HIST 2093 - The Family, Memory and Identity

The family is central to our identities. For most people, it is in the family that we learn core ideas of self, such as gender, class, race, national identity and more. Our family heritages help locate us in the world and we rely on them to make sense of who we are. Conversely, people removed from their families often struggle to find their identities and feel bereft not just of kin but culture. Family legacies - ideas about who our family is and where they came from then - are an important form of historical memory. This course introduces the history of the family and its important role in shaping individuals, societies and nations. It has two key goals. First to explore the significant transformation in the shape and role of the family over the last five hundred years and second to ask how this history and our personal genealogical histories contribute to the making of personal identity and historical memory. Students shall have the opportunity to learn important skills in genealogy and family history, and to think about how we create connections with our dead ancestors through objects and documents. Content will focus on the history of Western Europe and the Anglophone world, but research opportunities will allow students to look at families in a global context.