History blog archive

Category: World Wars

  • Why is the HIstory of Emotions So Important?

    Why is the HIstory of Emotions So Important?

    ASHLEIGH WILSON The History of Emotions has become a vital field of historical research within contemporary academic discussions. Able to provide insight into the emotional history of a particular event, society and culture, this thematic approach has allowed for a nuanced understanding of the past. As a current undergraduate student, I have become deeply fascinated…

  • Reflections on ‘The World At War’

    Reflections on ‘The World At War’

    DANIEL ADAMSON I was recently intrigued to find a repeat of the 1973 documentary The World at War buried in the depths of Freeview television. Across 26 hour-long episodes, this series chronicled the course of the Second World War and charted the key experiences of the conflict. The reputation of The World at War preceded the programme: in 2000,…

  • Edgerton & Empire: Nationalism, Imperialism and Decolonisation

    Edgerton & Empire: Nationalism, Imperialism and Decolonisation

    Liam Liburd One of the indirect and unintended side-effects of the tragic murder of George Floyd by an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department in late May has been a renewed effort to confront Britain’s own history of racism, especially that in the form of colonialism. Activists have taken aim at the symbols of this…

  • The British Army’s Chinese Auxiliaries in Arctic Russia

    The British Army’s Chinese Auxiliaries in Arctic Russia

    Yuexin Rachel Lin While conducting research in the Academia Sinica digital archives in 2017, I stumbled across a remarkable document: A list of Chinese workers, part of a labour company recruited by the Slavo-British Legion in the northern Russian cities of Murmansk and Archangel. The list includes every man’s name, age, hometown, and even the…

  • Do Mention the War: Discourses of Sacrifice and Obligation in White Rhodesian Society, 1964-1965

    Do Mention the War: Discourses of Sacrifice and Obligation in White Rhodesian Society, 1964-1965

    David Kenrick. Contemporary political discourse in Britain is saturated by sepia-tinged memorialisation of the Second World War. Parties across the country’s growing political divide invoke slogans and imagery redolent of the ‘blitz spirit’ or ‘going it alone’. Far from being a recent development, politicians have long sought to use these memories for contemporary purposes. In…