Thank you very much for spending your time with us over the past six weeks.

This is the end of The Camera Never Lies. And in summing up the work you've been

doing, I'd like you to think about three principle points that you might take

forward in the future. For any private study, or even watching

your favorite historical films once more. Firstly, just consider the historical

examples that we've used and our concerns about image manipulation.

If the image was not so powerful, didn't convey so much meaning and emotion, then

we wouldn't have found that Stalin and many others would want to change the way

that we perceive historical events through photographs.

So it comes to the point of a good sound historical perspective.

How good are your sources? How well have they been preserved, and

can you go back and compare the original against what you were shown?

Secondly, think about historical texts. We haven't emphasized to any great degree

at this point in time the written word in this course, but there have been three

instances where we've taken professionally written pieces.

Historical narratives put out into the public domain by those who might not be

considered as academic historians. But who nevertheless make a contribution

to our knowledge of, of a topic, and allow us to reflect back on our own

research, and how new opinions might change our perspectives.

So the next time you read anything which is historical, consider who the author is

and how it's put together. And what contribution it makes to your

knowledge, rather than simply being a story in itself.

So do not take it as purely the end of the story, the be all and end all of what

you can learn about that topic. Use it as an inspiration to read more and

to investigate. Finally, when it comes to motion

pictures, the next historical film you watch, consider what the producer and the

director have decided to include or exclude in telling a story.

That fits into the format of a two hour entertainment, yet conveys a sense of

history and presence within a larger narrative.

Go and find supporting material, the original books.

Go and find commentaries by historians and broaden your palate when it comes to

the understanding of that topic. Interpret the films.

Look at the way that the images that you see, and the acting conveys a sense of

history, but also changes the way that you consider what your knowledge is of

the past. Now, this has been a brief introductory

course, we've been looking to highlight how modern media images and film might be

used as historical res, resources. It is not being exhausted.

It is intended in its classroom-based form to be an introduction to first

years, to stimulate them to further research.

I'd like you to do the same. This is only one part of what would have

been a much longer degree for many of the first years involved.

So, at Royal Holloway, we have both undergraduate programs and a variety of

histories, but also masters specifically in public history.

These sessions, these topics for Coursera have been provided by the University of

London International Programmes. And as I said at the very beginning I am

the Programme Director for the BA in History that we teach online.

So however you want to pursue your interest in this field, whether it's

going to be through further private study, or in a more formal context.

If it's within the University of London, either the International Programmess or

Royal Holloway, there's going to be information that you can follow at the

bottom of the website for Coursera that will take you through to those links.

I thank you for your time, I hope you've gained something from this course.

And I wish you well for your future studies.

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Final Thoughts (MOOC wrap up)

Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies

Meet the Instructors