A SELFIE with King Alfred’s statue in the centre of Wantage was the jumping off point for a history professor’s talk to school pupils.
Professor Peter Frankopan of the University of Oxford visited the Beacon, Wantage on Thursday, October 10, to give a talk on global history to an audience made up King Alfred’s students and their families, as well as members of the public and students from other schools.
Professor Frankopan was the guest speaker for the Sir Christopher Ricks Lecture, an annual event organised by King Alfred’s academic enrichment programme, with sponsorship from the Wantage Literary Festival.
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He began his lecture with an image of a selfie at the foot of Wantage’s King Alfred statue, and said most people knew very little about King Alfred beyond a few basic points.
He continued the talk by saying there was ‘absolutely no point’ in studying history, but qualified his remarks by talking about the benefits of the subject, including the lessons which can be learned from historical events.
The one-hour talk was described as ‘a dizzying journey through global history’, by organisers from King Alfred’s Academy, with Love Island, Donald Trump’s tweets, and Brexit also being discussed.
After the talk, three of King Alfred’s sixth form students, James Ashton, Ellie Bailey and Laurence Burzynski-White, asked the professor about his early influences and his advice to students who are hoping to go to university.
He answered by urging all students to learn something new every day.
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He described the internet as an ‘immensely powerful tool’ for learning and encouraged students to dip into it, whether listening to Peruvian rap or watching a Turkish film with subtitles.
Professor Sir Christopher Ricks was once a student at King Alfred’s and is now a literary critic and author.
The lecture which bears his name aims to encourage a love of the humanities in King Alfred’s students.
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