History: Focus on Historical Interpretation – Voices From The Western Front With Dr Jayne Gifford From University of East Anglia

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In this History session, Dr Jayne Gifford, a leading academic from the School of History at UEA will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on Historical Interpretation – How Historians Work.

What comes to mind when you think of the western front? Tanks, mud, destruction? What informs our perception of the Western Front? How do we piece together the everyday existence of soldiers stationed at the front?

In this session, we will examine a selection of letters from soldiers posted from the Western Front during the early years of the First World War. We will think about why these letters have survived. What can they tell us about the lived experiences of soldiers on the front? What value do letters hold in informing our understanding of the past?

The session will develop skills and approaches to support students in their History studies.

Students are asked to take a look at this document Channel Talent – Opening Letter and think about the extract and questions in advance of the session. We will then discuss these during the session.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Jayne Gifford

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, History and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students are asked to take a look at this document Channel Talent – Opening Letter and think about the extract and questions in advance of the session. We will then discuss these during the session. In addition, students may wish to consider the topic in advance, with respect to challenges they may face or questions they have. Students can also think about questions they have about studying History at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

Register here