Global History and Culture Centre Blog

In this blog post, Joshua Grey explores the Great Exhibition of 1851 as a form of popular imperialism, but also as a space of global connection and interaction. Through this case study, there is a consideration of the structuring of interactions between the imperial metropole and periphery. The flows of information, goods and cultural objects can be used for exploring motivations to justify imperialism and imperial expansion.

PhD student Mathilde Alain explores Ethiopian-European interactions in the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century via Francisco Álvares’ travel account. Álvares accompanied a Portuguese embassy to Ethiopia and his account depicts the diplomatic relations between the Portuguese and the Ethiopian sovereign, Ləbnä Dəngəl. Alain also highlights traces of contacts between Ethiopia and Europe in the account and points to its limits.

The reception of alchemy in the early USSR remains a completely unknown field. This is despite the fact that many historians now work extensively on the history of alchemy more broadly. However, there were many mentions of alchemy both in the occult and the science literature in Russian in the 1920s and 1930s. In this blog entry, PhD student Sergei Zotov discusses how transnational connections in the beginning of the twentieth century shaped the reception of alchemy in the USSR.

PhD student Fleur Martin discusses the challenges of researching and writing histories of Italian imperialism and museum collections. Through the figure of the Italian imperial explorer Vittorio Bottego (1860–97), Martin explores issues of training, historiography, support, and memory. In doing so, Martin reflects on the meaning of 'decolonisation' in the context of Italian museum collections.

PhD student Niels Boender had a chance to research for, and be part of, the Channel 4 and Al Jazeera documentary ‘A Very British Way of Torture’, also featuring Professor David Anderson. The documentary focuses on the use of torture by the British colonial authorities in Kenya against members of the anti-colonial Man Mau movement, and traces the historical research into official British attempts to cover this up. Niels reflects on the research here.

In this post, Emanuele Podda explores the life and works of French jurist, Christian Democrat politician, and international civil servant Émile Giraud (1894-1965). Giraud, a hitherto neglected historical figure, worked for most of his life for the League of Nations (1927-1946) and the United Nations (1947-1954) Secretariats. While at the UN, he acted as head of the Research Section of the Human Rights Division between 1947 and 1950, contributing to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948).

In 2022, Warwick’s Global History and Culture Centre celebrated its 15th anniversary. Founded in 2007 by Professor Maxine Berg, GHCC was the first research centre dedicated to the field of global history to be established in the UK, and quickly took on a leading role in developing the methodology and practice of this sub-discipline. In this first blog post of 2023, GHCC Director Guido van Meersbergen looks back on some of the principal recent developments in the Centre's activities, and ahead towards key initiatives planned for the coming year.

The Golden Rhinoceros by François-Xavier Fauvelle is a leading work in the field of medieval African history, exploring this ‘golden age’ through archaeological evidence and accessible narratives. Packed with engaging material and a conversational tone, the book appeals to a wide readership, from established academics to those new to the topic. In this review, Lisa Taberner discusses the strengths of Fauvelle’s approach to this traditionally neglected branch of history, as well as weaknesses of the wider field.