Shell Shock: The psychological scars of WWI

Ernest Renan, “What is a Nation?”, text of a conference delivered at the Sorbonne on March 11th, 1882, in Ernest Renan, Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?, Paris, Presses-Pocket, 1992. (translated by Ethan Rundell)

I propose to analyze with you an idea which, though apparently clear, lends itself to the most dangerous misunderstandings. The forms of human society are of the greatest variety. They include great agglomerations of men after the fashion of China, Egypt, and ancient Babylonia; tribes such as the Hebrews and the Arabs; city-states on the Athenian and Spartan model; reunions of diverse countries such as were to be found under the Carolingian Empire; communities such as the Israelites and the parsis, lacking a country and maintained by religious bonds; nations like France, England, and most other modern, autonomous polities; confederations after the fashion of Switzerland and America; the great families that race, or rather language, has established between the different branches of Germans, the different branches of Slavs. Such are the types of groupings that exist, or rather existed, and that one confuses only at the price of the most serious inconvenience. At the time of the...

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Suffragettes (Year 8 enjoy :) )

Dr Jacqui Turner from the University of Reading reveals some lesser-known facts about the political movement October 12, 2015 at 3:12 pm Passionate about women’s rights, in 1903 the suffragettes of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) split from the suffragists of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) to follow the militant agenda ‘deeds not words’. In the years that followed, these women took radical steps to force a change in the laws in Britain for women. But how much do we really know about the Suffragettes? 1 Women did not get the vote on the same terms as men in 1918 Many people assume that, as a direct result of women’s war work during the First World War, they were given the vote on equal terms to men. However, they were not. The Representation of the People Act of 1918 was primarily needed to resolve the issue of soldiers returning from service in the First World War who were not entitled to the vote, as they did not me...

8 of Britain’s most mysterious ruins

From haunted castles to cursed, crumbling manor houses, Britain is home to hundreds of ruins steeped in spooky and supernatural history. Here, David Hamilton, author of Wild Ruins , explores eight of the most intriguing… 1 Ruthven Barracks (Badenoch, Scotland) With the distant backdrop of the Cairngorms and amid spectacular scenery, Ruthven is a must-see for anyone travelling through Scotland. During the early 18th century the British government was a nervous one. It had just quelled (in 1715) the first of what would be two Jacobite uprisings, and it sought to subdue the unruly clans of the Highlands. Situated on the main Perth to Inverness road, with a crossing of the river Spey, Ruthven was strategically placed for the building of an army outpost and in 1719 Ruthven Barracks was built on the site of a 13th-century castle. Read more: 10 facts about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites Scottish history: 9 steps from Union to Referendum 10 thin...

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