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Schools of Vice: how a medical scandal led to the dismantling of Britain’s last prison hulks
Historian article
Hulks – former naval ships used as prisons for those convicted of serious crime and sentenced to transportation – were intended to be a temporary solution to a penal crisis caused by the American Revolutionary Wars. These ‘schools of vice’, or ‘floating hells’ lasted 80 years, casting a shadow over...
Schools of Vice: how a medical scandal led to the dismantling of Britain’s last prison hulks
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Finding Bad Bridget: the lives and crimes of Irish immigrant women in America
Historian article
From the early nineteenth century until the First World War, millions of Irish women emigrated to North America in search of better lives. Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick, co-leads for the AHRC-funded Bad Bridget research project, tell us how poverty, discrimination, isolation from family as well as greed and opportunism...
Finding Bad Bridget: the lives and crimes of Irish immigrant women in America
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Imperial spaces of a ‘miniature world’: the case of Rugby School, c.1828–1850
Historian article
English public schools in the nineteenth century were training grounds not just for society’s elites but also for careers in Britain’s imperial service. In this article, Holly Hiscox explores the ways in which schools such as Rugby provided pupils with a miniature world of domestic and professional life which prepared...
Imperial spaces of a ‘miniature world’: the case of Rugby School, c.1828–1850
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Real Lives: A German captain’s perspective on the end of WWI
Historian feature
Our series ‘Real Lives’ seeks to put the story of the ordinary person into our great historical narrative. We are all part of the rich fabric of the communities in which we live and we are affected sto greater and lesser degrees by the big events that happen on a daily...
Real Lives: A German captain’s perspective on the end of WWI
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Doing history: Contemporary narratives and the legacy of the Dagenham Ford Factory Strike of 1968
Historian feature
In this article, Zubin Burley looks at how a visit to the local archive can transform our understanding of an important event in British social history...
Doing history: Contemporary narratives and the legacy of the Dagenham Ford Factory Strike of 1968
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Telling rich stories about women’s lives in the American West at GCSE
Teaching History article
Concerned by the absence of women’s voices in her school’s scheme of work on the American West, and struck by the narrow, male-dominated narrative in her GCSE textbook, Nicole Ridley set out to rethink the way the topic was taught. Galvanised by her research into different ways to integrate women’s history,...
Telling rich stories about women’s lives in the American West at GCSE
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Teaching Year 9 about the ordinary people who fought in the Spanish Civil War
Teaching History article
Teaching Year 9 about the ordinary people who fought in the Spanish Civil War
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Virtual Branch Recording: Magna Carta
Article
This month at the Virtual Branch, renowned medieval historian David Carpenter will delve into the enduring legacy of Magna Carta. Drawing on his recent work uncovering and authenticating a Magna Carta document in the United States, Carpenter will explore why both the dating and the content of this foundational charter...
Virtual Branch Recording: Magna Carta
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Film: Lenin's early thought
Film Series: Power and authority in Russia and the Soviet Union
As Lenin’s own political outlook and beliefs developed so did the European movements of Socialism and Communism. Groups emerged that wanted to radically change society and social structures. Lenin positioned himself as one of the leaders and crucially one of the thinkers behind these new ideas and movements.
Dr Lara...
Film: Lenin's early thought
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Recorded webinar: Natural disasters in medieval Britain
Article
Natural disasters frequently affected medieval populations. This webinar explores some examples of what happened when meteorological hazards struck medieval communities, how they reacted and what steps they took to protect themselves against future risks. Through archaeological and historical sources of evidence, Peter Brown explores the diverse impacts unleashed by disasters...
Recorded webinar: Natural disasters in medieval Britain
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Driving your development – taster films
Article
These two short films form part of our Driving your development unit, designed as a practical toolkit for new teachers to support you to survive and thrive applying for and into your first history teaching post. The unit aims to cover all of the major aspects of successfully applying for your first history teaching...
Driving your development – taster films
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Giving students proper recognition for historical oracy
Teaching History article
It was concern about Year 13 students’ reluctance to articulate their thinking that prompted Toby Dove to review his approach to the promotion of oracy within history. Having recognised the importance of young people being able to express and defend their claims in valid ways, as well as the ways...
Giving students proper recognition for historical oracy
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What Have Historians Been Arguing About... global history?
Teaching History feature
In 1990, the inaugural edition of the Journal of World History was published. The articles within included William H. McNeill’s reflection on his 1963 magnum opus The Rise of the West: a history of the human community. Both a self-critique and a call to action, in this article McNeill acknowledged...
What Have Historians Been Arguing About... global history?
