September 2014 – Imperial & Global Forum

Could Imperial History Help US Foreign Policy Makers?

Published on September 29, 2014September 30, 2014 by CIGH Exeter3 Comments

Marc-William Palen
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @MWPalen

Cross-posted from History & Policy

Amid the early decades of the twentieth century, critics of Western imperialism such as economist Joseph Schumpeter and sociologist Thorstein Veblen may have been correct to connect aristocratic tendencies with imperial expansion. And political scientist Louis Hartz may also have been correct when he proclaimed in The Liberal Tradition in America (1953) that, unlike Europe, the United States had no aristocracy. However, Hartz’s analysis will provide little comfort to the vast majority of the American public, who find their more pacific views are not reflected in US foreign policy making. Continue reading “Could Imperial History Help US Foreign Policy Makers?” →

This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History

Published on September 27, 2014September 27, 2014 by CIGH Exeter1 Comment

Emperor Jones (1933) The poster for the film would, Kisch says, ‘have cost a lot of time and money to produce’. It featured a painterly style. By contrast, the posters for independent films would often use only two colours and be made in a few hours. Photograph: The Separate Cinema Archive — *Emperor Jones* (1933)
Photograph: The Separate Cinema Archive

Marc-William Palen
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @MWPalen

From connecting US football and decolonization to new histories of black cinema, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history. Continue reading “This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History” →

What’s So Shocking about the Wretched of the Earth?

Published on September 25, 2014September 24, 2014 by CIGH Exeter2 Comments

Richard Toye
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @RichardToye

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was a psychiatrist, intellectual and revolutionary. Born in the French Caribbean colony of Martinique, Fanon spent significant periods of his life in France and, crucially, Algeria. There he became an active member of the Front de Libération Nationale that fought, with ultimate success, against French rule. His most famous work The Wretched of the Earth, published shortly before his death from leukaemia, is a classic of decolonization literature. As Jean-Paul Sartre put it in his preface: Continue reading “What’s So Shocking about the Wretched of the Earth?” →

The First World War and the US State Dept.

Published on September 22, 2014September 20, 2014 by CIGH Exeter

Cross-posted from the Office of the Historian (US Dept. of State)

To mark the centenary of the First World War, the Office of the Historian and U.S. Embassy France have carried out a study into the role of the U.S. diplomatic corps stationed in France during 1914–1918. In contrast to the well known record of U.S. actions after it entered the war in April 1917, the stories of U.S. diplomats, consuls, and their family members—particularly during the early months of the crisis (August-December 1914)—were long forgotten, overshadowed by subsequent events of the tumultuous twentieth century. By researching U.S. Government and Government of France records, memoirs, personal papers, and newspaper archives, this study presents a fascinating account of how actions spearheaded by U.S. diplomats—and American citizens—significantly strengthened Franco-American relations in unique, unparalleled ways.

The Office of the Historian has released this electronic preview edition Continue reading “The First World War and the US State Dept.” →

Lloyd George’s Greatest War Speech, 100 Years On

Published on September 19, 2014 by CIGH Exeter

Richard Toye
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @RichardToye

Today (19 September) is the centenary of David Lloyd George’s speech at the Queen’s Hall in the West End of London. As we digest the news that Scotland’s voters have rejected independence, it is interesting to reflect on the role that a different form of Celtic nationalism played in shaping the rhetoric of the Great War.

In the first autumn of the war, Lloyd George’s carefully cultivated public character was almost perfectly pitched. Continue reading “Lloyd George’s Greatest War Speech, 100 Years On” →

This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History

Published on September 19, 2014 by CIGH Exeter

Member, African Choir, London Stereoscopic Company, 1891. Photograph: Courtesy of © Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Marc-William Palen
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @MWPalen

From uncovering portraits of black Victorians to Star Trek‘s colonial past, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history. Continue reading “This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History” →

At the ‘Crossroads of Empire’

Published on September 17, 2014 by CIGH Exeter

Piers Ford

Cross-posted from the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

The London exhibit on law and the British Empire, spearheaded by the Centre’s own Dr. Nandini Chatterjee, has had more than 25,000 visitors so far, and is open to the public until September 26th.

[…] The exhibition – A Court at the Crossroads of Empire: Stories from the JCPC – opened for a two-month run at the beginning of August 2014. Curated by a team of academics related to the “Subjects of Law” network, led by Charlotte, Nandini, and Dr Stacey Hynd (also from the University of Exeter), it traced the JCPC’s evolution from its foundation in 1833 to the emergence of the Commonwealth in the 1950s, largely through the stories of individuals whose cases often had a direct impact on commerce and legal practice, as well as the appellant’s own future – for better or, as it occasionally turned out, worse. Continue reading “At the ‘Crossroads of Empire’” →

Q&A: What Can Red Cross Records Say About History of Humanitarianism & Human Rights?

