Category: Features
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Princess, Priestess, Poet. How the World’s First Named Author has been erased from History
Millie Oliver discusses efforts made to remember the works of Enheduanna, the world’s first named author.
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The Aral Sea was a Lake: Or, How to Destroy an Ecosystem
Darcie Rogers explores The Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake globally, has drastically diminished due to extensive irrigation and cotton monoculture initiated by the Soviet Union, leading to economic hardship and ecological disaster. Today, the region faces severe environmental challenges, including saltstorms and public health issues, stemming from decades of mismanagement and exploitation.
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The Writing on the Wall: The Biblical Fall of Babylon in Art
John Martin and Rembrandt portray the biblical scene of Belshazzar’s Feast, emphasising different emotional depths and, as Arianna closely illustrates, both sharing a timeless moral warning.
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Haunted by History: War and Rome in the work of Robert Graves
Robert Palmer explores how Graves’s experiences as a First World War poet and his later reimagining of Imperial Rome in I, Claudius and Claudius the God reveal the theme of surviving chaos.
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The Arab Conquests and the Islamic World in the Early-to-High Middle Ages: A Global Centre for Exchange, Preservation, and Development of Ideas?
Harry Child discusses the Islamic world’s role in fostering cultural exchange, outlining the pivotal role of the Arab Conquests for intellectual and technological advancements in the Middle Ages.
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The Popish Plot and the Theatre of Fear
Amid the context of ideological tension in seventeenth-century England, Manahil Masood discusses the panic and politics of the Popish Plot.
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The Curious Case of Pro-War Propaganda in Post-War Musical Theater
Annika Rasmussen explores the presence of pro-American propaganda in post-WW2 musical theater, offering reflections on how contemporary viewers react to this.
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Strength in Deception: FDR and a Wartime Presidency
Eva Beere explores how Franklin D. Roosevelt solidified his power amid America’s involvement in the Second World War.
Retrospect Journal 