Your HA Virtual Branch
Keep learning with our online programme of talks
Your branch from home
The HA Virtual Branch is a great way to keep your history up-to-date, whether you are working or relaxing, all from the comfort of your home. The Virtual Branch is free and open to everybody, and recordings of the talks are made available online after the event for HA members.
Did you know? As well as accessing session recordings, members can attend talks held by HA local branches for free, plus exclusive members' webinars and short courses, and a variety of other benefits. Find out more.
Upcoming talks
*LIVE - Wednesday 24 April, 7.30pm
From Pirates to Princes: the Normans in Eleventh-Century Europe
Professor Judith Green
Book here
Normandy originated in from a grant of land to Rollo, a Viking leader, in the early tenth century. By the end of that century Normans were to be found in southern Italy, then in Britain and, at the end of the eleventh century, in the near East on the First Crusade. How are their successes - ‘the stormin’ Normans’ - best explained, as excellence in war, great leadership, or just good luck? This talk looks at both causes and consequences of their rise to power and moves on to discuss how fresh approaches through archaeology and material culture are transforming the field. Read more
*LIVE - Tuesday 21 May, 7.30pm
Shylock’s Venice
Harry Freedman
Book here
This is the story of the Venice Ghetto, the corner of the city where Jews were exiled; free to walk the streets by day, locked behind gates and walls at night. Yet, gates and walls notwithstanding, from its establishment in 1516 until the fall of Venice in 1798, the ghetto prison was the site of a remarkable cultural renaissance. It became Europe’s most vibrant Jewish centre. For the first time in European history Jews and Christians mingled intellectually, learning from each other, sharing ideas and entering modernity together. When it came to culture, the ghetto walls were porous. Read more
*LIVE - Wednesday 19 June, 7.30pm
The Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949: Diaries and Personal Experiences
Professor Henrietta Harrison
Book here
This talk looks at 1949 as a year of revolution in China and uses diaries to think about the experience of living through that revolution. It will provide a basic background to the events of the communist revolution, but then it will ask what the revolution meant to people, how they learned about its practices and ideology, and how this changed their lives. The focus will be on the lives and stories of Chinese people who lived through those events. Read more
*LIVE - Thursday 18 July, 7.30 pm
Women of the Anarchy
Sharon Bennett Connolly
Book here
In 1135, Stephen of Blois usurped the throne, stealing it from his cousin Empress Matilda and sparking a nineteen-year civil war that would become known as the Anarchy, one of the bloodiest periods in English history. On the one side is Empress Matilda. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland, and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Read more
Past lecture recordings
If you've missed any of our previous Virtual Branch talks, HA members can access recordings below. Not already a member? Join today
Local HA Branches
The HA has over 45 local branches around the country. Some of these have been able to return to their venues for their monthly talks. Others have decided to make their branch programmes online via Zoom – this provides a wonderful opportunity for you to see some of the great lectures that occur across the country as part of the HA. Check our branch calendar for full listings.
If you're a teacher don't forget that we also run our regular calendar of CPD events - view the secondary webinar calendar here and the primary calendar here.
Other events coming up
View out full Historian events calendar