Entries by Penelope J. Corfield

MONTHLY BLOG 26, WORST AND BEST ACADEMIC LECTURES THAT I’VE HEARD

If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2013) Apart from the routine lectures that form the bread-and-butter of an academic’s job, we constantly give special lectures and/or papers. These presentations are made to a miscellany of research seminars, public meetings, specialist societies, academic conferences and other outlets, at home and overseas. From […]

PJC WEBSITE REVIEW/3 – UNCLE VANYA (1900) BY ANTON CHEKHOV

IN NEW TRANSLATION BY CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON AT LONDON’S VAUDEVILLE THEATRE, THE STRAND WC1 Viewed by Penelope J. Corfield and Tony Belton 14 December 2012 ‘Basically, life in Russia sucks’, summarised the young man in the row behind us, for the benefit of his somewhat bemused companions, who had obviously expected something jollier. We had all […]

MONTHLY BLOG 25, CHAMPIONING THE STUDY OF HISTORY

If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2012) How do we champion (not merely defend) the study of History in schools and Universities? Against those who wrongly claim that the subject is not commercially ‘useful’. Here are three recommendations. Firstly, we should stress the obvious: that a knowledge of history and an […]

MONTHLY BLOG 22, TO TRUST OR NOT TO TRUST?

If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2012) When choosing Blog topics, I draw from my professional experiences as an academic historian and my grass-roots life as a long-term party activist and former Labour councillor. But today’s theme of Trust/or No trust comes from both fields of endeavour. Can society trust people? […]

MONTHLY BLOG 21, HISTORICAL PERIODISATION – PART 1

If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2012) It was fascinating to meet with twenty-three others on a humid June afternoon to debate what might appear to be abstruse questions of Law & Historical Periodisation. We were attending a special conference at Birkbeck College, London University – an institution (founded in 1823 […]