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History & The Arts
Veiling: Tradition, Identity and Fashion
Why do Muslim women wear the hijab? How do they reconcile different approaches to veiling between generations, across different geographical regions and in different cultural and social environments? How do they negotiate diverse social and cultural influences, pressures and expectations, legal constraints, practical challenges and fashion ...
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History & The Arts
60-Second Adventures in Religion
Ever wondered why Karl Marx thought religion was like Opium - or whether religion is possible without a god? Voiced by David Mitchell, this series of four 60 second animations examines different ways that religion has been viewed by non-religious thinkers. As well as Marx and Dawkins, religion is put under the microscope by thinkers Auguste ...
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History & The Arts
What’s the big deal about virginity?
Celibacy has been valued by women and men within many religious traditions. But why has such high spiritual significance been associated with women’s virginity?
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History & The Arts
Art history: early modern
The world of the early modern period (C10th - C16th) was one of religious obsession, power struggles and plunder. But it was also a world of stunning artistic endeavour. This collection shows how, encoded in the art and architecture of the time, you can find stories of political machinations, female influence and surging movements of people. ...
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History & The Arts
Art history: C17th to C19th
This collection transports you to Europe of 1600 to 1850. Many of the foundations of European culture were being laid: commerce, arts institutions, art displays, terraced houses … even tattooing. Things we now take for granted in the fabric of our lives. Yet here we glimpse them through the eyes of a society for whom they weren’t yet set in ...
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History & The Arts
Art history: modern and contemporary
Baffled by modern art and architecture? You’re not alone! This collection gives new insight into today’s shifting kaleidoscope of visual culture by placing it in the context of the developments of the 19th and 20th century. In the mid 19th century there was a growing realisation that everything had changed. Industry was booming, and the ...
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History & The Arts
Repatriation and returning remains
19th Century philosopher Jeremy Bentham allowed his body to be put on public display after he passed on but would you allow your body to be displayed after you die? The following video and audio collection examines specific cases in which the issue of display and ownership are raised and explores how museums have handled this question. Experts ...
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History & The Arts
Exploring Greek vases
What can you learn about an archaic community from the art they created? Can the way in which their artefacts are displayed enhance the experience of viewing it? Very few remains still exist from Ancient Greek culture on the whole. However because of the durability of the material, pottery is a large part of the archaeological record from this ...
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Languages
Charles Dickens: Celebrity Author
Charles Dickens was not only the most famous writer of his day, but, during the second half of his career, also a prominent public figure known through his readings and speeches. He cultivated, and relished, a close relationship with the vast audiences who came to hear him, in towns and cities throughout Britain, and in the USA. His readings ...
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History & The Arts
Perceptions of English literature
To what extent has the definition of English literature changed over the last 50 years? What criteria do we use when classifying a novel as English? And is this definition organic enough to assimilate new works and different interpretations? Professor Terry Eagleton leads the discussion by explaining how perceptions of Englishness changed during...
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History & The Arts
James Berry: Windrush songs
How does a poet represent two distinctly different cultures in their work? How did James Berry interpret his experience and those of other Jamaican’s that migrated to England in the late 1940’s into his writing? James Berry was born in Jamaica in 1924, but moved to England during the wave of immigration from the West Indies led by the Empire ...
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History & The Arts
Greek Heroes in Popular Culture Through Time
What does ‘2001: a Space Odyssey’ have to do with Odysseus? How does Brad Pitt's Achilles in 'Troy' match up to Homer's original hero? And is Arnold Schwarzenegger the new Heracles? This collection of video animations and audio discussions examines how the heroes of Greek mythology have been represented in popular culture, from ancient times to ...