Edmund Rice College has been truly blessed this year to have five highly capable young men who have undertaken studies in the challenging, but interesting History Extension course. History Extension is a 1 Unit course, which can be studied by passionate students of history providing they are enrolled in Ancient or Modern History as part of their HSC pattern of study.
A central component of this course is the requirement that students undertake a historical inquiry on a topic of their choice, composing a 2500 word essay response. I am very pleased to communicate that students of the 2021 cohort, performed to a highly insightful level, tailoring the focus of their historical investigations to areas of history which each student finds captivating.
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Samuel Milross-Rose conducted a historical investigation influenced by his passion for Ancient History by examining historical portrayals of Persian King Darius III, which suggest that he has been wrongly portrayed as a minor accessory to Alexander the Great.
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The following is a sample from Samuel’s response…
The ancient historians prescribed Darius a legacy as an inconsequential footnote to Alexander, subject to omission and dismissal; popular culture has become another vessel for the translation of an Alexander-centric narrative of Darius, selected for by the practices of ancient historians. Conversely, modern academic historians should combat this prejudice and shed light on the previously unseen perspectives of Darius, attempting to ‘be a faithful mirror’ by navigating and extinguishing inevitable bias.
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Daniel Papakosmas, a fellow student of the course, took on a more contemporary and Australian focus in his research by uncovering a diverse range of historical opinions concerning the treatment of Veterans who served in the Vietnam War upon their return to Australia. As a highly provocative and divisive topic, Daniel found a multitude of contrasting historical perspectives which made for the creation of a thoroughly interesting composition.
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The following is a sample from Daniel’s response…
It is difficult to provide a definitive statement on the treatment of returning Vietnam War veterans within Australia. Due to the sheer amount of contradicting information, it is challenging to determine what is the truth and what is not. What can be understood, however, is that some public opposition to veterans did in fact occur. There are examples of local RSL clubs mistreating veterans seeking their help, there were cases of discrimination from the public, and the government did not provide satisfactory assistance. On the other hand, misremembering is a clear issue, as veterans were not abused as much as some media sources would have one believe.
Mr Marsh
Year 12 History Extension Teacher