Is History Still Being Written by the Victors? Carol Cohn Challenges the Narrative at Oxford Brookes

Is history still written by the victors? Carol Cohn challenges dominant narratives in a powerful guest lecture at Oxford Brookes.

Is History Still Being Written by the Victors? Carol Cohn Challenges the Narrative at Oxford Brookes
Oxford Brookes University played host to a thought-provoking guest lecture at the beginning of March as the Centre for Medical Humanities welcomed esteemed journalist and broadcaster Carol Cohn to explore a question as old as conflict itself: Is history still being written by the victors?

The event, chaired by Professor Marius Turda, took place in the JHB Chakrabarti Lecture Theatre, drawing an engaged audience of students, academics, and members of the public eager to hear Cohn’s reflections on history, memory, and the shaping of collective narratives.

Cohn’s personal journey is one deeply entwined with the turbulent currents of 20th-century history. Born in 1940 in Dorohoi, Romania, he was just an infant when he and his mother were deported to Transnistria, a fate shared by hundreds of Romanian Jews under the fascist Antonescu regime. The horrors of war and displacement left an indelible mark on his understanding of how history is recorded and retold.

After returning home in 1944, Cohn’s academic and literary talents led him to win a BBC World Service competition in 1967, paving the way for a life that would span continents and careers. Emigrating first to Israel and later to Britain, Cohn established himself as a respected voice in international affairs, working as an economist in the City of London while contributing journalism and analysis to the BBC World Service, Radio Free Europe, and a range of British publications.

During his lecture, Cohn unpacked the mechanisms by which historical narratives are shaped, contested, and, at times, manipulated. Drawing on his own experiences of exile and political upheaval, he examined how power structures influence the writing of history, from state propaganda to the selective memory of national identities.
The discussion touched upon conflicts past and present, as well as the evolving role of media in both reinforcing and challenging dominant narratives. Cohn's background as a journalist provided sharp insights into how contemporary geopolitical struggles continue to be framed in ways that serve particular interests.

Professor Marius Turda, whose work at the Centre for Medical Humanities has focused on historical and ethical dimensions of power, underscored the significance of such discussions within academic spaces. "It is vital that we interrogate how history is written, who gets to tell it, and whose voices remain unheard," he noted.
For students and attendees, the lecture was a reminder that history is never settled—it is contested, revised, and reinterpreted with every generation. As Cohn himself put it, "The victors may write the first draft, but history itself is never finished."

The event reinforced the Centre for Medical Humanities’ commitment to fostering critical conversations at the intersection of history, politics, and ethics—conversations that are perhaps more relevant now than ever.