History: The Historian’s Toolkit with Dr George Bodie from Goldsmiths, University of London

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In this History session, Dr George Bodie, Lecturer in History in the Department of History at Goldsmiths, University of London, will lead an interactive skills and insight workshop on The Historian’s Toolkit.

What do historians do? How do we study history, and where does historical knowledge come from? In the popular imagination, the study of history is often presented as straightforward. Historians go into the archive seeking answers to their research questions about the past and emerge with solid, stable conclusions. But modern historical practice is far more interesting and complex than this suggests, as is the range of sources we can use to understand the past.

This session will introduce students to some of the key tools in the professional historian’s toolkit. Its principal focus will be source work: we will explore two images of protest in divided Germany during the Cold War and consider what they can tell us about the Cold War, protest more generally, and how history is made.

Lecturer Profile: Dr George Bodie

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. There is no charge to take part.

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: Aged 16+ pre-university students studying, or with a possible interest in studying, History and related disciplines. Student groups as well as students and teachers joining individually are very welcome.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions about studying at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on 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 speaker via typed comments and questions and/or via a microphone. 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