On 19 October 2022 our own Dr Cathryn Pearce, Senior Lecturer in Maritime History, presented at the first History research seminar of this academic year with a thought-provoking paper looking at the grounding of the coastal brig Lord Nelson at Liverpool, UK, and the civic and social responsibility for seafarers and the shipwrecked in a port dominated by shipping interest. If you missed the paper, the recording is available on the Port Towns and Urban Cultures website here (scroll down to find Cathy’s paper).
In this blog Dan Squire, who graduated with a History degree from Portsmouth in July (well done, Dan!), discusses a project he worked on last year with some of his fellow History students for the module ‘Working with the Past’, coordinated by Dr Mike Esbester. As part of their project, the students looked into how academic historians take their work ‘out of the academy’ and into the public realm. Dan and his fellow students interviewed our Dr Mel Bassett, who researches the history of dockyard workers, to find out how she has tried to engage the wider public in the history she studies.
As part of our work for the module ‘Working with the Past’, I and a few of my fellow students interviewed Dr Melanie Bassett about how and why historians interact with the public. Mel gave us many insights into her personal experiences of interacting with the public, addressing the concerns many historians have when showcasing their work to the public. Mel spoke about tackling issues such as keeping the public engaged in historical discussions and the different methods that can be utilised to achieve this goal. Mel also went on to stress the importance of accessibility and how technology can play a significant role in facilitating a shift to a more connected historical dialogue between the public and historians.
Mel has employed various methods to capture the public’s interest by making History accessible and enjoyable for everyone involved. One outreach project that Mel was involved in, called Sickly Slums and Sailortowns, is an excellent representation of how historians can expand their audience. The project introduced children to their local history as they discovered what life was like for the port towns’ inhabitants. The workshop culminated in a tour around Portsea, finishing in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, giving participants a first-hand experience of their local history as they even got to sit in a hammock on board HMS Warrior! This outreach project offered a fantastic taster day into History with the primary aim of capturing the interest of the participants. Exposing History to children at an early age can only be a good thing. Not only will it give them more of an appreciation for the subject, it will also help them develop an understanding of the world they live in.
Mel encapsulated her attitude towards working with the wider public when she told us “It is a really exciting time to be a historian; being able to work in the public eye and showcase what it is we do.” Mel feels that historians have the ability to help people gain a sense of topical issues by giving context to events. This was particularly evident when Mel highlighted the importance of other aspects of her research, particularly relating to the British Empire and its implications on today’s society. Mel has examined how the Empire affected ideas of race and belonging within Britain, demonstrating how historians can help by using their research to answer the bigger questions that the public ask.
Making History accessibility is, Mel said, a major issue for historians who are looking to engage a wider audience. Mel spoke about the role that she had played in digitising part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy‘s collection, which involved creating online exhibitions to go on their website. Online exhibitions enable the public to view resources hidden away in the museum’s archives, which are often not on display in the museum due to a lack of physical space. This means that the public can have full access to all the possible exhibits that the museum has to offer.
Mel also discussed another side of accessibility: the need to understand that people do not always want to be lectured to; it is important, Mel said, to allow people to see the collections themselves and do things in their own time. Modern technology has also allowed more traditional written History to become more accessible. As well as writing longer academic-focused pieces, many historians now engage with the public by writing shorter, more reader-friendly posts. Therefore, the public can digest the information in a condensed way.
Mel also offered her thoughts on improving accessibility in the future, pinpointing the fact that we need to empower the wider public by giving them the tools they need to further their own research if they wanted to. This raises an interesting argument about online archives. Although theoretically they are now more accessible than ever due to them negating geographical restrictions, members of the public are often met with new restrictions in the form of paywalls on many sites, meaning online archives are only available to people who can afford to pursue their interest in history.
Finally, Mel spoke to us about her experience of working on the TV programme Britain’s Most Historic Towns. While being positive about the involvement of documentaries and TV shows in History, Mel also mentioned the dangers a historian can face working with the media. Mel was acutely aware of the fact that any time you offer your expertise or opinion, there is always the potential for someone to disagree. This highlighted the difficulty of expressing a view in a 10-minute segment on TV that has been built up through years of research and critical thinking. Mel went on to say that if historians were given longer to contribute, they could add more information to help contextualise their views and lower the chance of their point being misunderstood.
