History PGR wins the Olivette Otele Prize

Congratulations to History PGR Nico Blackstock who was recently awarded the History Lab’s Olivette Otele Prize for his paper, The ‘Mechanical Tranquiliser’? Geoffrey Gorer, television viewing, and community in 1950s England.

Nico’s winning paper offers a fascinating re-evaluation of how television transformed British social life, challenging anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer’s notion that television acted as a “mechanical tranquiliser” and contributed to a loss of sociability in 1950s England.

The Olivette Otele Prize was established by History Lab , the Institute of Historical Research’s postgraduate community in 2020.  The awarding panel praised the paper, describing it as “publishable quality […] engagingly written through a historiographical lens, demonstrating a deep understanding of the source material by noting its limitations and position it within wider efforts of historians to focus on hidden voices within the archives.”

Reflecting on the award, Nico said: “I am honoured to have been awarded History Lab’s Olivette Otele Prize. I’m indebted to the amazing academic community at Southampton, from my supervisors to my fellow PGRs, who provided me with invaluable feedback when drafting the paper.

“To have been awarded a prize named after Britain’s first Black female history professor is deeply humbling, particularly because my doctoral research is also being funded by a University of Southampton Black Futures Scholarship .”

Dr Eve Colpus , Nico's' PhD supervisor, said: “This is a fantastic achievement which recognises Nico’s scholarship. His article will be an important contribution to cultural histories of modern Britain.”

As part of the award, Nico's paper will be published in Historical Research , and he will present it at the History Lab conference in July.