Category: Academic
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George McClellan’s Fall from Grace

Written by Amy Hendrie. The course of the American Civil War is well tracked, and yet the contributions of George McClellan both helped and hindered progress throughout the endeavour. Dispatched by Abraham Lincoln, what caused such a fall from grace?
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The Impacts of Li Shizhen’s Bencao gangmu

Written by Kat Jivkova. The history of the natural world and study of the natural world has much to owe Li Shizhen’s Bencao gagmu, a sixteenth century text created from years of research and exploration, and often referred to as a “dictionary of Chinese knowledge”.
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Eastern State Penitentiary and the Punishment of Isolation in Nineteenth-Century Penal Imprisonment

Written by Melissa Kane. Eastern State Penitentiary is probably best known for holding Al Capone. The prison has a longer history, playing a key role in the emergence of the so-called “Pennsylvania System” of punishment and reform.
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Spilling Over: Ovid’s Heroides and the Mythological Female Voice

Written by Hazel Atkinson. Ovid’s Heroides is one of his most understudied texts. It consists of fifteen “letter” poems written from the perspective of various female characters of Greek myth. How might the text alter our perceptions of Greek myth and writings about it?
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Argentine Women and Mass Political Participation in the Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Centuries

Written by Hanna Derouin. Women’s increasing engagement in Argentine politics paradoxically emerged through traditional gender roles. From schooling to the figure of Eva Peron, Argentinian women used their positions as mothers and caregivers to establish themselves politically.
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Violence, Glue Sniffing, and Liberation: Global 1968 in Japan

Written by Jack Bennett. Shinjuku was the centre of national political struggles and counter-culture in late 1960s Japan. In the paradox of the collective embrace of individualism, a new revolutionary identity politics emerged.
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Richard Duke of York: The Almost King.

Written by Alex Smith. The Wars of the Roses are a well known marker of late medieval history, but how did they come to happen? The life of Richard, third Duke of York can offer insight into the years before civil war.
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Hellhound Blues at the Devil’s Crossroads: The Life and Legacy of Robert Johnson

Written by Megan Downie and Melissa Kane. The legend surrounding 1930s blues musician Robert Johnson has made his story somewhat of a myth. With a huge influence on musicians in the later twentieth century, what can be deciphered about Johnson’s life?
