Graduate Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History

The Graduate Diploma in Local Family and Applied History is designed specifically for students who are interested in the pursuit of local, family and applied history for personal, community or professional reasons.

It offers training in, for example, family and local history sources and approaches, heritage conservation, history and museums, monuments and memorials, oral history, and history in film.

It also offers an opportunity to pursue professional development through work experience in an applied history area;

locates local, family and applied history within broader practices in researching and presenting history;

and introduces the wide variety of work opportunities - paid and voluntary - available to professional historians.

Course Aims

This course is for those who have a university degree and are interested in the pursuit of local, family and applied history for professional, community and/or personal reasons. It recognises that students come from diverse educational backgrounds and from varied experiences in the study and application of history, and offers them the opportunity to acquire professional skills as local, family and applied historians. There is a particular emphasis on enhancing students' knowledge of historical methods and sources, their ability to interpret and present history in a variety of forms, and their awareness of the range of environments in which historians work.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: demonstrate advanced knowledge of the development and nature of local, family and applied history as a specific area of historical inquiry and practice; employ various methodologies to pursue historical research and inquiry, including methods of evidence location, evaluation, interpretation and application; apply and communicate the results of historical research effectively in a variety of media and forms, and for different audiences; demonstrate an understanding of the ethical and social responsibilities of local, family and applied historians to the communities with whom they work and to the discipline of history more broadly; and demonstrate of advanced knowledge the ways in which local, family and applied history is practised in community, professional and academic settings.

Graduate Attributes

Knowledge of a Discipline Graduates will have advanced knowledge of history as a discipline, and an in-depth understanding of key principles, concepts and methods of local, family and applied history. This will include an appreciation of the processes through which historical knowledge has evolved. They will also understand the need to adopt transnational and multicultural approaches to the understanding of historical issues. These will be taught through unit materials, online discussions, guided readings, and directed learning activities. They will be assessed through different forms of assessment appropriate to the area of local, family or applied history being studied. Communication Skills Graduates will have the skills to communicate their historical research and understanding in a variety of formats and to a variety of audiences. These skills will be taught through unit materials, written and oral feedback on assessment tasks and online discussions, and assessed through the variety of assignment provided throughout the course. Problem Solving Graduates will have advanced understanding of key problem-solving strategies used in history and will be able to develop their own responses to particular problems in different environments, topics and issues. The teaching, practise and assessment of these skills will occur primarily through unit materials and resources, online discussions and written and multi-media assessment tasks. Information Literacy Graduates will have advanced research skills in locating, collecting, referencing and evaluating relevant evidence, including the skills to critically assess the utility of information, identify the most useful sources and examine the evidence they offer. They will also have advanced skills to work with a variety of media and learning how to document and interpret it. Ethical Conduct and Social Responsibility Graduates will have in-depth understanding of their professional responsibilities as researchers to provide balanced and accurate research; their social responsibility to question and challenge some 'facts'; and their ethical responsibilities towards the members of the communities, families and organisations whose histories they are researching and presenting. Their awareness of these responsibilities will be taught and assessed through the unit materials and resources, the activities assigned for assessment and discussions in online postings. Lifelong Learning Graduates will have advanced skills to research, evaluate, discuss and present historical issues. In particular, they will understand the importance of historical imagination, intellectual curiosity and critical thinking as central tenets of good historical practice. Independence and Collaboration Graduates will develop skills in independent study, in particular through autonomously researching and executing their assessment tasks. Graduates will also have in-depth understanding of local, family and applied history as a collaborative enterprise that involves working with and for communities, families, government and private organisations. This involves combining an understanding of social responsibility with the skills of teamwork. With this in mind, throughout the course students will practise working collaboratively and networking effectively to solve problems and present results. This will be achieved through the online discussions and the sharing of information and findings. In this environment students will be required to take the initiative as well as assert their own values and opinions while respecting the values and contributions of others.