Join us for the 2023 Oxford History Teacher Network annual conference, hosted by the Department of Education and Education Deanery at Trinity College. The theme of this year’s conference is subject development and teaching of British Empire and postcolonial legacies.

Register on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oxford-history-teachers-network-annual-conference-tickets-621687753807

Programme

9-9.30am Registration

9.30-10.30am The Raj at War by Professor Yasmin Khan (Kellogg College, Oxford)

Few historical events have resonated as much in modern British culture as the Second World War. Yet Empire is either elided or features in ambiguous ways. Yasmin Khan is a British historian and writer, and University Lecturer in British History (18th to early 20th century). She is an editor of History Workshop Journal, a journal committed to debating the role of history in public life, and exploring the dialogue between past and present. She has contributed to media including the Guardian, BBC Radio and Channel 4 News. In her book ‘The Raj at War’ she uncovers the overlooked history of India at war, revealing the contribution of empire in ways that challenge the story of standing alone as a “blitz-battered nation against the Nazis”.

11am-12.00pm Uncomfortable Oxford

Uncomfortable Oxford started by organising public walking tours which introduced people to hidden and uncomfortable aspects of the city’s past and present. The original tour reflected on the politics of ‘Memory and Memorialisation’ and explores aspects of the city such as: statues (who they are, where they are positioned, who put them there?). Based on rigorous academic research, the tours looked behind the obvious facades and landmarks to explore the networks of power, privilege and wealth that have formed Oxford over centuries – and influence it today. They will share some pedagogical resources they have been developing over time and want to engage with teachers about possible collaborations. This offers real scope to bring a local dimension to the study of Empire in Oxford Schools

12-1.15pm Lunch (courtesy of Trinity College) and chance to network

1.15 -1.45pm Outreach and Access work

We will hear from both Trinity College and History faculty about a range of outreach initiatives

1.45-4.00pm Modelling the discipline: how can Yasmin Kahn’s use of evidence enable us to teach a more global World War Two?

Based on a collaboration with the historian Yasmin Khan, we created an enquiry that sought to get students to consider how the historian uses evidence to create accounts and, substantively, to consider a more global treatment to traditional ways the Second World War has typically been presented. The work has been used in the Weald School and Cheney School and includes a film made with Yasmin talking to students directly about evidence and in doing so help demystify the work of a professional historian.

Chaired by Dr Jason Todd, PGCE History Tutor and Zaiba Patel, ex-teacher and current DPhil candidate.