Subtopics Archives

Why there is a moral duty to vote

By Julia Maskivker
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Why we don’t understand what a space race means

By Mai’a K. Davis Cross
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What is coercive control and why is it so difficult to recognize?

By Charlotte Barlow, Sandra Walklate, and Kelly Johnson
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Subtopics

Eight things you didn’t know about George Eliot

By Charis Edworthy

Throughout her life, George Eliot was known by many names – from Mary Anne Evans at birth, to Marian Evans Lewes in her middle age, to George Eliot in her fiction – with the latter name prevailing in the years since her death through the continued popularity of her novels. Eliot has long been recognised as one of the greatest Victorian writers, in life and in death, having published seven acclaimed novels and a number of poems, in addition to her work as a translator and a journalist.

George Eliot 200th anniversary timeline

By Eleanor Chilvers

George Eliot (born Mary Anne Evans) was born 22 November 1819, 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of her birth. Eliot is considered one of the most important and influential writers in the history of English literature and her novels are often praised as being the prototypes for the modern novel, full of rich detail of English country life and complete with characters whose motivations are laid bare by the author’s probing psychological dissections.

From Stradivari to Spotify: How new technology has always inspired new music

By Peter Townsend

Successful composers, authors, and scientists have distinctive writing styles which define all their works. They are rarely in isolation from their contemporaries, so their work is inherently time stamped. Similarities can exist with their students and followers, so they set the pattern of writing over one or two generations.

What universities get wrong about free speech

By Ulrich Baer

When racist firebrands claimed a right to speak at various universities two years ago, free speech absolutists on the left and right rushed to their defense.

To-Day and To-Morrow; the rediscovered series that shows how to imagine the future

By Max Saunders

Almost a century ago a young geneticist, J. B. S. Haldane, made a series of startling predictions in a little book called Daedalus; or, Science and the Future. Genetic modification. Wind power. The gestation of children in artificial wombs, which he called “ectogenesis.” Haldane’s ingenious book did so well that the publishers, Kegan Paul, based a whole series on the idea.

How meningitis has (almost) been conquered

By Janet R. Gilsdorf

Scientific discovery is often a messy affair. It’s sometimes intentional, sometimes accidental, sometimes cluttered with error, and always complicated. The ultimate value of scientific observations may not be recognized for many years until the discovery emerges to shed new insight on old problems and become etched in the scientific canon. Such is the story of the conquest of meningitis, a devastating infection of the brain that is usually fatal if not treated.

Introducing the nominees for Place of the Year 2019

By Alison Block and Ashley Noelle

2019 has been a year of significant events – from political unrest to climate disasters worldwide. Some of the most scrutinized events of the past year are tied inextricably to the places where they occurred – political uprisings driven by the residents of a city with an uneasy history, or multiple deaths caused by the […]

Q&A with author Craig L. Symonds

By Craig L. Symonds

There are a number of mysteries surrounding the Battle of Midway, and a breadth of new information has recently been uncovered about the four day struggle. We sat down with naval historian Craig L. Symonds, author of The Battle of Midway, newly released in paperback, to answer some questions about the iconic World War II battle.

What we learned from the financial crisis of 2008

By Allen N. Berger, Philip Molyneux, and John O. S. Wilson

It has been over a decade since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, which threatened to destroy the financial system, and wreaked havoc on the financial well-being of households, firms, and governments.

Our souls make us who we are

By Richard Swinburne

The vast majority of today’s scientists and philosophers believe that human beings are just physical objects, very complicated machines, the essential part of which is our brain which is sometimes conscious. Richard Swinburne argues that on the contrary each human consists of a body which is a physical object, and a soul which is an immaterial thing, interacting with their body; it is our soul which is conscious and is the essential part of each of us.

Completing your verbs—infinitive and gerunds

By Edwin L. Battistella

Most of us have been told at some point that a sentence has a subject and predicate and that the predicate consists of a verb and an object—the girl kicked the ball. We may have been introduced to distinctions such as transitive, intransitive, and linking verbs (like carry, snore, and become, respectively). But there is much more to the intricacies of what must follow a verb.

Seven things you didn’t know could kill you

By Molly Dixon

Medicine has advanced so much over the years, it’s hard to believe that some diseases still exist or don’t have a cure. Commonly known conditions such as cancer, stroke, and heart disease are scary enough, but there are plenty of other conditions that are potentially deadlier.

How Brexit may have changed Parliament forever

By Anne Dennett

During 2019, the Brexit process has radically changed the dynamics between the prime minister and the House of Commons. Normally the United Kingdom’s government, led by the prime minister and her Cabinet, provides leadership, and drives and implements policy while Parliament exercises control over the government by scrutinising its actions and holding it to account.

Brexit: when psychology and politics clash

By Bruce Hood

With the recent publication of the UK Government’s Yellowhammer document outlining the financial disaster forecasted for Brexit, it would seem reasonable for people who voted to leave the European Union to change their opinions. Psychological research, however, suggests that once people commit to a decision, albeit a bad one, they are reluctant to change their minds. Why do […]

How alternative employment contracts affect low wage workers

By Nikhil Datta, Giulia Giupponi, and Stephen Machin

Contemporary labour markets are characterised by more atypical or alternative work arrangements. Some of these – like independent contractors – have emerged in the context of self-employment, while others – like zero hours contracts and temporary work – are evolutions of traditional employment contracts.

Shirk On Time's China Blog

"China calls itself a responsible power -- a term it appropriated from Clinton administration speeches on China. But it also has deployed more than 700 missiles aimed at Taiwan."

Law Teacher of the Year 2019

morra, n.

ODNBLife of the day

George Eliot's 200th birthday

Oxford ReferenceFact of the Day

In psychology what is the question associated with the mirror reversal problem?