Year 11 Queen Victoria Content Overview

Investigating Modern History – The Nature of Modern History: The Construction of Modern Histories

Content Focus
Students investigate methods and issues associated with constructing accounts about the past. The
Historical concepts and skills content is to be integrated as appropriate.

Content Overview Map (10 hours)

Unit Title: Can the Real Queen Victoria Please Stand Up?
1 One True History?
2 Queen Victoria’s
Many Identities
3 A Life Reflected
4 Victoria on Screen
5 Royally Censored I
6 Royally Censored II
7 The Family Tree
8 The Anti-Suffragist
Feminist?
9 New Discoveries
10 Conclusions
Intro to concept of different histories/types of history according to
perspective, purpose, genre
Discussion of living history – how narratives can be
contested/reconstructed based on new evidence
Intro to Queen Victoria and multiple narratives of her life – bad
mother/loving, honest about motherhood; grieving, uninterested in
ruling/deeply involved in politics with very strong opinions imposed on
PMs
Recent challenges to accepted narrative – Julia Baird’s biography of QV
Queen Victoria’s depiction of her own life – letters, books, diaries,
sketches to depict a certain narrative
Contemporaneous constructions of QV – reasons for this,
perspectives/agendas/values on show.
Abundance of documentation about QV’s life – problems this may cause in
constructing a coherent history
Constructions of Queen Victoria through film, television series. Study of
(parts of) film/TV over time: Sixty Years a Queen (1913), Victoria the Great
(1937), Mrs Brown (1997), Victoria (2016).
What is the focus/angle/construction of the character of Queen Victoria?
Censorship of Victoria’s diaries and letters by daughter Beatrice
Selectivity, emphasis and omissions– effect on the construction of QV
history
Class discussion: Public interest vs family wishes?
Barriers to access to Royal Archives, discussion of who owns this
information? Who gets to say how it is accessed? Study of Julia Baird’s
difficulty in access to archives.
Construction of histories around Victoria’s children and grandchildren –
future leaders of Europe, enemies leading to WWI. Perspective/different
agendas at play – construction of history by the victors?
Construction of history through different lenses. QV through a feminist
lens – a contradiction: against feminism in word, but powerful female
leader, keen to exercise great authority and influence.
The impact of recent discoveries on the construction of the history of QV.
Investigation of recent diaries uncovering new details.
Summary lesson of how histories are constructed, contested and
constantly reviewed.
Year 11 Shroud of Turin Content Overview
Investigating Ancient History – The Nature of Ancient History: Historical Authentication and Reliability

Content Focus
Students investigate problems relating to the authentication and reliability of ancient sources. The
Historical concepts and skills content is to be integrated as appropriate.

Content Overview Map (10 hours)

Unit Title: Shroud of Turin: Jesus' Burial Cloth or World’s Biggest Scam?
1 Shroud of Turin:
What’s the big deal?
2 CSI: Turin
3 CSI: Turin II
4 The Real Deal
5 An Ancient Scam
6 Faking It
7 What’s your angle?
8 Restoration
9 New evidence
10 Conclusion: will/can
we ever know?
Overview of the history/journey of the Turin Shroud, significance of the
Shroud, overview of claims laid upon its authenticity/inauthenticity
Methods of Authentication Part I
Scientific techniques to date and analyse the Shroud
- Early dating techniques
- Ancient writers’ views/sources & their reliability
Impact of public display of the Shroud over centuries
Methods of Authentication Part II
- Techniques to authenticate biological remains
Radiocarbon 14 Test of 1988
Comparative dating techniques of Shroud with crucifixion archaeology
of the time
Arguments for the Shroud’s authenticity
- Dating to 1st C AD
- Accuracy of crucifixion techniques
Arguments against authenticity
- Carbon 14 dating to 14th C
- DNA contamination
- Blood or paint?
Possibility of fakes/forgeries of the Turin Shroud
Motivations of perpetrators? How would this have been done?
Agendas and motives behind authentication of the Shroud
Impact of these agendas upon scientific study/reliability of research
Fire of 1532 and patching of holes in the Shroud
2002 restoration process of the Shroud
- Science of preserving the Shroud
- Criticism of restoration for damage caused
- Storage of the Shroud – scientific method for preservation
2017 biological discoveries
Role of new evidence in ancient historical debates
Ongoing debate – 2017 Conference on Shroud of Turin
Class discussion/debate: is it possible to have a definitive answer as to
the Shroud’s authenticity? What would this take? What would
convince people? Difficulty of resolution re ancient historical artefacts.