PREPARING TO 'RAISE THE RACE'

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been invited to speak at the Institute of Education's Bicentenary Commemoration Conference 'Raising the Race'. This will take place on March 16th between 5.30 and 8.30pm in the Drama Studio, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL and alongside myself will be Dr Hakim Adi, Reader in History of Africa and the African Diaspora, Middlesex University and Dr Kay Traille, Lecturer in History, Newbold College. Places are free but you will need to book and I believe that already 150 places have been taken up so you will need to hurry - contact Neal Carr on 0207 612 6820 or n.carr@ioe.ac.uk

I have been planning my presentation which will focus on effective ways in which classroom teachers can mainstream Black and Asian British History into the National Curriculum, and without giving away too much, will be presenting some case studies of the work that I have been doing over the last few years as well as the fascinating material that I have been working on recently. I can guarantee that there will be at least one major surprise that no-one in the room would have ever come across before!

Some of the areas for discussion will stimulate a lot of debate:

• How are Empire and the struggle for emancipation and reconciliation represented in our teaching and learning about African and Caribbean history and heritage?
• What is 'Black and Asian history' and should it be mainstreamed?
• What are the resources and politics involved in moving the subject forward?
• How is the legacy of slavery implicated in contemporary constructions of British identity and citizenship?

I look forward to seeing you there!

#Posted 26 February 2007 at 5:28 PM

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