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ISSN 2047-1866 B I R T I S BRITISH ACADEMY REVIEW • ISSUE 24 • S UMMER 2014 H A • C British Academy Review 24 A D The articles in this issue give a flavour of the wide range 20 Lady Ridley’s Hospital for Officers at EMY REVIEW of activities undertaken by the British Academy in the 10 Carlton House Terrace academic year 2013-14. Some articles show humanities Karen Syrett and social sciences scholarship engaging with the major issues of our time. Others offer intriguing perspectives 25 Gertrude Bell and Iraq: A life and legacy drawn from the Academy’s various academic events, Paul Collins • publications, research projects and research posts. 24 28 The making of modern slavery: The articles provide links to a wealth of supporting Whose interests are served by the new abolitionism? material available via the British Academy’s website, Julia O’Connell Davidson which will enable the reader to explore further the ideas discussed here. 32 Interview: Chris Wickham 38 The early charters of Canterbury Cathedral 1 An outstanding investment in what really matters Nicholas Brooks Nicholas Stern 42 Small doors on the Viking age: 4 The British Academy on Ageing The Anglo-Saxon coins in Norway project Elina Screen 6 10 quick questions about processing speed Ian J. Deary and Stuart J. Ritchie 46 Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources Richard Ashdowne 10 Why English isn’t enough: Debating language education and policy 54 The Bordeaux–Dublin letters project Nigel Vincent Thomas M. Truxes 13 Global power, influence and perception in the 60 The mystery of ancient Cypriot clay balls 21st century Phillippa Steele Adam Roberts 64 Hazard-human interaction in the Gobi Desert 16 The British Academy on Scotland Troy Sternberg 17 A presumption against imprisonment 68 Reflections on building an inclusive higher Harry Woolf education system in Myanmar Mandy Sadan Cover: a charter written in the 9th century (see article on page 38); an entry from the recently completed Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources (see article on page 46). DEFINING A THOUSAND YEARS OF MEDIEVAL BRITISH WRITING Also Growing older, slowing down? • Abolishing modern slavery The importance of soft power • A 250-year-old cache of unopened letters A First World War hospital for officers S ummer 2014 Review 24 cover aw.indd 1 22/08/2014 15:56 THE BRITISH ACADEMY 10–11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH Telephone: +44 (0)20 7969 5200 Website: www.britishacademy.ac.uk Follow us on @britac_news ISSN 2047-1866 © The British Academy 2014 The British Academy Review is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The British Academy Review contains articles illustrating the wide range of scholarship which the British Academy promotes in its role as the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Views of named writers are the views exclusively of those writers; publication does not constitute endorsement by the British Academy. Suggestions for articles by current and former British Academy grant- and post-holders, as well as by Fellows of the British Academy, are very welcome. Suggestions may be sent to the Editor, James Rivington, at [email protected] Page make-up by E&P Design Printed in Great Britain on recycled paper by Henry Ling Limited at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset Review 24 cover aw.indd 2 22/08/2014 15:56 ISSN 2047-1866 B I R T I S BRITISH ACADEMY REVIEW • ISSUE 24 • S UMMER 2014 H A • C British Academy Review 24 A D The articles in this issue give a flavour of the wide range 20 Lady Ridley’s Hospital for Officers at EMY REVIEW of activities undertaken by the British Academy in the 10 Carlton House Terrace academic year 2013-14. Some articles show humanities Karen Syrett and social sciences scholarship engaging with the major issues of our time. Others offer intriguing perspectives 25 Gertrude Bell and Iraq: A life and legacy drawn from the Academy’s various academic events, Paul Collins • publications, research projects and research posts. 24 28 The making of modern slavery: The articles provide links to a wealth of supporting Whose interests are served by the new abolitionism? material available via the British Academy’s website, Julia O’Connell Davidson which will enable the reader to explore further the ideas discussed here. 32 Interview: Chris Wickham 38 The early charters of Canterbury Cathedral 1 An outstanding investment in what really matters Nicholas Brooks Nicholas Stern 42 Small doors on the Viking age: 4 The British Academy on Ageing The Anglo-Saxon coins in Norway project Elina Screen 6 10 quick questions about processing speed Ian J. Deary and Stuart J. Ritchie 46 Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources Richard Ashdowne 10 Why English isn’t