Graffiti art has taken on a new life in recent years, with vast murals spray painted on the side of buildings in every major city you visit. Commissioned murals and their detailed aesthetics are now deemed as a worthy presence in public spaces, referred to as “‘street art” rather than graffiti. This distinction is worth […]
I’m still unsure myself what the title of my postgraduate dissertation will be – but, at the moment, the most enjoyable part of doing a Masters is having the complete freedom, if not infinite time, to decide. My undergraduate degree was English and History, so this year I was really drawn to research an area […]
Manchester University may have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other non-Oxbridge city, yet we can also make a claim no less necessary in retaining the peace and happiness of the human race; the university has produced a veritable bundle of comedy greats over the last 30 years. Where would TV comedy be without […]
In 2022, people who identify with the label ‘gay’ do so in a world that is perhaps more confused than it has ever been about what it wants to do with ‘gay’ people. In the UK, homosexuality was partially decriminalised in 1967, and more than two decades ago the age of consent for same-sex partners […]
As most people will know, Hong Kong is going through unprecedented political turbulence at the moment – the main roads and the subway system in Central, Hong Kong’s financial district, is currently occupied by three movements: The Occupy Central movement, HKFS and Scholarism (the latter two being student bodies). In fact, the ‘Umbrella protests’ – […]
When Pêro Vaz de Caminha arrived in Brazil on the 22nd of April 1500 aboard Pedro Alvares Cabral’s voyage of ‘discovery’, he was awestruck. The letter he wrote to the Portuguese King Manuel I is in stark contrast to those written by other explorers of the period.
Following the discovery that the Justinian Plague was potentially the same stream as the Bubonic Plague, Jo Perdicchia explores epidemics through history, and society’s, sometimes irrational, reaction to infectious disease. James Pidliswyj reviews Brian Cox’s new series on British discoveries and inventions, Science Britannia. Leonardo Da Vinci was, without doubt, one of the greatest minds […]
I’m still unsure myself what the title of my postgraduate dissertation will be – but, at the moment, the most enjoyable part of doing a Masters is having the complete freedom, if not infinite time, to decide. My undergraduate degree was English and History, so this year I was really drawn to research an area […]
The discovery of Richard III’s remains in Leicester marks a significant moment for both Historians and Archaeologists in this country. The fact that the remains of the king were situated in Leicester is not what is significant, although the ignominy of an English King being buried ungraciously under a car park does make for an […]
The historian Tacitus wrote, “The appearance of the country differs considerably in different parts; but in general it is covered either by bristling forests or by foul swamps”. Such was a Roman view of the whole region of Germania at the time, not just Saxony. According to Roman sources, a people known as the ‘Saxones’ […]
On the 3rd of October The University of Manchester Museum opened its doors to launch the new exhibition, Breed: The British and Their Dogs. I anticipated a parade of different canine companions by their doting owners. However, it turned out to be an extremely fascinating exhibition on how dogs have been used to depict British […]
Haddon Sundblom was the artist who created the iconic Coca Cola Santa Claus in 1931. Inspired by Dr Peter Yeadle’s third year module, Popular Imperialism and Popular Culture, Ben Beach explores the man who, for many, defined early twentieth century advertising illustration.
The Middle Passage was a route which slaves were transported through from West Africa to America. It was part of the Transatlantic Triangle. The triangle started in the West Indies and transported products such as sugar, tobacco and cotton to Europe. Then from Europe, textiles, rum and manufactured goods were transported to West Africa. In […]
Students often complain about the Manchester weather, but in June 1919 one of our alumni, Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, braved freezing temperatures and lashing sleet, hail and rain to do what was necessary. If this sounds like your morning commute to lectures, bear in mind that Brown was somewhere over the Atlantic, clinging unprotected to […]