History and Heritage
UndergraduateMAQ-BHIX10042026
Course information for 2026 intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 19 July 2026
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Start dates
- 27 July 2026
- Price from
- $2,245
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
History and Heritage
About this subject
On successful completion, a student will be able to - Identify and analyse the historical, political, and cultural forces that shape decisions about preservation, commemoration, and heritage management.
- Evaluate competing narratives of the past by examining how communities, institutions, and individuals remember, represent, or contest historical events.
- Apply foundational heritage skills such as significance assessment, conservation planning, and interpretive design to real-world historical sites, objects, or collections.
- Critically reflect on the role of public history and heritage in shaping identity, memory, and debates about belonging in contemporary society.
- A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials
History lives all around us—in heritage-listed buildings, our local museums, our streets, memes and community memorials. But why are some places protected while others are destroyed? How do communities fight to preserve their stories, and what happens when people remember the past differently? You'll discover how local communities research their own histories, how museums choose stories to tell, and how digital technologies are revolutionizing our encounters with the past. Whether analyzing a campaign to save a historic building or a major exhibition on frontier violence, you'll understand how public history shapes who we are. This unit introduces how history works in the real world, shaping community and national identity, politics, and cultural memory. You'll journey through global approaches to heritage, from colonial collecting and Indigenous requests for repatriation, learning practical skills that heritage and history professionals use daily: assessing cultural significance, developing conservation plans, managing collections, and creating interpretations that bring the past to life. By unit's end, you'll see history and heritage everywhere, and understand the forces determining which stories survive in the public realm.
- Heritage Site Analysis Report (35%)
- Community History/Memory Project (35%)
- Case Study (30%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
This research-intensive university in north-western Sydney offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. With over 44,000 current students, Macquarie has a strong reputation for welcoming international students and embracing flexible and convenient study options, including its partnership with Open Universities Australia.
Learn more about Macquarie University.
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- QS World University Ranking 2026, within Australia:
- 11
- Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2026, within Australia:
- 9
Entry requirements
Others
NCCW (2020 and onwards)
BHIS1004 History and Heritage
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateMAQ-HIS-DEG
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