Issue 1, April 2011 the Manchester Historian The students are revolting! A look at student protest, past and present Current Affairs, p.3 Manchester’s secret past A behind the scenes tour of your city Local History, p.6 Ancient Rome Pompeii’s brothels and an imfamous emperor Feature, pp.7 - 10 Manchester’s Whitworth Hall The Manchester What do you really know Museum Uncovering the truth about your university? behind THAT crab A guide to historic buildings and Reviews, p.14 lecturers University History, p.4 the Manchester Historian 2. Contents Editor’s Note 3. Student Protest, a history Juliette Donaldson, Florence Holmes, Current Affairs Frankie Williams Hello and welcome to the brand new history 4. Profiles on Samuel Alexander departmental newspaper; The Manchester Historian. & A.J.P Taylor We’re really excited about this new project, which will hopefully continue long after the three of us have University History graduated! Essentially, we wanted to establish a History community, and use the paper as a tool to promote stronger ties between students, staff, the 5. The Peterloo Massacre & the university and the city itself. This is, after all, your meeting of Rolls & Royce home for the next few years, so you might as well know something about its past! 6. Map of Manchester’s secret This paper is an entirely student led effort, with past undergrads from all three years involved – see it as a platform for you to share your interests with the entire Spotlight on your city history department! If Manchester’s long and turbulent past tickles your fancy, take a look at pages 5 and 6 to find out more. 7. The colourful life of Emperor For you Ancient Historians out there, this issue’s Nero feature section is on the Romans, so put down your library books and dive into a world of deranged emperors and secret sexuality on pages 7 to 10. We 8-9. A history of Pompeii have a staff section containing an interview with the legendary Dr Max Jones, as well as research 10. Ten things you didn’t know updates on what your lecturers are really doing outside of our contact hours! There’s also a fantastic about the Romans reviews section, giving you the low down on all things Feature history; from the local Manchester museum to the Oscar winning “The King’s Speech”. And if that’s not enough to set your historical heart racing, we’ve also included a procrastination puzzle page to keep you 11-12. Interview with Dr Max amused when you’re in the library “doing work”! Jones & staff research updates So, what are you waiting for? Get stuck in! Staff section If you want to get involved, or just fancy a chat about any of the articles, 13. Noticeboard contact us on: [email protected] [email protected] 14-15. Reviews [email protected] Love, 16. Procrastination Puzzle Page Juliette, Florence and Frankie 3. the Manchester Historian Current Affairs student protestors and the harsh measures used by The Power of Protest police to restrain them. However, this brute force pales in comparison with that used in the past. Most A look at student protest throughout the ages. famous is the massacre of thousand of students Juliette Donaldson, Florence Holmes peacefully gathered in Tiananmen Square in 1989 & Frankie Williams by the Chinese authorities. Less well known is the case of Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student who, in protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios You say cut back we say fight back! In the face of Papadopoulos, set himself on fire in 1970, education cuts and rising tuition fees you may becoming a burning emblem for the revolutionary have found yourself chanting these words in the cause. In the same year in America, four students nationwide marches that took place at the end were shot dead by the National Guard who had of last year. The storming of Millbank Tower by been deployed to dampen the protests at Kent State protestors will undoubtedly go down in history University in Ohio, where students protesting against as an iconic moment of government defiance and US involvement in the Vietnam War had taken to police brutality, fitting in with the worldwide arson and looting. Two of the students killed were revolutionary fervour of the past twelve not protestors, but simply caught in the cross fire as months. Students the world over, from here in they walked to class. Manchester to those risking their lives in North Africa, have been locked in conflict with their For as long as there have been students there has respective governments in protest against austerity been student protest. In 1229 the first university and tyranny. activists took to the streets of Paris to protest the deaths of a number of fellow students. However, But how does this fit in an historical context? throughout history student revolts have not always Although it is common knowledge that students had such noble motivation. The well named 1766 and revolution go hand in hand in modern events, Great Butter Rebellion saw students at Harvard what you may not realise is that in protesting you University walking out in protest against the poor are continuing a tradition of student activism that quality of butter in the University canteen. The has been almost a thousand years in the making. butter was soon upgraded. The start of the movement in Britain is This year has already seen revolution in the considered to be marked in 1967, where the first Middle East, North Africa as well as the marches right sit-in was held at the London School of here in Britain, all upheld broadly by the students Economics over the unfair suspension of two themselves. But what of the future of student protest? students. Its success was followed by a national Earlier this year a fresh generation was seen to take anti-racism rally held in the same year, attended by interest in politics, quoting Dumbledore, rather than over 100,000 protestors. From the 1960’s onwards, Che Guevara, as their icon. The German state of issues including the Vietnam War and racism Hesse recently revoked its tuition fees in response to became the focal point for student activism. nationwide unrest, proving the continued strength This tradition continued into the late 1980’s and of student activism. The melting pot of culture, class early 1990’s, where students joined the public in and political views at university will forever ensure taking to the streets several times against the that the words ‘student’ and ‘protest’ will always be introduction of poll tax by the Thatcher intertwined. government. The largest of these protests, on the 31 March 1990 in London, saw mass rioting in Whitehall and Trafalgar square, with approximately 200,000 protestors demonstrating their resentment toward the tax. Headlines on the recent demonstrations in London focussed on the thuggish antics of the the Manchester Historian 4. University history producing some of the most Behind the bust influential philosophical works of the twentieth century. A closer look at the life of the SAHC namesake, Samuel Alexander. He became a legendary professor Samantha Brill at Manchester (I hope you notice the connection here!), Humanities students have three things in won an Order of Merit, common. The first thing is a vague awareness of a became a prominent Zionist bronze bust in the Samuel Alexander building. The and feminist, and left all his money to universities, other two things: procrastination and an urge to not having troubled to get married. giggle at the word ‘bust’. This column is about the first thing. The statue is of Samuel Alexander, by And why the bust in the humanities foyer? Here Epstein. I know what you’re thinking: if only I are my theories: first, of course, because it’s knew all about Alexander’s life and work! valuable/interesting (likely); second, because there was nowhere else to store it (possible/ Fortunately for you, I googled him. He was worth it. unlikely); and third, so that Alexander’s intimidating Alexander impresses: a broke Australian Jew who overachievement (which we now know all about) came to England in 1877, who then managed to would inspire procrastinating students to stop get a scholarship to an anti-semitic Oxford, before laughing at the word ‘bust’, and get some work done. Manchester’s most famous lecturer An examaniation of the life of Britain’s most controversial historian, A.J.P. Taylor. Manchester University and Magdalen College, Oxford Aditya Iyer in 1936 and 1938 respectively, where students would actually arrive an hour early so that they could get a AJP Taylor, born in Lancashire on 25 March seat in the packed auditorium. 1906, was undoubtedly one of the finest historians of all time, and should be treated by He received virtually every honour that the academic the modern day undergraduate as a godlike world could bestow upon him, and yet maintained an being on par with the Horrible History series. infamous independence that rankled all of his peers and government (with actions like espousing, at the Perhaps the most admirable trait of Taylor’s height of the Cold War, an Anglo-Soviet alliance). was his abstinence from the almost perverse delight that most historians appear to derive from His works were both informative and amusing, with making their essays as incomprehensible as possible Taylor drawing upon his journalistic experience as (a sad fact which often leads many bemused students a foreign affairs correspondent for the Manchester to seek the comfort of the bottle); Taylor’s clear and Guardian to combine historical analysis with humour narrative driven historical analyses and articles were and wit; a winning combination.