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The Power of the Past

The British Academy and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq co-sponsored a conference on ‘Steady States: Institutional Stability in the Face of Political Change’, the proceedings of which have now been published. Dr Harriet Crawford explains how for thousands of years government practices and personnel managed to survive violent …

Trust in Public Life (BAR)

On 10 November 2008, the British Academy hosted a panel discussion, chaired by Professor Peter Hennessy FBA, to consider whether public trust in our major public institutions has fallen as much as is widely suggested. The panellists were Baroness Onora O’Neill (President of the British Academy), Richard Wilson (former Cabinet …

Tackling tipping points

Professor Tim O’Riordan FBA and Professor Tim Lenton explain the importance of ‘tipping points’ in understanding convulsive change in the world, and offer a manifesto for creating ‘benign’ tipping points to prepare us for future shocks. The British Academy and Royal Society seminar on ‘Tipping Points’ was held at the …

End of empire and the English novel (BAR)

On 2 November 2011 contributors to the volume ‘End of Empire and the English Novel since 1945’ explored the history of post-war England through their readings of a range of writers and genres. Professor Susheila Nasta, a respondent in the discussion, raised the question of why there still remains an …

How to train a mulla: Seminaries in Shi'ite Islam

Robert Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Exeter. He is the Director of the ‘Clerical Authority in Shi’i Islam’ project.

Re-imagining policing post-austerity

Andrew Millie is Professor of Criminology, Edge Hill University, and Dr Karen Bullock is a Lecturer in Criminology, University of Surrey. A conference on ‘Policing in a time of contraction and constraint: Re-imagining the role and function of contemporary policing’ was held at the British Academy on 27 September 2011.

Al-Qaeda since 9/11

Dr Alia Brahimi is a Research Fellow in the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics. This article is an updated version of Dr Brahimi’s remarks for a symposium on ‘9/11: Ten Years On’, hosted by the British Academy on 2 September 2011.

The heritages of the modern Greeks

Peter Mackridge is Professor Emeritus of Modern Greek at the University of Oxford and a visiting professor at King’s College London. This was one of three lectures given at the British Academy on 18-20 October 2011 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the British School at Athens.

Prizing the past for the present and the future (BAR)

On 1 June 2011, Professor David Lowenthal FBA and Sir Simon Jenkins, Chairman of the National Trust, discussed why stewarding the past benefits the present and the future, and how we can protect, enliven, and enhance our heritage.

Optimism bias and climate change

Geoffrey Beattie explains why climate change messages are not getting through.

Mary S. Morgan: interview

Mary S. Morgan on the curious uses of models, facts and narratives.

Refining the chemical attraction of humanities scholarship

Mary Beard argues that it is time to stop searching for the eureka moment.

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