Alison Rose, principal of Newnham College
Alumna Feature
We talked to Alison Rose, principal of Newnham College who joined the college after a diplomatic career with a particular expertise in international relations in Europe. She was British Ambassador to Belgium from 2014 to 2019
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The picture shows Alison holding her Newnham 1980 matriculation photo.
- Why history? In what ways has studying history at Cambridge made you the person you are today?
I always thought I would study English at University and didn’t even take History for ‘O’ level. But I loved the more factual basis of the stories I discovered through studying ‘A’ level history, and the variety of types of history, so changed my mind about what I wanted to take as a degree. Studying history helped me see the world from different perspectives, to spot nuance and bias, and to look for evidence. All useful skills for a civil servant, diplomat, and Head of House!
- What is your favourite Cambridge memory?
Singing in a choir – that sense of common endeavour and working together to create something beautiful.
- Is there one piece of historical scholarship (a book, an article) which proved particularly consequential for how you think about the world?
Phyllis Deane’s ‘The first Industrial Revolution’ opened my eyes to the importance of economics in history. My copy – which I bought in my second term at Cambridge – is one of a handful of my student history books which have survived periodic attempts to keep my personal library to a reasonable size. Analysis of the industrial revolution in the UK has moved on a lot since then, but her exposition of the different aspects of the economy and the roles of different actors helped me get to grips with some basic economics, which was a big help in my career.
- What piece of advice would you have for a young undergraduate studying history at Cambridge today?
If you can, apply for travel grants to visit places whose history you are studying. A sense of place, architecture and geography really helps you in studying history, and gives you insight into how people perceive and present their own history. My interrailing trip to Europe at the end of my second year at Cambridge, part-funded by a College travel grant as well as a holiday job, really increased my understanding of European history.