Image: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, 1789. Held by British Library: Shelfmark: 1489.g.50
Welcome to the second PATHfinders update from SHP Curriculum PATHS. This project is all about connecting creative history teachers with the latest sources and interpretations. We hope these materials will help inspire you to create, collaborate on, and share your own Curriculum PATHS unit plans, rooted in our co-created Ethical Principles. If you have used these sources before, we’d also love your feedback on the project.
For Spring 2025 we are working once again in collaboration with the British Library, who are busy curating a range of sources and learning materials for a new website, Discovering Historical Sources. This website is focused especially on sources and interpretations related to migration and empire history.
This collection of sources from the British Library and other archives are on the theme of ‘Black lives in Britain, 1730-1850’. They are suitable for Key Stage 3, GCSE and A level use. There is a fantastic selection of source material available, including newspapers, paintings, etchings, letters and official papers.
The British Library are hoping that these sources will inspire you to craft new teaching units or refine your existing ones. They would love to collect your feedback too, so do get in touch if you have any comments or suggestions. Either way, SHP would love you to share any units you create using these sources via our Curriculum PATHS Sharing Hub.
Please do have fun with these materials and use them to craft your own curriculum units. If you want some inspiration, we would highly recommend looking at some of the Unit Paths which have already been shared by other members, or this brilliant spotlight on Sasha Smith and Sarah Longair’s collaboration using material culture.
See you on the road!
The Curriculum PATHS team.
