Teacher fellows
Joshua Hillis
I became interested in learning about why people think the way they do about the past while as a history student.
Parallel Histories’ emphasis on teaching history through contested narratives seemed a natural extension of this early interest. Its focus on understanding the narratives of others is a useful corrective to a world already noisy with opinions.
The dual narrative approach we take can be applied to many historical conflicts, but for me the outstanding example of history being deployed to support each side in a long running conflict is the contested history of Israel and Palestine. I was hooked early during a school visit to Israel and Palestine, and I’ve returned many times to the Middle East to learn more. There are a number of articles I have written about the footprint European powers left behind in Jerusalem here. My work for Parallel Histories allows me to continue learning about the history and politics of the Middle East, through creating our videos, and in addition I get the chance to observe in workshops how students respond and learn from our new way of studying conflict.
I’m delighted to have been awarded a Churchill Fellowship and a Fellowship of the Royal Society of the Arts to keep developing the work of Parallel Histories.
Joshua Hillis
I became interested in learning about why people think the way they do about the past while as a history student.
Parallel Histories’ emphasis on teaching history through contested narratives seemed a natural extension of this early interest. Its focus on understanding the narratives of others is a useful corrective to a world already noisy with opinions.
The dual narrative approach we take can be applied to many historical conflicts, but for me the outstanding example of history being deployed to support each side in a long running conflict is the contested history of Israel and Palestine. I was hooked early during a school visit to Israel and Palestine, and I’ve returned many times to the Middle East to learn more. There are a number of articles I have written about the footprint European powers left behind in Jerusalem here. My work for Parallel Histories allows me to continue learning about the history and politics of the Middle East, through creating our videos, and in addition I get the chance to observe in workshops how students respond and learn from our new way of studying conflict.
I’m delighted to have been awarded a Churchill Fellowship and a Fellowship of the Royal Society of the Arts to keep developing the work of Parallel Histories.