Overall, Mel was extremely positive about working with the wider community and says that making History more available to the public can on be a good thing. It is clear then, that Mel’s aim as a historian is to encourage the wider public to explore and engage with history more freely. Her research is a very important part of her job, she says, but so is helping to create a new generation of historians.
In the following short blog, third year UoP history student Pauline Standley encourages new students to join our student history society.
The recently-formed history society NEED YOU to come and be part of a group who love history! We are a casual, student-led group currently run by third-year History students.
As a society, we want to encourage discussion on anything historical, whether it be what we’ve been taught in lectures, a Henry VIII podcast which randomly came up on your Spotify recommendations, the most recent Russell Crowe historical movie, even down to hilarious history memes you’ve scoped out! Throughout the year, we are here to help whether it be a friendly face to give you student advice or a sociable group to give you a chance to meet new people. We understand that your time is precious, between Purple Wednesdays, seminars and lectures, cheeky pints with your mates down the pub and wrangling assignments, we’ve tried to design the society to be as friendly to the busyness of uni life as we can – meaning we’ll meet up roughly once a month. We are aiming to do a variety of things including pub meet-ups, cinema trips and quiz nights to name a few, but if you have any suggestions we are open to hearing them!
If you are interested, take a look at our Facebook page under the name of University of Portsmouth History Society and give us a ‘like’ and comment under the recent post to join the group chat. We look forward to hearing from you!
Here’s a TV Series recommendation to kickstart things: How To Become a Tyrant (Netflix) recommended by Pauline!
Recently, the internationally-renowned museum, The D-Day Story, published on their website a podcast recorded in 2021 by three second year History students, Joshua Bown, Angus Grieve and Shannen Smylie. The students worked with the museum’s archives as part of their assessment for the ‘Working with the Past’ module, coordinated by Mike Esbester. The second-year module encourages students to work with our local community partners where possible and produce work that has a benefit to them and the organisation they are working with. To hear the podcast, go to the D-Day Story website here.
In this blog, recent BA (Hons) History with Politics graduate Phil Matthews reflects on the impact immigration has had on British culture in the post-Second World War era. Phil, who wrote the blog as part of his assessment for the second year module ‘Working with the Past’, coordinated by Dr Mike Esbester, describes how many aspects of British culture changed as a result of mass immigration into the country in the latter half of the twentieth century. Britain, Phil notes, transformed into a multi-ethnic society and benefitted massively from immigrants bringing their own country’s cultures with them. The twentieth century normalised the multi-cultural society that we live in today, Phil concludes, and also normalised public figures of colour from various different cultural fields.
HMT Empire Windrush. historyextra.com
Culture involves the characteristics, traits and habits of a group of people. Many aspects of British culture changed as a result of mass immigration into the country in the latter half of the twentieth century. Spencer highlights a massive change in the population demographic due to migration, stating that ‘between 1940 and 1990, communities of Indian subcontinental, Caribbean and African origin have grown from a small fraction of 1% of the total population of Britain to almost 6%’.[1] As a result of immigration, Britain transformed to a multi-ethnic society, thus leading to greater cultural diversity as a result. This blog will emphasize the transformation that multi-culturalism had on several cultural facets, including sport, cuisine, music, and entertainment.
It would be beneficial to state initially why mass immigration occurred. Britain encouraged mass immigration from the Commonwealth countries after the Second World War via the 1948 British Nationality Act, which was described by Hanson and Desmond as a step towards the ‘world’s most liberal immigration regime’.[2] Britain chose to introduce this legislation due to labour shortages as a result of the war. This led to ‘the consequent creation of new ethnic minority communities in Britain’.[3] Transport systems and other institutions, such as the newly founded NHS, needed staffing. The ‘Windrush generation’ were one such group that came in 1948 to make a new life in Britain. The 1948 Act has been amended many times to tighten up immigration controls, but throughout the twentieth century, Britain saw a migration boom, which later changed British culture in numerous ways.
