Shalina Patel The History Lessons

About

Shalina Patel is described by Anita Rani and Sathnam Sanghera as the history teacher we all wished we had at school. Over the last few years, historians have increasingly sought to provide us with richer and more inclusive understandings of the past. We’ve seen nationwide debate on the role of history, especially in the classroom. On the frontlines of this teaching, award-winning teacher Shalina Patel has tirelessly championed the hidden histories often left out of the school curriculum.

Creating the immensely popular @thehistorycorridor on Instagram, she’s amassed 23k followers keen to discover new perspectives on the history they were taught at school. In this talk, Patel takes the listener through lesser-known examples from the history curriculum that her students experience today, from the Medieval period to the Second World War via Tudor courts, giving listeners a deeper and wider view of history, shaped by her ongoing research.

It will appeal to anybody seeking to expand their historical knowledge and look beyond the usual narratives to celebrate the stories and people that may be less familiar - but no less fascinating.

Shalina Patel is an historian, writer and award-winning history teacher. She has been pioneering the decolonisation of the History curriculum for years, winning numerous awards including the Silver Pearson Teaching Award and the GG2 Inspire Award for Work in Education. In 2020, Shalina created the @thehistorycorridor Instagram account, posting bitesize history lessons for people looking to reclaim their historical education, garnering a host of well-known fans including Adjoa Andoh, Sara Pascoe, Sathnam Sanghera and Bella Mackie. As well as working on a range of history documentaries for TV, including The Black Panthers of WW2 narrated by David Harewood, Shalina has featured regularly in the UK media including the Guardian, Cosmopolitan and across the BBC including BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine and BBC’s Teach Me A Lesson podcast. Shalina is also a trustee of Chalke Valley History Festival and currently teaches History at a large mixed comprehensive school in London.