Malcolm Crook discusses why it was so difficult to end the most famous revolution of the eighteenth century and why it led to bloodshed and absolutism.

Glyn Redworth re-appraises the life of an unfortunate queen. Joanna of Castile was a pretty child. She had an oval face and a long delicate nose. Her skin was felt to be attractively light in colour as was her hair. Fiercely intelligent, the basics of Latin came easily to her....

'This wicked Tower must be fed with blood' - W. S. Gilbert's dialogue sums up the popular myth of Tudor England. This pamphlet looks at the reality, a society and politics necessarily divided into rival factions by the pulls of patronage, local loyalty and the implications of personal monarchy, and...

Geoffrey Robinson explores a little-known episode of the Cold War where half a million people were killed and the Indonesian communist party was destroyed, aided and abetted by the major Western Powers. Amidst all the talk of fake news and Russian meddling in US politics, it is easy to lose...

From royal courts to radical protests, from industrial revolutions to global empires – this compelling new film series traces the dramatic evolution of power, rights, and freedom across three centuries of British and Irish history. We will trace Britain and Ireland’s transformation from 1714 to 2010, unpacking power struggles, social revolutions, and...

In this film, Professor Sue Doran, Jesus College, University of Oxford, discusses provides an overview of how Tudor Royal Authority developed and evolved from the first Tudor King, Henry VII, to the final Tudor Queen, Elizabeth I.

In this film Dr Edwin Bacon blanks about the modernisation of the soviet union in the 1960s and 70s under Brezhnev, with some scholars predicting that as the East and West evolved, they would eventually converge as modern developed industrialised societies. The problem with convergence theory is that it didn’t...

In this film Dr Edwin Bacon talks about Brezhnev’s change in direction and approach after Khruschev, making collective leadership work and the Kosygin reforms. Whilst there were changes from the era of Khruschev, Brezhnev’s response to the Prague Spring in 1968 showed that some things had not changed. The events...

In this film Dr Edwin Bacon takes us through Brezhnev’s early life and career: his birth in Ukraine in 1906, the opportunities brought by the revolution, his role in the battle of Ukraine and his eventual arrival to the Politburo at the end of the 1950s. Dr Bacon looks at...

In this film Dr Edwin Bacon looks back at Brezhnev’s 18 years and how is has been described as an era of stagnation, producing an appetite for change from younger leaders such as Mikail Gorbachev. Dr Bacon reflects that this was a period of relative peace, stability and predictability which...

In this film Professor Sue Doran, Jesus College, University of Oxford and Professor Steven Gunn, Merton College, University of Oxford, discuss the impact that domestic politics and rebellion had on Tudor Royal Authority and the development of domestic policy. If you're unable to see the film below, please use the link for your Membership...

In this film Professor Steven Gunn, Merton College, University of Oxford, looks at the reign of Edward VI and examines the impact his youth had to his authority, the importance of advisers in shaping his rule and the significance of religion and foreign relations in defining his legacy. If you're unable to...

In this film, Professor Sue Doran, Jesus College, University of Oxford, looks at the two main challenges to Elizabeth I's authority: gender and religion. Professor Doran looks at the power of Elizabeth's personality, her relationship with her advisers plus the significance of religion and domestics politics to shaping her reign and...

In this film Professor Sue Doran, Jesus College, University of Oxford and Professor Steven Gunn, Merton College, University of Oxford discuss the role foreign relations played in Tudor royal authority and the amount of power Tudor monarchs were able to exercise. The film will explore common threads and differences in foreign policy...

In this film Dr Edwin Bacon reflects upon the instability of the Khrushchev era and how Brezhnev positioned himself as the perfect replacement for a Soviet Communist party desperate for stability in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis. Brezhnev would be the first amongst equals looking to move forward...

Germany as a divided and defeated nation is explored through the lens of how the two new Germanys rebuilt their States politically and culturally. Professor Anna Saunders reflects on the different inequalities that existed between the two states and how stability was established between political leaders, even when political dissent...

In this film Professor Steven Gunn, Merton College, University of Oxford, looks at the life and reign of Henry VII and examines the role and significance of religion, foreign relations, domestic politics and the nobility on Henry's establishment of the Tudor dynasty. If you're unable to see the film below, please use...

Professor Matthew Stibbe assesses some of the contradictory factors at play in East Germany and how that related to the wider Soviet system. He contrasts this with the development of the capitalist system that was being developed in West Germany. If you're unable to see the film below, please use...

Professor Matthew Stibbe examines the key political leaders of West and East Germany and how their decisions and responses to political events shaped their international relationships and the lives of the divided German population under their control. He also looks at the opposition and resistance these governments faced domestically during...

In this film, Dr Alexander Titov (Queen's University of Belfast), provides a profile of Khrushchev’s background and personality and how these influenced his politics and ideas. Dr Titov takes us on a journey from Khrushchev's peasant beginnings in Kursk, his rapid rise in the communist party, his role in the purges, to...