On Wednesday, A Level historians attended a lecture by Professor of History at Exeter University, James Clark.
The lecture discussed Professor Clark’s recent work on the Dissolution of the Monasteries, focusing on the lack of documentation surrounding the Dissolution and how historians tend not to do extensive research on the topic despite its significance for the Tudor period. The lecture was very insightful and gave Year 12 pupils a good foundation for their work in class and Year 13s a chance to revisit the topic in-depth, with a different perspective on Henry VIII’s personal interest in the dissolution due to his childhood. Professor Clark argued that the motives of the dissolution were focused on political authority rather than the traditional explanations focusing on money, religion or personal drama. He later met a group of Year 12 pupils who are considering applications to the University of Exeter.
In another initiative for History, and following on from the mock examinations, Year 13 historians are embarking on a ‘Round Table’ discussion group, led by the pupils themselves, on various aspects of their French Revolution module. Aspects which will be debated include: Was Louis XVI really such an awful monarch? Was a Republic an inevitability? Could Government by Terror be justified? Was the rise of Napoleon an inevitability? And Did Napoleon betray the French Revolution?
Article by Brooke, Year 13
Categories: Academic
