It is widely acknowledged that the past can offer a window into the future. In academia, studying historical trends to explain the present or predict and imagine future events is…Read More >
history
International Women’s Day 2021
International Women’s Day originated over 100 years ago in the labour movement in the US and Europe. It was adopted by second-wave feminists in the late 1970s and by the…Read More >
LGBT+ History Month: Broken Futures project
LGBT+ History Month is a time to look back through history and to highlight queer identities. This often brings with it a sense of belonging that many queer people believe…Read More >
Impressionism’s sibling rivalry
Sixty world-famous impressionist paintings arrived at the Royal Academy of Arts in London from Copenhagen in March last year, a whisker before the first lockdown was imposed. Instead of drawing…Read More >
The Dig on Netflix: a refreshingly accurate portrayal – according to an archaeologist
Edith Pretty was convinced that the mounds on her land in Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, held important archaeological secrets. In 1939, on the eve of the second world war, she was…Read More >
Teaching Holocaust Testimonies
As an adolescent boy, growing up in the 1960s, I used to enjoy playing with my newly minted Action Man. I would dress him up in various army uniforms and…Read More >
Connecting through Collections Histories
As a historian of archaeology, I know that museum collections are an important route into the history of empire. British archaeologists and antiquarians brought artefacts from many countries back to…Read More >
Christmas coming early: there’s never been a right time to put up the decorations
In the words of Perry Como’s classic, “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. The pandemic has got many yearning for a little festive joy earlier than usual and,…Read More >
Ethiopia’s troubled history provides clues to why an all-out civil war is possible
Ethiopia’s government, under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is carrying out a military offensive in Tigray, Ethiopia’s most northern state. A six month state of emergency has been declared in the region. Dozens…Read More >
Black History Month: ‘A visit to the countryside is always accompanied by a feeling of unease; dread.’
The countryside has long been a place intrinsic to the British national identity, from the Romantic movement through to the present day. And yet, it has remained largely inaccessible to…Read More >