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Recorded Webinar: Robespierre and Danton: Heroes of the French Revolution?
Article
One of the oldest myths of the French Revolution is the lethal rivalry between Robespierre and Danton: Robespierre the cold, bloodthirsty dictator who ruled France through Terror, versus Danton, the warm, humane, inspirational orator who wanted to stop Terror. Throughout the 19th century Robespierre was mostly depicted as a villain,...
Recorded Webinar: Robespierre and Danton: Heroes of the French Revolution?
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Recorded webinar: John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War
An enduring counterfactual
Would US President John F. Kennedy have avoided the catastrophe that became the Vietnam War if Lee Harvey Oswald had not assassinated him in Dallas on that fateful day of 22 November 1963? This question – or a version of it – has animated discussions of the Vietnam War for...
Recorded webinar: John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War
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Recorded webinar: Prosthetics and assistive technology in ancient Greece and Rome
Article
In this webinar, Jane Draycott shares her research on prostheses and assistive technology in ancient Greece, Rome and the neighbouring civilisations. She outlines the findings from her 2023 book on this subject, which arose from a grant to visit museums around the UK to access surviving ancient prostheses and modern...
Recorded webinar: Prosthetics and assistive technology in ancient Greece and Rome
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Recorded Webinar: Resisting Reagan
Article
The 1980s are often viewed as marking the repudiation of the political order marked by the New Deal and the 1960s, both periods of enormous social, political, and cultural change. Yet the decade symbolised by President Ronald Reagan, far from being a period of triumphant conservative counterrevolution, was a period...
Recorded Webinar: Resisting Reagan
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Recorded webinar: The Cult of the Duce: Mussolini and the Italians at the time of Fascism
Article
The Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini understood more than other leaders of his generation the power of images and used them to great effect in building his personality cult which was central to Italian Fascism. In this illustrated webinar, Professor Giuliana Pieri will explore the evolution of the iconography of...
Recorded webinar: The Cult of the Duce: Mussolini and the Italians at the time of Fascism
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A-level Topic Guide: The Tudors
Multipage Article
The Tudors remain the most popular British unit of study at A-level across the examination boards. Whichever board you are studying with and whatever the focus of your study unit on the Tudors, the resources in this unit will support you as you develop your subject knowledge, write essays and revise. ...
A-level Topic Guide: The Tudors
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Recorded Webinar: Philip IV
Decline, decadence and the end of the Golden Age
Decline, decadence, crisis, stagnation, and adversity are terms powerfully associated with the reign of Spain’s Planet King; sombre tones that contrast sharply with the glittering cultural and artistic achievements (enhanced by his patronage) that led the period to be dubbed ‘the’ Golden Age, a label consciously competing with France’s later...
Recorded Webinar: Philip IV
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Recorded Webinar: Why have the Chinese rediscovered World War II?
Article
The Chinese regime never used to want to talk about their country’s experience in World War Two. The Japanese occupation of parts of China was felt to be a humiliating episode that was best forgotten, and the Communists were uncomfortable that their nationalist enemy Chiang Kai-Shek had been China’s main...
Recorded Webinar: Why have the Chinese rediscovered World War II?
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Recorded Webinar: Understanding Lenin’s Government, 1917-24
Article
In this webinar Dr Douds examines the nature of political authority in the nascent Soviet Republic and the institutional structures, practices and ideology of government in the Lenin period. She considers how Communist Party dictatorship and the monolithic party-state emerged in the early years following the October Revolution of 1917...
Recorded Webinar: Understanding Lenin’s Government, 1917-24
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Virtual Branch Recording: Writing Black histories, telling Black stories
Article
In February 2021 we were delighted to continue the HA Virtual Branch with Stephen Bourne, author of a number of books including Black Poppies: Britain’s Black Community and the Great War and Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television. In 2017 South Bank University awarded Stephen an Honorary Fellowship for...
Virtual Branch Recording: Writing Black histories, telling Black stories
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Film: The Weimar Republic
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
Professor Tim Grady takes us back to the final days of the First World War to examine the developing splits in German society that turned into revolutionary chasms following the country’s defeat. From this he reassesses some of the factors that led to the Weimar Republic’s collapse while also allowing...
Film: The Weimar Republic
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Germany 1914-1929: Discussion
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
Professors Tim Grady and Matthew Stibbe consider changing interpretations of Germany in 1914-1929, from a negative continuum of authoritarianism culminating in Hitler's regime to a modern approach of seeing the Weimar Republic through a sociocultural lens.
