Jim Beach reviews a new history of Britain in the early years of the Second World War. Occasionally a history book comes along and you’re obliged to point and shout “wow!” Alan Allport’s Britain at Bay is one of those books. It is also very timely. At a moment when our government is wrapping itself... Continue Reading →
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Personal Correspondence in English History: An Online Conference
On the 15th and 16th of April Rachel Moss and Mark Rothery, both of the History department, hosted an online conference exploring letters in history, as primary sources and as themes for research. Over 100 delegates registered and attended the conference, it was very successful and enjoyable, we all learnt a lot! The delegates were... Continue Reading →
Count Binface: A Very British Phenomenon
What would British elections be like without candidates such as Count Binface, who is one of 20 people standing for London Mayor today? Britain has a long tradition of joke candidates contesting elections. Sometimes they have something more serious to say, other times they are seemingly motivated by the attention they draw. Famously, in 1984,... Continue Reading →
Line of Duty, politics and corruption
THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS The sixth and final series of police corruption drama Line of Duty concluded on Sunday night. I say 'concluded', but the ending was rather inconclusive, to the extent that it may have left the door open to continue the story. The revelation of the identity of 'H' proved to be a... Continue Reading →
Remembering the History of Children in Alternative Care and Care-Experienced People
Today (30th April 2021) is the first international Day of Remembrance for Care Experienced People. Today's remembrance day is the culmination of the first Care Experienced History Month, a series of awareness-raising events by organizations advocating for those who have experienced care recently and in the past. A series of online talks and tweet... Continue Reading →
What Would You Do?
Would you join a militant political movement, risking not only your job but potentially your family, friends and public reputation? What physical and emotional trauma would you be willing to face? These were all questions that faced women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when they joined the emergent women’s rights and suffrage... Continue Reading →
‘It’s a Sin’- COVID-19 and the AIDS Pandemic of the 1980s
This blog post is by our undergraduate student Joseph Price. Image from It's A Sin The recent Channel 4 drama series ‘It’s a Sin’ directed by Russel T Davies offers a terrifying and heartbreaking insight into the experiences of gay men in the 1980s. The series follows the lives of a group of friends where... Continue Reading →
Personal Correspondence in English, 1400 – Present: Programme 15-16 April 2021
This conference is taking place online. You can register for free here. Papers (aside from the plenary) will be 15 minutes in length to avoid screen fatigue and to allow more time for discussion. We will give everyone a short break after the papers and before the Q&A to facilitate this too. Personal Correspondence in... Continue Reading →
Is our ‘freedom loving country’ about to become to a more heavily policed state?
I think that everyone, from whatever political perspective, will agree that the events of Saturday night in Clapham were regrettable. The image broadcast to the world was of a large gathering of women protesting male violence and mourning the death of a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. For this vigil... Continue Reading →
Why History Matters: A Student Perspective
This post is by our student Charlotte - you can read more of her thoughts on her blog. I have been asked so many times, ‘what is the point in studying history?’ and ‘what good is a history degree?’ So, I thought I would write a blog about it! What drives your desire to study?... Continue Reading →