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…
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,…
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…
27 November 2013
African American History and Shakespeare? A strange mixture, but one that British director Mark Rylance brought together in the recent production of Much Ado about Nothing starring Vanessa Redgrave and the American actor, James Earl Jones at the…
11 November 2013
Last Thursday the UoG History team (alongside colleagues from across Humanities and the University) celebrated graduation day 2013! It was a great day and a good opportunity to catch-up with students who finished their exams over the summer…
14 June 2013
To some extent we are all part of history – we interact with the past from the present, we are shaped by past experience, and so on, and in the future we will be a part of it…