Though Asia is riddled with flashpoints, alarmists tend to overlook the level of dialogue, such as this meeting in Beijing between the US and Chinese navy chiefs, Ray Mabus and Zhang Jianchang.
Official US Navy Imagery/Flickr
One hundred years ago, Europe stumbled into an unexpected and utterly devastating war. It was unexpected for two reasons: the diplomatic mechanisms set up after Napoleon’s defeat had kept the continent…
What does a 21st century Viking look like?
Anthony Devlin/PA
The Vikings have arrived at the British Museum. This exhibition, the first of its kind for decades, is notable for its scale and ambition. That there is sufficient demand is unsurprising, given the recent…
Oxfam has announced the latest set of results from its Behind the Brands project to influence ten leading food and beverage companies to reform their supply chains. The charity’s efforts are only the most…
Decisions made when the University of Sydney was founded in 1852 laid the historical foundation for a curious relationship between universities and religion in Australia.
AAP/Paul Miller
Australian universities have had a curious relationship with religion. The nation’s first university excluded clerical teachers of religion, which soon had the unintended consequence of marginalising religious…
The “digger myth” has left little room for appreciation or debate surrounding the work of today’s service personnel.
Australian Department of Defence/AAP Image
In his new book Anzac’s Long Shadow: The cost of our national obsession, James Brown argues that: a century after the war to end all wars, Anzac is being bottled, stamped and sold. The former soldier turned…
Jarman in the 60s, seeing things differently.
Ray Dean/KCL
It is 20 years since the AIDS-related death of Derek Jarman, filmmaker, painter, author, gardener – and a crucial voice in gay politics in Britain. And when you look at his work today, two decades can…
Cupid Complaining To Venus by Lucas Cranach The Elder once belonged to Hitler.
Ian West/PA
“I’m to put a team together and do our best to protect buildings, bridges and art, before the Nazis destroy everything,” George Clooney tells Matt Damon in a dimly lit bar. The Monuments Men is one of…
Anniversaries encourage reflection. Now, 100 years after the start of the Great War, anyone who follows current affairs or reads a newspaper is part of a cultural conversation, a widespread reassessment…
The pomp and glamour of the Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony didn’t quite project an accurate version of Russian history.
Flickr/Kristy Yang Photography
The role of an Olympic opening ceremony is twofold – it is a place to show off to the world and it is a place to converse with your own citizens. So what did the grand opening ceremony to the Sochi Winter…
It’s not easy undertaking archaeological work in Egypt currently – but a major new find illuminates a torrid period in Egyptian history.
Neil and Kathy Carey
Last month’s discovery in South Abydos, in Egypt – of the remains of the pharaoh, Senekbay, which date to the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1750-1550 BC) – sheds new light on a complex and divided period…
We could be celebrating an anthem with words most other English speakers don’t understand.
Dan Peled/AAP
Australia Day looms. Across the country, ceremonies large and small will stand for the national anthem. Lots of golden soil, nature’s gifts and girting by sea. The national anthem is ubiquitous now at…
Dutch and French Huguenot refugees were the targets of fear and restrictions in 16th-century England – not unlike those who seek asylum in Australia.
AAP Image/Jon Faulkner
Would you be pleased to find a nation of such barbarous temper that, breaking out in hideous violence, would not afford you an abode on earth … What would you think to be thus used? This is the strangers…
Alfred the Great can finally rest in peace.
Neil Howard
After months of research, excavating old graves and following one lead after another, my colleagues and I can confirm that remains we discovered are those of English king Alfred the Great or his son Edward…
The country Richard ruled was very different from the one that exists today.
University of Leicester
Richard III’s skeleton, dug up from a carpark in Leicester in 2012, is currently the subject of a legal dispute about where he should be buried. In one corner is the University of Leicester, whose archaeologists…
Who you think you’re kidding, Mr Gove?
PA / Martin Keene
Karina Urbach, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Michael Gove must be off his head. In Germany any politician who tried giving professionals a history lecture would be considered a lunatic. German historians love to argue among themselves, and there…
Politicians such as Cory Bernardi hold strong views on the family – but where does the idea of the natural family unit come from?
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
It’s no secret that South Australian senator Cory Bernardi is a fan of what he calls “traditional family structures”. His views are back in the news this week with the release of his latest book, The Conservative…
What does the colour of carrots have to do with the history of The Netherlands?
niznoz
Why are carrots orange? They were bred orange in The Netherlands during the 17th century from the older white and purple stock (that are now back in fashion as “heritage” varieties) to show support for…
Advert for a bus company, Tineghir, southern Morocco
Hein de Haas
Why do people migrate? At first glance it seems reasonable to assume that most people move hoping to find better conditions or opportunities elsewhere, such as jobs, higher wages, safety or freedom of…
Gravestones at Rookwood range from the majestic to the tacky.
Crouchy69
Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery, the largest necropolis in the southern hemisphere, has had its share of troubles lately. A recent ABC investigation reported on a suite of alleged governance problems, including…
There are many stories of Australia’s combat involvement that have not yet but should be told.
AAP
Recently, legitimate concerns about the media coverage of Australia’s military involvement in the war in Afghanistan have been raised. It is true that much more that can and should be said about the army’s…