Why Study the Past?
History can teach, inspire, warn, include and exclude; its uses change to fit the present moment.
Historiography
The Lives of Others
To imagine the beliefs and desires of our fellow beings is fundamental to the pursuit of history. Such empathy is needed now more than ever.
What is History?
Four historians consider the most fundamental question of all, one famously posed by E.H. Carr almost 60 years ago.
Worlds Little and Large
Will the pandemic see a boom in local history, or will it spur a desire for global perspectives? Perhaps both.
The Forging of a Communist
The historian Eric Hobsbawm kept faith with the Marxist orthodoxies of his youth even after the Soviet invasions of Hungary in 1956, of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Why?
Is Social Media Good for History?
Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are widely used by historians. But does anyone benefit?
The Studious Resistance of Marc Bloch
A French medieval historian, who served his country in both world wars, helped pioneer a new approach to history in between them.
Is There Still Value in ‘Great Man’ History?
How important is the study of the powerful, epoch-defining individual?
The Romantic Myth of the Solitary Scholar
Despite the myth of a lone genius toiling away into the night, history is a collective endeavour.
Something More than an Art
Both history and historical fiction depend on a combination of imagination and rigorous research. The difference is found in the balance of these ingredients.