The end of the Second World War and the collapse of Nazism necessitated an enormous change to German ideals of masculinity. For decades prior to the conflict, it had been drilled into German men to be unfeeling, disciplined and efficient soldiers; their loss to the allies therefore precipitated a crisis of masculinity. When considering this crisis in post-war Germany, it is […]
Factory Records was a fiercely independent and experimental Mancunian record label started by local news presenter and post-punk enthusiast, Tony Wilson. Though it closed down in 1992 its influence on Manchester and the UK music scene is undeniable and continues today. The history of its creation and philosophy reveals why Factory Records remains legendary in […]
Wikimedia Commons The 28th June 1914 not only marked the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in which the Ottoman army defeated the Serbians at tremendous human cost, it commemorated the 14th wedding anniversary of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Crucially, it would also mark the beginning of the July Crisis in the lead […]
The 17th century Rokeby Venus painting by Diego Velázquez has been damaged by two Just Stop Oil protesters in the National Gallery in London. Armed with hammers, the two students smashed the protective glass of the painting. The same painting suffered a slashing in 1914 by the suffragette and fine arts student Mary Richardson. The […]
Oftentimes provincialism prevents one from diligently searching for clues to past, present, and future human behaviour. Resistance and revolts are not exclusive to the most recent past; instead, over 2,300 years ago they were being documented… As crisp, cool autumn sea air covered Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, Alexander the Great’s invasion was welcomed as liberation from […]
“Our BODIES, our LIVES, our RIGHTS, our FUTURE”, chants the website of the women’s rights organisation poignantly titled the Handmaid Coalition. Formed in response to the outcome of the 2016 American Presidential election, which, they claim, “changed us all”, this collective are “fighting to ensure fiction does not become reality”. But why would a modern […]
The early 1980s was a scary period to live through for American homosexual men. Homophobia and discrimination not only effected day to day life but it went hand in hand with the threat of a highly infectious and fatal disease that had no known cure. The so called ‘AIDS crisis’ of the 1980s originated, paradoxically, […]
The entirety of humanity’s relationship with nature is not a topic which lends itself to a 450 word article, with a huge diversity in attitudes to topics like sustainability throughout human history. However, in looking back at how we have perceived nature throughout the years, we can gain insight into how we have treated nature […]
Happy Holidays from everyone at the University of Manchester history department. We hope you have a a great break and see you in the new year! The Roman triumph was one including military, religious and political aspects. Holding a triumph was the highest honour for a Roman, the peak of a political career. There is […]
“What an artist dies in me?” The famous last words of Emperor Nero: an individual so convinced of his talents that he thought his death was a tragedy for mankind – not a man known for his modesty. He may have been convinced of his own worth but historians have crowned him the dubious honour […]
History began as a means for documenting the victories of rulers, surges of empires, and catastrophic events such as plagues, earthquakes, and famines. The magna opera of Herodotus and Thucydides, seen as history’s traditional ‘fathers’ despite their being predated by Confucius, focused on the Peloponnesian and Persian wars, respectively. But there was always room for […]
Ireland has often been described as England’s blueprint for colonialism. Since the 12th century, the kings of England have claimed dominion over Ireland and the Irish have been resisting British dominion ever since. If Ireland was England’s blueprint for colonialism, then Ireland has also served as a blueprint for anti-colonial resistance. The history of European […]
John Rylands is more than just two libraries. He was an entrepreneur and a philanthropist: the owner of the largest textiles manufacturing concern in the UK and was Manchester’s first multi-millionaire. By the age of 18, he had started his business, Rylands & Sons, alongside his father and his two older brothers in 1819. The […]
Although we may be buried under a mountain of essays, dreading the thought of exams and dying from a medley of diseases, the debacle of the end of term does signal one good thing; Christmas is coming! In honour of this, we have devoted this issue to winter festivities, from the religious, to the pagan, […]