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On the ‘right to be bigots’: the dehistoricisation of racism
By Jess Hope What happens when policy ignores history? This week, Australia’s conservative government announced proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) and its amendment the Racial Hatred Act (1995), which was established in response to an increase in verbal and physical racial violence in Australia. The changes would see the repeal of Section 18C, which presently…
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HHhH by Laurent Binet (English Translation by Sam Taylor, 2012)
By Emily Ward In the beginning of his historical novel, Laurent Binet warns the reader with a quote from Osip Mandelstam, “Once again, the writer stains the tree of History with his thoughts”. Yet, despite commencing his book with this ominous forewarning, Binet leaps straight into the fray to attempt to combine the composition of…
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Thomas Cromwell on stage
By Joan Redmond Next month sees the London opening of the theatrical productions of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the two hugely successful novels by Hilary Mantel that focus on the life of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell rose to become Henry VIII’s chief minister during the tumultuous 1530s, which witnessed the rise and fall…
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The Media in History and History in the Media Conference, 20th-21st March 2014 (Part 1)
by Alex Campsie Alex Campsie is a PhD student in modern British political and intellectual history at the University of Cambridge. Last month saw Cambridge host an inaugural ‘European Graduate Conference’ on the broad theme of ‘History and the Media’. Like its sister event (entitled ‘History and the Law’), the project was generously funded by…
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Period dramas and historical accuracy: “Mad Men”
by Florence Largillière As the first part of the last season of Mad Men comes to an end, it seemed a good opportunity to reflect on my interest for period dramas and historical fictions. For an historian, watching period TV shows and films can sometimes be irritating. Even though I know that they are not…
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