August blog: 75th Anniversary of Partition
Monday 8 August 2022
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Back to School
We hope that those of you returning to school in August after the long vacation have had a restful time!
If you are teaching first year IB History students, don't forget that we have an an introduction section for students who are new to the IB programme (Getting started: Students). This gives them an overview of the kinds of skills they will need for the IB History course and advice on how to develop key study (and revision) skills.
Other suggestions for activities that you might consider doing with new classes to introduce them to this subject can be found here:
Several of the themes under our TOK pages would also work well as an introduction to the study of history. These pages reflect on how current issues are linked to historical themes and questions:
75th Anniversary of Partition
This month sees the 75th Anniversary of Partition. The anniversary has triggered new discussions and reflections on this catastrophic event:
After 75 years, the hidden memories of Indias partition are rising up through Britain's generations | Kavita Puri (the Guardian)
Those whose lived through the formation of India and Pakistan are telling their stories âand their grandchildren are asking questions, says author Kavita Puri
Note that the author this article, Kavita Puri, published a book about Partition in 2019:
Partition Voices: Untold British Stories by Kavita Puri
These first-hand accounts of Britainâs division of India in 1947 are essential reading
This programme is aired on the BBC World Service over the next two weeks - again with Kavita Puri:
BBC World Service - The Documentary, Inheritors of partition (BBC)
Kavita Puri marks the 75th anniversary of the division of the Indian subcontinent
And UK's Channel 4 have done a documentary using colourised footage which the following review describes as 'heartbreaking and rage-inspiring'
India 1947: Partition in Colour review a heartbreaking, rage-inspiring history of Britain's colonial legacy (the Guardian)
Lord Mountbattenâs division of India into two countries was a disaster in which a million died. Using newly colourised archive footage, this documentary explores those brutal events
Site update
As we highlighted in our last blog, we have been revamping our Paper 1 pages. We have now completed PS3 and PS4 adding content and activities, and splitting the pages into the three themes identified in the IB syllabus.
In addition, we have nearly completed a new topic for Paper 3, Africa and Middle East region - Topic 15, Developments in South Africa, 1890 to 1994;
History in the news:
The actions of Russia with regard to Ukraine, and China with regard to Taiwan, continue to keep the history of these regions (or rather the competing narratives of their pasts) in the news:
Putin Against History (Foreign Affairs)
How his war has erased Russia’s past—and endangered its future.
Another story recently in the news has centered around the controversial events of Patrice Lumumba's death, with the return of his gold capped tooth to his family.
Patrice Lumumba: Why Belgium is returning a Congolese hero's golden tooth (BBC News)
All that remains of Congo's murdered leader Patrice Lumumba is handed to his family in Brussels.
New history books that have caught our attention...
Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend review a revolutionary history of the Aztecs (the Guardian)
A famous narrative turned on its head how the conquistadors, not the Aztecs, were driven by bloodlust
The Decline of Empires in South Asia (www.goodreads.com)
The post-First World War period was pivotal in global history, international relations and geopolitics. And no more than in South Asia.
Finally, this is an excellent documentary which focuses on a group of men who fought in the Falklands War. They revisit some of the most dramatic, impactful, bloody and life-changing moments of the war.
Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story (BBC iPlayer)
The story of ten men who fought alongside each other during the Falklands War.