Currently browsing category

Events

The Many Lives of Calouste Gulbenkian, World’s Richest Man

  At a ceremony in Lisbon last Thursday His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal, helped launch Jonathan Conlin's new biography of the Anglo-Armenian oil baron Calouste Gulbenkian (1869-1955). Published in English by Profile Books as Mr Five Per Cent: The Many Lives of Calouste Gulbenkian, World's Richest Man, Jonathan's book coincides with a year of festivities marking the 150th anniversary of Gulbenkian's birth. Continue reading →

On White Fury

October sees the publication of Christer Petley’s major new study of slavery and abolition. His book tells the story of the struggle over slavery in the British empire — as told through the rich, expressive, and frequently shocking letters of one of the wealthiest British slaveholders ever to have lived. Here, Christer reflects on the choice of the title: White Fury. The title of the book was decided late on. Continue reading →

The Agincourt Campaign of 1415: The men who fought in Clarence and Gloucester’s Retinues

Michael Warner, PhD candidate at the University of Southampton, has recently been awarded the inaugural ‘Agincourt Scholarship’ by the Military Order of Agincourt in recognition for his contribution to the history of the Battle of Agincourt. He gives us an insight into his research and findings. The men who served on the 1415 campaign and fought at the Battle of Agincourt have indeed been remembered.[1] Shakespeare guessed it right. Continue reading →

Artists go to war – DAZZLE camouflage exhibition and study day

Historians at Southampton have for the past four years been primarily responsible for the Faculty of Humanities’ Great War: Unknown War centennial programme. There have been an impressive range of events, and it’s not over yet, with more public lectures to come in the autumn and a Question Time event where a panel of experts will answer audience questions about the First World War. Continue reading →

Resistance histories

The political resistance against Nazism, Fascism and German military occupation in the middle years of the twentieth century has made the term synonymous with leftist dissidence against authoritarianism. That is the case despite the fact that not all resistance against these forces emerged from the left, and not all of it was anti-fascist in ideological terms. Just think of the generals’ plot against Hitler in 1944, or the efforts of Charles de Gaulle and his Free French in London. Continue reading →

Sweet Tooth

Christer Petley has recently collaborated with a renowned vocal artist, Elaine Mitchener, who has created a disturbingly powerful piece of performance art, Sweet Tooth, about British-Caribbean slavery and its legacies. The project has reworked archival text, drawn from Christer’s research, in performances with the acclaimed jazz saxophonist Jason Yarde, percussionist Mark Sanders, multi-instrumentalist Sylvia Hallett and choreographer Dam Van Huynh. Continue reading →

Great War: Unknown War Silent Film Fortnight

Next month the Film Department in conjunction with the Turner Sims presents a series of screenings of silent films focusing on the film heritage of the First World War. Highlights include Neil Brand (from BBC4’s 'Sound of Cinema' and 'Sound of Song') sharing his unique vision of the century-old war, Stephen Horne accompanying 'The Guns of Loos', and a free screening of controversial Edith Cavell biopic 'Dawn' accompanied by the university's own Andrew Fisher. Continue reading →