Free-Speech for Progressives
‘No-platforming’ and freedom of speech are in the news at the moment. Under the new regulations introduced by Universities’ Minister Jo Johnson, academic institutions could be fined if it can be demonstrated that they have suppressed freedom of speech. It’s unclear why it is the role of gove
On Jerusalem
You don’t have to have strong views on politics, or Donald Trump, or the Palestinian question, to acknowledge the sheer idiocy of the US president’s latest bout of verbal diarrhoea. In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, a law for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocatio
Through the Archives #1: Evelyn Waugh and a Union hopeful
“Jeremy was in my house at school; he has what would be known in North Oxford as ‘personality’. That is to say he is rather stupid, thoroughly well-satisfied with himself, and acutely ambitious. Jeremy purposes to be President of the Union.” English novelist Evelyn Waugh as a
Facebook: A Force for Social Change? An Interview with The Worldwide Tribe
Facebook was created as a platform for curating a network of friends and posting photographs, and whilst it remains home to many a funny collage on your friend’s birthday wall, it now takes on another role. Increased use of social media has led to a steady decline in the use of newspapers and radi
The Politicisation of Tragedy or the Tragification of Politics?
What could the Grenfell Tower disaster possibly have to do with Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex? The answer is fairly obvious: not a lot. Yet in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, commentators across the political spectrum returned to that age-old debate concerning “the politicisation of tragedy”. On
What does the “yes” vote mean for women in Turkey?
As the last votes of the Turkish referendum were counted in April, and they watched President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan celebrate his victory, many Turkish women feared for their homeland. Turkey had become a twisted orchestra, as a chorus of “yes” campaigners roared for Erdoğan’s new-found execu
Oxford students angered by decline in standards of homophobic abuse in tutorials
Students at the University of Oxford have been speaking out against the serious decline in standards of homophobic abuse during tutorials. ‘In my first Physics tutorial of last term my tutor just made a few underhand comments about lifestyle choices and some bad jokes which involved homophobic slu
The Age of Extinguished Reason
We have not always had light. According to Hesiod’s epic poem, ‘Theogony’, the luxury of light was hidden by Zeus as a cruel punishment for deception. Prometheus, in an act of treachery, stole fire from Mount Olympus by smuggling a lit torch to mankind. His punishment was eternal – chained t
Do Not Remember What You Do Not Want To
The predictable result arrived: Emmanuel Macron is the new French president. Macron was granted several gifts during this election campaign: the conservative candidate François Fillon’s corruption scandal and subsequent evisceration as well as Benoît Hamon’s being jettisoned by his own party,