Category: Features
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The People of the Gaps: Rescuing Roman Slaves from Obscurity
With limited textual evidence, understanding the lives of enslaved people in Ancient Rome is a difficult task. Verity Limond examines how the archaeological record may be used to shed more light on their lived experience.
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Equality in Art: Las Mujeres Sin Sombrero
“Las Sinsombrero” were a group of Spanish female artists in the Generation of 1927 who challenged gender inequality and the lack of recognition for their work. Isabelle Shaw provides a history of their resistance and biographies of some of its revolutionary members.
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The Language of Love – Can Anyone Understand it?
From fans to flowers, expressions of desire through symbolic means has undergone various transformations throughout European history. Megan Crutchley examines the rise and fall of such devices and their use in the pursuit of love.
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‘Do What You Want, Just Know What You’re Doing’: The Life of Jackie Shane
Born in Nashville, Jackie Shane came to be a prominent figure in the Toronto soul music scene. However, as a Black, transgender woman in the 1960s, she was forced to overcome racism and homophobia – something which fed into her dynamic performances. Megan Crutchley discusses Shane’s powerful legacy.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Revealing Royal Jewellery: The Chequers Ring
Once belonging to Queen Elizabeth I, the Chequers Ring has prompted intrigue – not least concerning the identity of the woman whose portrait sits alongside the monarch. Naomi Wallace discusses the theories surrounding this captivating piece.
Retrospect Journal 