Why history still matters’ – that’s the title (in the paper at least) of a piece by Simon Schama in the Guardian’s g2. Is the teaching of history principally about instilling a common identity – to help kids ‘grasp what it means to be British today’?
Recent Posts
The End of the Public University in England
The Browne Report released last week, and effectively rubber stamped in the savage public sector cuts announced yesterday, was simply the final nail in the coffin. Under the beguiling but misleading title ‘Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education’ it effectively announced that university degrees are no longer considered a public good but a private investment.
The Anarchist Bookfair: Anarchism’s Big Event
Now almost thirty years old, the London Anarchist Bookfair is a big deal, attracting thousands of the curious and committed. Ross Bradshaw of Five Leaves – a radical bookseller turned radical publisher – has seen it develop.
Beatrix Campbell & the ‘Dagenham’ Moment
‘Made in Dagenham’, the new film by Nigel Cole and Stephen Woolley, captures a key moment in British trade union history. It’s about the landmark strike in 1968 by women machinists at Ford’s factory.
Archives Against the Museum
Could it happen anywhere other than France? Two weeks ago, the staff of the National Archives staged a two-day strike to protest the announced construction of a “Maison de l’Histoire”–in effect, a national history museum–on the site currently(and historically) occupied by the Archives. While the AN reading rooms are now open again, various series have been “exceptionally closed” due to personnel shortages and it seems likely this may go on for some months, if not years, to come.
Memoryscape: an interview with Toby Butler
Toby Butler interviews a lock keeper at Molesey Lock on the river Thames
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