Reading time: 2 minutes
What happened to art in the great Age of Discovery when civilisations encountered each other for the first time? A look at the book Civilisations: First Contact / The Cult of Progress, by David Olusoga.
In this lesson we will be learning about the Tang Dynasty which was generally regarded as the golden age of Chinese culture.
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Reading time: 6 minutes
When the first world war broke out in 1914, flying was still in its infancy. It had been eleven years since the Wright brothers had taken to the skies in the first motorised flight. Very little had been done in advancing aviation since then. In the four years of war, however, the world saw aviation take major leaps forward, so much so that these advancements are still at the core of flying today.
In this lesson we will be learning about Russia during the rule of Catherine the Great and her successful predecessors.
Read MoreThis lesson will take us to the Classical Greek period as we learn about famous Greek philosophy, poetry, theatre and architecture.
Read MoreIn this lesson we will be learning about the core ideas that drove the Age of Enlightenment and some of it’s prominent figures.
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Reading time: 5 minutes
People invariably want to hear about skeletons, pots and bits of shiny metal. It’s this type of stuff that you will often see in the media, giving the misleading impression that archaeological process is only about excavation.
While the trowel and spade are an important inclusion in the archaeological toolkit, our core disciplinary definition – that of using humanity’s material remains to understand our history – means that we utilise many ways of engaging with this past.
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Reading time: 4 minutes
The 16th and 17th centuries were a notably litigious period in British history. New rights, wealth and obligations had to be protected through legal transactions – and that needed documentation.
Such was the importance of deeds – legal documents concerning the ownership of property – that lawyers chose to write on parchment, made from animal skin, despite the widespread use of paper. This continued a tradition that stretched back to at least the 13th century.
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Reading time: 4 minutes
Sea levels in Micronesia rose much faster over the past 5,000 years than previously thought, according to our new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This sea-level rise is shown by the accumulation of mangrove sediments on the islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae. The finding may change how we think about when people migrated into Remote Oceania, and where they might have voyaged from.
In this lesson we will be learning about the characteristics of the Edo period and the Meiji restoration in Japan.
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Reading time: 7 minutes
The AK-47 is perhaps one of the most recognizable automatic rifles in the world. This simple gun, produced by Mikhail Kalashnikov, was initially intended to replace the somewhat ineffective weapons carried by Soviet forces. However, it quickly became the weapon of choice during most conflicts following the Second World War. But, how did this weapon become the most famous and deadliest rifle in the world?
Reading time: 98 minutes Less than two months after the devastating surprise attack at Pearl...
Read MoreIn this lesson we will be learning about the rise of fascism in Italy, Germany, Japan and how the countries changed during those regimes.
Read MoreThis lesson we will be learning about Muhammad’s successors after his death and the rise of the Umayyad and the Abbasid Empire.
Read MoreThis lesson will take us to the industrial revolution as we learn about the development and use of new agricultural techniques.
Read MoreIn this lesson we will be learning how Charlemagne reached the height of his power and the Carolingian dynasty.
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Reading time: 8 minutes
The horror film genre has a long and celebrated history which now dates some 100 plus years yet for one film in particular has created a lasting legacy of genuine fright, unease, disturbance, controversy, and haunting imagery that has never been replicated.
Reading time: 8 minutes
The Godfather. Perhaps one of the greatest films and franchises of all time; March 24, 2022, will mark the 50th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release, which is a number that in ways seems both large and small. Large from the perspective that it has already been five decades since it shook the cinematic world, yet small in that a film of such importance and influence was released in the backyard of our modern history: 1972.
Reading time: 13 minutes
In August 1943, a timber merchant from Bendzin, Poland, arrived at Auschwitz. He was among a group of 400 inmates, mostly Jews. First, a doctor examined him briefly to determine his fitness for work. His physical information was noted on a medical record. Second, his full prisoner registration was completed with all personal details. Third, his name was checked against the indices of the Political Section to see if he would be subjected to special punishment. Finally, he was registered in the Labor Assignment Office and assigned a characteristic five-digit IBM Hollerith number, 44673.