Whether you miss your university days or you never got the chance to go, this unique weekend will give you unmissable access to lectures at King’s College London’s prestigious history department.
Listen to and participate in eight history masterclasses over two days, delivered by leading academics - all within the stunning Grade II-listed Bush House on the university’s central Strand Campus.
Learn about the history of Britain, Empire, feminism, justice, food, and much, much more.
Book now and bring a friend to take advantage of our two-ticket offer - an incredible saving of £60.
Full content detailed below.
Content
History of feminism with Dr Hannah Dawson
Led by an expert in the history of gender and feminism, and political thought and intellectual history, this session is an essential whistle-stop tour of the women who fought for the rights of themselves and others, from Christine de Pizan’s City of Ladies in the 15th-century, to today’s #metoo movement.Philosemitism and antisemitism in history with Dr Adam Sutcliffe
This session will explore the long and complicated history of the multiple cultural, religious and economic associations with Jews in western culture. In this session, led by a specialist on European Jewish history, we will analyse the histories of antisemitism and philosemitism, and ask: what lessons can we draw for the protection of cultural pluralism?Was there any justice in the European Middle Ages? With Dr Alice Taylor
The European Middle Ages are often now understood as a time of great lawlessness, inequality and violence. But where did this image come from? Is it accurate? This session will introduce medieval systems of justice and ideas surrounding a “just” government, presenting an argument for those in the Middle Ages who passionately believed they were living in a just society - and why this should still matter to us now.What does Britain owe to the British Empire? With Professor Richard Drayton
The issue of reparations owed by Britain for slavery and colonialism has arisen in the 21st century. What role did the empire play in the making of modern Britain? How did trade and colonisation in the Americas, Africa and Asia shape Britain’s economy, society, political institutions and culture? Explore these questions and many more with an expert in the European empire and imperialism.The rise and fall of the British nation with Professor David Edgerton
It is usual to see the United Kingdom as an island of continuity in an otherwise convulsed and unstable Europe. This session draws on David’s new book, The Rise and Fall of the British Nation, breaking out of the confines of traditional British national history to redefine what it means to be British, and to reveal an unfamiliar place.Food with Professor Abigail Woods
Today, those who choose to eat animal products face a host of difficult questions. Do we really know what we are eating? How safe is it? Did its production harm animal welfare, and how did it impact on the environment? This session, led by an expert in the history of human and animal health, shows us that our concerns around food have a longer history than the emergence of processed foods.Human rights with Dr Christine Mathias
What rights do we have as humans? What happens when those rights are violated? Between the 1960s and 1980s, military dictatorships came to power across Latin America - and some experts estimate that as many as 400,000 people were killed, while millions were detained, tortured, exiled or displaced. We will explore the legacies of state terror, focusing on how local and international actors have worked to define and protect human rights.Ideas of poverty in the age of enlightenment with Dr Niall O’Flaherty
Led by an expert in 18th and 19th century social, religious and scientific thought, this session will examine the ways in which poverty was conceptualised in the social, political and religious discourses of 18th-century Europe. This includes the beginnings of our modern conception of poverty as having deep underlying causes which are amenable to human agency, and of its being the root cause of our biggest social problems.
Tutor profiles
Dr Hannah Dawson is a historian of ideas and a lecturer in the history of political thought at King’s College London. She received her PhD in history from the University of Cambridge and is the author of Life Lessons from Hobbes. Hannah contributes frequently to live and broadcast media, including BBC4, BBC Radio 4, TEDx and Guardian Live, and writes for publications such as the Times Literary Supplement and Prospect. She tweets @DrHannahDawson.
Dr Adam Sutcliffe is a reader in European history at King’s College London. His research focuses on modern Jewish history and European intellectual history, and particularly on the relationship between these two areas. He is the author of Judaism and Enlightenment and has written on topics ranging from Spinoza and 17th-century republicanism to the politics of Holocaust memory. He is currently working on Jews and Judaism in the history of radical politics, and has a special interest in the history and politics of Jewish-Muslim relations.
Dr Alice Taylor is a reader in medieval history at King’s College London. She is currently researching and writing a comparative history of European states and governments in the long 12th century. Her previous research focused on the form of the medieval state in Scotland, particularly on uncovering its early legal tradition from its later medieval manuscript tradition.
Professor Richard Drayton is Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at King’s College London, one of the senior professorships in the history course. He has studied at Harvard University, Yale, Oxford University and the University of Cambridge. In 2002 he was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize for History, and his research address how empires shape economy, society, politics and culture at both their centres and peripheries.
Professor David Edgerton is Hans Rausing Professor of the history of science and technology, and professor of modern British history. He is known for challenging the welfarism and declinism of much of the older historiography of 20th-century Britain and for developing the concepts of the British warfare state and liberal militarism. He has written for the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, London Review of Books, the Independent, New Statesman and Prospect, and his The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: a twentieth-century history was published by Allen Lane in June 2018.
Professor Abigail Woods is a historian of science, technology and medicine. She trained in Cambridge and Manchester, and spent eight years at Imperial College London before joining King’s College London in 2013. Reflecting her earlier career as a veterinary surgeon, her research focuses on the history of animals, animal health and livestock agriculture in modern Britain, the evolution of veterinary medicine and the history of animals within human medicine.
Dr Christine Mathias joined King’s College London in 2015 as a lecturer in modern Latin American history. She has a PhD in History from Yale University, and experience living and researching in several Latin American nations. She writes about history and Latin American affairs for publications such as Dissent and Perspectives on History.
Dr Niall O’Flaherty is a lecturer in the history of European political thought at King’s College London. He received his PhD from King’s College, Cambridge, in April 2008, and his research focuses on 18th- and 19th-century social, religious and scientific thought in Britain.
Details
Date: Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 March 2019
Times: Weekend course, 10am-4pm
Location: Bush House, King’s College London, Strand Campus, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG
Price: Single ticket £149 plus £7.39 booking fee; two ticket offer £238 plus £7.80 booking fee
Capacity: 395
Complimentary lunch and refreshments included.
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