Monthly Archives: October 2011

Tyrant Slayers

Thoughts on the day Muammar Gaddafi was killed This will be a crucial day in Libya’s history – so much is certain. The day a tyrant dies cannot be anything else. But what will we, what will the Libyans remember? … Continue reading

Posted in Current events, Inventing the Past | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Knock-Down University

The Guardian today has a report about a ‘no frills university college’ which will start recruiting this week. Coventry University College offers degrees for £4800, with teaching going on for 42 weeks a year, 7 days a week, 7am to 10pm on weekdays. Courses … Continue reading

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The Trouble with Universities in Wales

Just over a week ago, the Times Higher Education Supplement brought out this year’s World Universities Rankings. Although universities live and die by such ranking exercises these days, we should take such elaborate attempts to compare apples with oranges with … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Universities | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Building the Parthenon

It’s time to talk about the photograph at the top of my blog. It’s part of a picture I took on the Acropolis of Athens in summer 2007: let’s call it The Parthenon Under Construction (Again). Of course, ancient buildings … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Inventing the Past | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A few words on the UK Citizenship Test

On Monday Prime Minister Cameron gave a speech on immigration. There is a lot I might say about this speech, much of it rather grumpy, but I’d like to concentrate on one short passage – his plans for the UK … Continue reading

Posted in Life in the UK | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Working Memories

One of those magnificent German words which can’t quite be translated into English is Erinnerungsarbeit. It describes the effort that goes into remembering, into giving the past its due and making sure that important lessons are not forgotten. As you might … Continue reading

Posted in History, Inventing the Past | Tagged , | 1 Comment