Ms Ellen Parcell, who very sadly died last year, was Head of History at Bedford School from 2005 to 2022, during which time she inspired many boys and colleagues with her love of history and her commitment to supporting the progress of her pupils. During Ms Parcell’s tenure, she promoted academic rigour and intellectual curiosity, and, in this spirit, a new humanities essay prize has been set up in her memory.
Teacher of History Mr Mark Graham, who ran the prize this year, explained, “Ellen always wanted boys to think of history as an evolving, interpretative subject. She rejected as complacent and uncritical any tendency to see history as capable of delivering objective truths beyond the most basic agreement around the chronology of events. As such, she would have welcomed the approach taken by our applicants, which often involved challenging assumptions in the question and presenting lines of argument constructed out of a synthesis of rival interpretations, without making any absolute claims to having found the truth about the past.”
Boys across the school were invited to choose an essay question from a list of titles encouraging them to think about their humanities studies in new and cre
ative ways. The questions were set in a deliberately interdisciplinary way, requiring boys to think about the links and connections that exist between and across the disciplines of history, geography, philosophy, politics and economics. Boys were required to apply formal referencing conventions, and they were permitted to apply any structure they deemed appropriate, the only expectation being that the work would be well-organised and would strike a good balance between range and depth.
A number of high-quality submissions were received from boys in the Remove and Lower Sixth Forms and, while the winners were never taught by Ms Parcell themselves, winner of the senior prize Eric He remembers her fondly from History Society and recalls, “In my memory she was a skilful and passionate debater and provided profound arguments in many debates. She was like the walking encyclopaedia of the history department.”
The winners are as follows:
The Winner of the Junior Prize is Advik Mishra (Remove Form).
Referring to ‘the dark and the light of the human past’ in his call for optimism in the face of history’s most challenging moments, Advik accessed a range of resources, including books, articles and reference works, to develop an analysis of the nature and impact of the Kindertransport (1938-1940), the Jonestown Massacre (1978), and the March on Washington (1968). In drawing on lessons from the past, Advik finds cause for optimism in people’s ability to “endure whatever harsh reality that is in place, keep acting and most importantly have an unequivocal ‘hope’ in better times to come”.
“The aspect of researching and writing the essay that I enjoyed the most was delving into the depths of the topic and uncovering new insights. Engaging with a variety of sources, from scholarly articles to personal narratives, allowed me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Moreover, the process of articulating my thoughts and crafting a coherent argument was both intellectually stimulating and rewarding.”
The Winner of the Senior Prize is Eric He (Lower Sixth).
Eric delivered a coherent philosophical response to a question on modern governance and methods of control. Citing key thinkers such as Foucault, Fukuyama, Zizek and Howard Zinn, Eric challenged the question’s thesis that control arises from popular acceptance of political messaging that ‘all is right as it is’, arguing instead that contemporary modes of entertainment, growing civic apathy and a divisive media narrative have left people vulnerable to, and essentially unaware of, the hard power wielded by the state apparatus, masked as it is by a kind of political theatre. The range and ambition of Eric’s reading, and the success with which he critically integrated several challenging theories and concepts, stand out in his work.
“I chose to enter this competition mainly because I see it as an opportunity to conclude my knowledge on this particular topic. I like reading and talking about philosophy, politics and history with my friends, yet we have never tried to analyse the development of post-modernism systematically; therefore I was driven by my desire to link separate thinkers and events into one clear and interconnected web that be understood by everyone.”
Runner-up in the Senior category is Fred Dickson (Lower Sixth)
Fred is a Lower Sixth IB student who is Highly Commended for an excellent essay on the roots of popular nostalgia and the complex causes of the often-held belief that the past was better than the present. Fred’s highly engaging, historically robust exploration of three very different eras led him to consider the experiences and responses of Russian émigrés in France after the 1917 Revolution, the associational life of the Irish Diaspora in the 19th century, and the factors driving supporters of the Restoration after the English Civil War.
“I was inspired to enter as I am planning to study history at university, so this provided me with an opportunity to extend my knowledge in the subject which I hope to pursue in the future. I was also keen to enter since many of the titles provided me with the chance to pursue my specific interests.”
Teacher of History, Mr Mark Graham, said, “Many congratulations to Advik, Eric and Fred for their outstanding work. We hope more boys will have been inspired to read something different and challenge themselves to pursue one or several of the many opportunities for academic extension available to them at Bedford School.”