Teaching Fellow and Researcher of Britain and its Empire during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Interested in global media networks, imperial rivalry and imperial culture. Supervisors: Prof. Corey Ross and Dr. Kim Wagner
Dr Kim Wagner and I are holding a two-day event on 15-15 November 2013 at Queen Mary, University ... more Dr Kim Wagner and I are holding a two-day event on 15-15 November 2013 at Queen Mary, University of London in Mile End. This should be a fantastic opportunity to discuss the political, cultural and social history the period before the First World War through the lens of the 'invasion scare'.
If you have an academic interest please find the 'Call for Papers' notice below.
For anyone who is fascinated by pre-war British society, please do come along. Public lectures and panels will be held with some major academics in their field providing insight into the latest research in this field.
Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
Michel Foucault is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His work has ... more Michel Foucault is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His work has been used in academic disciplines across the board. His approaches to power should not be seen as one overarching theory, but as a plethora of changing attempts to understand power-relations and their epistemological development. His work has been influential in modern historical scholarship since its conception. I will show that prominent writers have been significantly influenced by his approaches to power. Their topics of interest differ, rather significantly in some cases: some, such as Watson and Vernon, have focussed on Foucault’s study of penal discipline and its influence on modern society, inspired by his Discipline and Punish; whilst others, such as Edward Said and Ann Laura Stoler, have been encouraged to write in relation to Foucault’s other approaches to power including sexuality and race. I will show that Michel Foucault’s influence upon historical writing has been diverse and inspirational. Although his work is seldom taken as writ, it has been used, as he intended, as a stimulus for dialectic, which has aided the development of history in several important areas.
This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in... more This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in the period following the Second World War. The main goal will be to determine the extent to which Africans seized their independence from British colonial rule. This question has attracted many scholars, and has resulted in a polarization of opinion amongst some. It will be argued that three tiers of influence all played their part in defining the pace and manner of independence: 1) Metropolitan; 2) International; 3) Colonial.
This essay examines the debate surrounding Hitler's economic and strategic goals. Adam Tooze’s Th... more This essay examines the debate surrounding Hitler's economic and strategic goals. Adam Tooze’s The Wages of Destruction represents a significant, if not revolutionary, new insight into the importance of the ‘Landgrab’ to any understanding of Hitler’s Germany. Tooze sought to prove that the concept of Lebensraum was a real and fundamental objective for Adolf Hitler, which he actively pursued from his assumption of power until his final days. Tooze sought to show that the USA was integral to the concept of ‘Landgrab’, because for Hitler it would be vital to seize the resources and living-space necessary to compete with the United States on a global scale. If he failed to do this, then Hitler believed Germany would be relegated to the status of a minor provincial nation. Tooze’s thesis is a persuasive one and adds to the prevalent work of many Nazi theorists. Ultimately Tooze's argument that ‘Landgrab’ was a guiding force behind two of the most fundamental elements of the Third Reich: foreign and economic policy, demonstrates the importance of the concept in understanding Hitler's Germany.
This dissertation will focus on the four years of the First World War and raise questions about t... more This dissertation will focus on the four years of the First World War and raise questions about the treatment of Enemy Aliens in Britain. Due to a process of internment and repatriation the German population in Britain would be reduced from over 50,000 to just 12,358 after the war. Many of the interned had little or no knowledge of the German language, having moved at a very young age, yet they were treated as patriotic Germans. A sense of great bitterness can be felt in the diaries of other German internees.
Dr Kim Wagner and I are holding a two-day event on 15-15 November 2013 at Queen Mary, University ... more Dr Kim Wagner and I are holding a two-day event on 15-15 November 2013 at Queen Mary, University of London in Mile End. This should be a fantastic opportunity to discuss the political, cultural and social history the period before the First World War through the lens of the 'invasion scare'.
If you have an academic interest please find the 'Call for Papers' notice below.
For anyone who is fascinated by pre-war British society, please do come along. Public lectures and panels will be held with some major academics in their field providing insight into the latest research in this field.
Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
Michel Foucault is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His work has ... more Michel Foucault is one of the most prominent philosophers of the twentieth century. His work has been used in academic disciplines across the board. His approaches to power should not be seen as one overarching theory, but as a plethora of changing attempts to understand power-relations and their epistemological development. His work has been influential in modern historical scholarship since its conception. I will show that prominent writers have been significantly influenced by his approaches to power. Their topics of interest differ, rather significantly in some cases: some, such as Watson and Vernon, have focussed on Foucault’s study of penal discipline and its influence on modern society, inspired by his Discipline and Punish; whilst others, such as Edward Said and Ann Laura Stoler, have been encouraged to write in relation to Foucault’s other approaches to power including sexuality and race. I will show that Michel Foucault’s influence upon historical writing has been diverse and inspirational. Although his work is seldom taken as writ, it has been used, as he intended, as a stimulus for dialectic, which has aided the development of history in several important areas.
This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in... more This essay will seek to understand and analyse the process of decolonisation in British Africa in the period following the Second World War. The main goal will be to determine the extent to which Africans seized their independence from British colonial rule. This question has attracted many scholars, and has resulted in a polarization of opinion amongst some. It will be argued that three tiers of influence all played their part in defining the pace and manner of independence: 1) Metropolitan; 2) International; 3) Colonial.
This essay examines the debate surrounding Hitler's economic and strategic goals. Adam Tooze’s Th... more This essay examines the debate surrounding Hitler's economic and strategic goals. Adam Tooze’s The Wages of Destruction represents a significant, if not revolutionary, new insight into the importance of the ‘Landgrab’ to any understanding of Hitler’s Germany. Tooze sought to prove that the concept of Lebensraum was a real and fundamental objective for Adolf Hitler, which he actively pursued from his assumption of power until his final days. Tooze sought to show that the USA was integral to the concept of ‘Landgrab’, because for Hitler it would be vital to seize the resources and living-space necessary to compete with the United States on a global scale. If he failed to do this, then Hitler believed Germany would be relegated to the status of a minor provincial nation. Tooze’s thesis is a persuasive one and adds to the prevalent work of many Nazi theorists. Ultimately Tooze's argument that ‘Landgrab’ was a guiding force behind two of the most fundamental elements of the Third Reich: foreign and economic policy, demonstrates the importance of the concept in understanding Hitler's Germany.
This dissertation will focus on the four years of the First World War and raise questions about t... more This dissertation will focus on the four years of the First World War and raise questions about the treatment of Enemy Aliens in Britain. Due to a process of internment and repatriation the German population in Britain would be reduced from over 50,000 to just 12,358 after the war. Many of the interned had little or no knowledge of the German language, having moved at a very young age, yet they were treated as patriotic Germans. A sense of great bitterness can be felt in the diaries of other German internees.
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Papers by Patrick Longson
If you have an academic interest please find the 'Call for Papers' notice below.
For anyone who is fascinated by pre-war British society, please do come along. Public lectures and panels will be held with some major academics in their field providing insight into the latest research in this field.
Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!
Talks by Patrick Longson
If you have an academic interest please find the 'Call for Papers' notice below.
For anyone who is fascinated by pre-war British society, please do come along. Public lectures and panels will be held with some major academics in their field providing insight into the latest research in this field.
Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested!