Simon Schama

Delve into the life and contributions of Sir Simon Schama (born 13 February 1945) — British historian, art historian, television presenter, and public intellectual. Explore his major works, signature style, and enduring legacy.

Introduction

Sir Simon Michael Schama (born 13 February 1945) is a distinguished British historian, art historian, writer, and broadcaster. A History of Britain, Power of Art, and The Story of the Jews have brought historical storytelling to wide audiences. Columbia University in New York.

Early Life and Education

Schama was born in Marylebone, London on February 13, 1945.

In his childhood, his family moved to Southend-on-Sea (Essex) before returning to London. Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in Cricklewood (later in Elstree, Hertfordshire).

He then went on to Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he studied history. He graduated with a Starred First in 1966.

Academic & Teaching Career

Schama’s teaching and academic posts span Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, and Columbia:

• From 1966 to 1976, he served as Fellow and director of studies in history at Christ’s College, Cambridge.

• In 1976 to 1980, he was a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, focusing on French history and the French Revolution.

• From 1980 to 1993, he was based in the United States, teaching at Harvard University (in art history and history) before moving to Columbia University in 1993.

• At Columbia, he holds the title University Professor of Art History and History and teaches a variety of courses on art, empire, visual culture, and historical memory.

Major Works & Contributions

Historical & Thematic Focus

Schama is known for works that meld history, culture, and visual analysis. His areas of expertise include Dutch Golden Age history, Dutch culture, the French Revolution, Jewish history, and the interaction between art and memory.

Key Books & Narratives

Some of his landmark books include:

• Patriots and Liberators: Revolution in the Netherlands 1780–1813 (1977) — his early work which garnered the Wolfson History Prize and the Leo Gershoy Award.

• The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (1987) — exploring the moral paradoxes and cultural tensions of 17th-century Netherlands.

• Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (1989) — a sweeping narrative that placed the Revolution in a broader cultural and emotional context.

• Dead Certainties: Unwarranted Speculations (1991) — a more experimental work blending fact, conjecture, and narrative speculation.

• Landscape and Memory (1995) — exploring how landscapes, physical environment, and cultural memory intertwine.

• Rembrandt’s Eyes (1999) — a meditation on art, life, and the gaze in the work of Rembrandt.

• A History of Britain (2000–2002) — a multi-volume project (often tied to his BBC documentary series) covering British history up to around 1965.

• Power of Art (2006) — paired with a BBC documentary, focusing on key works of art and how they shaped human experience.

• Rough Crossings (2005) — examining the British evacuation of slaves during the American Revolution and the African diaspora.

• The Story of the Jews (Volumes I & II) — a sweeping account of Jewish history from ancient times through modernity; also adapted into a major TV documentary.

• Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations (2023) — his more recent work that looks at disease, science, and global responses.

Broadcasting & Public Scholarship

In addition to books, Schama has had a prolific career as a television presenter and documentary producer:

• A History of Britain (BBC, early 2000s) — 15 episodes tying together political, social, and cultural histories.

• Simon Schama’s Power of Art — a series exploring singular masterpieces and their significance.

• The Story of the Jews (BBC) — tying his scholarship to visual, cultural, and religious paths in Jewish history.

• Other works include series on The American Future, art and visual culture, and national identity.

He is also a contributing editor to the Financial Times and writes essays on art, politics, and culture.

Style & Intellectual Signature

Schama’s approach is distinctive:

• Interdisciplinary narrative: He weaves history, art, literature, and culture into his storytelling rather than keeping them siloed.

• Vivid, evocative prose: His writing often evokes atmosphere, visual detail, symbolism, and emotional weight.

• Historical empathy: He strives to recover the mindset and sensibility of past persons and eras, while not ignoring moral judgment.

• Visual consciousness: As an art historian, he emphasises how images, paintings, and architecture carry meaning alongside “textual” history.

• Public engagement: Schama embraces the medium of television and public-facing writing to bring history to a broad audience.

• Speculation within boundaries: In works like Dead Certainties, he experiments with bridging gaps in evidence, though this has sometimes stirred controversy among traditional historians.

Honors, Recognition & Influence

• Schama was knighted in 2018 (Knight Bachelor) for services to history.

• He has won the Wolfson History Prize and Leo Gershoy Award for his early work.

• He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has received numerous honorary degrees.

• His books and series have influenced both academic and popular conceptions of how history can be told — particularly by combining visual culture and narrative strength.

• Many historians and critics regard him as one of the more accessible, passionate voices in public history, with both praise and critique directed at his blending of narrative and interpretation.

Selected Quotes

Here are a few notable reflections attributed to Schama:

“History is not a bag of stationery but a living, breathing discourse — an argument with the past, and therefore about the present.”

On art and its power: “Art is the zone where we are continually seeking to bridge the distance between what is and what might have been.”

On memory and identity: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” (often paraphrased in various forms)

(Note: some of these are paraphrases or thematic reworkings of lines from his many talks and writings.)

Lessons & Legacy

1. Bringing art into history
   Schama shows that to understand a society, you often must look at its paintings, architecture, and visual culture, because they carry values, anxieties, and aspirations.

2. Narrative matters
   He reminds us that how we tell stories — the choices of what to emphasize, link, and juxtapose — shapes collective understanding of history.

3. Public intellectual responsibility
   His career demonstrates that historians can and perhaps should engage beyond academia, reaching public audiences without sacrificing rigor.

4. Balance between empathy and judgment
   Schama’s work encourages seeing historical actors as complex, rather than heroes or villains alone.

5. Historical imagination within evidence
   While he sometimes experiments with narrative speculation, he usually grounds his work in archival and visual evidence, showing how imagination and rigor can be allied.