Sat, Feb 4 2023 11:35
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Talking Liberty - In defence of teaching history
Saturday 25th February
1.00 pm - 3.00 pm
Map Room, Cherry Reds, 88-92 John Bright Street, B1 1BN
Free entry but donations welcome. Donations help us to meet speaker travel costs for our two debate Salon events.
Please book via EventBrite
This is the second in our occasional series of events where we discuss topics covered in the Academy of Idea Letters on Liberty series.
In his Letter on Liberty, In defence of teaching history, historian, author and teacher Nicholas Kinloch writes: "History has long been the most controversial of all subjects on the school curriculum. No-one seems to worry very much about what children are taught in geography, drama or even science (although this may be changing). History has always been different.
What children should learn about the past, and how they should learn it, has invariably been the subject of considerable disagreement."
The essay then goes on to consider the issue of decolonisation, the influence of critical race theory, and the ideal of achieving objectivity in looking at history.
From l.10 - 1.40, Vince Gould will introduce his music and history project Abolition Times. Vincent Gould is a performance poet, musician and actor. He has been making songs, poems, satire and video for the last decade or so. To find out more about his current project go to Abolition Times
And then from 1.45, Chris Akers will introduce the arguments in the Letter on Liberty itself, and his own response to them, followed by discussion. Chris has been working in the care sector for over 15 years and graduated from Open University in 2015 with a degree in Psychology. He also has written about boxing, notably King of the Journeymen with Peter Buckley, and is interested in history, politics, and sport.
Attendees are encouraged to read the Letter on Liberty being discussed, although the arguments in it will be summarised by Chris.
Further reading
It never existed. The idea of 'precolonial Africa' is theoretically vacuous, racist, and plain wrong about the continent's actual history - Olufemi Taiwo, Aeon
Conservatives angry about school 'indoctrination' are telling on themselves - Jan Werner-Muller, The Guardian
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