History Taster Sessions

Fragments

This taster session will explore questions surrounding historical evidence within the context of the holocaust of WWII. It is an active participatory session in which students will examine a series of black and white photographs to identify details of significance which will be used to explore questions surrounding victimology and perpetration within the context of the holocaust. No prior knowledge of the topic or period is required. However, this taster could be enhanced or specifically tailored for students who are engaging with the history of the holocaust/modern German history as part of their studies.

African Americans in East Anglia

This taster session provides a unique and fascinating glimpse into Black activism in East Anglia. Across the nineteenth-century, countless African American abolitionists and warriors for social justice travelled the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to speak out, write and perform against white racism, US enslavement and global oppression. Their anti-racist missions brought them to large cities as well as rural villages in Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Their meetings were incredibly popular, and using primary source documents (newspapers, photographs, posters) we focus on key figures who were the leading lights of the transatlantic antislavery movement. This session can be tailored to the local areas where each school is from, or we can take students on a short walking tour of Ipswich. There is no previous knowledge required.

US History

This taster session can be tailored to the school’s requirements, as we can focus on the Revolution, enslaved resistance, Black civil rights, Native American history, immigration, the history of protest, how the US has developed over the centuries and the complex and controversial issues that are currently being debated at the heart of American democracy. No previous knowledge is required.

The Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution is one of the most important and globe-changing events of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, yet few in Britain know of it or are taught about its significance. This taster session explores what happened, how enslaved people on the island of Haiti revolted against three European empires, the impact of the Revolution on other enslaved people in the Caribbean as well as how influential it became to Black philosophers around the world. We will examine maps, artwork, murals, speeches and writings to piece together this story, and we will finish the session by discussing what the term ‘reparations’ mean and whether this should apply to Haiti. No previous knowledge is required.

Social Justice and Black Women

This taster session explores how Black women on both sides of the Atlantic have been central to antiracist, antislavery and social justice movements across the centuries. We will explore Anna Murray Douglass’ activism, Phillis Wheatley’s poetry, Sojourner Truth’s photography, Sarah Parker Remond’s speeches, Mary Prince’s narrative, and Olive Morris' various protests against white police in Britain. What were the obstacles Black women faced in the US and in Britain in particular? How did they organize? How did they connect their missions to love and liberation? This session can be tailored to the local areas where each school is from, and there is no previous knowledge required.

The Empire Strikes Back

Why does the mention of empire in western nations – including Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and even the US – invoke anger, controversy and debate? In this taster session, we will explore the concept of empire and how our understanding of it has changed over time. How does empire continue to influence us and our identities? How does it relate to museum exhibitions, National Trust heritage sites, statues and our food? We will examine various primary sources to grasp the complexities of researching and understanding empire, especially to those who have been marginalized within European empires across the globe. No previous knowledge is required.

Race, Social Justice and Public History

This taster session explores the connections between the legacies of enslavement, race and the debates around the removal of statues worldwide. What does it mean to erect and maintain statues of people who practiced violence and exploitation of African or oppressed people? How have different communities responded to these conversations? We all have different opinions on whether we should remove such statues from the public sphere or not, and this session will bring out students’ thoughts about this fascinating and at times thorny issue. This session can be tailored to the local areas where each school is from, and there is no previous knowledge required.

'An Example Should Be Made' – War and Justice

306 soldiers from the British Empire were executed for military offences during the First World War. This taster session follows the story of one soldier on trial for a capital offence in 1916. It uses primary sources to follow each step of the trial process and encourages students to make judgements on the soldier's guilt or innocence at various stages. It challenges preconceptions over how military justice was administered. The session asks students to think about whether we can judge motives even when we have all the facts.

Tudor Imperialism

This session examines Tudor England's place in the wider world. We begin by considering why 'Tudor imperialism' has become so closely associated with Elizabethan England, before turning to the messier reality of England's actual power and position on the global stage. From here, we explore England's diplomatic and trade relationships with Europe, its faltering ventures into exploration, and its reach into the Americas. By situating England within the wider early modern world, we rediscover what colonial expansion really looked like in this period.