Module Catalogue 2026/27

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

The module will be taught in English and is open to final year undergraduate students from all schools within the HaSS Faculty.

Aims

This interdisciplinary module addresses contemporary issues of social and environmental injustice through the critical lens of Memory Studies. In this module, students will explore the ways in which memory and storytelling help us make sense of multilingual and transnational societies in the present. Its aim is to explore how our engagement with the memory of difficult and controversial pasts is key to understanding society’s most pressing contemporary challenges and for imagining a more equitable and accountable future. Transnational in its approach, this module works comparatively across contexts, exploring dialogues between the locally specific and the global.

This module also connects with Newcastle University’s external partners the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) and Creative Futures. As part of the module, we will explore the notion of conscience for different communities and memory sites. A partner member will contribute to the skills training for this module. Students will have a chance to learn directly from the partner about working in the NGO sector and working in a global network of sites of conscience.

Outline Of Syllabus

The syllabus may be subject to changes but may typically include:

Current debates - memory in different global contexts.

Dialogue in situations of conflict.

In-depth exploration of sites of conscience in different contexts.

Memory and the archive – alternative forms of archiving and working through the past.

Migrant literature and racial capitalism.

Post-Holocaust memory culture and multidirectional memory.

Intercultural communication and language diversity.

Art and the cultural dimensions of memory.

Storytelling as practice and method.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

The module will introduce students to key concepts in Memory Studies and to current debates around memory in different global contexts. Students will gain knowledge in the cultural dimensions of memory at the local, national and transnational level, as well as consideration of intercultural communication and language diversity. Students will be able to put their knowledge into practice through a workshop with a professional working in the non-governmental/cultural sector.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Students will develop the skills needed to understand pressing social challenges from multiple linguistic and cultural perspectives. They will engage critically and creatively with the topics and issues explored, placing different experiences and contexts into dialogue with one another. We will also focus on how to read, interpret and write ethically and responsibly.

The module provides encounters for students with research and with the real world through partnerships, with the opportunity to reflect on how their graduate skills translate to a wide range of professional settings. Employability skills will be embedded in the module, including skills-based training on constructive dialogue (led by Linda Norris from Creative Futures).

Students on the module will also have the opportunity to apply for the ICSC summer internships, which are run as part of the Newcastle-ICSC partnership.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module is delivered through a small-group working format to enable student-led critical discussion and creative engagement with the topic. This format will also best support the production of the multimodal portfolio assessment. This module will be delivered via a team-teaching approach whereby each staff member not only delivers the part of the module that corresponds to their area of expertise, but the module co-leaders will also work together to deliver key sessions in dialogue.

All knowledge outcomes are addressed by the mix of synchronous interactive and non-synchronous guided learning formats. The module is taught and assessed in English. All primary materials and secondary materials will be available in English or English translation. All primary materials, and where relevant secondary materials, will also be available in their original languages.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The portfolio approach ensures that assessment is continuous, enabling students to receive feedback on a wide range of forms of critical engagement that encompass the full skill set being developed throughout the module. The assignments reflect the diversity of modes and media used across organisations dealing with the memory of difficult pasts, allowing students to tailor their work to different audiences and target publications.

General Notes

N/A