Students get insight on history

Hundreds of history students took part in Massey's History Day programme.

More than 270 students and teachers from Wairarapa, Manawatu, Horowhenua, Hawke's Bay and Wanganui took part in the annual event, held at the Manawatu campus on Friday.

School of humanities senior lecturer Geoff Watson said the event was designed to give pupils and teachers a snapshot of current scholarly thinking in history.

"The lectures give students and staff an insight into how historians approach history, both in their interpretations of their particular subject and the analytical ways they focus on the subject. Hopefully, they encourage pupils to think about the world they live in and what has shaped it.

"At a practical level, students get an experience of sitting in a lecture theatre, going to the student cafe and being among students, so get a feel for being part of a community of scholars."

The event, which has been held since the 1980s, is also a form of professional development for teachers. The lectures covered periods from New Zealand and English history.

Associate Professor Peter Lineham and Dr Christopher van der Krogt talked about scholarly trends in thinking about Puritanism and the role of religion in the English Civil War. For the first time, this year's seminar also featured a lecture on a film about the period and its accuracy, with Dr Karen Jillings discussing Elizabeth.

In the New Zealand history lectures, Dr Peter Lineham discussed the Maori decision to convert to Christianity.

Dr Watson said Dr Lineham's recently published book on Destiny Church was a contemporary example of why this was relevant today.

Professor Michael Belgrave gave a lecture on the historiography of the New Zealand Wars, particularly the first Taranaki War, and Dr John Griffiths gave the last lecture on Saving Private Ryan.

Dr Watson said the curriculum now allowed Year 13 history classes to focus on any events "of significance to New Zealanders" and many Kiwis were involved in D-Day, on which the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan focus.

Palmerston North High School student Brodie Tunui said the lectures would help with their exams later in the year.