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Move Me On 200: trainee has found little scope to develop students’ oracy
Teaching History feature
Move Me On is designed to build critical, informed debate about the character of teacher training, teacher education and professional development. It is also designed to offer practical help to all involved in training new history teachers. Each issue presents a situation in initial teacher education/training with an emphasis upon...
Move Me On 200: trainee has found little scope to develop students’ oracy
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200 editions of Teaching History!
Teaching History feature
In 1968, Mary Price wrote an article for the HA journal, History. Entitled ‘History in danger’, it told a shocking story. The subject of history in Britain’s schools was losing its identity, argued Price, disappearing into various species of integrated humanities and civics. Pupils could see little purpose for it,...
200 editions of Teaching History!
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On-demand webinar: Making history accessible: review and reflection
Webinar series: Making history accessible
Webinar series: Making history accessible
Session 5: Making history accessible: review and reflection
In this session, participants will be encouraged to review their action research projects. Coaching conversations will encourage reflection, allowing participants to share their actions and insights. Additionally, they will begin developing a strategic plan to outline next...
On-demand webinar: Making history accessible: review and reflection
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On-demand webinar: Showcasing history teaching and learning in special schools
Webinar series: Making history accessible
Webinar series: Making history accessible
Session 4: Showcasing history teaching and learning in special schools
From a special school perspective, Sally Lonsdale and Lucy Bennett explore how history is encountered at their school. With secondary students working at Key Stage 1 age related expectations, history is seen as an ‘enriching...
On-demand webinar: Showcasing history teaching and learning in special schools
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On-demand webinar: Teaching neurodivergent students to succeed at GCSE History and beyond
Webinar series: Making history accessible
Webinar series: Making history accessible
Session 3: Teaching neurodivergent students to succeed at GCSE History and beyond
This session will offer practical strategies teachers can use to support and challenge neurodivergent students at GCSE. Covering the importance of scaffolding and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, Kate Wright will offer a...
On-demand webinar: Teaching neurodivergent students to succeed at GCSE History and beyond
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Recorded webinar: Indian Suffragettes: women's activism in South Asia and beyond
Article
Between 1917 and 1947, women in the Indian subcontinent were engaged in active debates and noteworthy demonstrations for the vote, building up a national suffrage movement. In this talk Professor Sumita Mukherjee discusses the activities of Indian suffragettes in this period, showing how they were connected with British and other...
Recorded webinar: Indian Suffragettes: women's activism in South Asia and beyond
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James Macpherson: a Scottish Robin Hood
Historian article
James Macpherson led a notorious gang of robbers in late seventeenth-century Scotland, and he became infamous for robbing rich lairds to give to the poor. Anne-Marie Kilday explains how his notoriety is also significant for revealing how people in early modern Scotland could hold complex attitudes towards the Gypsy Roma...
James Macpherson: a Scottish Robin Hood
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Decoding medieval pilgrimage
Historian article
Pilgrimage played a significant role in medieval life and belief. Pilgrims travelled far and wide to express their devotion to saints and their cults. Who were the pilgrims and what did pilgrimage involve? Luke Daly makes sense of this fascinating and complex phenomenon...
Decoding medieval pilgrimage
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Recorded webinar: The post-emancipation Caribbean and the meanings of freedom
Article
This webinar examines the era of ‘post-emancipation’ in the Caribbean from around the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. It interrogates the notion of ‘emancipation’ and asks what kind of ‘freedom’ did abolition bring to the formerly enslaved? How did colonial states and other authorities seek to regulate the lives of...
Recorded webinar: The post-emancipation Caribbean and the meanings of freedom
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Filmed Lecture: Medlicott Lecture 2025 - Dr Christine Counsell
Dr Christine Counsell
The Historical Association's Medlicott Medal 2025 was awarded to Dr Christine Counsell. The award seeks to recognise individuals from a diversity of backgrounds in their service to history. Read more about Christine, her work and her award here.
As is the custom, Dr Christine Counsell received her award and presented her...
Filmed Lecture: Medlicott Lecture 2025 - Dr Christine Counsell
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Driving Your Discussion
Article
Welcome to Driving Your Discussion – a new resource from the Historical Association's Secondary Committee.
The resource takes the form of a series of discussion cards to support teacher collaboration by guiding critical reflection on topical themes such as curriculum design, assessment, inclusion, and pedagogy. Each discussion card offers structured prompts,...
Driving Your Discussion
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Cunning Plan… for teaching medieval Muslim Spain
Teaching History feature
Good morning Year 7. Once upon a time in the mid-eighth century, a young prince was forced to abandon his home. His home was in Damascus, and there, one night, his family had been taken by surprise. The young prince belonged to a family called the Ummayads. The Ummayads had...
Cunning Plan… for teaching medieval Muslim Spain
