HST5701 – Curating the Past: Museums, Monuments and the Afterlives of Empire 2024/25

This module will trace the afterlives of empire in modern Britain and beyond, through the history, objects, and debates that inform public history and commemoration, and by exploring how histories of colonial power and violence are addressed by museum curators, artists and heritage practitioners. What is at stake when we talk about the ‘decolonisation’ of museums, the repatriation of artefacts or the removal of statues? How do we as historians navigate between nostalgia and amnesia? Students will study these urgent debates in a global context while investigating key museum and gallery sites on field trips. This module will be of interest to students of modern British and global history as well as those training for careers in heritage, museum or education sectors.