-
Lessons from Scottish Schools
Read more: Lessons from Scottish SchoolsLindsay Paterson discusses Scotland’s educational decline and the social inequality of attainment.
Clarifying Henry Dundas’ role as a ‘great delayer’ of the abolition of the slave trade (Part 1: Historiographical Orthodoxy, Public Debate and Memorialisation)
Stephen Mullen Since 2016 or thereabouts, there has been considerable public discussion about the role of Henry Dundas (1742–1811) in the debates surrounding the abolition of the slave trade in the House of Commons after 1792. Dundas was the Lord…
Jean-Luc Nancy and Paragraph
By Peggy Kamuf In tribute to Jean-Luc Nancy, whose death was announced in August, Peggy Kamuf looks back on a landmark special issue of Paragraph (‘On the Work of Jean-Luc Nancy’, Paragraph, Vol. 16, Issue 2) which she edited in…
The destruction of ‘un- Islamic’ edifices by ISIS and the Taliban
by Shivan Mahendrarajah The Taliban are back in power, ushering in renewed fears of destruction of cultural heritages. Their first time in office (1996–2001), the Taliban destroyed edifices on the basis that they were ‘un-Islamic’ and/or ‘beacons’ for polytheists (mushrikin).…
What embroidery can tell us about sustainable fashion
By Marta Kargól Some years ago, I discovered an extraordinary collection of embroidery samples preserved in The Museum Rotterdam. The collection consists of more than 250 embroidery samples, patterns and fashion drawings. These objects bear witness to the great yet…
The Politics of ‘Acting’: Why Cast Comedians?
By Neil Archer What makes a performance ‘truthful’? In one of my previous professional lives, as an actor, this question was one that concerned me on an everyday and practical level. But it’s one I’m still dealing with in my…
A Cannibal Poet In King James’ Court
By Brett Andrew Jones It wasn’t every day that accusations of cannibalism flew around the early Jacobean court. That’s (one reason) why I found the revised version of Mucedorus so interesting. It hardly compares well to what we consider the…
C. S. Lewis and His Medieval Mirror
By Erik Eklund C. S. Lewis is best known for his introductory exposition of Christianity, Mere Christianity (1952), as well as his series of children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–56), yet, notwithstanding his numerous theological works, his identity as…
Freedom of Speech as Well as Listening: From Thinking with Words to Listening Through Language
By Igor R. Reyner It is evident that we are living in a particularly challenging time, where transformative and empathic ways of listening, as well as of understanding, are much needed. Surrounded by fake news and intransigent behaviour, isolated in…
The Lost Splendour of Ghazni: Rediscovering an Islamic Capital in Medieval Afghanistan
By Viola Allegranzi Located in present-day Afghanistan, Ghazni was once a prosperous commercial and cultural centre at the crossroads of Iranian, Central Asian and Indian regions. Under the rule of the Ghaznavid dynasty (r. 977-1186), the city was home to…