What meanings can be attached to divisive symbols, and with what consequences? Isabel Gilbert explores the history of the Confederate flag and its reception, from the Civil War to the Dukes of Hazzard and, eventually, the Capitol Riots.
Histories of the Present
Radical Objects: Alan Winnington’s Camera & Documenting the Daejeon Massacre
Long-unpublished photographs taken by journalist Alan Winnington in South Korea are now providing crucial evidence for the 1950 Daejeon Massacre. David Miller explores
Black Lives Still Don’t Matter Here
How should we understand the connections between the transatlantic slave trade, the expansion of the British Empire, and the history of Australia? Emma Christopher explores.
Census Lessons
To mark Census Day 2021, Helen Sunderland looks back to 1911 when the state mobilised schoolchildren to help number the nation, tracing a history of contradictory attitudes to children’s citizenship that persist today.
Ghetto Streets
What was it like to live in the Roman Ghetto under the shadow of papal authority? Using historical maps and personal testimony, Ariana Ellis recounts the story of Anna del Monte, a young Jewish woman who was subject to forcible removal and conversion in 1749.
Creative Writing, Women’s Lives, and East African History
Creative writing is not a conventional primary source for historians of eastern Africa. However, examining marginalised actors’ histories can be invaluable in filling the gaps left by traditional archives.
Activist Streets
How did Black activist organisations fight racism in the London suburbs? Daniel Frost finds that they did so – in districts like Croydon and Thornton Heath – through association and alliance with the struggles of inner-city locales.