Published on September 15, 2014September 14, 2014 by CIGH Exeter1 Comment

An Imperial & Global Forum Interview

Professor Richard Toye (RT) interviews Centre Director Andrew Thompson (AT). Professor Thompson recently returned from an archival visit to the ICRC and would like to thank Jean-Luc Blondel and his colleagues for their assistance and guidance.

RT: Andrew, you’ve recently come back from Geneva, where you’ve been doing some archival research. What were you looking at and why?

AT: I was looking at two sets of files in the archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross that have not yet been publicly released. The first on the Nigeria-Biafran War – a watershed in the history of the ICRC as well as a conflict that has been aptly described as the “crucible of modern humanitarianism”. Continue reading “Q&A: What Can Red Cross Records Say About History of Humanitarianism & Human Rights?” →

This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History

Published on September 13, 2014September 13, 2014 by CIGH Exeter1 Comment

Map of the “Panacot” shoal, today's Scarborough Shoal, 1770. Drawn by Britain's Royal Hydrographer. National Library of Australia — Map of the “Panacot” shoal, today’s Scarborough Shoal, 1770. Drawn by Britain’s Royal Hydrographer. National Library of Australia

Marc-William Palen
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @MWPalen

From using historical maps to thwart Chinese expansion, to the world’s retreat from globalization, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history. Continue reading “This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History” →

Decolonization, Revolution, and the EGO

Published on September 9, 2014September 9, 2014 by CIGH Exeter2 Comments

Fabian Klose
Cross-posted from Humanitarianism and Human Rights
Follow on Twitter @FabianMKlose

The age of decolonization is of crucial importance for our understanding of today’s world. By dissolving colonial rule around the world, this process led to the emergence of new sovereign states, thereby permanently changing international relations and international law.

The third phase of decolonization is the one most closely associated with the term “decolonization” today – and which refers to the end of European colonial rule after 1945. The process of the dissolution of the European overseas empires had a profound effect on the course of international history during the 20^thcentury. This process occurred relatively quickly given that colonial rule had existed in some cases for a number of centuries. Only after just 30 years, from 1945 to 1975, all the colonial empires had disappeared from the global map.

Continue reading “Decolonization, Revolution, and the EGO” →

This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History

Published on September 8, 2014 by CIGH Exeter2 Comments

Sultan Mahomet, in Paul Rycaut, Paul, The present state of the Ottoman Empire (1670). Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection. — Sultan Mahomet, in Paul Rycaut’s *The present state of the Ottoman Empire* (1670). Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection.

Marc-William Palen
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @MWPalen

From new free digital archives to a new round of history wars, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history. Continue reading “This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History” →

Socialism Goes Global: Cold War Connections Between the ‘Second’ and ‘Third Worlds’ 1945-1991

Published on September 3, 2014 by CIGH Exeter

James Mark
History Department, University of Exeter

The University of Exeter, in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Columbia, Leipzig and Belgrade, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and University College London, has recently been awarded a major Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant (2014-18) to address the relationship between what were once called the ‘Second World’ (from the Soviet Union to the GDR) and the ‘Third World’ (from Latin America to Africa to Asia).

In the post-war period, as both decolonization and new forms of globalisation accelerated, new linkages opened up, and existing ties were remade, between these ‘worlds’. Contacts multiplied through, for instance, the development of political bonds; economic development and aid; health and cultural and academic projects; as well as military interventions.

Yet these important encounters, and their impacts on national, regional and global histories, have hitherto only played a marginal role in accounts of late 20th century globalization, which have mainly focused on links between the West and former colonies, or between the countries of the ‘Global South’. Continue reading “Socialism Goes Global: Cold War Connections Between the ‘Second’ and ‘Third Worlds’ 1945-1991” →

Why do We Neglect Radio Sources When Studying #WW2?

Published on September 2, 2014September 2, 2014 by CIGH Exeter

Richard Toye
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @RichardToye

It’s often struck me that historians of World War II don’t make nearly as much use as they might of radio sources.

By contrast, they draw on newspapers to a much greater extent. Of course, the print media was important, but in order to capture people’s lived experience of the conflict the significance of radio has to be appreciated. Continue reading “Why do We Neglect Radio Sources When Studying #WW2?” →

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