Work-in-progress workshop: "Educating for Peace, 1920s to 1950s"

On Friday 29 May, the "Histories of Activism" will host a work-in-progress session in cooperation with the GLO project. The event is entitled "Education for Peace, 1920s to 1950s" and will take place from 2:00 to 4:15 pm. 

The event will feature three papers and ample room for discussion:

• Emily Calcraft (PhD candidate, University of Sheffield) – ‘Physical education, youth and pacifism in interwar Britain'

• Elisabeth Teige (Senior Lecturer in History, Volda University College) – ‘“To educate the human mind for peace”: exploring the roots of UNESCO’s “Education for International Understanding” programme’

• Sophie Scott-Brown (Honorary Research Fellow in History, University of St Andrews) – ‘Teaching the two sides of Satyagraha: peace, pedagogy and strategy in early Cold War anti-nuclear activism’

To register, please contact Daniel Laqua.

Counter-Hegemonic Internationalisms: Perspectives from the Past

On 20 and 21 March 2025, diverse histories of activism will feature prominently at a conference hosted at Northumbria University: "Counter-Hegemonic Internationalisms: Perspectives from the Past". The programme for the event is available via this link.

The event is run within the framework of the "Rethinking Internationalism" project, which is funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council and run by a team comprising Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck, University of London), Ria Kapoor (Queen Mary University of London), Daniel Laqua (Northumbria University) and Margot Tudor (City-St George's, University of London).

"Histories of Activism" group member Daniel Laqua is serving as the local organiser of the "Counter-Hegemonic Internationalisms" conference. The event will also feature a walking tour on "Internationalism and Empire in Newcastle" which Laqua and fellow group member Ed Anderson developed on behalf of the "Histories of Activism" group.

Talk by Dr Sanjukta Basu on 'Internet, Democracy and the Self'

 

Dr Sanjukta Basu – Internet, Democracy and the Self: Activism and Trolling in the Indian Digital Public Sphere

On Tuesday 23 July at 4 pm, the History of Activism research group will be hosting a talk and discussion with Dr Sanjukta Basu, a feminist scholar, journalist and one of India’s earliest bloggers. The event will explore issues related to internet-based politics and political activism, the idea of the ‘digital public sphere’, and the (gendered) harassment and abuse expressed in online spaces. Dr Basu’s talk will reflect on both the opportunities and freedom that the internet has offered her, as well as the more pernicious aspects of negotiating free expression in digital networks. For further information on this event, please contact Edward Anderson (edward.anderson@northumbria.ac.uk).

Half-day workshop on student activism in British and US history

On Monday 8 July, the Histories of Activism Research Group at Northumbria University is running a small workshop to explore different histories of student activism in the UK and the US. The event is free, but guests are asked to register by emailing Daniel Laqua (daniel.laqua@northumbria.ac.uk) before 5 July. The programme is listed below.

 

10h30 – 11h30  Diversity and Difference in UK-Based Student Activism

Ed Anderson (Northumbria) – ‘Rajahs to Revolutionaries: The Politics of Indian Students in Late Colonial Britain’

Jodi Burkett (Portsmouth) – ‘Free Speech, “No Platform” and the Fight against Racism on UK Campuses, c. 1974–1986’

 

11h40 – 12h40 Ages of Radical Activism in the US

Jack Hodgson (Roehampton) – ‘Pupils’ Strikes and Trade Unionism in Chicago and Pittsburgh Grade Schools, 1900–1913’

Christopher Olewicz (De Montfort) – ‘New Left Intellectuals and Student Protest in the United States’

Performance, Citizenship and Activism in Chi

 

On Thursday 23 November, we are hosting an event with Paulina Bronfman, who will be in about her book Performance, Citizenship & Activism in Chile. The event will take place at 4:30 pm in Room 210 of the Sandyford Building at Northumbria University. Andrea Phillips (BALTIC Professor and Director of the BxNU Institute) and Yeisil Contreras (PhD candidate in the Department of Humanities) will serve as discussants.