One ‘battle’ after another?

In this article, Joel Sharples explains the organising principles that underpinned his planning for a new enquiry sequence inspired by a local photography exhibition. The exhibition’s title ‘Brick Lane 1978: The Turning Point’ prompted him to think afresh about the idea of ‘a turning point’ – a concept that he realised he had rather taken for granted. His exploration of its meaning and of the way in which it has been used by historians acknowledged its obvious relationship to questions of change and continuity, and to considerations of consequences. Ultimately, however, Sharples concluded that ascribing such a status to a particular event constituted a claim to historical significance: a claim which he shows could be powerfully explored in a comparison of three apparently pivotal moments in the history of anti-racist struggles in the East End of London...