If you're unable to see the film below, please use the link for your Membership...
Germany 1914-1929: Discussion
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Film: Nazi Germany
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
Dr Victoria Taylor provides an overview of the rise to power of Hitler from disillusioned veteran to political operator. She goes on to explore the messaging and state interventions that brought many Germans under Hitler and the Nazis spell as they enacted their ideas of what a powerful Germany should...
Film: Nazi Germany
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Film: Germany 1945-1991: Introduction
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
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...
Film: Germany 1945-1991: Introduction
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Film: The Two German Economies
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
The speed at which both sides in Germany recovered economically is re-examined in this film. Professor Matthew Stibbe describes how the West Germany economy recovered and became a magnet for migrants as well as East Germans. However, he also examines how East Germany’s economy compared more successfully to some of...
Film: The Two German Economies
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Film: Ideas and Ideology
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
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...
Film: Ideas and Ideology
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Film: Key Personalities and Opposition
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
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...
Film: Key Personalities and Opposition
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Film: Social & Cultural Change
Film series: Power and authority in Germany, 1871-1991
How did a new Germany rebuild itself from the legacy of the Second World War both physically, emotionally and culturally? Professor Stibbe explores the silences of many households and how that influenced the student rebellion of the late 1960s. He also puts into perspective the cultural impact that the war...
Film: Social & Cultural Change
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Film: Economic and social change – 1714 to 1785
Power and Freedom in Britain and Ireland: 1714–2010
The 18th century represents a pivotal moment bridging early modern Britain with the social, economic and technological transformations of the Industrial Revolution.
In Episode 3, Professor Emma Griffin (Queen Mary University of London), explores this period of invention, innovation and entrepreneurialism, how it affected ordinary families, and its role in the...
Film: Economic and social change – 1714 to 1785
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Film: Finance in Britain and Ireland: 1714 to 1785
Film Series: Power and freedom in Britain and Ireland: 1714-2010
In Episode 5, Professor Anne Murphy (University of Portsmouth) examines the development of finance in Britain and Ireland, from the emergence of the Bank of England during the Nine Years’ War into a system that would facilitate the growth of the British Empire and Britain’s Industrial Revolution.
During this period...
Film: Finance in Britain and Ireland: 1714 to 1785
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Film: Power and Protest in England – 1714 to 1785
Film Series: Power and freedom in Britain and Ireland: 1714-2010
In Episode 7, Professor Carl Griffin (University of Sussex) discusses the changing landscape of England as enclosure accelerates, transforming the social dynamics of the countryside as peasants become wage labourers and their rights to use the ‘common land’ is diminished.
Professor Griffin reflects on this period of protest over enclosure,...
Film: Power and Protest in England – 1714 to 1785
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Film: Power and Protest in Scotland – 1714 to 1785
Film Series: Power and freedom in Britain and Ireland: 1714-2010
In Episode 9, Professor Alison Cathcart (University of Stirling) discusses who held power in Scotland in 1714 and how the Union with England, together with the arrival of the Hanoverian dynasty, transformed the nation. She examines the central role of the Church of Scotland, the influence of the Royal Burghs,...
Film: Power and Protest in Scotland – 1714 to 1785
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Film: Power and Protest in Wales – 1714 to 1785
Film Series: Power and freedom in Britain and Ireland: 1714-2010
In Episode 9, Dr Eryn White (Aberystwyth University) discusses who had power in Wales in 1714, the changing relationship between Wales and the wider United Kingdom and the key developments that took place in Wales between 1714-1785.
Dr White reflects upon the rapid expansion of print and literacy in Wales...
Film: Power and Protest in Wales – 1714 to 1785
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Ffilm: Grym a Phrotest yng Nghymru – 1714 i 1785
Article
Ym Mhennod 9, mae Dr Eryn White (Prifysgol Aberystwyth) yn trafod pwy oedd mewn grym yng Nghymru ym 1714, y berthynas newidiol rhwng Cymru a'r Deyrnas Unedig ehangach a'r datblygiadau allweddol a ddigwyddodd yng Nghymru rhwng 1714-1785.
Mae Dr White yn myfyrio ar ehangu cyflym print a llythrennedd yng Nghymru...
Ffilm: Grym a Phrotest yng Nghymru – 1714 i 1785
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Recorded webinar: Mapping uncertainty - Holocaust Memorial Day 2025
Retracing the trajectories of young survivors in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust
Recorded webinar: Mapping uncertainty - Holocaust Memorial Day 2025
