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David Lloyd George: Britain’s other iconic wartime leader

On 14th December 2018, the centenary of the ‘Coupon Election’, Adrian Smith, Emeritus Professor of Modern History, argues let’s not exclude Lloyd George from Britain's ‘nation story’. Cartoon by Leonard Raven-Hill for Punch, 1917 <https://punch.photoshelter.com/gallery/Leonard-Raven-Hill-Cartoons/G00002GdkHW9x2vk/> Polly Toynbee in the Guardian recently used the centenary of the Armistice to label the last Liberal government as ‘even worse’ than Theresa May’s. Continue reading →

What is Musical Germanness?

This month sees the publication of Dreams of Germany: Musical Imaginaries from the Concert Hall to the Dance Floor, which Neil Gregor has co-edited with University of Southampton musicologist, Thomas Irvine. Here, Neil considers some of the ways the book rethinks both the histories of national identity and modern and contemporary music. Dreams of Germany: Musical Imaginaries from the Concert Hall to the Dance Floor is a book about music and ‘Germanness’. Continue reading →

Envisioning Emperors

Alan Ross is currently a visiting scholar in the Classics Department at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, where he is working on Late Antique literary culture. He recently published a co-edited volume with Brill, entitled Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire. Here, he tells us why we need another book about emperors. Continue reading →

World War One, Student Protests in China and the Foundation of the Chinese Communist Party

Within the centenary commemorations of the First World War, one history-making aspect that is often overlooked is what the war had to do with the foundation by young Chinese intellectuals of the Chinese Communist Party, the party that continues to govern China today. In this Blog post, Elisabeth Forster discusses what was fought over in China’s war of ideas. 'Chinese labourers at Boulogne August 1917', Ernest Brooks [Public domain], via Wikimedia. 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 →

The final and fateful sojourn of the Iranian Revolutionary and Scholar, Dr Ali Shariati (1933-1977), in Southampton

This year, as part of the group project module, my students* explored the brief stay, in Southampton, of Dr Ali Shariati, who is recognised as the ideological father of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. His short stay in the UK and unexpected death on 18 June 1977 have been shrouded in myth. Both scholars and the wider public have thought that Shariati died in London. Information on Shariati’s time in Southampton was sparse and hazy. 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 →