The Bristol Radical History Group explores history from below,
opening up hidden histories and critiquing mainstream narratives. Roger Ball talks
about their fun and innovative project.
Bristol Radical History Group was born from an expanded sports
club with the idea of opening up the hidden history of their home city to public
scrutiny, to challenge some commonly held ideas about historical events and
approach this history from ‘below’. The result has been to successfully engage the
public in the excitement of radical history by the use of different media, to
integrating the formal lecture with street performance. Bristol Radical History
Group will be outlining the influences that inspired their project through various
media; from E.P. Thompson to punk rock, describing their forays into the battles
over the historical representations of their city from slavery to labour history
and looking to the future of radical history from ‘below’. So if you want to find
out what unites a 17th Century blasphemous preacher and some drunken Can-Can
dancers this is the event for you.