In this edition, we bring you more information on the residential course that we ran in association with the Historical Association which explored the economic history of colonialism and empire in South and South-East Asia, Africa and the Middle East in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Teachers from across the country came to London to work with Leigh Gardner, Tirthankar Roy and Mohamed Saleh alongside experienced teacher educators Robin Whitburn and Abdul Mohamud from Justice to History, to draw on their professional expertise and develop resources for classroom use.
By placing an increased emphasis on the perspectives of those colonised as well as from the colonial centre, the course aimed to reframe teaching of the British Empire to go beyond the traditional political narratives and to consider the influence of economy and culture by examining themes of globalisation, migration, global finance and environmental change.
The in-depth programme showcased stories of resistance to colonial economic activity by focussing on the Great Rebellion in India of 1857, the Urabi Revolt in Egypt 1879-82 and the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya in the 1950s. These acts of resistance to colonial power show how important economic issues were to the peoples of the empires, and highlight the links between economic, social and political developments.
As well as individual acts of rebellion, sessions highlighted the control of agriculture and other resources including water; an overview of the issues of economic development in trade; and an exploration of the various forms of labour in both European and indigenous enterprises.
These sessions were complimented by a review of the opportunities for planning enquiries through Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 and pedagogies for teaching about empires.
Teachers who signed up for the Residential will also participate in a 12 week online course and we hope to see some of these ideas and practices in the classroom soon.
If you would like to be featured as a profile article, or would like to nominate someone, please contact Tracy Keefe.