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Heroes: Conceptions, Constructions and Representations

Module description

Human societies throughout history have always found the need to create heroes, be they real or imagined. Yet if the deeds and conduct of certain men and women have been the object of celebration, in some cases their heroic reputation has been controversial and contested too. This module will explore conceptions, constructions and representations of heroism from the medieval period to the present day. In particular, it will explore how heroic reputations are created, sustained or reinvented; the role of heroes and heroism in constructing identity and representing and legitimising different groups, or in creating and continuing national myths; and the importance of ‘cultures of heroism’ in particular societies.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module is designed to enhance your understanding of recurring themes in the history of heroism over a time scale extending from the Middle Ages to the present. It will be taught by two or three different tutors, and the exact chronological and thematic focus will depend on which tutors are teaching the module in any given year. By close specialist evaluation of key topics you will trace key developments in the subject, and think about these comparatively across time and space. In order to do so, you will need to consider heroic cults in specific political, social, cultural and religious contexts. Among the perspectives that will be developed are ones focusing on issues of gender, on the textual analysis of ‘heroic’ biography, and on the role of visual images in the construction and development of heroic representations. In doing so, the module will introduce you to a wide variety of different historical source materials, ranging from biographies and epic poetry to painting, monuments and film. By using a combination of tutor-led seminars and lectures, student-led seminars and independent study, the module will enable you to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of taking a comparative approach to the study of heroism. In this way you will learn to draw thematic comparisons between material from different sources, show awareness of contrasting approaches to research, and demonstrate an enhanced understanding of some of the philosophical questions arising from research into large historical themes. You will also learn to present some of these complex issues to the rest of the class by leading a seminar in the second half of the course.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Assess the relationship between heroism and other phenomena such as gender and nationalism across a variety of historical time-periods and contexts.
• 2. Compare and explain key historiographical developments in the history of heroism across different societies and periods
• 3. Critically evaluate the approaches that historians and scholars working in other disciplines have taken to this subject
• 4. Define suitable research topics for student-led seminars in the history of heroism.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Analyse the key developments in complex and unfamiliar political, social, cultural or intellectual environments.
• 6. Evaluate different and complex types of historical source and historiography.
• 7. Present work in the format expected of historians, including footnoting and bibliographical references.
• 8. Identify and deploy correct terminology in a comprehensible and sophisticated manner.
• 9. Critically evaluate different approaches to history in a contested area.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 10. Work both in a team and independently to prepare and lead a seminar.
• 11. Digest, select and organise material to produce a coherent and cogent argument through the essay writing process.

Syllabus plan

While the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Lectures : Depending on the composition of the tutor team, lectures will be selected from the following indicative list:
o Introduction (including module outline, and conceptualisation)
o Nationalism
o Gender
o The military
o Frontiers
o Religious heroes
o The anti-hero
o ‘Cultures of Heroism’,
o Returning Heroes
o Heroic myths
o Popular heroes
o Chivalric Codes
o Science and discovery
o Heroic death
o Leadership
o Fictional representation
o The iconography of heroes
o Explorers
o Contested heroes
o Heroes of Empire

• Tutor-led seminars :
o Set-up (explaining how the course will work, creating groups, organising work for seminars, module guide, assessments, questions)
o Student choice of topic
o Student choice of topic
o Case studies from tutor’s work
o Workshop (planning the student-led seminars
o There will be a concluding session which will discuss overarching issues and comparative points.

Student-led seminars: There will be five seminars led by groups of 2 or 3 students on topics chosen in agreement with the tutor. When considering the selection of topic the following may be taken into consideration: preference for working on a specific time period, preference for working on a specific place, preference for a particular topic.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 3000 word essay and 2000 word assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces leading and participating in student-led seminars with a written seminar plan and reading list that corresponds to one student’s contribution to such a seminar. The plan should outline how the seminar is to be structured and organised as well as detailing the material to be used. This will enable a reader to gain a sense of what the student intended to do in the seminar, the rationale for this activity, and when this activity / discussion would take place.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Buckley, M. Mobilizing Soviet Peasants: Heroines and Heroes of Stalin's Field (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006).
• Carlyle, T. On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History (London: Oxford University Press, 1841).
• Cubbitt, G & A.J. Warren (eds), Heroic Reputations and Exemplary Lives (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000).
• Dawson, G. Soldier Heroes: British Adventure, Empire and the Imagining of Masculinities (London: Routledge, 1994).
• Hackett, H. Virgin Mother, Maiden Queen (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 1995).
• Hope, E. Grace Darling: the heroine of the Farne Islands (London: Walter Scott, 1887)
• Hughes-Hallett, L. Heroes (London: Harper Collins, 2006)
• Jordan, G. and Rogers N., ‘Admirals as Heroes: patriotism and liberty in Hanoverian England’ Journal of British Studies 28 (1989), 201-24.
• MacKenzie J., ‘Heroic Myths of Empire’ in J. MacKenzie (ed.), Popular Imperialism and the Military 1850-1950 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992).
• Pollard, A.J. Imagining Robin Hood (London: Routledge, 2004).
• Potts, A. ‘Beautiful Bodies and Dying Heroes: Images of Ideal Manhood in the French Revolution’, History Workshop Journal 30:1 (1990), pp. 1-21.
• Price, J, Postman’s Park: G.F. Watts’s Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice (Compton: Watts Gallery, 2008).
• Riffenburgh, B. The myth of the explorer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
• Warner, M. Joan of Arc: the image of female heroism (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1981).
• Waugh, R. & Weldon, J. (eds) The hero recovered : essays on medieval heroism in honor of George Clark (Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University Press, 2011).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Key words search

Heroes, Heroism, Cults, Reputation, Identity