A platform to help me muddle through my thoughts yet never help me reach a conclusion!
Who is Father Christmas? Where does he originate from? As someone who, it might surprise you, loves Christmas and is also a bit of a history fan, I am going to investigate this story and how he might evolve even further. For once, this might be a blog post that isn’t too cynical with a … Continue reading The origin and evolution of Father Christmas
A hot topic at the moment is the accountability of historians. What is their purpose? What is their responsibility? Anyway, aren’t we all tired of experts? (Unless you’re Michael Gove, your answer should be no.) The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) hosted a lecture by Professor Ludmilla Jordanova on The Accountability of Historians. I, along … Continue reading The Accountability of Historians
Two of my favourite topics to talk about are public history and sexism. So, why not talk about them together? Admittedly, I wish there wasn’t a need to talk about the latter, however, as I am sure we are all aware, there is as great a need now as there ever has been. My topic … Continue reading Incels and their (mis)use of public history
Flags. A symbol of nationalism, of pride, of racism. Flags are utilised by some to unite a public, support a revolution and promote racial hatred and national superiority. Flags are not meaningless. Flags are not decorative. Flags are symbolic. Recently, the British Government’s Culture department (if you haven’t noticed they are becoming my favourite department … Continue reading It is not just a flag
I love history. I love how everything has a history. I love public history and the way in which it can be presented and widen the audience that engages with it. History is my passion and I want to share it with the world. So, imagine my dismay when I hear that dear old Gavin … Continue reading History is an uncomfortable mess
A friend and I recently watched Horrible Histories: The Movie and I loved it; it was amazing. I raved about its accessibility, construction and wit; my friend was amazed that the Romans brought nettles to Britain. Wait, what? My face at the time was pure incredulity – this was not a large part of the … Continue reading Is History being Taught Incorrectly?
Counterinsurgency (COIN) bombards us every day in the news, with strategists discussing how to combat the most recent terrorists, and politicians discussing their plan to ‘solve Syria’. These strategies look back on other ‘successful’ operations to see what to implement in the future. However, as can be seen from America in Afghanistan who attempted to … Continue reading Are counterinsurgency strategies outdated?
Happy is a peculiar word. It is one of those words that if a teacher tasked you with explaining it to an ‘alien’, you would be sat there for at least five minutes before coming up with a comprehensible answer. In this post I am looking to delve into history and see if we are … Continue reading Happiness: Achievable goal or historically impossible?
In the current climate of Brexit, Donald Trump and extreme political parties, ‘history’ is often used to augment a nationalistic, superior and one-sided agenda. Often this history is, in fact, based on collective memory. As a result, history and memory have become a real interest of mine. Are history and memory the same thing? Is … Continue reading Does memory have a place in history?
A blog post on the Holocaust is as complicated as it sounds. There are many avenues that can be taken and numerous approaches to discuss. So many questions are raised: How did the Nazis get away with it? How were the Red Cross fed a lie? Why did the Nazis do it? How did they … Continue reading Holocaust Memorial Day
Kirsty's History Blog 