HISTORY

When: Monday May 17th  2021 3.30pm – 4.15pm (live – virtual)

This talk is led by Dr Richard Serjeantson, Fellow and Lecturer in History at Trinity College Cambridge.

Passionate about: British and broader European history between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment

He is interested in the history of the natural and human sciences in Europe, and in their conceptual foundations, between the eras of Reformation and Enlightenment, and will be telling us more about his research and how it can be used to enrich and add depth to curriculum teaching.

This talk will consider the emergence in early modern Europe of ideas about the political, social, scientific, and religious perfection of society. For History teachers looking for innovative approaches to source based questions, this will offer some really useful perspectives, as the talk will centre around a primary source: Thomas More’s Utopia, published just before the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in 1516. Dr Serjeantson will detail the ways in which this text sparked a historical domino effect, leading to some of the most democratic and egalitarian ideas of their age. The talk will also briefly consider some of the directions in which these ideas went, including into the founding of actual utopian societies on St George’s Hill (Surrey) and in New Spain (modern Mexico).

This incredible talk will be complemented by insightful contributions from Laura Covington,  a history teacher and Head of Humanities at Harris Academy Battersea. She is excited about the session’s subject because it is an opportunity to return to the fundamentals of historical practice by starting with the source itself. This is a skill that can often be overlooked and undertaught at school. I am developing a resource which will enable students at A Level to consider the paramount importance of source analysis as being at the heart of historical endeavour, as well as encouraging them to consider lesser-known Early Modern topics as potential coursework questions.

Pilot sessions will run in Michaelmas term in Maths and other interested subject areas on a weekday 3:30-4:00pm. Details and dates of upcoming events can be found via the links below:

• Maths with Professor Imre Leader (Monday 9th November 2020 from 3.30pm – 4.00pm)
• Economics/Business Studies with Dr Christopher Rauh (Monday 16th November 2020 from 3:30pm – 4:00pm)
• Medicine for Biology and Chemistry Teachers with Dr Richard Hayward (Monday 30th November 2020 from 3:30pm – 4:00pm)