Histories of the Unexpected

This is the FOURTH in this special series of Histories of the Unexpected Episodes geared towards homeschooling, as the United Kingdom and much of the globe enters into lockdown, schools close, and the world begins a period of isolation and educated online and at home. Over the next few weeks, we will endeavour to record a series of history podcast episodes catering for kids, parents and teachers, with the intention of providing interesting history material readily available to anyone interested in history, and with access to a device capable of receiving a podcast, and with access to the internet. It is aimed at audiences from 8-108!

In this Histories of The Unexpected Homeschooling Episode FOUR, James offers A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT HISTORIES OF THE UNEXPECTED, uncovering the historical tricks of the trade that going into putting together each episode. Of interest to all, the episode also caters for sixth-formers, whose exams have been cancelled, to get them thinking about how historians interpret the past. As curriculum enrichment for all - whether you are university-history-degree-bound or not this essay teaches you the methods of: taxonomy; comparative and global history; object biography and the archaeology of things; historical causation (via G.R. Elton and Fernand Braudel), and micro history. There's something for everyone!!