History

Scholars in the field have been challenged to move beyond literary theory and take on some of the most difficult questions of our times

Book of the week: Two approaches to the Holocaust are blended in a pioneering historian’s last work, Neil Gregor writes

Persian migrants’ tales illuminate the attitudes and culture of Regency era, says Shahidha Bari

Elizabeth Cobbs on an enlightening and alarming study of how the central state has had to fight for its legitimacy

First anniversary of atrocity sees words of Enlightenment figures rekindled 

‘A tremendously important and empathetic scholar’ who transformed our understanding of nationalism has died

Vladimir Tismaneanu on a study of one man’s journey from ‘Homo Sovieticus’ to ‘Homo Antisovieticus’

Victoria Harris on a study of the occupied city that makes powerful use of diary entries

Researchers are finding powerful ways of resurrecting the elusive emotions of previous eras

Durham scholar is using episodes of public tears to illuminate the history and contemporary culture of Mexico

The real-life versions of Philip Marlowe were more likely criminals than heroes, says Sharon Wheeler

Book of the week: Jasmine Allen admires the monumental scale and meticulous detail of a stained glass artist’s work

A masterly study of the building has been published more than 40 years after its author’s death

On the eve of her viva, Vivi Lachs muses on the untimely death of an eminent historian – and her unstintingly generous mentor

Was it beauty, race or rebelliousness that created a global icon? Joanna Lewis surveys the evidence

David Rosenthal on a Renaissance man who recorded in detail his obsession with the functional aesthetics his clothing and dress

How does a dandy pay for his lifestyle? Clare Brant follows a rake’s descent into crime, dissolution and disrepute

Book of the week: Beneath a bourgeois veneer is a secret history of defunct jobs and fascinating lives, says Paul White

Matthew Feldman reflects on academics’ place in the insatiable 24-hour news cycle

June Purvis responds to fellow academics’ criticisms of the film Suffragette

A Guilted Age: Apologies for the Past, by Ashraf H. A. Rushdy

Book of the week: Brace yourself for unusual keepsakes in a study of our attachment to corpses, says Deborah Lutz

A leading historian of modern European history has died

Scholar contends that civic universities were a ‘Renaissance nobody notices’

Deborah Longworth salutes the range and reach in Everything to Nothing

Vladimir Tismaneanu praises a study of the key players in East-West relations in the late 1980s 

Howard P. Segal on a brilliant study exploring the conflict between free speech and instruction guides that may be used for violence

Vespucci, French military glory and recondite legal strategies: bibliographic confessions from the author of A Foot in the River: Why Our Lives Change – and the Limits of Evolution

A. W. Purdue on a study of the disparate groups in a movement often thought of as a united force

University with close links to former prime minister to be home for planned library, museum and resources for both education and research

University reaches out to its local community through dramatised performances in the city graveyard

Lara Cook lauds a study of the comrades who kept the Man of Steel company for 30 years

A ‘genuinely public historian’ and charismatic lecturer has died

Ruth Richardson on the capital city’s great mists and smogs that have inspired, harmed and killed

Robert Gellately on the truth behind how the Gestapo operated on a routine basis

Fred Inglis on the innumerable shows and figures from 50 years of popular culture

Leading Renaissance scholar hailed as polymath and iconoclast following her death

A new digital tool reveals exactly who was close to whom in the age of the Tudors and Stuarts

On 25 October it will be the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. Ahead of the commemoration, we talk to an Agincourt expert about its continued historical significance

A highly readable study traces how both women became part of cultural and political networks that shaped the 20th century, writes Ulrike Zitzlsperger

The question of whether fictional representations of the past can offer as much insight as scholarly histories is tackled with verve, says Philip Kemp

UK maintains its strength in the arts while US loses ground

The Chinese president is visiting several of the UK’s top universities. But would they thrive in China? 

Tricks of presenting a successful academic conference paper are revealed by co-author of a popular public speaking guide

The Nazi leader aimed to convey taste and moderation with his interiors, says Neil Gregor

Jonathan Mirsky on the treaties and extraterritoriality imposed on China in the decades after the Opium Wars

The Renaissance and the Middle Ages should be seen as a continuous epoch, argues Helen Fulton

Advice from a guide prepared by two academics will help you to impress a conference audience

High-profile visiting professors at King’s Policy Institute include Margaret Hodge, David Willetts and Charles Clarke

Women Inspire aims to show how the fight for the vote still has much to teach us today

Annual event continues to open up unexpected places and debates

Lucy Wooding on a work centred on relations with the Emerald Isle during the reign of Henry VII and Henry VIII

David Fowler on the influence of venues that at one stage were attracting 3 million visitors a night

June Purvis, historical adviser on the film Suffragette, delivers her verdict

Joanna Lewis on a portrait of British blubbering from medieval mystics to the death of Diana

An economic historian who ‘almost single-handedly’ transformed our understanding of technological change has died

A scholar mounts a strong argument for one year being a decisive one for the world, says A. W. Purdue

One woman’s discovery of love letters belonging to her great-aunt has yielded a portrait capturing the It girl’s restless effervescence, says Deborah Longworth

Willy Maley delights in a study casting light on the lexicographer’s life as both drudge and judge

Stomach-churning detail reminds us of the blood, sweat and tears in clothes, says Shahidha Bari