Lucy Noakes

Hannah Skoda, a Fellow in Medieval History at St John's College, Oxford, Rana Mitter, the S.T. Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at Harvard, and Lucy Noakes, President of the Royal Historical Society, tackle pressing issues in historical education. They dive into the implications of funding cuts for UK history departments and the impact of culture wars on historical understanding. The conversation highlights the importance of advocacy for history, the resilience of student interest, and the urgent need for renewed support in the discipline.

Lucy Noakes, a Professor of modern history at the University of Essex and president of the Royal Historical Society, delves into the profound themes of death and grief during WWII Britain. She explores how societal attitudes towards mourning evolved, contrasting expressions of loss from the First and Second World Wars. The conversation also touches on governmental policies for managing civilian deaths, public mourning rituals, and the shifting narratives of remembrance influenced by colonial perspectives, revealing the complex interplay of personal grief and collective memory.