This week we hosted the second of our new Mitre Lectures, a dynamic series of talks featuring high-profile external speakers, designed to engage students with big ideas each half term. Mr Hardman, Assistant Head – Teaching and Learning, Teacher of History and Politics, and organiser of the Mitre Lectures, reports:
Can any historical account be free from subjectivity? How will today’s historians be judged by the historians of the future? How can medieval historians uncover details of women’s lives? How can history be reclaimed by those seeking to present a broader view of the past?
These were just some of the questions posed and addressed by the leading historian, Helen Carr, in her Mitre Lecture on Tuesday 26 November.
In front of a packed Mitre Theatre audience ranging from First Years to Upper Sixth Formers, Helen delivered an intellectually challenging, thought-provoking case for studying history ‘against the grain’ as a method of reclaiming lost or under-represented narratives.
The author of a best-selling book about John of Gaunt, The Red Prince, and the co-author of the acclaimed What Is History, Now?, Helen’s lecture covered a broad sweep of history from the chroniclers of the 13th century to the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol in 2020.
Drawing on the writings of her great-grandfather, E.H. Carr, she implored the audience to study the historian themselves before they begin to study the historian’s version of events, alongside some extremely useful advice on source analysis.
Following on from Sultana Tafadar KC’s inaugural Mitre Lecture in October, Helen also managed to appeal to the non-historians in the audience by considering the likely interpretations of inaction on climate change by those writing future histories of the early twenty-first century.
Having been introduced by Abigail, a Lower Sixth student, Helen was then tanked by Upper Sixth students Caitlin and Aidan, who chaired a lively Q&A session that touched on the importance of engaging critically with content on TikTok and on the complexities of constructing public history from archival material.
Aidan says, “Having the opportunity to help to run the Q&A part of Helen Carr’s talk was a great experience which allowed me to connect more critically with what she was discussing. A renowned historian, Helen’s exploration of how we study history and why it needs to change was fascinating. The key takeaway from the talk for me was twofold. Firstly, I was intrigued by her message about ‘reading against the grain’ – considering alternative perspectives in history, often the stories of underrepresented groups that have been neglected. This has encouraged me to search for the uncovered views of minorities when looking for primary sources in my coursework, hopefully making this a more enjoyable process.
“The other aspect of her talk that resonated particularly with me was the question of whether we can truly be on the ‘right side of history’. This highlighted the ever-growing need for us, in the present day, to be aware of how future generations may look upon us with shame if we fail to act on issues as vital as climate change.”
Abigail added, “It was fascinating when Helen spoke about the pertinent topic of reclaiming history, as so frequently there are many perspectives, such as those of women, people of colour, and people of the LGBTQ+ community which are not recorded. She gave examples, including how a woman in medieval times was accused of falsifying a pregnancy, when there is a chance she had pseudocyesis, a rare condition where someone believes they are pregnant but are not, which further emphasised the need for additional outlooks.
“Helen also explored the recent debate over the toppling of statues of slave masters. She shared a picture of the Edward Colston statue being thrown into the Bristol Canal, which brought to light how our views on certain people can change. During his time, Colston was seen as a champion of international trade who brought much prosperity to Bristol, but over time, with the acknowledgement of the slave trade atrocities, the statue of Colston is viewed as a glorification of those atrocities. Helen discussed whether these statues should be taken down and if they are, whether it is erasure. The whole talk was extremely thought-provoking and has helped me challenge the way I see the world.”
We are extremely grateful to Helen for visiting us, and we look forward to welcoming the author and campaigner Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism movement, for the next Mitre Lecture on Thursday 6 February 2025.
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