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« Nos ancêtres les Gaulois »: national histories and the misuse of history
By Sam Rowe (@SamuelRowe12) ‘Dès que vous devenez français, vos ancêtres sont gaulois.’ [‘As soon as you become French, your ancestors are Gaulish.’] These were the words uttered by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy during a political meeting in 2016 while campaigning for the 2017 presidential elections. He proposed that French identity, essentially linked to…
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Colonial ecological control and aristocratic privileges: a study of big-game hunting in Indochina
By Clémentine Ducasse Dashing through the night, a car hurtled madly down the banyan tree-lined road. The car headlights, dazzling in the darkness of the jungle, met two luminous reflectors. A shot! The mad dash ended. Two men stepped out of the car and came closer to glimmering eyeballs belonging to an exhausted, soon-to-be-dead tiger.…
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Cultivating research skills: artificial flowers and the process of making
By Zara Kesterton. On Sunday 15 May, I hurried out of the Garden Museum in Lambeth clutching a precious parcel. In a paper bag, covered with a raincoat to avoid a heavy spring downpour, were two delicate blush-pink dog roses, a bud about to open, and a sprig of leaves. I did not pick these…
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7. A Book of Memory from Medieval Alsace
By Kate Falardeau (@kate_falardeau) Columns prop up a detailed architectural façade. To the left of the composition, the zodiac sign Capricorn emerges from a hypnotic spiral. To the right, a proclamation seems to be issued. The scroll, held by a ruler and an anxious looking man, actually contains a regimen to be followed during January…
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‘Marie Antoinette’: the true stories behind the BBC/Canal+ drama
By Zara Kesterton, @zarakesterton Warning: Contains spoilers! On 29 December 2022, the BBC released its new historical drama about the life of French queen Marie-Antoinette, which was produced in association with Canal+ and written by The Favourite’s Deborah Davis. I am currently writing my PhD on fashion during the reign of Marie-Antoinette, so I was intrigued to see…
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