David Olusoga and Alan Lester – The Truth About the British Empire | How To Academy

Sun, 15 September 2024

6:30 pm - 7:45 pm BST

David Olusoga and Alan Lester – The Truth About the British Empire

In Conversation With Hannah MacInnes

David Olusoga and Alan Lester join us to reveal the dark realities of the British Empire, and reflect on the importance of historians amid the culture wars and resurgence of nationalism.

In our turbulent times Britain’s imperial past is continually distorted by caricatures, and the authority of historians denigrated in favour of a celebratory, whitewashed version of our national story. 

Historian David Olusoga and Alan Lester believe that the truth matters and is too important to be hijacked by culture warriors, apologists and racists. In this live event they will share their insights into the history of Empire without apology, drawing on decades of research and learning to tell us what the British Empire was really like. 

Taking us from Australia and China to India and South Africa, David and Alan will share the story of Empire’s horrors without varnish or compromise. With disturbing accounts of Empire’s culture, politics, and economics, this live event will show us why historians matter to democracy and to our future.

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Alan Lester

Historian

Alan Lester is Professor of Historical Geography at the University of Sussex and Adjunct Professor of History at La Trobe University. He has written eleven books on British colonialism, most recently Ruling the World: Freedom, Civilisation and Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century British Empire; and Deny and Disavow: The British Empire in the Culture War (co-authored; 2nd edition).

Professor David Olusoga

Historian, Broadcaster, and BAFTA award-winning Filmmaker

Professor David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian, broadcaster and BAFTA award-winning presenter and filmmaker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and a regular contributor to the Guardian, Observer, New Statesman and BBC History Magazine.

Hannah MacInnes

Presenter, Podcaster and Host of How To Academy’s live programmes.

Hannah MacInnes is a broadcaster and journalist. Alongside hosting How To Academy’s live programmes and podcast, she presents a cultural show on Times Radio and interviews on-stage at a number of other major literary events. She is the host of The Klosters Forum Podcast series and has written for the Radio Times, the Evening Standard and TLS. Before going freelance she worked for 8 years at BBC Newsnight, as Planning Editor and as a Producer / Filmmaker.