History

Major/minor course designed to improve graduates’ employment prospects

Robert Gellately on a study that puts Germany at the heart of the narrative

Peter J. Smith on what books collections tell us about the collector

A study of anti-masturbation campaigns reveals many unexpected allegiances, says Heike Bauer

Caron E. Gentry praises a work that reveals the contributions of female Muslims

Robert Gellately on a study of the ideas and politics that led to the mass murder of the Jews

Landmark discoveries have relied on some unexpected connections, says Richard Joyner

Howard Segal admires the travelogue of a self-confessed ‘professional disaster tourist’ covering a variety of global wastelands

University of Hull demonstrates pedagogical potential of world-building game

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones appreciates a nuanced biography of a complex ruler whose achievements are often ignored

Robert Gellately on the effects of the second world war on the Nazi home front

The University of Lincoln rejects criticism for listing hourly paid staff on its website, saying they are ‘not second-class members of faculty’

Helen Bynum on the unending battle to control one of the most infectious diseases in the world

Forgotten correspondence is vividly brought to life in a study of cultural links, says Henriette Louwerse

A close look at a Hamburg paramilitary group teaches Victoria Harris something new about Nazism

A biography of the late Chinese leader details his long, complex career yet the statesman defies easy labels, says Kerry Brown

A scholar who transformed our understanding of early Islam has died

Donald MacRaild on a study analysing the movement’s influence from 1850 to 1950

Ravi Shankar currently on unpaid leave

Poet and Russia scholar has died at the age of 98

National histories can shape recollections of atrocities, discovers Robert Eaglestone

Study finds that students choose to major in subjects that are ‘more challenging’ in bad economic times

Caroline Magennis explains why she took to social media to find out if she was the only one who felt uneasy in academic circles

University of Huddersfield lecturer describes success of using plastic bricks in seminars

German court decision both ‘shocking’ and a threat to historical research

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and physicist Brian Cox highlighted as positive role models

University of Wisconsin-Madison academic says disciplines, despite initial stumbles, might be better suited than some think

The life of an early career researcher is a challenging one, finds Catherine Fletcher, as she heads to city number six

You might not think it, but students in the 14th and 15th century could teach today’s cohort a thing or two about tearing up the town, writes Matthew Reisz

A conference will explore the role of “Universities in Revolution and State Formation” all the way from 19th-century Sicily to the Arab Spring.

Discover the Tuscan metropolis in a study suffused with all the vitality of the Palio, says Philip Cooke

Robert Gellately extols a life history of the Soviet strongman

The Victorians found much profit in the grave, and Boz was there to document its blackly comic excess, writes Ruth Richardson

Richard Bosworth has front-row seats for a subtle investigation of totalitarian cultural practice

The memory of a Belgian heroine differed from the woman herself, Niamh Gallagher discovers

Separating the past from philosophy is the key to understanding the period, learns Caroline Warman

Tom Palaima on an examination of the conflicts that have been raging since the 1960s

The British statesman had a surprising interest in the affairs of Muslims, says Charles Townshend

A counterfactual imagining of a fateful meeting in Munich raises some interesting possibilities, says Hasia R. Diner, but is it history?

Superheroes enliven a study of the history of red tape and how it shapes our lives, says Fred Inglis

Peter Wothers on a thoroughly researched examination of the connections between two different kinds of science

This examination of space exploration has its feet firmly on the ground, writes Monica Grady

Liz Young discovers how failures in governance exacerbated the severity of historical famines

Les Gofton on a compelling study of a musical subculture

An overview of the action in Europe also examines present-day attitudes towards the conflict, says Niamh Gallagher

This valuable work sheds light on the building of an ‘international sisterhood’ to further the struggle for women’s rights, says June Purvis

Robyn Arianrhod welcomes an unsentimental study of the first woman to win a Nobel prize

Neil Gregor praises an assiduously researched, humane book that examines the incarceration of German-Jews prior to 1939

Clare Griffiths on a well-researched book that reappraises the role of fathers in social history

Victoria Harris relishes a clear-eyed study of the experiences of ordinary men called to serve

A.W. Purdue is impressed by a daring new interpretation of the Allied victory

Robert Mayhew on how geographical texts of the early 18th century preferred an aesthetic of the ‘exotic’ over accuracy

Donald M. MacRaild on an exploration of imperial expansion in the 17th century

Jane Shaw on a compelling study of how an American housewife’s visions of the Virgin Mary led to friction with the institutional Church

A sensitive study of transgression breaks new ground for queer theory, says Rachel Moss

An detailed account of the bigger picture around the astronomer’s discoveries interests Robyn Arianrhod

Hester Vaizey is impressed by a collection of interviews with young victims of the purges

Robert Gellately on a study analysing the dictator’s perceptions

An eminent scholar’s sure-footed essays serve to take the temperature of the field, says Neil Gregor

John Barber on a powerful critique of Western policy