After being abandoned by his own tribe and left to live in poverty with just his mother and brothers, it seemed unlikely that Genghis Khan would even survive, let alone flourish. Yet it was less than twenty years later when he became the sole ruler of the Mongol plains, having managed to subdue – through […]
In 1948, the MV Empire Windrush docked in London carrying around five-hundred passengers from the West Indies. They were called to England as the first-wave in Britain’s drive to recruit and enlist a Commonwealth workforce to help rebuild the country post-war by feeding into the labour of state-controlled services such as Transport for London (TfL) […]
Censorship, the act of supressing public communication considered harmful towards others or the state, has long been used as a means of ensuring that the masses remain loyal to the ruling elites by filtering out any messages or vehicles of speech which may provide a platform for their opposition. Although censorship can be used to […]
The liberation of Korea from its 1910 annexation by the Japanese Empire is officially recognised as having taken place in 1945 upon Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces of the Second World War. However, Korean civilian activism against the regime had a long-standing history, culminating in the 1919 March 1st Independence Movement, which saw more […]
In the aftermath of the Leveson debate and the heavily publicised phone hacking scandal in 2011, the freedom enjoyed by the British press has been subjected to relentless criticism. Contrastingly, China maintains an iron grip upon the reigns of its media, arguably using censorship to conceal the affairs of government from the public. Does China’s […]
The Peer Mentor Scheme within the History department is entering its tenth year. Throughout the past 10 years, the scheme has aimed to ensure that every new student in Manchester feels welcome and supported during his or her first year at University. This year is no different. The student-to-student support programme aims to help first […]
Both historically and contemporarily, Manchester has been considered by many as synonymous with resistance and rebellion, the rebellious younger sibling of London. This is a long legacy, and most pertinent to it is Manchester’s lively spirit of working-class political activism. It is for precisely this reason that, in the 1840s, Manchester became the interest of […]
While advertising originally evolved to answer the needs of industry, it is now a key element of the political world too. Thom Iddon looks at how political leaders have used advertising. James Lees-Milne was a key figure in the National Trust during the Second World War and in post-war Britain when private owners were forced […]
We Must Remember to Remember! In cultural history the buzz word of the moment seems to be ‘memory’ and how different social groups, ranging from local communities to nations, remember the past. As I am sure you will agree this does sound a fascinating topic. However, the subject has now become bogged down in a […]
Both historically and contemporarily, Manchester has been considered by many as synonymous with resistance and rebellion, the rebellious younger sibling of London. This is a long legacy, and most pertinent to it is Manchester’s lively spirit of working-class political activism. The history of the burgeoning counterculture in Britain often centres around London, with underground magazines […]
AJP Taylor, born in Lancashire on 25 March 1906, was undoubtedly one of the finest historians of all time, and should be treated by the modern day undergraduate as a godlike being on par with the Horrible History series. Perhaps the most admirable trait of Taylor’s was his abstinence from the almost perverse delight that […]
Kim Jong-Un’s recent more than month-long disappearing act has inspired many speculations. The most credible hypothesis is that the world’s youngest head of state’s love for cheese and alcohol has resulted in a pair of fractured ankles, supported by recent pictures of Kim with a cane. Let Kim Eat (Cheese) Cake. Courtesy of Daily Mirror, […]
The history of the city of Manchester is ingrained into our university’s reputation, from the John Rylands Library to the Whitworth Art Gallery, and right down the curry mile to Ashburne Hall. Its prominence spurred by the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, Manchester has remained renowned for its liberal politics and confidence. Old Manchester […]
Throughout history, women have often played a pivotal but underappreciated role in political resistance. Traditional gender norms of the mid-20th century placed women in less political roles; they were subservient housewives. In reality, many women have been crucial in the fight against totalitarian regimes, the Mirabals illustrating as such. Rafael Trujillo created a regime of […]