AHIS 23A11 - Narratives, Representations and Uses of the Past

Historians play a crucial role in representing, writing, and making sense of the past. Their work is often associated to a quest for truth and objectivity, utilizing methods that aim to provide evidence of the past to diffuse it in narrative form. The 20th century witnessed a crucial change in our way of relating to the past concerning the constitution of several nation-states, claims for collective memory and identity, demands for historical reparation, genocides, and the [re]invention of numerous traditions. It all resulted in various and often conflicting historical narratives expressed through literature, cinema, visual arts, commemorations, museum collections, and political speeches. The goal of this course is to understand the background, logic, and forms of those uses of the past within and outside the academic world. This course will present views of the past as a shared identity at the centre of political and social conflicts, e.g., through phenomena such as "competitive victimhood" and the digitalization of public debate. We will delve into the main contemporary approaches to history, studying how scholars have been dealing the distinct nature of historical knowledge (historical epistemology). In this course, we will also introduce concepts crucial for the understanding of the ‘nature’ of history (ontology of the past), such as memory, presence, and time. Those concepts will be put dialogue with our current context of political polarization, climate crisis, negationism, religious fundamentalism, and widespread assaults on democracy.

• Introduction: the omnipresent past and our presentism
• The past of nations
• The demiurgic past of authoritarian regimes
• Memory
• Cinematic Depictions of the Past
• Narratives of the past: literature and history
• Presence and Experience
• Our Past in the Times of Anthropocene
• The past as a heritage
• Judging, compensating, forgetting
• History wars
• History and Truth

1°) First, a “final exam” is scheduled at the end of the semester (33% of the final grade)

2°) A "mid-term" is scheduled after the 6th session. It takes the same form as the exam. It counts for 25% of the final grade (33% of the seminar grade)

3°) A presentation based on a power-point will count for 17% of the final grade (25% of the seminar grade). It consists of a synthetic presentation of a topic, critically addressed, and from a problematic axis chosen by the teacher.

4°) Class activities from the seminars count for 17% of the final grade (25% of the seminar grade). The activities are offered in class or homework and are designed and requested by each seminar teacher