Believe it or not: one more book on language and language history
The Oxford Etymologist casts a glance at a book exploring the history of language and its development that is “definitely worth reading.”
Human rights are not a “luxury belief”: why Suella Braverman’s rhetoric is dangerously misguided
David Herd explores the language of human rights and why Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s recent pronouncement of human rights as a “luxury belief” is a shocking step even by the standards of contemporary political rhetoric.
Tuning in to the cosmic symphony: restarting LIGO
In 2015 history was made when LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) detected the first ever gravitational wave signal. This was an incredible technological achievement and the beginning of a completely new way of investigating the cosmos. The restart of LIGO and the global gravitational wave research network launches a new phase of deep space exploration.
Making sense of the Molly Maguires today
Twenty Irish mine workers were hanged in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania in the 1870s, convicted of a series of murders organized under the cover of a secret society called the Molly Maguires. Here Professor Kenny discusses 10 things that helped him answer the questions at the heart of his book, “Making Sense of the Molly Maguires.”
On Shakespeare’s “illiteracy”
This year marks 400 years since the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, but why was he singled out for his lack of knowledge about classics, as well as his “illiteracy”?
Why does government policy ignore scientific evidence? Experts and the public must act together
Together, expert communities and the public need to manage the interfaces between the production of specialized knowledge and its use in wider political discourse.
The three empires of our digital world [infographic]
Today, there are three dominant and competing models of digital regulation—the US, China, and the EU. Explore the nuances and implications of each model in the infographic.
Much attacked, still standing: how the international legal order is attacked and defended
The invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine on 24 January 2022 is certainly not the first, but one of the most blatant attacks on the international legal order and one of the order’s foundational values, namely peace. It has enlivened widespread debates about the end of the liberal world order and, closely related to this, a crisis of international law. But what does this crisis stand for?
Some hopelessly obscure words: the case of cowan
Some words don’t interest anyone. They languish in their obscurity, and even lexicographers miss or ignore them. Yet they too deserve to get their day in court. One such word is “cowan.”
Found in translation: how the amateur translator brought Asian classics to a 19th century audience
Today, translation is a professionalized activity closely linked to the publishing industry. For most of the nineteenth century, however, this organized chain of production had yet to be established.
What we say when we say “just sayin’”
The distinction between nouns and adjectives seems like it should be straightforward, but it’s not. Grammar is not as simple as your grade-school teacher presented it.
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.