Image: John Barnes playing for England. nationalfootballmuseum.com
One cultural aspect that changed massively as a result of immigration and cultural diversity in the twentieth century was sport. Sport became more diverse and culturally inclusive as the century progressed into its latter years. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were not many non-white and foreign players, and it was not welcomed by everyone as racism was rife in football. John Barnes came from Jamaica and emigrated to London with his family aged 12 years. Barnes was only the second black player to play for Liverpool, which led to frequent racial abuse. Bananas were thrown at him even by his own team’s supporters, and he was subject to abuse from opposition supporters and players and club staff. [4] Football became more tolerant for two reasons. The first reason is anti-racist bodies being set up in the 1990s, including the Commission for Racial Equality, the Professional Footballers Association, the Football Trust and the Football Task Force, which ‘organised or endorsed campaigns such as Kick Racism Out of Football and Show Racism the Red Card’.[5] These organisations helped enforce and punish racist behaviour in football. The second reason is that more foreign and British players of colour feature in the Premier League today. A current example that can be used is Manchester City’s and England’s Raheem Sterling. Sterling moved to London from Jamaica with his parents when he was five years old. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the Premier League and suffers less racial abuse than John Barnes had to endure. While it is still far from perfect, racism in football has become less frequent since the 1970s and 1980s. This shows how immigration and the cultural diversity that came with immigration changed sporting culture, particularly in football.
Image taken from Unsplash
Another cultural aspect that changed hugely as a consequence of immigration and cultural diversity is food and cuisine. Food from the countries of migrants, particularly food from the Commonwealth, has been brought and adopted into British culture, for example curries. Increased immigration changed eating habits in Britain. This was partially as a result of the British Empire, but as Panayi argues, the development of cuisine in Britain was most prominent after 1945, because of ‘increasing international trade or the influence of multinational companies’.[6] The influx of immigrants, particularly after the 1948 British Nationality Act, also contributed heavily to this, Panayi notes, arguing that ‘[b]efore 1950 in an age of Total War and before the spread of affluence, concepts of British – as opposed to foreign foods – hardly existed. This situation changed as a result of post-war immigration and brand labelling’.[7] This shows that immigration changed the culture of cuisine, by making British cuisine more varied over the course of the twentieth century.
Bob Marley stockfreeimages.com
A third cultural aspect that varied tremendously as a result of immigration and cultural diversity is music. As multiculturalism became more prominent in Britain, music became more diverse. As Scheding notes, migrants brought ‘their music with them’.[8] One example of music that became prominent in Britain is hip-hop, which originated in the Bronx in the 1970s. It was often provocative and politically powerful. Scheding states that ‘In the UK, rap music transformed from an imitation of US styles in the 1980s to carving out something more unique’.[9] It has become more popular in the twenty-first century too, enjoying ‘a renaissance in the mid-2010s’.[10] Another example of increased cultural integration in British music was the introduction of reggae music from the Caribbean. As Curley notes, Chris Blackwell was the ‘single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music.’[11] He founded Island Records in Jamaica in 1958 and returned to England a few years later with Bob Marley, a global figure not just in music, but in popular culture in general. These two examples show how much music varied across the century alongside more cultural integration and immigration.
In the entertainment industry, there are now more people of colour on the screens to reflect the more multi-cultural society that we live in today. Policies were brought in to make television more diverse, such as public service broadcasting which ‘included recruitment measures, targets and specialist slots and multicultural departments’.[12] Some entertainment companies sought to reflect the increasing cultural diversity in Britain, such as the BBC, which had ‘separate African-Caribbean and Asian Program Units for a period’.[13] This policy was aimed to specifically better Black and Asian representation in the media. This shows increased efforts to be culturally diverse in the entertainment industry, in line with a more multi-cultural society as a result of immigration.
