History

In 2011, Professor Alistair Thomson and colleagues from the History department supported Museum Victoria in developing the Making History online learning resource. This year for the first time, students taking the Making Histories unit have researched and created 3-minute digital history videos from their individual research projects.

‘Making Histories has been the most challenging – and the most rewarding – experience of my teaching career. Within twelve weeks 80 students have designed and researched their own history project, conducted oral history interviews, collected images and sourced archive evidence, read up on the relevant historical literature, and crystalised their research into a 3 minute digital video that the world can enjoy on the Museum Victoria website. As examiners the three tutors have felt like Margaret and David “at the movies” as we’ve been thrilled and moved by student productions on topics ranging from Gippsland bushfire history, the Chinese cultural revolution and concentration camp tatoos.’

 

A selection of the videos can be viewed here:

 

The digital histories project will culminate in a screening of the ten best videos at Museum Victoria, where students and their interviewees will have the opportunity to share their histories with one another.