12 History Extension – Enrichment Through Perspective

Year 12 History Extension students had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the subjective nature of the construction of history through a seminar with an academic historian. Professor Curran generously gave his time to share his expertise and his contemporary university perspective. Students will be able to use these valuable academic insights within their HSC History Extension examination. 

Brigida Zagora
Head of HSIE

In our History Extension lesson we had the privilege of discussing historiography with Professor James Curran, a historian at the University of Sydney and writer for the Australian Financial Review. Throughout the extension course we have been studying key questions surrounding the construction of history, including what the purpose and aims of the historian is and history’s relevance in today’s society. Hearing from Professor Curran provided an invaluable insight into the work of historians in academic settings, and his own perspectives on the use of history. Professor Curran discussed the role of Artificial Intelligence such as Chat GPT in modern constructions of history, the influence of postmodernist theories on history and the intersection of history and current affairs among other things. This will be useful to our upcoming HSC examinations and also in shaping our general understanding of the historical discipline. We are incredibly grateful that we had the opportunity to discuss this with Professor Curran, and thank Ms Jenkins and Ms Zagora for their organisation of the seminar. 

Emma Carroll