ABSTRACT
The study of history is memorable. The vast majority of adults can remember the history lessons they attended when they were at school, either because they were interesting, or because they were not. History lessons are remembered, even when they are boring. Is there then an expectation that history should be interesting, that makes the boredom more blameworthy than if it characterised a chemistry lesson, that makes the teacher more culpable for the failure to excite? Indeed, the excitement of history is ingrained in popular cul ture, and underlined again and again in films, novels, biographies, TV documentaries and magazines. With all this going for their subject, one might expect that history teachers would have an easy time peddling their wares. And yet, all too often, pupils still find history lessons tedious and uninspiring.
