History

Some ideas for studying History during the lockdown/getting ready to study A Level History

Idea 1: Why not do some reading about American History?  At Pocklington in Lower Sixth you will be learning all about American History, going further back in time than at GCSE. The big topics you will be exploring are:

  • The origins of the Civil War, 1820-61
  • Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77
  • The Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1870s-1920
  • The Great Crash, the Great Depression and the New Deal policies, 1920-41

As well as doing a little bit of research on these periods, finding out what ‘Reconstruction’ is and what we mean by the ‘Gilded Age’, you could do some reading to get an overview of American History. Two excellent books that that department would recommend are:

  • The Penguin History of the United States of America, Hugh Brogan
  • America, Empire of Liberty, David Reynolds

Reynolds is definitely an easier read but Brogan provides some really excellent insights into the periods we will be studying. You could just focus on the periods above but you might want to go back further to the foundations of America as we know it today, forged in the inferno of revolution. Having a broad understanding of the earlier periods of American History not only provides useful context but can be invaluable for shedding light on the areas we will be studying, especially the thorny issue of slavery and the arguments over the legitimate powers of the federal government.

You may even want to take some notes, focusing on areas you find particularly interesting and questions you have which you can look up answers to or save for when you start your A Level. For example when looking at the Progressive Era you might ask: ‘What does this strange French phrase laissez-faire mean?’

Idea 2: Why not research American History online?  Maybe the thought of reading either of these books is a bit intimidating (although we think that you will actually really enjoy them). Instead you might want to do some online research on American History. Some good websites to look at are:

  • https://www.ushistory.org/us/index.asp - lots of annoying adverts but the ‘online textbook’ breaks topics down into tasty bitesize chunks like The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller, which incidentally sounds like the name of an absolutely terrible boy band!
  • https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/us-history/ - if you have been on the America trip with the department you will know all about the mighty Smithsonian and all their excellent museums in Washington D.C. Well they also have a magazine and their website has lots of interesting little articles for you to peruse. For example there is an interesting article all about women gaining the vote in America entitled The Thorny Road to the 19th Amendment…might just have to have a little read of this one!
  • https://www.history.com/topics - the History Channel has lots of simple articles on US History organised in a range of different ways such as eras, movements and people. It is definitely a good starting point but again lots of adverts to contend with!

If you want a challenge you could also have a browse of the library’s electronic resources, playing around with the search functions on things like JSTOR, which contains a treasure trove of academic articles. These articles can be quite tough though so don’t worry if you’re finding them a bit of a challenge.

Idea 3: Why not sit down and enjoy John Green and his Crash Course US History ‘lessons’?  He is the man we all love to hate and who speaks faster than a cheetah who has drunk seventeen pints of Red Bull but his Crash Course US videos are actually pretty good (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crash+course+us+history) . You may want to take some notes on the topics you will be looking at or just find out more about a topic that tickles your fancy. Particularly useful ones include:

  • Slavery: Crash Course US History #13
  • The Election of 1860 & the Road to Disunion: Crash Course US History #18
  • Battles of the Civil War: Crash Course US History #19
  • The Civil War, Part I: Crash Course US History #20
  • The Civil War, Part I: Crash Course US History #21
  • Reconstruction and 1876: Crash Course US History #22
  • The Industrial Economy: Crash Course US History #23
  • Growth, Cities and Immigration: Crash Course US History #25
  • Gilded Age Politics: Crash Course US History #26
  • The Progressive Era: Crash Course US History #27
  • Progressive Presidents: Crash Course US History #29
  • Women’s Suffrage: Crash Course US History #31
  • The Roaring 20’s: Crash Course US History #32
  • The Great Depression: Crash Course US History #33
  • The New Deal: Crash Course US History #34

Idea 4: Why not listen to some podcasts?  If you just want to broaden your historical knowledge (and just love history), then there are lots of excellent history podcasts out there. Try these for starters:

