Modern African historian Professor Heike Schmidt explains the hidden significance of the Springboks’ brief dance after their Rugby World Cup win, which was more than just a celebration of victory.
Heritage & Creativity
Picturing science for children: the power of Marie Neurath’s designs
Marie Neurath designed science books for children in the mid-20th century, using clever visual techniques to explain scientific ideas. An exhibition about her work at the House of Illustration in…Read More >
A complex and controversial new saint
Papal historian Professor Rebecca Rist reflects on the canonisation of John Henry Newman – writer, polemicist, musician and reader – and a man who was both traditional and progressive. On…Read More >
In pictures: stimulating senses at the Berkshire show
Armed with a quad bike, chopped vegetables and some giant pollen grains, Reading academics took sensory-themed research to the public at the Berkshire Show on 21 – 22 September. Here…Read More >
Finding the fires of early humans
Our controlled use of fire is arguably one of the most significant developments in human history. But when and where did we first start to use it? Rebecca Scott, Mark…Read More >
Seven things you probably didn’t know about life in medieval castles
Dr Karen Dempsey’s research tells the stories of medieval people’s lives through the objects they used and cared about, in the spaces where they lived and worked. Here she tells…Read More >
The Jungle Book: more than just an imperialist tale for children?
Is Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book a simple allegory for colonial rule in India? Or is it about what it is to belong, and to be human? Ahead of her…Read More >
Ripped, Torn & Cut: new book on how fanzines shaped punk
A book exploring the surge of fanzines that emerged in the wake of punk in the 1970s and 1980s was launched this week at the London College of Communication. Here,…Read More >
In pictures: researchers at work
Images made by Reading PhD students at work were selected for an exhibition at our annual doctoral research conference last month, featuring diverse subjects from earth worms to food bank…Read More >
Mohamed Morsi: death of Egypt’s former president shows deep state was always going to triumph
In a new post for The Conversation, Middle Eastern historian Dr Dina Rezk writes that Morsi’s inhumane treatment and subsequent fate is unexceptional in a regime set on imposing its…Read More >
