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ByStudent Views, Student Views
I was fortunate enough to recently experience Simon Schama deliver a series of talks for the TORCH project at the University of Oxford. In his customary charismatic style, expounded with much chutzpah, he took in everything from Herodotus to hip-hop. It was also fascinating to see him engage in a roundtable discussion with respected historians Craig Clunas and Margaret MacMillan.
Across these events, Schama touched upon a number of pertinent themes that deeply resonated with me. He laments what he terms “the return of atavism.” He detects it in Donald Trump, elements of the Brexit campaign, as well as the rise of ideological extremism across the Middle East and Europe. He remarks that this was something he could never have predicted in the 1960s when he was a student at Cambridge during the height of the Cold War.
Schama’s historical understanding and Jewish sensibilities are keenly informed by an awareness of the fragility of open societies. He repeatedly referenced the late publishing giant Lord Weidenfeld, a pillar of the Anglo-Jewish community who had also sponsored the TORCH project. Weidenfeld was himself a refugee of a decaying liberal democracy crushed by the jackboot of totalitarian darkness. Schama said it was as if Weidenfeld’s shadow towered over everything.
While Schama stressed that he was greatly inspired by the storytelling ability of the great Victorian historian Lord Macaulay, he made it very clear that he doesn’t believe in simple chronologies of human progress. Nor does he have much respect for politicians who twist facts or half-truths to suit convenient narratives. He reserved some especially stern words for Michael Gove which went down well with the largely academic and teacher dominated audience.
Schama grappled with the prescient issue of improving public understanding of history, the need for a broad and exciting curriculum, and the tough demands of inspiring a new generation of students at school and university. Quoting L.P. Hartley, he said “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” It was apt of him to stress the importance of history in developing empathy of different religions, cultures and civilisations. The necessity of learning history is therefore more relevant than ever before. As a history student, I wholly enjoyed his disclaimer that it is worth studying simply for its own sake. The past is quite simply thrilling.
This need for a multi-layered and textured approach takes us to another issue he passionately cares about. The ‘Z’ word. Zionism. A word which he believes badly needs reclaiming from anti-Semites and anti-Zionists. Historical awareness is central to a robust defence of Israel. Schama reminds us that Zionism was an ideology formed in the midst of persecution and genocide, one that constitutes the national liberation movement of the Jewish people. Against the backdrop of hostile university campuses in Britain as well as the ever receding memory of the Shoah, reminding non-Jews of this context is a responsibility we all share.
One person from the audience asked him to consider that Israel’s day of independence was also the ‘Nakba’ for the Palestinians. Schama pleaded that he recognised the tragic cruelties inflicted on all sides in the subsequent conflict. But he made no attempt to deny his passionate support for Israel and said he had no time for the prevailing historical ignorance and prejudice which many display when they condemn her.
Schama’s Zionism, like his Jewish identity, defies simple explanations. Simultaneously nationalist and post-nationalist, proud but self-aware, Schama’s sense of self has also defined his approach to British and world history. He celebrates and castigates the best and worst of humanity within a rich narrative with many voices. It is with this in mind that the tolerant certainty of his Zionism and his Jewishness is remarkable and to be commended. We all have something to learn from his courageous defence of history.
Richard Black is a postgraduate student at the University of Oxford, studying Modern British and European History. He has served on the committee of the Oxford Jewish Society and the Israel Forum. He has previously written for Standpoint and a number of student publications.