The life and work of Manuel Alvarado

By Senior Lecturers Michelle Thomason and Dr Warren Kidd, at the University of East London’s (UEL) School of Education and Communities  

If you’ve ever visited the School of Education and Communities at UEL’s Water Lane Campus in Stratford, have you taken a moment to look around? In particular, have you noticed the plaque on the wall next to the music, dance and drama studio?  

If you have, you’ll have noticed the name of Professor Manuel Alvarado, to whom the room is dedicated. But why has been commemorated in this way and who was he?

They are complex - and revealing - questions to answer. Not only did Professor Alvarado have strong ties to east London, he also embodied many of the values that the University represents. His pioneering contributions to academia and education make him a fitting choice for recognition.  

His tireless advocacy for creative education sought to break down prejudice about its place in the curriculum, and his groundbreaking research on representation and diversity in film and television challenged prevailing norms about inclusion, diversity, and social justice.  

His advocacy extended far beyond the confines of academia. As a migrant himself, he was a passionate champion of the rights of marginalised communities and actively promoted cultural exchange within east London.  

By honouring Manuel Alvarado, UEL not only celebrates his individual achievements but also reaffirms its place as an “anchor institution” for east London with a commitment to creating inclusive spaces and driving positive social change at the local level.  

Professor Alvarado, like many in east London, was part of an interesting migratory journey. He was born in Guatemala City on March 15, 1948, but was brought up by his mother in east London, where he attended local schools – Millfield Primary in Hackney and White Hart Lane Secondary School in Tottenham.  

These experiences clearly informed his writing on media education, especially around issues of representation. Later in life, he was the Editor of Screen Education and the Head of Education for the British Film Institute.  

While Professor Alvarado’s work spans many disciplines, such as media education, political activism and social justice, his legacy is far greater than the sum of these parts. What resonates throughout his work is a commitment to critical study but of the type that results in action.

He considered any academic pursuit a self-indulgence if there was no tangible outcome, or if the work did not challenge power structures and the status quo. All of this has clear resonance with UEL’s own institutional values and the University’s wider commitment to the communities it serves.

Perhaps what stands out most resoundingly is Professor Alvarado’s conceptualisation of education, which takes the position that “teachers are responsible not only for extending children’s view of the world but also with challenging their perception of it.”  

The link to our School’s mission, and that of the University itself - to provide an education that is transformative and future-focused - is clear.  

Professor Alvarado’s life and work offers us some important themes through which we can think about education, the media, diversity, and creativity. He was also for a time a board member of the Sir John Cass Foundation, now renamed The Portal Trust.

Our own building had ties with this charitable organisation and the work it has done in supporting education in disadvantaged areas. It is through this connection that the plaque was mounted.

It’s worth noting that, prompted by activism like the Black Lives Matters protests, the trust investigated the connections between the origins of the foundation and the involvement of John Cass in the transatlantic slave trade. Those origins stand in stark contrast to the authors’, and Professor Alvarado’s, unwavering commitment to challenging the discourses, ideologies and physicalities of power and privilege.