Historical Culture & Creative Histories

Historical Culture and Creative Histories examines the creative tensions, possibilities and limitations of history-making outside the academy. Research in this stream incorporates methods such as historical fiction, film, and the relationship of popular histories into official and scholarly discourses.

Research outline

This research stream situates itself at the heart of contemporary methodological debates about historical practice. Researchers explore the possibility of using creative and digital approaches to the past to boost historical engagement in society, and to generate conversations between creative practitioners and academic historians.

Key research questions include:

  • Can fiction tell histories in new ways that engage new audiences?
  • Are there methodological limits to popular history?
  • Proximity and empathy connect us to the past –but what about the importance of detachment, judgement and critical distance in historical practice?
  • Can history creatively configured still be rigorous, critical and interrogatory?
  • How can non-traditional research outputs (NTROs) be accommodated in the history discipline?
Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.