Category: Academic
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Rethinking the Nahda: Decentring Europe in the Arab Renaissance
The Nahda, also known as the Arab Renaissance, was a set of reforms surrounding education, traditional thought and culture. Olivia Norbury explores the differing perspectives of historians on the Arab Renaissance, with many viewing it as a complicated and nuanced process of modernisation.
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The Court of King Henry VIII and the Importance of Dynastic Portraiture
The Tudor dynasty leveraged portraiture to assert their legitimacy and power, with images emphasizing ancestry and wealth. Emily Jones considers portraits of Henry VIII and his heirs as not only symbolising dynastic continuity but also reinforcing monarchical authority and stability throughout turbulent political times.
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The Long Telegram: George Kennan and the Birth of Containment
Eva Beere explores George Kennan’s Long Telegram and its impact on U.S. foreign policy.
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Marxist Clerics? Subversive Clerics and their Repression in Argentina Junta (1976-1983)
Alexander Stroem considers the church’s complex role during Argentina’s dictatorship. Involving both collaboration and opposition, it simultaneously reflected significant human rights violations and the emergence of Liberation Theology.
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Through a Colonial Lens: Photography and the ‘Orient’
The invention of the first commercial camera triggered a widespread interest in capturing the landscape and people of the so-called ‘Orient’. Yael Frankie explores the multifaceted nature of photography, both acting as a means to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of the ‘Orient’ as backwards, but also allowing for counter narratives and photographs from non-westerners.
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An Aroma of Othering: Racialised Olfactory Politics and the Conditioning of Senses
The very concept of olfactory politics is deeply contentious. Harry Fry charts the historiography of olfactory racism, advocating for a history of scent which foregrounds racial histories and the history of emotions.
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The Role of Lourenço da Silva Mendonça in Challenging the Atlantic Slave Trade
When studying the key abolitionists of the Atlantic slave trade, we often think of European figures like William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp. However this negates the efforts of African individuals, such as Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, who made extraordinary efforts to combat the Atlantic slave trade. Louisa Steijger analyses Mendonça’s legacy in an…
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Brewing Cooperation: How Coffee Shaped the GDR’s Foreign Policy
By the 1970s, coffee was an integral part of the economy for the GDR. However, the Coffee Crisis of 1977 forced the GDR to reconsider their relations with other nations, namely Ethiopia and Vietnam. Connie Greatrix explores these new found trade partnerships and their implications.
Retrospect Journal 