The Vietnam War occurred from 1955-1975, pitting North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam who infamously received vast amounts of aid from the USA. The war can be seen as a battle between the Communist ideology of the North and the capitalist ideology of the South. This can lead to the belief that […]
Colonialism is often defended as a moral mission, a mission to educate and civilise the non-western world, and often used Christian Missionaries to convey their message. However, this perspective stands to much debate, as through the years the Empires have often been questioned on what the true intentions behind colonialism were. Were they purely moral? […]
Amidst empty streets in a fearful nation, Chilean women met at churches and in neighbours’ houses to stitch compassionately into fabric their accounts of an uncompassionate truth. These pieces documented the realities of life under Pinochet’s military dictatorship and provided the women who made them with a voice, a community, and a means of receiving […]
The fruits of the Yugoslavia’s relationship with socialism once yielded 91% literacy rates, free health care, and for 8 years, the fastest rate of economic growth in the world. However, like many romances, external meddlers fostered internal conflict and eventual break-up. What followed tore the region apart. From 1992-93 the Bosnian war raged between rival […]
In 2010 Professor Andre Geim and his protégé Professor Konstantin Novoselov won the Nobel Prize in physics for their discovery of the ‘wonder material’ twodimensional graphine. Their achievement means that the University of Manchester now boasts more Nobel Laureates on its current academic staff than any other UK institution. At four, we have now accomplished […]
At the moment everyone speaks of May 7th 2015 as an important day in British Politics, but what about January 20th 1265? A little bit lesser known but vastly more important. More important than the signing of the Magna Carta and the end of the English Civil War but not quite as important as the […]
It is hard to imagine what Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector from Austria who was executed for his refusal to pledge his allegiance to Hitler during The Second World War, had to go through. Bearing in mind that he had to sacrifice his large family’s (Jägerstätter had a wife and three daughters) interests and give […]
HS2 phase 2 is the high-speed train line that will connect Manchester and Leeds to Birmingham and on to London. Promoted as an attempt to bring ‘the UK’s Victorian railway infrastructure dramatically into the 21st Century,’ the Government expects to spend billions in a plan set to transform North-South transport infrastructure, encourage business, boost employment […]
The referendum on Scottish independence slated for 2014 is so far generating little interest. The broadsheet media occasionally summons up the resolve to report findings of an august think-tank or the veiled threats of potential apocalypse befalling all of us from politicians on both sides. The level of coverage will no doubt increase dramatically the […]
The Age of Enlightenment was a movement towards reason and rationality in the 18th century in Europe. This movement primarily altered perceptions of politics, philosophy, science, and communications. The Enlightenment advanced ideals of liberty, freedom and equality. This was an extremely progressive movement. Ideas of enlightenment spread through Salons where discussions and debates took place […]
In the west today, charity has become as much about the giver as the recipient. James Green looks at the history of philanthropy and its selfish connotations. The Didsbury Beer Festival was a three-day event, celebrating the beers, ales, perries and ciders from independent breweries throughout Britain. Returning for its fifth year the Festival has […]
We have retold the stories of the Second World War without pause since it drew to a close in 1945. Films are an increasingly important way in which we remember the Second World War. But yet, these films, while engrossing in character and wildly popular, do not always reflect how the Second World War actually […]
Although the most common use of torture throughout history has been as an interrogation technique of law enforcement, the practice has been used in many different ways over the years, with other purposes of torture found in inducing public terror, a means of reform, and most uncommonly, as satisfying sadistic pleasure. During the period of […]
Have you ever done an internet search for ‘terrorist attacks since 9/11? I suspect not. But if you did, as I have to write this piece, you’d be astounded at the number. Dependent upon how you look at them, there have been 25-30 major terrorist attacks in the last 15 years, attributable to Islamic extremism. […]