  • In Our Time https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/downloads – BBC Sounds – Melvyn Bragg speaks to experts on a range of topics, not all historical. A quick look at recent ‘history’ episodes shows that you can learn about Marie Antoinette, the 18th century gin craze and the Valladolid Debate (a 16th century dispute over the enslavement of native Americans).
  • He’s not quite our very own @TheHistoryMan but Dan Snow’s (@TheHistoryGuy) History Hit https://www.historyhit.com/podcasts/ is a good listen, again with historical ‘experts’ (along with authors trying to flog their books). Recent episodes include Globalisation in 1000 AD; Australia, Anzac and History (might have to give this one a listen); and Criminal Subculture in the Gulag.
  • If you want to combine a moment of calm in your day with ‘virtual’ walks over the First World War battlefields (if that’s your thing) then there is nothing better than Paul Reed’s (@sommecourt) The Old Front Line https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-old-front-line/id1505204931. As well as exploring well-trodden battlefield sites he also takes you to ‘forgotten’ battlefields like the Boar’s Head, just north of the Somme, which took its deadly toll on the Royal Sussex Regiment on 30 June 1916.
  • Again, not strictly just a History podcast but Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist Historyhttp://revisionisthistory.com/ is always a fascinating listen. Anyone familiar with Gladwell’s work will know that he re-examines stories – mostly from the past – and asks whether we have really got them right. It is a journey through the overlooked and misunderstood. It will hopefully inspire you to challenge the orthodoxy and look at things in new ways. Recent episodes include ‘The Obscure Virus Club’ (sounds topical) and ‘The Queen of Cuba’.
  • And if you’re itching for more American History I can heartily recommend The Washington Post’s Presidential https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/presidential/id1072170823. Each episode looks at a different president starting with Washington and ending with Trump. If you’ve wanted to find out more (or just something!) about a really obscure president then this is the place for you. In fact the episode about Millard Fillmore is called ‘Teaching the obscure presidents’ and is a discussion about what we lose if we don’t teach about them.

Idea 5: Why not read some award-winning history books?  Trawl through the Bailie Gifford prize shortlists for non-fiction book of the year searching for any history books that have been nominated. Or look through shortlists from previous years for the Wolfson History Prize (https://www.wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/). The 2020 shortlist was announced at the end of April so is about as up-to-date as you could ask for. Books include:

  • The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans, David Abulafia
  • A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution, Toby Green
  • Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire, Prashant Kidambi
  • The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, Hallie Rubenhold
  • Building Anglo-Saxon England, John Blair
  • Reckonings: Legacies of Nazi Persecution and the Quest for Justice’, Mary Fulbrook
  • Birds in the Ancient World: Winged Words, Jeremy Mynott
  • Empress: Queen Victoria and India, Miles Taylor
  • Liberty’s Exiles: How the Loss of America Made the British Empire, Maya Jasanoff
  • The Spanish Holocaust, Paul Preston
  • Reprobates: The Cavaliers of the English Civil War, John Stubbs
  • Empires of the Dead: How One Man’s Vision Led to the Creation of WW1’s War Graves, David Crane
  • Common People: The History of an English Family, Alison Light
  • Maoism: A Global History, Julia Lovell
  • East West Street, Philippe Sands
  • Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy, Serhil Plokhy

Idea 6: Why not watch some excellent history documentaries?  Here is a link to a great YouTube channel which has lots of documentaries on a range of different periods and topics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5FsriGn300&list=PL_ZhAiPE9mRS3fJOp6rGG6247GPEfiq2W. There are also some epic documentary series out there by the likes of Ken Burns (including his mammoth The Vietnam War which is on Netflix) and also some fantastic documentary films such as Leon Gast’s When We Were Kings, arguably one of the greatest sport films ever made, all about the famous 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, which saw Muhammad Ali battle George Foreman.  Below are some direct links to documentaries covering aspects of the L6th History course too:

Idea 7: Why not watch a lecture? Or attend a webinar? Gresham College (https://www.youtube.com/user/GreshamCollege/videos) has filmed a veritable treasure trove of excellent public lectures that are all freely available. There are loads of history ones like The Cato Street Conspiracy, 1820: A Study in Terrorism and Black Tudors: Three Untold Stories (just two selected at random). During the lockdown Dan Hill (@DanHillHistory), a military historian, has been running a series of History From Home webinars that you can sign up to (https://www.danhillmilitaryhistorian.com/historyfromhome). There are two a week on a Wednesday and Sunday, and each lecture is given by an expert in the field. If you love geeking out on your military history this is a must. There have been quite a few lectures already which can be found in the archive and include Dr Spencer Jones talking about the Boer War, a war that led to a number of important changes in the British Army, and Dr John Greenacre discussing the heroic, but ultimately futile, exploits of Operation Market Garden.

Idea 8: Why not watch a historical film or TV series critically?  Definitely one that will bring out your inner pedant! Watch a film or series like The Last Kingdom on Netflix (all about the chaotic and bloody Saxon world) and then watch a lecture or read an article or book the relates directly to it. Consider how accurate they were, what liberties they took with history (and why), and what you would have done differently. BBC History Magazine has put together some recommendations for you here: https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/best-historical-tv-shows-films-stream-right-now-uk-what-to-watch-netflix-amazon-prime-now-tv-us-america-period-dramas/

Overall, try to get a good mix between reading/watching/preparing for the A Level content alongside taking this unique opportunity to enjoy much wider history too.  The history department will arrange some drop-in zoom chats with you all to see how you are getting on and what areas of history you have been researching/enjoying.