These lectures are designed for post 16 students and will last 1 hour. Where applicable, each session has been aligned with content delivered on the A Level syllabus but is designed to give students an idea of how the subject would be taught at the university level.
Typical lecture content could include:
1. A Battle from Space: The Archaeology of a Second World War North African Battlefield.
In this session, students will learn about the Battle of Gazala and explore the archaeology of the battlefield by using satellite images. Students will also compare historical documents with the physical traces of the battle. By analysing the landscape of the Libyan desert, students will gain an understanding of the different tactics employed by the Allies and Axis.
2. The Archaeology of the Cold War.
Between 1945 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the world was split between the political ideologies of capitalism and Soviet bloc communism. The military standoff between the USA and the Soviet Union shaped the history of the second half of the twentieth century. Archaeology is the study of human history through objects and as such, the Cold War, with its bunkers, missile silos, airfields, and other installations, has an archaeological footprint. In this session, we explore some of the buildings and structures built during the Cold War.
3. The Archaeology of the Friendly Invasion.
Over the course of the Second World War, the American strategic bombing campaign aimed at Western Europe was predominantly based in East Anglia. Although only entering the war in December 1941, by May 1942, the United States Air Force had already been allocated 28 sites from which to operate in the east of England. In this session, we will explore the archaeological legacy of the ‘Friendly Invasion’.
4. The Infrastructure of the Special Operations Executive, 1940-1946.
In 1940 the British Government established the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to ‘coordinate’ all action, by way of subversion and sabotage, against the enemy overseas.’ From the time of its creation, SOE has been one of the most controversial of Britain’s secret services. The focus of this session, however, is SOE’s agent-facing ‘infrastructure’; we will explore the facilities required to run a secret service and what these can tell us about SOE.
5. Outposts of Empire: Forts and Fortifications throughout the British Empire.
In this session we will explore the forts and fortifications constructed by the British throughout the empire. Students will discover how fortifications changed over time and across the British Empire.
How to book: Please contact outreach@bishopg.ac.uk if you would like to book a session.