Tag: History
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Sacagawea: The Key to Success
Written by Amy Hendrie. How do you tell the story of someone entirely from external sources? Amy Hendrie engages with this troubling historiographical problem in relation to the Indigenous American figure of Sacagawea, an extraordinary woman who played the biggest part in the exploration of the territories of the Louisiana Purchase.
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The Voice of Stephen Hawking: Dennis Klatt’s Developments in Speech Synthesis
Written by Kat Jivkova. While a fundamental part of the legacy of the late physicist Stephen Hawking was the speech synthesis that allowed him to partly triumph over his disability, the creator and background the Computer Speech Synthesis has been neglected. Kat Jivkova aims to rectify this by shedding much delayed light on the work…
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How press censorship fostered the neglect of the Nigerian Asaba massacre
Written by Claudia Efemini. What role did British and federal Nigerian press play during the Nigerian Civil War? Claudia Efemini discusses the troubling role much of the press, influenced by neo-colonial considerations, played in enabling massacres like at Asaba and in increasing the severity of the conflict.
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Elena Ferrante and the History of the Italian Language
Written by Ruth Cullen. What is the significance of using either the local dialect or the school-taught standard? Using the account of Neopolitan bilingualism from Elena Ferrante’s acclaimed novel ‘My Brilliant Friend’ as a starting point, Ruth Cullen discusses the history of the formation of modern standard Italian and its complex social relationship with the…
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‘Black Terror’: Black Masculinity and Identity Formation in Eighteenth-Century England
Written by Boryana Ivanova. Through employing a ‘history from below’ approach, Boryana Ivanova examines the notions of Black British identity and masculinity in Early Modern History, highlighting the historiographical shortcomings that have plagued the discipline.
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Should we be Applying the Term “Religion” to Ancient Societies?
Written by Kavisha Kamalanathan. Is justifiable to project the term “religion” backwards to ancient societies? Kavisha Kamalanathan discusses the nuances of ancient Greek and Roman belief systems, their relation to nature, society and the state, pointing to them being in many crucial ways fundamentally different from our modern notions of religion.
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Leonhard Euler and the Russian Connection
Written by Kat Jivkova. Leonhard Euler was in his own time recognised as the most distinguished mathematician of the eighteenth century, though certain circumstances of his life have brushed aside. Kat Jivkova discusses his deep connection to St. Petersburg, a site of his scientific achievements and eventual home.
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Review: You’re Dead to Me
Written by Amy Hendrie. Combining comedy and horrible history, Greg Jenner’s award winning podcast grasps wide and deep topics, bringing history to those who forgot to learn any at school
Retrospect Journal 