Our Ethos

The past is not dead and gone.

All too often when many people hear the word “history” they tend to break out in a rash. That is because the way that history is often presented in schools around the world is often both boring and unchallenging.

The best histories are meaningful in the present; they require us to think about our place in the world, where we come from and where we are going, and to shake us out of the complacent stupor of everyday life.

We reject the idea that the past was made by a few “great men”.

We are dedicated to presenting new kinds of history– ones that grapple with the toughest of questions and does not shy away from criticizing the actions of people memorialized in statues and stately homes. History can and should be playful, emotional, inspiring and grand. It should be at times infuriating to the point that our blood boils. It should demand of us that we do and be better than those people in the past who were “just a product of their time.”

These histories are not enchanted by the “glories” of colonial empires, but seeks to give voice to the people exploited by them. It does not

Though we strive for our histories not to be partisan, we know in our bones that history is “small-p” political, because it is all about who we are, where we come from, how we live together and what our society means.