Black resistance in America: a timeline
From the end of the Civil War to today, Lifting the Chains is a history of the Black freedom struggle in America since the Civil War. Explore key moments in the timeline.
September 2023
On squashing and occasional squeezing
The Oxford Etymologist explores squash, squeeze, and the development of squ- words featuring the infamous s-mobile.
Animal pharm is closing its doors
Until the middle of the twentieth century, human beings had no defense against deadly microbial diseases. Bubonic plague, cholera, tuberculosis, and syphilis; waves of infectious diseases regularly swept across the globe killing millions of people. But then, suddenly, everything changed. In 1935, the Bayer drug company in Germany was experimenting with the pharmaceutical properties of […]
Minors in the military: parental rights and the Union war effort
Throughout the entirety of the American Civil War, intense battles over youth enlistment played out in courts, Congress, the military, and individual households.
United kingdoms and European Unions: using global history to better understand the UK
Was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was inaugurated in January 1801, unique? It has certainly been uniquely recognised as the “United Kingdom,” or (more simply) the “UK.” But how far does this recognition reflect the UK’s exceptional multinational structures?
Virtues and vices in a non-ideal world
Humans are prone to bias, irrationality, and various forms of prejudice. From an evolutionary perspective, this is no accident.
In praise of sloth
The hero of today’s blog post is the adjective “slow.” No words look less inspiring, but few are more opaque.
Supporting the future of peer review [podcast]
Every year, Peer Review Week honors the contributions of scientists, academics, and researchers in all fields for the hours of work they put into peer reviewing manuscripts to ensure quality work is published. This year, the theme of Peer Review Week is “The Future of Peer Review.”
A free market? The French East India Company and modern capitalism
“Paris is the place to make money, & England is the country to enjoy it.” With what we think we know about capitalism in England and France circa 1790, it is hard to fathom how exactly, a banker in London could have come to this conclusion.
Advancing open access in the UK
Oxford University Press (OUP) and Jisc, the education and research not-for-profit, have held a successful and productive Read & Publish (R&P) agreement since 2021. This report showcases a selection of the achievements of UK researchers who have published their work OA in an OUP journal via our agreement with Jisc.
How to succeed as a newly qualified doctor
There’s nothing like the reality of starting out as a newly qualified doctor; it is exciting, challenging and a relief after years of study to finally get on the wards.
Translating Proust again
“There is no ideal, ultimate translation of a given original. Classic texts in particular, from Homer onwards, are susceptible of multiple readings and retranslations over time.” Brian Nelson discusses translations of classic works and the difficulties with translating Proust in particular.
Etymology as guesswork, being also a study in the history of the word guess
A good deal of our scholarship is guesswork, and today’s story deals with the origin and history of the word “guess.”
Antonina: a sixth-century military wife
In our modern world, the spouses of major political figures may sometimes themselves spend quite a bit of time in the limelight, and be significant assets to the careers of their politician partners. In the sixth century, the wife of the most famous and successful Roman general of the day became nearly as powerful and famous as he was.
Making psychology a reflexive human science
It’s up to cognitive psychology to figure out a way to explain how the mind works that takes into account its purpose and surroundings. The best approach would be to combine scientific and philosophical ideas, while also considering history and culture.
The turn to domestic accountability in the shadow of international criminal tribunals
How did domestic accountability come to eclipse the dream of international criminal tribunals? And what effects does this shift from international to domestic trials have on the global fight against impunity?