Skeptics: "Gin, bunting and bloody railways"

Basingstoke Friends subscribers are invited to the talk hosted by Winchester Skeptics In The Pub. Tonight's talk is titled “Gin, bunting and bloody railways” and is led by Dr Charlotte Riley.

Winchester Skeptics hosts a guest speaker on the last Thursday of every month. They provide an opportunity for people who are interested in science, skepticism, rationalism and critical thinking to socialise and discuss matters of interest.

What's the talk about?

The British Empire was the largest empire in modern history. At its height, it covered a quarter of the world's surface and encompassed a fifth of the world's population. For centuries, Britannia ruled the waves; from Ireland to India, from Ghana to Guiana, the union flag flew high over British territory. Britain tells this story as a story of triumphs: a small island coming proudly to dominate the world, with the empire cast both as a sign of military might and as a humanitarian mission, bringing peace and civilisation to the wider world.

But the reality was very different; the British empire was built on violence and exploitation, the populations under British rule rejected and resisted imperialism, and the British at home had a very ambivalent relationship to 'their' empire. This talk will look at some of the key myths of empire, and will explore why the British still have such a complicated understanding of their imperial past, and how the popular memory of empire still influences culture, politics and society today.

The Speaker:

Charlotte Lydia Riley is a lecturer in twentieth century British history at the University of Southampton. She writes about the British empire and decolonization, aid and humanitarianism, and the Labour Party; her book explores all of these things to examine the connections between empire and the British metropole in the late twentieth century. She lives in east London and spends a lot of time on trains.

The Venue:

The Licensed front cafe bar at the Winchester Discovery Centre area will be open from 7.00pm. The talks for Winchester Skeptics in the Pub start at 7.30pm in the main theatre. Suggested donation £3 for entry into a book raffle to cover speakers expenses and theatre hire that is collected at the door.

Hosted by the Winchester Skeptics in the Pub