Blog

On the chilly morning of 6 June, 1944 – D-Day – massed Allied forces attacked the Nazi-occupied coast of Normandy. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history and a pivotal moment of World War Two.

On 20 July 1969, the words “that’s one small step..." were broadcast live to the masses, and the world knew that man had landed on the moon. The Apollo 11 mission had finally given the US the upper hand in the Space Race, more than a decade after the Soviet Union declared its intention to launch a satellite.

The Adam Matthew collection Arthurian Legends and the Influence of French Prose Romance, one of fifteen collections in Research Source: Medieval and Early Modern Studies, offers an insight into how one of England’s most famous nation-making myths was not only shaped, but transformed, by the literature of France.

In line with recent pleas to cut down on our consumption of single-use plastics, this month marks Plastic Free July. Anybody who’s been to the supermarket recently or tried to figure out recycling will realise how ingrained this material now is in our lives, as we shop for our plastic covered fruit and vegetables and try and figure out if we can recycle our yoghurt pots.

One hundred years ago today, and after six months of protracted negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. 

On 29th June 1613, a theatrical cannon misfired during a performance of Henry VIII and set fire to the thatch of the Globe Theatre, engulfing the roof in flames. Within minutes, the wooden structure was also alight, and in under an hour the Globe was destroyed.

Chernobyl, HBO’s hit mini-series, thrust the catastrophic events of the infamous nuclear accident back into the public consciousness, prompting new discussions about how the disaster unfolded and who was ultimately accountable. Watching the series, we here at Adam Matthew were reminded of a Soviet-made documentary we had seen in the online resource, Socialism on Film: The Cold War and International Propaganda.

Dive into the rich history of Pride month, from the pivotal Stonewall riots of 1969 to the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Explore key social and political changes through historical documents from the 1960s and 1970s, and understand the progress and challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.

The BBC drama 'Gentleman Jack' starred Suranne Jones – all cheekbones, wry smile and top hat – who thoroughly embodied the eponymous character. Anne Lister is one of history’s most iconic lesbian figures; her coded diaries shattered everything we thought we knew about nineteenth century “lesbianism” upon their rediscovery in 1933. Iconic female romances existed in Britain long before Lister’s notorious love affairs, however, and one such story can be found in our Defining Gender resource.

The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the deadliest battles of the War in the Pacific. Whilst only a small island, it held great significance to both sides. For the United States, it offered a position to advance an aerial campaign towards Tokyo. For the Japanese, Iwo Jima had a symbolic meaning, as it was the first Japanese national soil to face foreign invasion.

After a recently watching Disney's 1941 film Dumbo, I was intrigued to find out more about the origins of the film and the circuses that rose to popularity in the nineteenth century, and what better place to look than our fascinating Victorian Popular Culture resource.

Although the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in September 1939 led the United States’ diplomatic mission to organise an evacuation of American citizens from Germany, the Four Hollywood Blondes, a rollerskating troupe on a tour of Europe, were among those who stayed, owing to contractual obligations with Berlin theatres. Their tour took in performances in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, before a refugee ship brought them home to the United States.

While one might be forgiven for thinking the growth of public interest in waste reduction was a recent phenomenon, the concepts of waste management and recycling are anything but new.

This week saw the 74th anniversary of VE Day, the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender. Famous photographed moments live on in public memory; a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square and soldiers dancing in London conjure up an image of all out celebration. For millions of people around the world, this was the case, but as documents from the newly published America in World War Two: Oral Histories and Personal Accounts reveal, reactions to victory in Europe were more nuanced than this.

Prior to foreign arrival, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) was a completely oral language, memorised and passed down from generation to generation via the spoken word. Discover the evolution of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in this guest blog by J. Hauʻoli Lorenzo-Elarco.

Rivalled only by Bram Stokers Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has been adapted for film, television, radio, opera and theatre. The first of these adaptations (at least those recorded) however, is perhaps just as influential as the novel which spawned it.

Sub-contracting might seem like quite a modern phenomenon, indeed many of the world’s biggest companies have built their entire business model around outsourcing and subcontracting

With the upcoming publication of the second module of Service Newspapers of World War Two, we find a report in Yank: The Army Newspaper from Sgt. Dave Richardson. Richardson spent over three months in the dense Burmese jungle fighting alongside men of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional).

This week Culture & Society, the third and final module of Socialism on Film, launches. Comprising documentaries produced in states such as the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and Vietnam, it touches on themes including the arts, sport, everyday life, youth and education, providing Western audiences an unparalleled insight into life behind the Iron Curtain. Rigorous and informative documentaries focussing on healthcare, women’s work, environmentalism and politics can also be found in this collection, but today, we hope you’ll forgive us a few moments of glorious kitsch.

Sport has many powers. It gives people purpose. It keeps us fit and healthy. It can unite a population and create waves of nationalism. And it can also be the answer to the question: how can a country as large as the Soviet Union raise its life expectancy from thirty-two years to nearly seventy within fifty years? According to the Soviet film Half a Century of Sport, credit for this remarkable achievement belongs to the sports program that was part of everyday life for millions of Soviet citizens.

A special guest blog by Dr Erin Redihan, Worcester State University.

I think most would agree whatever the world’s current problems, a lack of news is not one of them.

On Friday 22 March 1765, the British Parliament voted to pass one of the most incendiary and politically damaging pieces of legislation in its history - the Stamp Act.

In her Annals of a Publishing House (1897), the English writer Margaret Oliphant refers to George Eliot, otherwise known as Mary Anne Evans, as “the woman of genius” who occupies the space of being “one of the great writers of her time”. Eliot’s reputation continues to live on over 120 years later.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the third battle of Monte Cassino; the battle which marked the penultimate stage in the Allies’ attempts to break through the German stronghold in the Gustav line and proceed to Rome.