This was originally published on 11 May 2016 for the Language of Authoritarian Regimes | There is an old and not necessarily edifying debate that has surrounded the International Brigades almost since their inception. Were the 35,000 men and women who travelled to Spain to defend the Spanish Republic during the bitter civil war of 1936-9 dupes of Stalin? … Continue reading Language and the Logic of Stalinism in the International Brigades
Cooking the Books? Universities, Indigenous History and Australia’s Invasion Scare
This was originally published on 1 April 2016 for the Edinburgh University Global and Transnational History Research Group Blog | The Antipodean media establishment erupted recently with the ‘discovery’ of a University of New South Wales document on how students can avoid being offensive when discussing historical issues. In a glorious display of irony, many … Continue reading Cooking the Books? Universities, Indigenous History and Australia’s Invasion Scare
‘Forgotten’
This was originally published on 7 March 2016 for Pubs and Publications | The catalyst for this post was an article I saw shared on social media during Holocaust Remembrance Day, talking about the ‘forgotten’ victims of the Holocaust, namely ‘Gays, Gypsies and Priests’. It reminded me somewhat of an ill-advised argument I got into … Continue reading ‘Forgotten’
A Trump by any other name? Fascism in modern politics
This was originally published on 16 December 2015 for Pubs and Publications | Earlier this year I wrote about how the nationalist label affected the SNP and their image – as a concept, nationalism comes with a fair bit of historical baggage and it’s interesting to watch the SNP try to deal with it (and … Continue reading A Trump by any other name? Fascism in modern politics
Remembrance Day and (Not) Wearing the Poppy as an Historian
This was originally published on 11 November 2015 for Pubs and Publications. It was written in conjunction with Laura Harrison| November 11 is one of the few days of the year where history is placed at the centre of public discourse, as Britain stops to commemorate the victims of war. Two of our resident historians, Laura … Continue reading Remembrance Day and (Not) Wearing the Poppy as an Historian
Four-and-Twenty Nations? Writing about British participation in the Spanish Civil War
This was originally published on 21 September 2015 for Four Nations History | Unlike the vast majority of contributors to this blog, before writing this piece I needed to surreptitiously check what the working definition of ‘Four Nations History’ actually was. By training and inclination my roots lie in European history, and I have been inflicted … Continue reading Four-and-Twenty Nations? Writing about British participation in the Spanish Civil War
A dirty word? The SNP and nationalism’s historical baggage
This was originally published on 18 May 2015 for Pubs and Publications| Like most of our readers, my newsfeed (and the news, for that matter) has been full of reactions to the UK election – notably, the unprecedented success of the Scottish National Party in reducing the three major parties to isolated islands (quite literally … Continue reading A dirty word? The SNP and nationalism’s historical baggage
Vanished? ‘Banished’ and the whitewashing of Australian history
This was originally published on 5 April 2015 for Pubs and Publications| Before being seduced by the Spanish Civil War and its unending litany of acronyms, one of my main historical interests was the interaction between Aborigines and settlers in colonial Australia. It’s an aspect of history that has been in limelight recently thanks to … Continue reading Vanished? ‘Banished’ and the whitewashing of Australian history
You’ll Never Work Alone: Dealing with pre-existing communities and interest groups as a researcher
This was originally published on 15 February 2015 for Pubs and Publications| As with just about every history PhD ever, my subject – Scottish involvement in the Spanish Civil War – is somewhat specialised. In fact, I can usually only get about halfway through a short explanation before someone invariably comments, ‘Wow. That sounds niche.’ … Continue reading You’ll Never Work Alone: Dealing with pre-existing communities and interest groups as a researcher
