Category: Academic
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The Voice of Stephen Hawking: Dennis Klatt’s Developments in Speech Synthesis
Written by Kat Jivkova. While a fundamental part of the legacy of the late physicist Stephen Hawking was the speech synthesis that allowed him to partly triumph over his disability, the creator and background the Computer Speech Synthesis has been neglected. Kat Jivkova aims to rectify this by shedding much delayed light on the work…
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How press censorship fostered the neglect of the Nigerian Asaba massacre
Written by Claudia Efemini. What role did British and federal Nigerian press play during the Nigerian Civil War? Claudia Efemini discusses the troubling role much of the press, influenced by neo-colonial considerations, played in enabling massacres like at Asaba and in increasing the severity of the conflict.
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Norns and Moirai: The Fates of Norse and Greek Mythology
Written by Fiona Macrae. The idea of the ‘fates’ is one repeated throughout mythology, three goddesses who spin the thread of life. Fiona Macrae examines the Fates of Norse and Greek mythology, comparing their depiction and asking why the similarities are important.
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The Last Wolf in the UK
Written by Megan Crutchley. The lore of the wolf has always had an integral connection to British folklore and mythology, but where did these ideas and connections arise?
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Elena Ferrante and the History of the Italian Language
Written by Ruth Cullen. What is the significance of using either the local dialect or the school-taught standard? Using the account of Neopolitan bilingualism from Elena Ferrante’s acclaimed novel ‘My Brilliant Friend’ as a starting point, Ruth Cullen discusses the history of the formation of modern standard Italian and its complex social relationship with the…
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Understanding Afropolitanism
Written by Megan Sickmueller. The term ‘Afropolitan’ can be traced back to a 2005 article by Taiye Tuakli-Wosornu. But what does it mean today? And how has it helped broaden the idea of what it means to be African?
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An Lushan and the Fall of China’s Golden Age
Written by Kat Jivkova. The Tang period witnessed an incredible cultural blossoming amidst the pre-modern imperial magnificence, but what proved to be the cause of smouldering away?
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‘Black Terror’: Black Masculinity and Identity Formation in Eighteenth-Century England
Written by Boryana Ivanova. Through employing a ‘history from below’ approach, Boryana Ivanova examines the notions of Black British identity and masculinity in Early Modern History, highlighting the historiographical shortcomings that have plagued the discipline.
Retrospect Journal 