Black Tudors: The Untold Story

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone who wants to learn more about Black History, and in particular about a less well-known aspect of Black British History which challenges common assumptions about the historical experiences of Africans in Britain.

The course will be useful to teachers, archivists, museum and heritage sector workers looking to diversify the way they present Tudor History, and to students at all levels who want to improve their historical methods.

What topics will you cover?

Who were the Black Tudors and what can they tell us about Black history, identity, and freedom?

How can their stories challenge preconceived narratives of Black history and in particular the later history of colonial enslavement?

What were the personal stories of Africans in sixteenth and early seventeenth-century England?

How can we use archival research methods to reconstruct the stories of Africans in Tudor and early Stuart England, and challenge preconceived assumptions?

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to…

Investigate prior assumptions and preconceptions in narratives of the past informed by historical evidence in relation to Black History

Debate historical and contemporary issues in Black History informed by your reading of the book ‘Black Tudors: The Untold Story’ by Dr. Miranda Kaufmann

Evaluate text based and visual historical sources and manuscripts in order to provide sound interpretations of the past based on historical evidence

Explore historical archival material and develop your skills in searching, evaluating, interpreting and critical analysis of historical primary and secondary sources

Reflect on the lives of Black historical figures from the Tudor and early Stuart period inspired by historian Dr. Miranda Kaufmann’s narratives and your own interpretation of historical sources

Apply a variety of interpretations from different historians, learn to think about how the topic fits into the larger subject of Black History and begin to enter the debate, formulating your own analysis based on evidence