Leah Mclaine (Gosforth Academy, Year 13) has spent a week undertaking work experience in our Department of Humanities and reports back from a Taster Day that the History team organised for A-level students.
I attended a taster workshop organised by the Department of Humanities at Northumbria University, dealing with conflicts in Ireland, Russia and Germany after the First World War. A group of eager History students from Monkseaton Sixth Form engaged in three seminar-like sessions delivered by Professor Charlotte Alston, Dr James McConnel and Head of History, Dr Daniel Laqua.
With Professor Charlotte Alston, the students explored Russia after the October Revolution, focusing on ‘the Civil War beyond Reds and Whites’. They were first provided with some geographical information and the overall context as to how the war panned out, and they then explored the subject further with some picture sources. Although the students had been studying Revolutionary Russia in their A-Level course and thereby had considerable contextual knowledge, it was impressive how they stretched this context, allowing them to make plausible inferences such as affiliating the new figures introduced to them with the political ideologies of the Social Revolutionaries or the Bolsheviks. Professor Alston gave the seminar a personal touch by allocating a Russian identity to each group – for instance a Russian textiles worker from a southern region or a teacher from a more northern region. The students were given a list of their identity’s specific demands and were then left to deliberate among themselves as to which political ideology they would most support.Professor Alston succeeded in providing a session on both the nature of the civil war that followed the October Revolution but also reminding the students that amidst the war, there were normal citizens with normal lives. Too often we seem to gaze superficially across political landscapes and stereotype groups, which then results in a loss of individuality and humanity in the way we view the population engaged in conflict. This session took a different stance, capturing these groups through individual persons with unique desires, not merely as masses under political labels; it was a refreshing outlook on the unfolding of a civil war and the parties it affected.
The students then engaged in a session provided by Dr James McConnel who explored ‘Ireland after the Easter Rising: The Violent Road to Independence’. The presentation was based on a series of images of Irish propaganda, calling all able Irishmen to join the British war effort, but on behalf of Ireland. As each picture came up, the students would be asked to expand upon the symbolism and literary influences used in the posters; how the art played on the subconscious expectations of its audience; how the allegory of Ireland poked at the insecurities surrounding masculinity, duty, and patriotism; and how the use of a sunrise behind the soldier and his hunting dog insinuated promises of a new dawn with new opportunities. Again, there was a personal aspect to McConnel’s presentation through the following of the case of a specific young boy, Tom Barry and his diary to understand why young men enlisted.
The day drew to a close with the seminar held by Dr Daniel Laqua who focused on ‘Germany after the Great War: The Struggle for a Democratic Republic’. Seated around a seminar table, the students analysed extracts from the diary of Harry Kessler; a count, diplomat, sponsor of the arts and politician. Kessler was highly connected in the Weimar Republic, both in its political and its cultural life. Laqua’s session was one filled with stories of scandal, espionage, and political murder which was thoroughly engaging to both interact with and read into. From this, the students were prompted to draw conclusions about the corruptions of the Weimar Republic – but also to deliberate as how we might regard the Weimar Republic more than a failure.
Overall, throughout the day, the students experienced the academic world of history; they were exposed to different takes on the histories presented to them, encouraged to question their assumptions and broaden the way in which they saw history by engaging with historiographical debates. I believe I am not exaggerating when I say both students and professors expressed genuine interest in the historical debate and reflection and greatly benefitted from all the contributions shared at the table.
