THE TITANIC: HISTORY AND LEGACY
A FOUR-WEEK ONLINE COURSE
Start date: 7pm, Wed 5 February 2025
On 15th April 1912, the RMS Titanic sank on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City after striking an iceberg. The disaster saw 1517 passengers and crew perish, while 706 survived. The shocking tragedy quickly became a news sensation, triggering books, movies and TV adaptations. But what is the real story of the Titanic?
This fascinating new course sets the story of the Titanic within its global and historical context to explore the social history of those on board, the cultural impact of the sinking, and the far-reaching influence of the Titanic legend.
Delivery: The course will be delivered by a series of 4 video lectures, and separate group Q&As with expert tutors via a video conferencing platform. Participants will also receive a reading list, course literature and a number of supporting videos with additional expert contributors. Lectures will be released at 7pm each Wednesday and will be available to view for a month and half.
Accessibility: All lectures will have closed captions. The live Q&As will be recorded and fully captioned within 48 hours of their first being streamed. If you have any additional access requirements, please get in touch via enquiries@histfest.org
Lecture 1 – The Titanic: Legend and Reality (Gareth Russell)
Lecture 2 – The People On Board (Duncan Barrett)
Lecture 3 – Titanic on film: From the 1912 Disaster to the 1997 Blockbuster (Mark Glancy)
Lecture 4 – The Legacy of the Titanic (Stephanie Barczewski)
YOUR TUTORS
Gareth Russell – Educated at Oxford University and Queen’s University, Belfast, Gareth Russell is a historian, novelist, and playwright. He is the author of several books, including The Palace, Young and Damned and Fair, The Emperors, Do Let’s Have Another Drink, and The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era (“a beautiful requiem” – The Wall Street Journal) . He lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Stephanie Barczewski – Stephanie is a specialist in modern British cultural history, Stephanie Barczewski is Professor of History at Clemson University in South Carolina, USA, where she has taught since 1996. In 2005 she became Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities at Clemson. She is the author of numerous books, including Titanic: A Night Remembered (2006).
Mark Glancy – Mark Glancy is Professor of Film History at Queen Mary University of London. His publications include Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend (Oxford University Press, 2020), Hollywood and the Americanization of Britain (Bloomsbury, 2014), The 39 Steps: A British Film Guide (Bloomsbury, 2002), and When Hollywood Loved Britain: the Hollywood British Film, 1939-45 (Manchester University Press, 1999). With James Chapman and Sue Harper, he is also the co-editor of The New Film History: Sources, Methods, Approaches (Palgrave, 2007).
Duncan Barrett – Duncan Barrett is a writer and editor, specialising in biography and memoir. He grew up in London and studied English at Jesus College, Cambridge. In 2010 he edited the First World War memoirs of pacifist saboteur Ronald Skirth, published as The Reluctant Tommy. He is co-author, with Nuala Calvi, of a trio of Sunday Times Top 10 bestsellers: The Sugar Girls, which was ranked second in the history bestsellers of 2012, GI Brides, which was also a New York Times bestseller in America, and The Girls Who Went to War.