It is important to note that mass immigration was not supported by everybody in Britain. Toby Skevington notes that at times receptions for immigrants of colour were ‘generally unwelcoming’.[14] Lauren Mclaren also notes that immigration created ‘widespread concern about political and social community and about social identities’.[15] Hostility and discontent towards mass immigration was prominent in the 1950s amongst some White communities in Britain. This led to disturbances such as race riots occurring in Nottingham and London. Notting Hill of 1958 was an example of a ‘white riot against Notting Hill’s Afro-Caribbean community’.[16] Nine White youths received five-year prison sentences for these acts but this did not change some of the public’s desire to cut immigration. Enoch Powell referred to immigrants as ‘dependents’ in his infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in 1968 and called for immigration controls to be tightened.[17] Some people saw this as racist and hysterical, but others supported what he said which made Powell’s speech extremely divisive. The later years of the twentieth century saw more distancing from the 1948 British Nationality Act, which was extremely inclusive towards migrants coming in.
Immigration controls were tightened over the course of the twentieth century, and mass immigration was not wholly supported, but this did not change the huge cultural impact that immigrants would have over British culture. Immigrants brought their own country’s cultures with them to Britain, such as sport, cuisine, music and entertainment. The twentieth century normalised the multi-cultural society that we live in today and normalised public figures of colour from various different cultural fields.
Notes
[1] Ian R G Spencer. 2002. British Immigration Policy since 1939 the Making of Multi-Racial Britain. Routledge.
[2] Randall Hansen and Desmond King. 2000. “Illiberalism and the New Politics of Asylum: Liberalism’s Dark Side.” The Political Quarterly 71 (4): 396–403.
[3] David A Coleman. 1987. “U.K. Statistics on Immigration: Development and Limitations.” The International Migration Review 21 (4): 1138–69.
[4] John Goddard and John O.S. Wilson. 2008. “Racial Discrimination in English Professional Football: Evidence from an Empirical Analysis of Players’ Career Progression.” SSRN Electronic Journal 33 (2).
[14] Tony Skevington. 2000. “Immigration into the United Kingdom since 1945.” English and American Studies, (35), 95-110.
[15] Lauren McLaren. 2011. “Immigration and Trust in Politics in Britain.” British Journal of Political Science 42 (1): 163–85.
[16] Camilla Schofield and Ben Jones. 2019. “‘Whatever Community Is, This Is Not It’: Notting Hill and the Reconstruction of ‘Race’ in Britain after 1958.” Journal of British Studies 58 (1): 142–73.
[17] Liu and Elliott. 2014. “Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ Speech This Is the Full Text of Enoch Powell’s So-Called ‘Rivers of Blood’ Speech, Which Was Delivered to a Conservative Association Meeting in Birmingham.
In this blog Amber Braddick, recent History with American Studies graduate from Portsmouth, discusses a project she undertook as part of the second year module, ‘Working with the Past’. Amber and some of her fellow students interviewed recent UoP History graduates and asked them about their careers since graduating, Amber found out that having a degree in the Arts and Humanities has been really beneficial to them, something also highlighted in recent studies by organisations such as the British Academy, which Amber also discusses here. The module ‘Working with the Past’ is coordinated by Dr Mike Esbester.
There has been a strong government emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects in recent years. What does this mean to the Arts, Humanities and Social Science (AHSS) graduates? Are they less valuable to employers in the ever-changing world of work? The short answer is no, this is definitely not the case, and there is an abundance of statistical evidence proving this. An AHSS degree equips students with many skills that have been identified by the World Economic Forum as key skills employers look for when hiring staff, for example effective communication skills, critical thinking skills and problem solving skills. As the diagram below demonstrates, all of these highly valued skills are developed in AHSS degrees, including history. Whether it is by critically analysing a source, collaborating in group projects or writing a dissertation; students gain these skills, often without even realising it, while also building up experience and confidence in them throughout their degree.
