Thesis advisor: William Stanwood / Thesis advisor: Lindsay Hogan / Never before has it been so important to investigate the way in which televised historical drama recreates and represents the past, for, as Robert Rosenstone (2003) acknowledges, “the increasing presence of the visual media in modern culture and the vast increase in TV channels seems to ensure that most people now get their knowledge of the past, once school is over, from the visual media” (p. 10). Therefore, this research uses the popular PBS Masterpiece Theatre program Downton Abbey as a case study to examine the accuracy of depictions of historical periods in contemporary television programs with the intent of discovering the impact of historical fiction on audiences’ perceptions of the past and, subsequently, on the collective memory of the public domain. Using a reception analysis approach, this research considers both producer-encoded and audience-decoded content within the four categories of (I) Setting, Details, and Design; (II) History; (III) Behavior; and (IV) Agenda, Values, and Effects outlined by Paul B. Weinstein (2001) to form conclusions concerning the relationship between the encoding and decoding of Downton Abbey, in particular, as well as the larger implications these findings have for televised historical drama and society’s collective memory, in general. Ultimately, this essay argues that through its precision of post-Edwardian detail, Downton Abbey attempts to construct a veil of accuracy behind which the series’ narrative is theoretically able to operate freely and without rigid constraint by history’s “hard and fast rules” (Fellowes, 2012a, p. 60). The findings also reveal an incongruity between this philosophy of encoding and the subsequent decoding process of Downton Abbey’s audience members. Finally, this study offers two potential functions historical drama may serve in contemporary society: as either a catalyst for historical inquiry or as a purveyor of distinctly modern, as opposed to historical, lessons. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that historical costumes can be a valid tool to crystallize and disseminate visual knowledge about fashion and dress history. In the specific, this thesis argues that the screen representation of dress and fashion of the 1860s in the adaptation Senso (1954) provides an evocative contextualization of their past use and meaning for modern viewers. It also discusses the historical accuracy attained by one of the film’s costume designers, Piero Tosi, and his mediation between on-page story and reality. To do this, it visually and textually compares the film costumes, diverse historical documentation and the original novel the film is based on. This analysis is supported by an interdisciplinary theoretical framework: by postmodern history with the concept of historiophoty; by literature and adaptation studies with Genette’s palimpsests and Eco’s reflections on intersemiotic translation; and by costume studies and practitioners with the idea of historical accuracy as a progressive scale and costume as supporting the narrative and balancing the frame.

This study aims to examine the historical accuracy and historical usage in Ubisofts video-game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The study also examines the game’s potential to be used in teaching history in the upper secondary schools. The tools of the analysis are based on four different categorization models to analyze historical games and their didactic abilities. I have made some modifications to the different models, mainly because of the time-limit of this study. Furthermore, I have presented a crucial and relevant selection of previous research in the field of historical computer games, along with a summarizing description of the game-series Assassin’s Creed. The results from this study shows that the game is heavily influenced by history, and the historical accuracy can be noticed throughout the game. However, the game mixes the historical accuracy with fictional and fantastic elements in order to make the story and narrative of the game more intriguing and playable. The potential of the game in the upper secondary school is found to be problematic, mainly because of the time-limit and economical aspects. Nevertheless, the historical content of the game can easily be connected to the national curriculum, which means that the potential of making use of the game in the classroom should not be entirely dismissed.

In this research paper, I develop a conceptual framework through which I identify two ways in which historical practices, events, and spaces are represented and engaged with in video games. The concepts I propose are historical accuracy to reflect well-established narratives and a high fidelity to factual data, and historical authenticity to reflect lesser known narratives and a more complex and sometimes abstract interpretation of history. The research concentrates on the modalities in which history is represented in mainstream video games, what similarities or dissimilarities can be drawn from the analysis of various historical digital games, and how can these games be designed to foster diversity and fair representation.

The material in this study is a follow-up of a thesis done by Paul C. Richards entitled, "A Study of Evidences Related to LDS Church History as Reflected in Volumes I through XIII of the Journal of Discourse." That same basic format has been employed in treating the last thirteen volumes of the Discourses. The Discourses contains addresses delivered by General Authorities of the LDS Church and others from 1854 to 1886. Until Richards did his thesis, no one had compiled an index of those volumes that dealt exclusively with history related to the LDS Church. This study completes the historical index.From the historical index a study was made to discover the quantity and quality of historical information contained in the Discourses. The volumes were found to contain a great deal of valuable reminiscent and contemporary historical information. In general, the historical references were recognized to be accurate. The Discourses was found to offer significant insights into better understanding of the people and events in the history of the Church.