Well, September saw me emerge out of the summer bubble of individual research to emerge – as a butterfly – back into the world of college life. I’m currently into the fourth teaching week of the new academic year, and it has been a time of settling in the new groups before pushing onward with the material.

As always, the blog reflects what I cover in the classroom, as well as my other reading/research tastes. The case-study about the Gestapo – ‘everyday history’ – was based on the current topic of ‘the Terror State’ on Nazi Germany in A-level History. I have enjoyed delving into the deeper detail regarding the extent of totalitarianism in Hitler’s Germany, and this particular post touches upon the idea as to how in control the likes of the Gestapo were. Furthermore, I also posted about the dubious quality of maps found online, with one particular example on show that a student raised an eyebrow at.

The post about the rise of American imperialism was based on a recent topic covered on the History with English foundation degree. It is an area filled with debate, particularly on whether or not the United States of America should be considered an empire, despite not actually utilising such a term. The likes of Chomsky are clear on this: America has long acted as an imperial power, and no amount of white-washing can cleanse its history of its imperial history of removing native Americans and Mexicans.

Other posts included the continuation of the War World Cup series, the French Revolution historical figure Charlotte Corday, as well as an overview of the recently updated ‘Publications’ section of the site.

I hope to use October to include posts about the odd evolution of old English village greens, of recently created historical memes, and the continuation of the English Monarchs FA Cup.