Retrospect
Journal.

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY'S HISTORY, CLASSICS AND ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE

Blog: https://retrospectjournal.com/
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‘Every baby needs a da-da-daddy’: Andrew Dominik’s Blonde

Georgia Smith explores themes of gender, sex, and the self in a review of the 2022 film “Blonde”, which tells a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe’s life.
Princess on the Streets: How Catherine of Aragon Came to Live on the Strand

Following the sudden death of her first husband, Catherine of Aragon found herself thrust into poverty and turmoil regarding her consequent betrothal. Marnie Camping-Harris discusses the turbulent formative years of the future Queen of England.
Henry VIII: The Spare Who Changed History

Whilst the phrase “spare to the heir” has dominated headlines in recent months, it is an appellation which also overshadowed the early years of the future King Henry VIII. Naomi Wallace discusses the events that shaped the monarch, and the history of England.
Book Review – Parreñas, Rhacel. 2011. Illicit Flirtations: Labor, Migration, and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Rhacel Parreñas’ 2011 text, “Illicit Flirtations: Labor, Migration, and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo”, seeks to examine the misconceptions surrounding the Filipina hostesses of Japan whose livelihood came under global scrutiny through the US-led anti-trafficking campaign. Rosie Inwald discusses Parreñas’ work and the issues with a top-down perspective on the agency of these women.
The Ford Nucleon: Petrol Omission to Nuclear Fission

In 1958, Ford unveiled the Nucleon: a car which eschewed the traditional combustion engine in favour of a small nuclear reactor. Sam Marks explores this product of the 1950s Atomic Age which, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not develop beyond the concept stage.
Funding the Arts in Ancient Athens

The Dionysia, a festival in ancient Athens on honour of the god Dionysus, featured plays sponsored by choregoi: wealthy citizens who financed the performance in exchange for social prestige. Fiona MacRae explores how the benefaction model of ancient Athens might be the key to saving the performing arts today.
Book Review – Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence

R. F. Kuang’s 2022 novel, “Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence”, holds a critical lens to the British Empire, examining the atrocities perpetuated by academic institutions. Naomi Wallace discusses Kuang’s work which combines fantasy with a powerful critique of imperialism, set in nineteenth-century Oxford.
NEVER AGAIN: Reflecting on Illegal Abortions in the US Fifty Years on From Roe v Wade

In April 1973, the Supreme Court ruling Roe v Wade granted the constitutional right to choose an abortion. In June 2022, this landmark ruling was overturned. By examining the situation in the US prior to 1973, Naomi Wallace discusses how history can reveal its devastating impact.