Lecture: TV and Oxford historian Dr Ramirez

On 18 January, the seniors were lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a lecture delivered by TV and Oxford historian Janina Ramirez.

Review by Sarah (GR/Year 13)

I have always found Janina incredibly inspirational, especially for girls and women who wish to enter the field of art history and history, and hearing a lecture of hers in person just enforced my already high admiration for her. She is incredibly passionate about the work she does, and the general consensus was that her talk was very engaging. Professor Ramirez spoke about misconceptions and cover-ups of women throughout history, which is the topic of her most recent book, shining a light on a crucial issue. She drew attention to integral women who have been forgotten and erased throughout history and explained certain misconceptions (like the gender of medieval graves) that have been discredited with the help of modern technology. For someone so accomplished, she remains humble and down to earth, and her clear love for history is infectious.

Overall, it was an enlightening and enthralling talk with such a phenomenal speaker and historian. Dr Ramirez learned that she had been made professor just minutes before she gave her talk, which made the evening even more memorable and exciting.