School of History and Cultures

The End of Boom and Bust?

by Patrick Longson

posted on www.patricklongson.blogspot.com

Blog post discussing the views of our current economic tribulations and their historical heritage. Blog post discussing the views of our current economic tribulations and their historical heritage.

Sadiah Qureshi, 'Meeting the Zulus: Displayed Peoples, British Imperialism and the Shows of London, 1853–1879', in Joe Kember, John Plunkett, Jill Sullivan, eds, Instruction, Amusement, Spectacle: Popular Exhibitions, 1840–1914 (Pickering and Chatto, 2012)

by Sadiah Qureshi

Sadiah Qureshi, 'Reading Ephemera', in Rosalind Crone and Shafquat Towheed, eds, The History of Reading, 3 vols (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), Vol. 3, 135-155

by Sadiah Qureshi

Sadiah Qureshi, 'Peopling the Landscape: Showmen, Displayed Peoples and Travel Illustration in Nineteenth-century Britain', Early Popular Visual Culture, 10 (2012), 23-36

by Sadiah Qureshi

How have historians used Foucault’s approaches to ‘Power’?

by Patrick Longson

Michel Foucault is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His work has been used in academic... more Michel Foucault is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His work has been used in academic disciplines across the board. His approaches to power should not be seen as one overarching theory, but as a plethora of changing attempts to understand power-relations and their epistemological development. His work has been influential in modern historical scholarship since its conception. I will show that prominent writers have been significantly influenced by his approaches to power. Their topics of interest differ, rather significantly in some cases: some, such as Watson and Vernon, have focussed on Foucault’s study of penal discipline and its influence on modern society, inspired by his Discipline and Punish; whilst others, such as Edward Said and Ann Laura Stoler, have been encouraged to write in relation to Foucault’s other approaches to power including sexuality and race. I will show that Michel Foucault’s influence upon historical writing has been diverse and inspirational. Although his work is seldom taken as writ, it has been used, as he intended, as a stimulus for dialectic, which has aided the development of history in several important areas.

To what extent were Africans themselves responsible for the decolonisation of British Africa?

by Patrick Longson

This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in the period following... more This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in the period following the Second World War. The main goal will be to determine the extent to which Africans seized their independence from British colonial rule. This question has attracted many scholars, and has resulted in a polarization of opinion amongst some. It will be argued that three tiers of influence all played their part in defining the pace and manner of independence: 1) Metropolitan; 2) International; 3) Colonial.

To what extent do you accept Adam Tooze's argument that the 'Landgrab' was fundamental to understanding Hitler's Germany?

by Patrick Longson

This essay examines the debate surrounding Hitler's economic and strategic goals. Adam Tooze’s The Wages of... more This essay examines the debate surrounding Hitler's economic and strategic goals. Adam Tooze’s The Wages of Destruction represents a significant, if not revolutionary, new insight into the importance of the ‘Landgrab’ to any understanding of Hitler’s Germany. Tooze sought to prove that the concept of Lebensraum was a real and fundamental objective for Adolf Hitler, which he actively pursued from his assumption of power until his final days. Tooze sought to show that the USA was integral to the concept of ‘Landgrab’, because for Hitler it would be vital to seize the resources and living-space necessary to compete with the United States on a global scale. If he failed to do this, then Hitler believed Germany would be relegated to the status of a minor provincial nation. Tooze’s thesis is a persuasive one and adds to the prevalent work of many Nazi theorists. Ultimately Tooze's argument that ‘Landgrab’ was a guiding force behind two of the most fundamental elements of the Third Reich: foreign and economic policy, demonstrates the importance of the concept in understanding Hitler's Germany.

Sink or swim: taking advantage of developments in video streaming

by Roger Ottewill

The Treatment of Enemy Aliens in First World War Britain Public Attitudes and Internment

by Patrick Longson

Undergraduate Dissertation

This dissertation will focus on the four years of the First World War and raise questions about the treatment of Enemy... more This dissertation will focus on the four years of the First World War and raise questions about the treatment of Enemy Aliens in Britain. Due to a process of internment and repatriation the German population in Britain would be reduced from over 50,000 to just 12,358 after the war. Many of the interned had little or no knowledge of the German language, having moved at a very young age, yet they were treated as patriotic Germans. A sense of great bitterness can be felt in the diaries of other German internees.

Intelligence and Anglo-American Air Support in World War Two: The Western Desert and Tunisia, 1940-43. By Brad William Gladman

by Ross Mahoney

Book Review published in Global War Studies

Scouting for Soldiers: Reconnaissance and the British Cavalry, 1899—1914

by Spencer Jones

Published in 'War in History' 18(4), 2011. pp.495 - 513

Although reconnaissance was considered the primary duty of cavalry, British cavalry were poorly trained in this duty... more Although reconnaissance was considered the primary duty of cavalry, British cavalry were poorly trained in this duty prior to the Anglo-Boer War (1899 – 1902). The dismal performance of scouting duties in this conflict prompted a complete overhaul of reconnaissance organisation, while innovative training methods were introduced to improve scouting and horsemastery. Although the process was not without difficulties, the results were positive and proved extremely valuable in 1914. It is the purpose of this article to add to the ongoing debate on British cavalry in the period 1899 – 1914 by demonstrating how the vital skills of reconnaissance were developed as a result of the Anglo-Boer War experience.

Dilemmas of Jewish Difference: Reflections on Contemporary Research into Jewish Origins and Types from an Anglo-Jewish Historical Perspective

by Gavin Schaffer

This article interrogates scientific theories concerning Jewish origins and racial difference, setting contemporary... more This article interrogates scientific theories concerning Jewish origins and racial difference, setting contemporary research on these contentious subjects in the context of Anglo-Jewish scholarship from the inter-war period. In particular, it
explores academic discussion and debate about how to respond to Nazism, focusing on conflict between two senior British scholars of Jews, Charles Singer (1876–1960) and Redcliffe Salaman (1874–1955), who argued about the extent
and implications of Jewish/non-Jewish racial difference. These inter-war debates then provide the context for an analysis of the proliferation of contemporary research into Jewish origins and difference. Ultimately, it contends that research of this nature, like its historical antecedents, remains inextricably tied to
ideological considerations, and that personal beliefs continue to render the study of the Jewish past and present as contentious as it was in the inter-war period.

From Classical to Medieval: Cultural transition in East Anglia

by Michael Rush

Leeds IMC, 12-15 July 2010, University of Leeds
Kalamazoo ICMS, 12-15 May 2011, Western Michigan University

'Impious Easterners': cultural transition in early Anglo-Saxon Norfolk

by Michael Rush

IMS Postgraduate Symposium, 25 April 2009, University of Leeds

Shedding light on the Dark Ages: The post-Roman population of Norfolk

by Michael Rush

Borderlines, 19-21 March 2009, Trinity College Dublin & University College Dublin

The ploughsoil and the place-name: British and Germanic cultural interaction in early Anglo-Saxon East Anglia

by Michael Rush

Cambridge Colloquium in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, 26 February 2011, University of Cambridge

Effective learning & teaching in business & management

by Roger Ottewill

The Royal Air Force, Combined Operations Doctrine and the Raid on Dieppe, 19 August 1942

by Ross Mahoney

Sadiah Qureshi, 'Displaying Sara Baartman, the "Hottentot Venus"', History of Science, 42 (2004), 233–257

by Sadiah Qureshi

Sadiah Qureshi, 'Robert Gordon Latham, Displayed Peoples and the Natural History of Race, 1854–1866', Historical Journal, 54 (2011), 143–166'

by Sadiah Qureshi