40 Ways to Diversify the History Curriculum: A practical handbook

Written by Elena Stevens, 40 Ways to Diversify the History Curriculum is a practical, wide-ranging compendium of enquiries and case studies that helps history teachers diversify, reimagine and decolonise the history curriculum.

In writing this book, Elena responds to calls for a more diverse curriculum – calls which have become more insistent following the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement, the #MeToo movement and other landmark events.

Highlighting the lived experiences of women, the working classes, and BAME and LGBTQ+ communities in particular, 40 Ways to Diversify the History Curriculum draws upon a wide range of personal stories to illustrate significant historical moments and shed new light on topics that have traditionally been taught through narrower lenses. The book serves as a resource bank for teachers wishing to enliven and diversify history lessons at Key Stages 2–3, GCSE, A level and beyond.

Elena helpfully opens with a discussion of the theoretical/historiographical developments that lay behind calls to diversify the curriculum – and, to accompany each of the 40 historical case studies, she provides ideas and activities for translating the case studies into lesson plans and enquiries. Furthermore, Elena also guides teachers in shaping new enquiries from scratch.

Responding to broader cultural/academic developments, the book details ways in which new thinking about a decolonised curriculum might be applied to secondary school curriculum planning. Furthermore, it can help develop teachers’ understanding of topics that might already have been of interest to them (or might have reflected gaps in their understanding) in an accessible and readable way.

Suitable for teachers of secondary school and Key Stage 2 history.

Contents include:

• Chapter 1: Empire and Slavery
• Chapter 2: Migration
• Chapter 3: Power and Politics (Britain)
• Chapter 4: Power and Politics (wider world)
• Chapter 5: Conflict
• Chapter 6: Society and Culture
• Conclusion: Planning For a Diverse Curriculum

Elena Stevens is a secondary school teacher and the history lead in her department. Having completed her PhD in the same year that she qualified as a teacher, Elena loves drawing upon her doctoral research and continued love for the subject to shape new schemes of work and inspire students’ own passions for the past.