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History & The Arts
Lazarus: David Bowie's bio-obituary
What does David Bowie's last single tell us about his attitude to a death he almost certainly was expecting?
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History & The Arts
An introduction to material culture
This free course, An introduction to material culture, introduces the study of material culture. It asks why we should study things and outlines some basic approaches to studying objects.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Why were David Bowie's eyes two different colours?
The short answer is that they weren't - but there's a lot more to it than that. Kevin Hunt explains.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Blade Runner: What's the balance between science and fiction?
How does Blade Runner shape up as a piece of work when real scientists look at its workings?
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Science, Maths & Technology
Urbanism in Blade Runner
As well as being a science fiction classic, you could read Blade Runner as a movie about town planning. No, really. Let Ryan Schleeter explain.
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History & The Arts
The obscure history of the ‘virgin’s disease’ that could be cured with sex
Where did ideals and misconceptions around virginity and the hymen stem from? Helen King explores...
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History & The Arts
A Victorian Christmas: Christmas in Dreamthorp
The essayist and poet Alexander Smith's Dreamthorp is a collection of essays he wrote in the countryside. This extract, titled Christmas, is anchored in the December of 1862, and includes some personal views which are very much of their time.
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History & The Arts
Beethoven: The Expert View
Which passions drove one of the truly great composers, Ludwig van Beethoven?
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History & The Arts
Killed by Agatha Christie: Strychnine and the detective novel
In the first Poirot book, the murderer's weapon of choice is the bitter poison strychnine. The scientist, writer and poison expert Deborah Blum reopens the case.
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History & The Arts
Why the bands played on: Live music in the shadow of the Paris attacks
The murderers who killed gig-goers during the Paris attacks challenged popular music's power to show defiance. They shouldn't win, says Adam Behr.
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History & The Arts
Vikings - just misunderstood?
Vikings weren't just raiders and pillagers - they were pioneers of craft and trade.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Do books need trigger warnings for distressing content?
At Lancaster University English literature students have requested that trigger warnings be added to texts that include distressing passages. Claudia Hammond examines.