enough: Debating language education and policy 54 The Bordeaux–Dublin letters project Nigel Vincent Thomas M. Truxes 13 Global power, influence and perception in the 60 The mystery of ancient Cypriot clay balls 21st century Philippa Steele Adam Roberts 64 Hazard-human interaction in the Gobi Desert 16 The British Academy on Scotland Troy Sternberg 17 A presumption against imprisonment 68 Reflections on building an inclusive higher Harry Woolf education system in Myanmar Mandy Sadan Cover: a charter written in the 9th century (see article on page 38); an entry from the recently completed Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources (see article on page 46). DEFINING A THOUSAND YEARS OF MEDIEVAL BRITISH WRITING Also Growing older, slowing down? • Abolishing modern slavery The importance of soft power • A 250-year-old cache of unopened letters A First World War hospital for officers S ummer 2014 Review 24 cover aw.indd 1 26/08/2014 15:31 TI HE BR TISH ACADEMY 10–11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH Telephone: +44 (0)20 7969 5200 Website: www.britishacademy.ac.uk Follow us on @britac_news ISSN 2047-1866 © The British Academy 2014 The British Academy Review is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The British Academy Review contains articles illustrating the wide range of scholarship which the British Academy promotes in its role as the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Views of named writers are the views exclusively of those writers; publication does not constitute endorsement by the British Academy. Suggestions for articles by current and former British Academy grant- and post-holders, as well as by Fellows of the British Academy, are very welcome. Suggestions may be sent to the Editor, James Rivington, at [email protected] Page make-up by E&P Design Printed in Great Britain on recycled paper by Henry Ling Limited at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset Review 24 cover aw.indd 2 22/08/2014 13:02 An outstanding investment in what really matters NICHOLAS STERN In his address to the Annual General Meeting on 17 July 2014, Lord Stern of Brentford reflected on some of the achievements of the British Academy in the first year of his Presidency. This article is an edited version of that Presidential Address. or me, the British Academy has two overarching goals: fostering excellence, by providing the re- Fsources, time and space to generate new research, with a special emphasis on supporting early-career scholars; and second, putting our subjects to work – showing what they can do. These twin goals are mutually supportive. We demonstrate, I hope confidently, that we are an outstanding investment – not just of public funds, but also for philanthropic sources – in what really matters, and in the future of the UK and the world more generally. In other words in making our case, we are the opposite of defensive. This year has been one of implementation. Let me illustrate what I mean through some recent examples. Prospering Wisely At the Annual General Meeting in July 2013, I said I believed that one of the great questions we face as a society – and as part of an increasingly interdependent world – is to understand what we mean by prosperity. In February 2014, the Academy offered a response to that question with Prospering Wisely (Figure 1). Using a Figure 1 booklet, videos and a specially created website, we set out The Prospering Wisely booklet and website were launched on 12 February 2014 – together with Issue 23 of the British Academy Review which to demonstrate how the humanities and social sciences focused on the subject. More information is available via can contribute both to an understanding of ‘prosperity’, www.britishacademy.ac.uk/prosperingwisely and indeed to prosperity itself. It included video interviews with a range of Academy Fellows – a powerful way of going beyond assertion and showing argument society.’ This is in large measure why we do what we do, and analysis at work. I think it illustrated practical ways and why we believe it matters. We recognise, indeed in which we can see knowledge and insights from our celebrate, that our disciplines are valuable in themselves, disciplines feeding into our national life. that learning and scholarship are intrinsic goods. But In the introduction to the Prospering Wisely booklet, I we also understand the contribution they make as vital said that the humanities and social sciences ‘encompass drivers of human progress. They provide the rigorous all the elements that make for a good life and a healthy scrutiny and insights, the ideas and the long-term 1 AN OUtstanding inVestment in what ReallY matteRS Figure 2 Lord Nicholas Stern (right) introduces the first of the British Academy Debates on the subject of Ageing, in London on 26 February 2014.