INVENIRE

The study of imperialism speaks to the reality that great man theory, in its emphasis on the talents and volitions of a handful of individuals in determining events, is the foremost historiography. National borders are shaped by individuals and small groups of particular note, not the people at large. This strikes in contradiction to history from below, which considers ordinary people in societies to be the crucial factor for the development of historical events. In applying history from below to events, historians tend to favour social histories to biographies as historical accounts. While history from below is useful in reframing our reaction to historical events, great man historiography is far more useful when answering questions like, “Why was this empire able to acquire this territory?” and “Why was this state unable to maintain control of these territories?” It is difficult to support the notion that the ordinary people in the nations of Europe drove the division of Africa. The

Experts tell us that politics is more polarised than ever, with the politics of voters diverging from each other at unprecedented rates. Given this, you might expect politicians in democratic countries to profess their adherence to various ideologies. The opposite is true. On the Continent, the German Green Party  Die Grünen  have broken from ideological convention, campaigning for arms to be sent to support the Ukrainian war effort against Russia. At 10 Downing Street, Rishi Sunak has pledged "robust pragmatism"  concerning Britain's adversaries  and we cannot forget that nearly every government in the world opted for state-sanctioned lockdowns and demand-side economics in response to COVID-19, regardless of previously declared convictions.  Being principled is unfashionable amongst those who aspire to govern; ideologues have been consigned to the fringes of parliamentary politics.   Two politicians considered pragmatists within their parties/Picture by Simon Walker Cont

Fine art, while now practised regardless of class, is a construct derived from the abundance of time and wealth enjoyed by the most privileged in historical societies. Reduced economic inequality has advanced the capacity of members of non-Leisure classes to produce art, but the work of the most affluent is ubiquitous in the fine art canon. The term “Leisure Class”, coined by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, refers to the strata of society who do not undertake industrial work because of their wealth and social status. Veblen writes “the occupations of the [Leisure] class have the common… characteristic of being non-industrial.” He defines “industry” as “whatever has to do directly with the everyday work of getting a livelihood”. Given this, “the Leisure Class” can be outlined as “those whose occupations do not improve the physical living conditions of others.” Writing concerning feudal European society, Veblen mentions priesthood, sport, politics and the military as non-ind

 The 1945 defeat of the Axis powers, the 2012 Olympic Games and the recent Platinum Jubilee are three events considered to have contributed to national pride in Britain. Given the incessant flag-waving and anthem-singing at all three of these events, the idea that the events alone are the most significant in inducing national pride is understandable. However, the cited reasons for national pride and the approach of governments to history education demonstrate that the historian has the greatest role of all in influencing the level of patriotism in a country. In forming narratives of the past, the historian is more influential in adding to or detracting from national pride than any sportsman, statesman or soldier.  The most apparent demonstrators that historians (and their narratives) are relevant in impacting patriotism are the most oft-cited reasons for national pride. Even beyond explicit statements like "I love my nation because of its history", we find that other professe

We often think of sports as aspects of a group's culture; "basketball is a part of American culture" or "cricket is a part of Indian culture" but instead, we should see sports, with the various rules and conventions that constitute them, as expressions of cultures themselves. Such a perspective helps us comprehend cultures at large - once we understand what sport demands of us, we understand what we derive from sport. The NFL exemplifies this best. From the stadiums that host games to the sport itself, every component of the NFL endeavours to express the national American identity. The NFL and the American nation are co-dependent: the NFL would not sell without the "American" label and American culture would suffer if its most obvious display, the NFL, were to disappear.  The American love for militarism is evident; as a settler-colonial state, much of her land was bought with blood - the blood of Americans and her enemies alike. Between the various wa

Tony Blair and George W. Bush meet at Camp David The liberal assumption that regional differences can be ignored and that cultural vacuums can flourish has led to a global project to export liberalism. The cherished liberal values of unremorseful individualism and representative democracy are believed to be eternal truths that can be exported globally at the expense of local customs. This project of exportation is best described as the liberal colonialist order. Liberal colonialism is so pervasive that it has entrenched itself in the apparatus of the state; in Western nations, governments spend trillions of dollars on the exportation of liberalism via military occupations and foreign aid.  The West's 21st-century involvement in Afghanistan is just one front of a campaign waged by the liberal colonialist order. When redcoat-style imperialism fell out of favour after World War II, Western nations that wished to exert a level of influence on the rest of the world devised new mechanism

Every avid reader has a book they liked the most. However, they may not assign this book the title of “classic” or “great”. Although all classics entertain and make for good reads, entertainment value alone does not earn that title. Speaking to societal constants, classics are the declaratory statements of a people. Classic works of literature captivate public imagination for generations after publication and exemplify that which is most valuable in a culture. When we collate such works, they form a coherent retelling of a people’s history; we should defend such work from modern fevers that aim to denounce them as anachronistic and undeserving of elevation within a culture. Shakespeare is the gold standard in English literature. All authors, irrespective of their era, are judged against him and his work has been immortalised in school curricula and the English cultural consciousness. But why? We guarantee no other author the right to be taught in English secondary schools year after ye