In his recent book The Cuckoo's Lea Michael J Warren provides a exploration of how birds are entwined with British history, particularly in our place names.  Join us for an exclusive Q&A with the author to weave together literature, history and ornithology and discover a fascinating heritage that matters deeply now when so...

To mark the anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s first folio in 1623–24, our 2024 winter webinar series focused on ‘The history that Shakespeare gave us’. The representation of the past in Shakespeare’s plays has shaped many people’s understanding of history. In this webinar series, leading academics explore the history that is...

In this Virtual Branch talk Professor Emma Smith provides a preview of her current research, which explores the lives and cultural undercurrents of Elizabethan England. What was influencing their cultural tastes and how much of it was new, or had it all been seen before? Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare...

In Goethe: His Faustian life, award-winning biographer, critic and writer A. N. Wilson tells the spellbinding story of the life of Goethe. From his youth as a wild literary prodigy, to his later years as Germany’s most heroic intellectual figure, Wilson hones in on Goethe’s undying obsession with the work he would spend his...

In Tudor England, artworks were often described as ‘lively’. What did this mean in a culture where naturalism was an alien concept? And in a time of religious upheaval, when the misuse of images might lure the soul to hell, how could liveliness be a good thing? In this talk...

In modern times, occultists have spoken of a specifically western tradition of ceremonial magic, which has been continuously handed down through the millennia, in secret, from an original starting point in ancient Egypt. Although professional historians have become increasingly interested in the history of magic in general, there has not...

In this series of videos, produced by Royal Holloway, University of London, students and staff explore Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, exploring the Anglo-Saxon Witan and Moots, how law and order was maintained and the Norman conquest, including a multi-chronicler account of the Battle of Hastings. Other videos examine how William...

In this podcast Professor Brian Ward of Northumbria University discusses the role and significance of music in the American Civil Rights movement.

In this podcast Dr Glyn Redworth looks at the impact of Spain relations with its neighbours, foreign perspectives of Spain; the black legend of Spain, ideological differences and ideological prejudice.

An HA Podcasted History of the Rise of an Islamic Civilisation featuring Dr Caroline Goodson of Birkbeck, University of London.

In this podcast Dr Ursula Rothe & Dr Colin Andrews of the Open University discuss how the social, moral and religious life in Rome differed from that of ancient Greece.

In this podcast Dr Joanna Paul & Dr Paula Jones of the Open University discuss the role and significance of the Latin Poets in Roman society.

In this podcast Dr Glyn Redworth looks at the factors that led to the Spanish Empire in the new world, why Ferdinand and Isabella backed Columbus and discusses how Spain was able to consolidate an Empire of such magnitude.

In this podcast Dr Fiona Hobden of the University of Liverpool discusses what Greek Comedy can tell us about society of ancient Greece.

What was the long term impact of the Spanish Golden Age? How have interpretations of this period changed over time?

In this podcast Professor Beat Kumin of Warwick University gives you an overview of the impact of the Reformation, discusses the social and cultural implications of the Reformation, talks about some of the debates among historians about the reformation and looks at the impact the Reformation had on European foreign...

In this podcast Ms Jean Spence discusses how she discovered feminism and how being part of the feminist movement changed both hers and many other womens lives.

In this podcast Professor Stephenson examines the extent that the Nazis were able to create a Volksgemeinschaft and the role propaganda played. 1. Nazi creation of a Volksgemeinschaft: Introduction 2. Equality but only amongst Aryans. Class irrelevant. 3. Indoctrination: promoting an unconditional sense of solidarity amongst Aryans. 4. Traditional allegiances...

In this podcast Dr Thomas Ahnert of the University of Edinburgh discusses the Scottish Enlightenment.

This podcasts looks at the two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Eastern Church and the temporal imperial hierarchy.