From Department of History to Department of History and Heritage Studies: Discourse of Heritage at Mzuzu University in Malawi

In response to broader debates for the disciplines of history to make themselves relevant in addressing not only social issues but also economic issues, the Department of History at Mzuzu University in Malawi rebranded itself in 2016 and adopted the new name of Department of History and Heritage Studies. What does it mean and imply for a former Department of History to be identified as Department of History and Heritage Studies? This chapter explores the implications of this change in relation to economic imperatives of commercialising and commodifying the past to contribute explicitly to the economic and development needs of the nation. The chapter assumes qualitative research informed by archival, primary, and secondary sources of information. The findings established that by reviewing its curriculum and rebranding the Department of History as that of History and Heritage Studies Mzuzu University reconfigured the discourse of history to be instrumentalised in addressing concerns of sustainable economic development in Malawi and to respond to the broader debates on the crisis in the humanities.