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Lecture

Daniel Snowman
What Do We (And Don’t We) Mean by ‘History’?

Thursday 18.09.2025

How to watch

This lecture starts on 18 September at 5:00pm (UK).

Summary

Daniel Snowman, in the footsteps of the great Jewish historian Marc Bloch, argues that a deeper awareness of the past can sometimes help inspire a wiser approach to the present and future. In this lecture Daniel touches on the revival of nationalism, Russia at war in Ukraine, recurrent conflicts in Israel and the Middle East, Britain’s diminishing impact upon Europe and the “Commonwealth,” and the re-assertiveness of China, as well as the future of such institutions as NATO, the UN, the World Health Organisation, and the World Bank.

Daniel Snowman

an image of Daniel Snowman

Daniel Snowman is a social and cultural historian. Born in London to a Jewish family in 1938 and educated at Cambridge and Cornell, Daniel became a lecturer at the University of Sussex and went on to work for many years at the BBC as senior producer of radio features and documentaries. A senior research fellow at the Institute of Historical Research (University of London), his many books include a social history of opera and a study of the cultural impact of the “Hitler Emigrés” and, most recently, his memoir Just Passing Through: Interactions with the World 1938-2021.