Source: Qualified for the future, The British Academy
Recently, as part of the ‘Working With the Past’ module, several history students, including myself, interviewed a small pool of graduates from University of Portsmouth (UoP). We talked about the careers they explored after university and how they developed skills on the History degree programme that made them more employable. Chloe, currently the records manager and policy maker for the Falkland Islands government, highlighted skills in communication, time and project management as well as teamwork and confidence as attributes gained from her History degree which are essential to her current career and used daily. In the interview, Chloe said that she feels that all these skills would still be necessary even if she pursued another career not in the heritage sector, due to their versatility. Overall, the skills learnt in the History degree are fundamental in her job as well as being the foundation in which she has built upon in her Master’s course and continues to use whilst studying for a PhD. (Ed. read Chloe’s blog about her experiences here)
Another interviewee, Melissa, is undertaking the NHS Graduate Scheme and worked as the project manager for the Epsom Downs Racecourse Covid Vaccination Centre. Although this career does not specifically relate to a degree in History, Melissa explained how the research and analytical skills gained are crucial for her job. Also whilst in university, Melissa acquired excellent communication skills and had the beneficial experience of working with a range of different people. This was extremely helpful as Melissa has to communicate with many types of people daily, even up to an executive level. Out of 1600 people who applied for the graduate scheme, only 210 were offered a place, demonstrating how vital the skills learned on an AHSS course are. It was also interesting during the interview to hear Melissa explain that she applied to university to do a sports science degree but unfortunately did not obtain the grades required and was offered a place on the History course instead. ‘This was quite a lifeline,’ she told us, as ‘history opens so many doors,’ and does not restrict you to one specific career, while also teaching you many key skills you can ‘take forward into any kind of career’.
Source: Qualified for the future, The British Academy
A second graduate whose History degree prepared her for an unrelated career was CW, the assistant to a Member of Parliament (MP). CW found that doing presentations for the degree course gave her the necessary presentational skills essential for the MP assistant role. They also developed her confidence in talking to lots of different individuals and groups, as she meets with small businesses, charities and visits local schools to ‘bridge the gap between the MP and the constituency when he [the MP] is in Westminster’. Other key skills CW highlights are the analytical and writing skills which are a large focus of a History degree. When applying for her current job, CW was asked to submit examples of written pieces of work and she discusses how her dissertation was perfect to show that she could ‘research, analyse and write to a good standard.’
The last person we interviewed was RD, who is a curator at the National Museum of the Royal Navy here in Portsmouth. Again, RD emphasizes how the research and analytical skills gained in her History degree helps daily when ‘interrogat[ing] sources’ and ‘bring[ing] together an exhibition.’
As is demonstrated in the previous few paragraphs, many key skills arose in every interview, for example writing and analytical skills and working with a variety of people. These skills also appear in the top 10 skills for 2025 list, shown below. In fact, most of the skills on the list are taught on a History degree, with the exception of ‘technology design and programming.’ Not only is History a ‘fantastic degree in its own right’ but it also teaches students the key skills needed for employability and a fruitful career. This is explored further on the UoP twitter page!
Source: The Future of Jobs Report 2020
In many newspapers and in some government policies, it is indicated that STEM subjects ‘are the only path to career success,’ however Tom Lyscom, a senior Policy Adviser at the British Academy voices once again that the skills of an AHSS degree ‘help drive economic growth and play [an] essential part of wider society.’ In the ten fastest growing sectors of the UK’s economy, eight sectors employ more graduates from AHSS subjects than any other disciplines. This demonstrates that graduates from AHSS subjects are just as vital to the economy as STEM subjects and that the skills taught are as diverse as our economy.
To conclude, the variety of skills developed on an AHSS degree are advantageous in increasing employability and most of the skills that the University of Portsmouth’s History degree course develops appear on the top 10 skills of tomorrow. These skills are not only transferable to many different career paths and incredibly beneficial on a CV but they also ‘really develops you as a whole person’ and enhance your understanding of other people’s world views. The misconception that STEM subjects are more important that AHSS subjects is not reflected in the British Academy’s ‘Qualified for the future’ report that shares statistics suggesting the gap between employability is ‘negligible’ and Manuel Souto-Otero, a professor in Social Sciences at Cardiff University reveals that degrees in AHSS subjects are still ‘really popular … actually booming’. Whether you have a clear idea of what you want to do in the future and it requires a History degree, or if you’re still trying to decide, AHSS degrees leave doors open to many different opportunities and the flexibility for career changes, as well as developing many important skills that will get you far in whatever profession you choose.
