Dance history matters in British higher education

In response to concerns about the place and nature of dance history in British higher education curricula, a database was compiled of representative but significant examples of modules which focused directly on the teaching and learning of history, or had history as a key component. An analysis is presented of these modules in terms of the place of history in dance programmes; how syllabi are organised; the nature of their content; the relationship between substantive knowledge and skills, and modes of assessment. These findings are meshed with more general debates drawn from the philosophy and pedagogy of history. The findings reveal a tendency to conventional chronological narratives, the dominance of US‐related content but emergence of a European focus, and a comparative under‐privileging of British dance history. Skills and methodologies have an arguably increasing profile, thus revealing the propensity of dance history pedagogy to move with macro‐debates in the wider field.