18 June 2014
Professor Neil Wynn was recently interviewed about the impact on the South West of the build-up for D-Day in June 1944. He focused particularly on the presence of large numbers of American servicemen, over 250,000 of whom were…
3 June 2014
Further to Neil’s posts last week, in this video Dr Christian O’Connell talks to him about American literature, the GCSE syllabus, and why students should read as widely as possible.
28 May 2014
Having just written about the value of American literature, I heard the sad news today of the death of Maya Angelou, one of the writers I listed as a “must read” for potential and existing students of…
28 May 2014
Like many “cultural warriors” (thank you Mr. Gove for that great title!) and an American historian to boot, I was saddened to read the stories – since denied – that the Secretary of Education, Michael Gove, had axed…
27 May 2014
On Wednesday 21st May, I visited Dilton Marsh, Westbury, in Wiltshire to talk about Black GIs in Britain during World War II. I had previously supported the society’s successful application for a Heritage Lottery fund grant of £17,600 to…
21 March 2014
During the second semester of next year, I’m pleased to say that I’ll be taking up a British Association of American Studies (BAAS) UCL-Institute of the Americas Post-doctoral Visiting Fellowship. The UCL-IA/BAAS is designed to facilitate the development…
19 February 2014
Our final video features Professor Neil Wynn, who has established a very successful and popular American History strand here at Gloucestershire. Students can follow the American History elements of the course right through from first to final year,…
14 February 2014
Ahead of that applicant day next Wednesday, here’s the third in a series of video profiles of members of the History team here at Gloucestershire. Dr Christian O’Connell lectures on our American History strand, which students can take…
28 January 2014
It was with some sadness that I heard of Pete Seeger’s death this morning. It seemed strangely coincidental with the showing of the Coen Brothers’ latest film, “Inside Llewyn Davis”, which focusses on a folk singer (loosely modelled…
14 January 2014
Sometimes it feels uncomfortable being white (I can hear black reader/friends/students laughing at this – “you should try black” they might say.) Viewing Steve McQueen’s great movie 12 Years a Slave provided just one of those moments for…