HIS4241 – Introduction to Digital Storytelling in History

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

Every historian has a story to tell about themselves and their research topics. For some, this story is obvious. For others, the motivations behind learning about history and doing independent research are not obvious at all and may reach deep into childhood memories, family stories, or places and people left behind. Telling stories about how you discovered a topic in history, why you found it interesting and what you wanted to know more about it and why, and telling the story of finding out more, from your own perspective, is one of the most effective ways of making research accessible to broader audiences. Such "autobiographical reflection" provides an intriguing and inviting invitation into a historical topic, with you as the guide. The focus of this course is producing an effective presentation of your story in the form of a short film. Throughout the semester, we use different digital tools to work on different components of your Digital Storytelling project.

Learning outcome

When you have completed this course you will be able to:

  • have an understanding of and competence in the use of storytelling as a method of disseminating historical research to broad audiences
  • tell a compelling story based on a piece of historical research
  • create the script, audio, and video footage for a short film
  • have working knowledge of digital tools used in making a short film
  • develop critical skills in understanding the limitations of what can be conveyed in short film format

Admission to the course

The course is reserved for students in the master's program in history.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

A good ability to read, write and understand English is required for this course.

Teaching

The course consists of class-based teaching and hands-on workshops. In class, we examine themes such as positionality and subjectivity, the mediation of knowledge, narrative, structure and agency. We also work with the manuscript for the film and investigate auditory and visual components that can be used in your project. In addition, there are production workshops that are held in cooperation with HF:Studio. These provide hands-on instruction on ways of translating a story into a film using digitally available tools for audio, video, storyboarding, and filmmaking.

Compulsory activities:

  • synopsis of the story and sources to be used in the film
  • film script (group submission)
  • film draft and peer-review session (group submission)
  • film screening (group submission)

Detailed information will be given in class and in Canvas.

Examination

The course is assessed by a portfolio that consists of the following:

  • The film produced by your student group during the semester
  • An individual reflective report on the use of digital storytelling in this class (800-1200 words)

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English. You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 8:16:59 AM

Facts about this course

Level
Master
Credits
10
Teaching
Autumn
Examination
Autumn
Teaching language
English

Contact

Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History