Qonspiracy These might be the interesting times that people warned us about… I was approached by a journalist to talk about the way that conspiracism (and in particular the QAnon conspiracy) had developed in France in recent months (with the resulting article published by France24 here) and then shortly after by another (with the Vice article pubished here). It struck me that in the context … Continue reading Qonspiracy
One of the things I enjoy about teaching Contemporary History and Politics is the sense of a subject in motion. Sometimes, however, that motion can take you by surprise. On the morning of Wednesday 14th October, I was asked by France24 to watch French President Emmanuel Macron’s evening broadcast about his government’s approach to tackling the COVID-19 crisis and provide some instant analysis afterwards. I … Continue reading COVID-19 and Macron’s “Society of Free Individuals”
Whatever else happens, the sense of change swirling around the world at the moment is palpable. We do, as they say, live in Interesting Times. Apocryphal Chinese curses aside, we are in a moment which offers opportunities to question our perspectives. For my own part, an errant chain of thought led me to consider ways of thinking through the intersections between my research and my … Continue reading Thinking through change, thinking through empire
I wrote a blog about my experience of trying to ‘do history’ under lockdown (with a little help from a toddler). It’s up as a guest-post on my friend Jerry DeGroot’s excellent blog, which is tracking his own reactions to the current crisis and inviting others to contribute. Head on over to see what it’s all about: https://mymycorona.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/message-in-a-bottle/ Continue reading Message in a Bottle
The slick Caius Preposterous knew how to turn a deal. He also knew the way to political power. How to subdue the rebellious Gauls? “Easy, O Caesar. Gold, the profit motive will enfeeble them and keep them busy. We must corrupt them.” When Goscinny and Uderzo needed a flash young man to seduce Obelix & Co in 1976, they needed look no further than to … Continue reading Apples and Sestertii: Shifting Symbols of Chirac
A summary of my paper at the IHR is now available over at the French History Network Blog. Head on over to the FHN site to have a listen to a recording of the paper. Link: http://frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/blog/?p=2026 Here’s the content reposted for the meantime: Date & Place: Monday 29th April, in the IOE Bedford Way, Room 784. Speakers: Dr Andrew WM Smith (Chichester) Paper Title: Uprooting identity: European … Continue reading ‘Uprooting Identity’: Recording of IHR Paper
Often there is more than research inside the books we read. Bookmarks, train tickets, receipts, and menus tucked into pages offer clues about the life of the book itself. Yet the lives of our research material often go unmarked, lost between the gaps in disciplinary boundaries and narrow definitions. The biographies of books and documents can illuminate their contexts, as printed matter that is sold, … Continue reading Paper Trails Conference, 4th July 2019, University College London
I wrote up some thoughts on the recent Gilets Jaunes protests taking place in France. You can read the article across at the ‘Age of Revolutions’ blog here: https://ageofrevolutions.com/2018/12/13/the-gilets-jaunes-protest-a-grand-refusal-in-an-age-of-commuter-democracy/ Image credit: By Thomas Bresson – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74933095 Continue reading The Gilets Jaunes Protest: A Grand Refusal in an Age of Commuter Democracy
When Andre Malraux eulogised Jean Moulin and the ‘army of shadows’ on the steps of the Panthéon in December 1964, he reached for the words of one of France’s national hymns. The Chant des Partisans was an anthem of the Liberation that had hung upon the lips of resisters even during the Nazi Occupation. First broadcast as a whistled tune on the BBC, the stirring … Continue reading Le Chant des Partisans: 75 years since a song took flight
There’s always a slightly awkward moment when you talk to a room full of history enthusiasts about your favourite item in a Military Aviation Museum. For me, it’s not the Hawker Hunter in which Neville Duke broke the Air Speed Record, nor even the wreckage of a Hawker Hurricane shot down in the Battle of Britain. My favourite item, as I nervously admitted, is a … Continue reading Resistance by Moonlight
Dr Andrew W. M. Smith 