Practising reflexivity: The place of theory in university history

Abstract
This article examines the impact of the theoretical currents associated with the postmodern turn of the 1980s and 1990s on the teaching of history in universities in England and Wales. Emphasising the centrality of teaching to historians' own professional identity, the article uses information derived from a web survey, course literature and interviews in order to analyse the theoretical components of curricula and pedagogy at honours and Masters' levels. What it suggests is that despite the growing influence of theory on historical research and the urge to introduce a greater element of reflexivity into historical education, there is limited evidence that postmodernism and the turn to theory has had a significant impact on historical education. In conclusion, the article suggests some of the reasons for disciplinary resistance to change as well as the problems such conservatism entails.