April 2019

As we approach the end of another year I thought I’d reflect on what, if anything we might learn from the events of 2017. This has been (another) tumultuous annum with terrorism, the threat of nuclear war, and political turmoil at home and abroad. What I’d like to discuss though, is the value of History […]

Today is the 250th anniversary of an event well known to historians of eighteenth-century politics, but not, I suspect, to the wider public. Mostly it is recounted as part of the mercurial career of the radical populist John Wilkes, who bestrode the world of politics in the late 1760s and early 70s. The event was […]

Standing outside North Gate bus station on a cloudy Friday morning, meeting our new first year History students at the end of Welcome Week, I was worried our introductory tour of the town would be a bit of a washout. Instead, it turned into a great morning, one where we found out lots of new […]

One feature of the History degree at Northampton is a recurring opportunity to engage with optional field trips. Students posing in front of historical military hardware at the Imperial War Museum! Last Thursday sixteen second-year students took a break from their normal classes to visit the Imperial War Museum.  Most were studying the optional module HIS2014 First […]

On Wednesday this week I will be moving into my open office space in the Learning Hub at the University of Northampton’s new Waterside Campus. I’m pretty excited about the change because I’ve been down to Waterside and it looks fantastic. In fact it has exceeded my hopes so far and I hope and believe […]

This week at the University of Northampton there are a number of events and talks are being held to raise awareness about healthy relationships, consent and sexual harassment. As part of this I decided to include a new lecture and seminar workshop on rape as part of my second year History of Crime module (HIS2010 […]

The 100 signatories of an open letter published in Le Monde on 8 January 2018 launched a peculiarly Gallic attack on the #metoo movement, and revived the longstanding antagonism between French and Anglo-Saxon feminisms. In the wake of the Weinstein Affair (and its widespread and continuing repercussions), female  French writers, artists, actresses, journalists, and academics […]

Last Wednesday I gave a talk to the English and Creative Writing seminar at the University of Northampton, about how historians use social media and blogs. As I tend to do, I put a quick announcement on Twitter. Jessica Meyer, a historian from Leeds University, asked if I was going to podcast the talk and […]

In the past few days, the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate has made headlines by mounting a campaign to raise awareness of the ways that books denying the Holocaust, as well as other key pieces of neo-Nazi literature, are being sold on online bookshops run by Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and WHSmiths. Particularly notable among these […]

The ‘D’ word is often most feared when you are studying your undergraduate degree, that is until you reach third year and there is no escape from it. I remember when I started undergrad and I thought to myself ‘How am I ever going to be able to write 10,000 words? Let alone find a […]

University is hard, and it’s hard to know how to prepare for it. To help, here are my top tips for new students. I made these tips from lessons I learnt from my first-year experience. 1. Know how much money you have. I know this sounds simple but it is very important. Before coming to […]

In this blog, mature student Melanie Marsh reflects on her journey through two History degrees at the University of Northampton, and her successes in winning funding for a PhD project. My Undergraduate degree: I was one of the oldest mature students in my undergrad intake, and had a disability. I had a lot to prove […]

For several years now I’ve been putting undergraduates on trial. Before you get excited I only mean as an exercise in understanding the criminal trial in the past, I don’t lock them up or send them to Botany Bay! Each year I set an assessment which involves groups of 2nd year History and Criminology students […]

Preparing teaching materials for a new term can lead to some surprising discoveries. My highlight this year, while getting things together for my history of Communism module, was coming across the Revolting Russians episode of Horrible Histories on Box of Broadcasts, the video streaming service for schools and universities. The show takes a typically light-hearted, […]