Words that changed the world

This is a workshop about words and ideas that changed the world—and the forces that tried to stop them.

From the Bible to Galileo, from Pride and Prejudice to The Diary of Anne Frank, we’ll tour some of the moments in history when books and maps have changed the way people see the world—and how the world reacted. We’ll look at the ways people have gathered knowledge together in encyclopedias or collections like libraries, or online, like Wikipedia.

But over the centuries countless books have been banned or even destroyed. Why? Why do some countries ban facebook or Google? Who would burn books and libraries?

If knowledge is power, can it really be stopped?

These are age-old questions that become more urgent every year: questions that affect young people and their learning.

Students will explore issues and events including:

• Famous books and ideas that changed the world
• The impact of the printing press and internet
• Inspiring campaigns for education and reading, like those of Malala Yousafzai
• Stories that changed how we think

Writing exercises include:

• Write a defence or prosecution argument about banning some favourite books for young people.
• Volunteers will share their arguments with the group in an informal debate