studying it. It will suggest that teaching eighteenth-century politics in terms of ‘citizenship’ can make it relevant to today’s students, and will think about some pedagogical strategies that can help to make the experience of learning about it more meaningful and engaging.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
pedagogical innovation, digital history, material culture, decolonizing curriculum, active learning
Creators:
McCormack, M.
Editors:
Larsen, R., Marples, A. and McCormack, M.
Publisher:
University of London Press
Date:
27 June 2024
Date Type:
Publication
Page Range:
pp. 109-124
Title of Book:
Innovations in Teaching History : Eighteenth-Century Studies in Higher Education
Place of Publication:
London
Number of Pages:
15
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781908590619
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
Related URLs:
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