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The Voluntary Sector in British Society
On 20 March 2009, the British Academy held a workshop to consider continuity and change in the socio-political roles of voluntarism and voluntary associations in British society. The convenor of the event, Professor Pat Thane FBA, charts the history of the voluntary sector from Victorian times to the present day.
The 'Winter of Discontent' in British Politics
The industrial strife that beset the Callaghan government in the winter of 1978–79, the ‘winter of discontent’, was seen at the time as a key factor in Labour’s defeat in the 1979 general election. On 22 January 2009 – the 30th anniversary of that winter’s first public sector ‘day of …
Celebrating excellence (BAR 14)
In September and October 2009, the British Academy held ceremonies to honour individual scholars for the excellence of their work in the humanities and social sciences.
Ancient Ethiopian Churches in Historical Perspective
Professor David W. Phillipson FBA has published a comprehensive account of Ethiopian Christian civilisation and its churches between the 4th and the 14th centuries, offering a fresh view of the processes that gave rise to this unique African culture. He describes the different styles and affinities of these striking religious …
The Marriage of Philology and Informatics
As part of the British Academy Literature Week in October 2009, Sir Brian Vickers FBA discussed ‘The Authors of King Edward III’, in conversation with Professor Laurie Macguire. Here he describes how information technology can be harnessed to the literary study of authorship attribution.
'The natives ... enquired what the Spaniards wanted. [They] answered "Food".'
The British Academy and the Mexican Embassy collaborated to organise a public study day at the British Museum on ‘Moctezuma’s Feast’, linked to the Museum’s ‘Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler’ exhibition. The event, which took place on 21 November 2009, offered lively presentations on topics ranging from the mystical powers attributed to …
Family Policies and Social Science
On 23 February 2010, the British Academy Policy Centre launched its first report, ‘Social Science and Family Policies’. At the launch, there was a lively debate, chaired by Polly Toynbee of the ‘Guardian’, on the respective roles of politicians and social scientists. Dr Simon Griffiths and Lili Hoag offer a …
How to Choose an Electoral System
The British Academy Policy Centre report on choosing an electoral system for the UK was launched on 10 March 2010. Its authors, Professor Simon Hix, Professor Ron Johnston FBA and Professor Iain McLean FBA, explain why it has turned out to be even more topical than it was when the …
New Labour and the British Constitution
In the last few months, the British Academy has hosted a range of events that have onsidered the state of the British constitution after 13 years with New Labour in power. Dr Andrew Blick offers some reflections on the significance – and limitations – of the constitutional changes, and of …
Constitutional Renewal
On 16 June 2008 the British Academy held a workshop to discuss the significance of the ‘Governance of Britain’ constitutional reform programme introduced by Gordon Brown shortly after becoming Prime Minister, and the associated ‘Constitutional Renewal’ package produced in March 2008. The meeting was all the more timely because Parliament’s …
The Oxford Francis Bacon, and the Materiality of Texts
Professor Graham Rees FBA is Director of ‘The Oxford Francis Bacon’ for which he has edited and translated many of Bacon’s Latin philosophical writings (volumes VI, XI, XII and XIII). Here he describes the attention that editors need to pay to the physical form in which texts survive.
Autism and the Imaginative Mind
The British Academy publication ‘Imaginative Minds’ offers an engaging and innovative take on the elusive and special human capacity of imagination. The editor, Dr Ilona Roth, has a particular interest in the complex relationship between autism and imagination. People on the autistic spectrum typically have difficulty in imagining what other …
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