1 July 2019
On Tuesday 25th June I attended the 24th Annual DW Bryant Lecture at the Eccles Centre for American Studies in the British Library. This year’s speaker was Lonnie G Bunch III, the director of the Smithsonian’s new National…
26 June 2019
The history blog has been relatively quiet of late, somewhat reflective of the busy marking period that characterises May and June of the academic year. However, I’m happy to break the radio silence by reporting the welcome news…
23 January 2019
This post comes from Dr Catherine Bateson, a lecturer and tutor of US history, specializing in 19th century American history, Civil War history, and Irish American musical culture. She is the Vice Chair of the Scottish Association for the…
18 August 2017
On Monday 14th August, Paul Oliver – the world’s most prolific writer and most respected blues scholar – passed away in Oxfordshire at the age of 90. Scores of blues historians, researchers, enthusiasts and musicians are paying tribute…
20 March 2017
The web is bursting with tributes and obituaries to Chuck Berry, the songwriter and guitarist who died on Friday at the age of 90. And this is understandably so. Berry’s famous repertoire which includes songs like ‘Johnny B…
7 September 2016
On the face of it this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival does not offer a great deal of interest to the student of history. Yes, there are sessions on Rethinking the Somme, the Great War, Cheltenham in the Great…
13 June 2016
Having just been to see Race, the (rather boring, I have to say) bio-pic about the great African American athlete, Jesse Owens, I found myself thinking about people like Owens, and Joe Louis, and contrasting them with Muhammad…
9 June 2016
This Friday will witness the funeral of Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxer in history and a figure whose importance transcended sport. Hundreds will attend his funeral and many thousands more around the world will mourn his passing because…
16 February 2016
Last Saturday, while on my four month stay in the USA, I took the opportunity to visit the nearby International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. This museum is in the Woolworth building, which holds a special…
29 January 2016
This weekend I leave for Elon in North Carolina, where I will be spending four months teaching and researching as part of the Fulbright-Elon Scholar Award 2015-16. I was delighted to receive this award as I would have…