20th century Archives

Lavender Scare: The Forgotten Side of McCarthyism

On May 18, 2022 By Joshua McGrane In Curiosity Columns, New

As a historian, the two areas of history that have always fascinated and intrigued me have been the Cold War and twentieth-century United States.

The Female Husband: Colonel Barker on the (News)stand

On May 2, 2022 By Pádraig Nolan In Curiosity Columns, New

Pádraig Nolan continues his Colonel Barker series, focusing on his trials and how they allow us to understand 20th-century gender constructs.

collage of Queen Victoria, Alfred the Great, and actors from Selma and the Darkest Hour

A “History of History” – Charles Plummer and the 1901 Oxford Ford Lecture

On April 27, 2022 By Daniel Morgan In New, Tute Notes

Daniel Morgan discusses the 1901 Ford Lecture at Oxford, and what it reveals about how current events can sway our opinions of history.

The Transmasculine Fascist: Colonel Barker Joins the National Fascisti

On March 28, 2022 By Pádraig Nolan In Curiosity Columns, New

Pádraig Nolan examines Colonel Barker’s fraudulent involvement with British fascism and the conflict of trans- and hyper-masculinity.

The Man: We Need to Talk About Colonel Barker

On March 11, 2022 By Pádraig Nolan In Curiosity Columns, New

Pádraig Nolan examines the legendary figure of Colonel Barker, transmasculine con-artist, fascist and performer.

A crowd of cartoon people celebrating Pride, with LGBTQ+ history

What’s in a Name? The problem of how to study LGBTQ+ History

On February 22, 2022 By Charles West In Curiosity Columns, New

Charles West discusses labels and their role in studying LGBTQ+ history in the latest instalment of his column.

Middlebrow Highs #2: Barbara Pym – The Drama of the Prosaic

On February 15, 2022 By Seán Gibbons In Curiosity Columns, New

Seán Gibbons discusses the work of Barbara Pym in his column Middlebrow Highs.

a soviet painting depicting a man diving into the sea off the side of a boat

Soviet Stories: The Evolution of Dacha Culture

On January 3, 2022 By Sophia Maisashvili In Curiosity Columns, New

Sophia Maisashvili introduces her column ‘Soviet Stories’ by examining the impact of dachas, particularly in soviet satellite states.

collage of malcolm x, oswald mosley, and guru nanak gurdwara in smethwick

“A World Problem”: Smethwick, Malcolm X and the British Civil Rights Movement

On November 16, 2021 By Ciara Garcha In Curiosity Columns, New

TW: racism, racial slurs Marshall Street was an unassuming, unexceptional street in Smethwick, West Midlands. Its terraced houses were not particularly striking or notable. The declining industrial town resembled many others across the country, facing …

The Nest – a subtle dissection of Thatcherite neoliberalism

On September 15, 2021 By Isaac Hawcock In Page and Screen

Isaac Hawcock reviews The Nest to explore how it dissects Thatcherite neoliberalism from a twenty-first century perspective.