// Archives

Uncovered: Spying on the Royals

The University of Nottingham’s Dr Rory Cormac and his co-author Prof Richard Aldrich (University of Warwick) have uncovered startling documents about Special Branch, MI5, and the abdication of King Edward VIII. Over 80 years after the unprecedented events of 1936, the truth finally comes out in their new Channel 4 documentary. In late 1936, an …

An early Christmas, the #tenleonardos way :-)

Dr Gaby Neher from the Department of History of Art talks about her experience of working on the Nottingham stint of the ‘Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci exhibition’…. “Earlier this year, between 31 July and 9 October, Nottingham Castle played host to the ‘Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, a travelling exhibition drawn from the …

Guardian story on casualisation in HE – a response

An article published in The Guardian online on Wednesday 16th November claimed to reflect the reality of employment practices in UK higher education, and specifically in the Russell Group. It made claims relating to the use of fixed-term contracts at a number of other universities. The story included a case study about two individuals who …

The Crown may be inaccurate but it’s a cracking period drama

Gabriele Neher, Associate Professor in History of Art, writes for The Conversation on the latest offering from Netflix. ‘The Crown, Netflix’s most ambitious and expensive original drama, had a reported budget of over $100 million. The ten-part series charts the ascension of Elizabeth Windsor to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II, and follows the young …

The 2016 election: A seismic shift to the right

Christopher Phelps, Associate Professor of American History, Department of American and Canadian Studies at The University of Nottingham, blogs about the extraordinary outcome of the 2016 race to the White House. The stunning upset victory of Donald J. Trump over Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election signifies a seismic shift to the right in …

Guy Fawkes night: celebrating the most famous act of counter-terrorism in history

Dr Louise Kettle from the School of Politics and International Relations writes for The Conversation about one of the most famous terrorists of all time… ‘With the terrorism threat level remaining at “severe” (meaning an attack is highly likely), and the head of MI5, Andrew Parker, warning that “there will be terrorist attacks” in Britain, there is a climate …

The Last Leg: Clinton’s Probable Victory and the Ruptured Soul of America

Professor Todd Landman, Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Christopher Phelps, Associate Professor of American Studies, review the final week ahead of the US Election. A week away from the U.S. presidential election, America limps to the finish line, exhausted and divided. Intense outsider passion propelled by voters’ desires for new …

The Great Debate – Professor Todd Landman reviews last night’s battle between Clinton and Trump

This week is one of the most awaited in the calendar for the US presidential campaign. The primaries are over and have produced the two main candidates and their running mates, the conventions have sought to solidify support and unify the messages for each party, and the summer months have been spent on the campaign …

Visit to Central College, Nottingham with Lilian Greenwood MP

Dr Rebecca Dewey, Research Fellow in Neuroimaging at the University of Nottingham, gives an invited talk at Central College, Nottingham to a class of science students and Lilian Greenwood MP. Central College, Nottingham is one of the Royal Society’s Associate Schools and Colleges (https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/associate-schools/). The Royal Society also runs a unique pairing scheme (http://royalsociety.org/training/pairing-scheme/) in …

The Orlando nightclub shootings: The worst mass shooting in American history

Professor Todd Landman discusses the tragic events in Orlando “Once again, the United States finds itself in the aftermath of a mass shooting. This time, however, the stakes are higher and the confluence of factors is more chilling: a perpetrator pledging allegiance to ISIS, a nightclub popular in the LGBT community, the use of an …