Chalke Talk

ISTANBUL: A TALE OF THREE CITIES

Award-winning historian, author and broadcaster Bettany Hughes gives a captivating portrait of the momentous life of Istanbul based on meticulous research gathered over a decade and brand new archaeological evidence. A ground-breaking history of this world-class city from its very beginnings in Neolithic times through 8,000 years of human habitation to the present.

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IMMIGRATION IN ANTIQUITY

Immigration is one of the most hotly debated matters of our current age, but it’s far from being a recent phenomenon. Rather, the mass movement of peoples was as relevant to those living in ancient times as it is now. In this timely talk, Tom Holland questions how people in antiquity felt about immigration and its impact on the course of ancient history.

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THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE EMPIRE OF THE IMAGINATION

Worshipped, pilloried, and forever debated. Such is the fate of Thomas Jefferson, whose actions and ideas — more than those of any of the other Founding Fathers —still divide Americans two centuries later. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Harvard Professor Annette Gordon-Reed extends the analysis of Jefferson in light of prevailing attitudes towards politics, slavery, genetics, and gender, thereby giving new insights into his views on Christianity, slavery, race and philosophy.

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THE SILK ROADS: A NEW HISTORY OF THE WORLD

In this brilliant major reassessment of world history, Peter Frankopan gives a compelling account of the forces that have shaped the global economy and the political renaissance in the re-emerging east. He explores the forces that have driven the rise and fall of empires, determined the flow of ideas and goods and are now heralding a new dawn in international affairs.

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HERODOTUS: THE FATHER OF HISTORY

The ‘Father of History’ was a Greek living in Persia in the 5th century BC but was the first person to write down the stories from the past. Herodotus’ Histories remains one of the richest and most read books of all time, and in this talk renowned classicist Professor Paul Cartledge discusses the life of this great man, his enduring legacy and his relevance even to this day.

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THE PARIS PEACE TREATIES

This talk by Dr Peter Caddick-Adams for senior pupils at the Chalke Valley History Festival for Schools, challenges some assumptions about the aftermath of the First World War. The armistice in 1918 was a truce but fighting continued in Eastern Europe and the Middle East for several years. He explains that the Treaty of Versailles was actually five treaties as well as covering the ‘flu pandemic, hyperinflation in Germany, American isolation and the rise of Mussolini.

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AROUND THE WORLD IN 1847

Turtle Bunbury takes a fast-paced look at the world as it was 170 years ago. Featuring an exceptional cast of characters from those who explored the world’s oceans to show stopping entertainers, his talk also encompasses the intrepid pioneers who crossed the prairies of the Americas, the genius of Liszt and Mendelssohn, the Irish soldiers who fought for Mexico and the tale of a dinosaur-loving Dorset girl.

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THE WITCH CRAZE

In this talk for senior schools, Tracy Borman discusses the history of the witch hunt which started in the 15th Century and swept across Europe until the mid-18th Century, reaching a peak in England and Scotland under King James I. She examines what started the craze, and reveals what it meant.

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NO TURNING BACK: LIFE, LOSS AND HOPE IN WARTIME SYRIA 

Award-winning journalist Rania Abouzeid presents reportage of unprecedented scope. From the first rumblings of dissent in 2011, she shows the unravelling of a nation: peaceful protests collapsing into violence, families shattered, and religious conviction sharpened by rage to a radical point. She reveals how Syrians found new ways to resist as the cruelty of the dictatorial regime – and the rising threat of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State – tore their homeland apart.

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