Category: Features
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Dead and Buried? Finding Edinburgh’s last hanged woman in oral history
Charged with a most heinous crime, Jessie King would come to sit in the annals of Scottish history as the last woman hanged in Edinburgh. Chloe Bramwell explores the story of a woman who may have been as much a victim of circumstance as a villain for commercial tours to exploit.
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Guernica: Pablo Picasso and the Spanish Civil War
“Guernica”, a 1937 painting by Pablo Picasso, depicts the horrifying brutality of the Spanish Civil War. Meenakshi Nirmalan discusses its startling composition which continues to captivate audiences to this day.
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Under Threat? Archaeology in Britain Today
Whilst popular media has captivated public interest in archaeology, such portrayals mask the issues – from funding cuts to lack of opportunity – plaguing the discipline today. John Strachan explores the current situation of archaeology in Britain and the steps being taken to promote to safeguard its future.
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Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari: On the Origins of German Expressionist Cinema
Released in 1920, Robert Wiene’s “Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari” is widely considered to be a landmark example of German Expressionist cinema. Meenakshi Nirmalan digs deeper into its production and cultural significance during a politically turbulent time in German history.
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Mansa Musa: Reorienting Assumptions of African Development in Mali
Written by Amy Hendrie. According to present value, Mansa Musa, the fourteenth-century leader of the Mali Empire, was the richest man who has ever lived. Despite this, his name is largely missing from the Brittish curriculum. Amy Hendrie explores the life of legacy of the man at the head of West Africa’s largest empire.
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Ageing in the Time of Osteology
Written by Etta Coleman. What can studying bone remains tell us about age in historical terms? Etta Coleman discusses the use of Osteology as means for assessing general aging in pre-modern societies, along with its varying challenges, both practical and conceptual.
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The Identity Crisis of a Planet: Pluto’s Discovery and Reclassification
Written by Kat Jivkova. Writing the history behind Pluto’s “demotion” to a dwarf planet. Kat Jivkova examines the history of the discovery and classification of Pluto, an accident that provoked remarkable emotional reaction.
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The Origins of Tattooing: A Brief Overview
Written by Etta Coleman. The art of tattooing has a long and nuanced history, intimately linked with the cultures who permanently inscribed ink into the flesh. Etta Coleman explores the origins of this art form and its global spread.
Retrospect Journal 