May 2022

History is supposed to give us a sense of perspective, some way of understanding current events by looking backwards, at those in the past. I’ve seen some very good articles, comments and blogs on the 1919 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic (which wasn’t Spanish at all of course), and some reflections on how our ancestors coped with… Continue Reading →

The next in our continuing series of blogs inspired by the BLM movement from students and staff is from Catriona, who has just completed her second year of study with us.  As another middle aged, middle class white person, I also wondered what contribution I could make to the quest for change, the need for… Continue Reading →

One twenty-two-year-old (Instagram ‘influencer’ Freddie Bentley, pictured above) recently caused consternation by suggesting topics such as climate change and Brexit should be taught in schools rather than the history of the Second World War. It followed comments by contestants on the reality show The Apprentice that revealed that they weren’t sure of the dates of… Continue Reading →

History is supposed to give us a sense of perspective, some way of understanding current events by looking backwards, at those in the past. I’ve seen some very good articles, comments and blogs on the 1919 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic (which wasn’t Spanish at all of course), and some reflections on how our ancestors coped with… Continue Reading →

History is supposed to give us a sense of perspective, some way of understanding current events by looking backwards, at those in the past. I’ve seen some very good articles, comments and blogs on the 1919 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic (which wasn’t Spanish at all of course), and some reflections on how our ancestors coped with… Continue Reading →

This killing of George Floyd has inspired several of our History students to write blog posts, this one is from Monique, one of our current second years.  My heart aches for my people, we have been through a lot. There is so much trauma, so many things we need to unlearn that the oppressor has… Continue Reading →

  On Monday this week I removed my second-year class on crime and punishment from the confines of a Waterside campus classroom (lovely as they are) and transported it to a real life courthouse in the centre of Northampton. Northampton’s Sessions House was built after the fire that destroyed much of the town in 1675…. Continue Reading →

This week we are posting personal blogs from students and staff in History at the University of Northampton. Today’s post is by Joseph, a first year History Undergraduate.  When you look back in history and you see black people as slaves, then you see them segregated and treated as second class citizens and you think… Continue Reading →

I recently made a visit, with my colleague, Dr Caroline Nielsen, to Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. Kelmarsh was built in the 1730s to a Palladian design by Francis Smith with the architect James Gibbs for the Hanbury family. The Hall retains many of its original features and 1000 acres of the original estate, including working… Continue Reading →

‘We live in societies where the positive freedom to act as we wish is perhaps our central concern. Whatever the professed fears f global warning, or the expressed sympathies with the poor and downtrodden, the willingness actively to change our way of living is the province of only a small minority. For most, the everyday… Continue Reading →