Images and Power: through the lens of English, History and Politics

Delivered by academic experts, students are introduced to the topics they might study at higher education, including:

Napoleon: the power of imagery (history)

We explore the rise of Napoleon, from minor nobility to Emperor of France. Napoleon contributed to his own ascent, rule, and place in popular memory through shaping and controlling his image. We examine how he created and used his image to gain, and reinforce his power, attempting to ensure he would be remembered as he wished.

Russia and Ukraine (politics)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marked international condemnation and unprecedented sanctions on the Russian illiberal administration and Vladimir Putin’s linked oligarchs. There are various explanations regarding the causes of this war that rest on power and image. We engage with these possible causes.

From Goodbye to All That to Oh! What a Lovely War and Blackadder Goes Forth (English)

The First World War had a profound effect on our literary and media culture. Poets, novelists and memoirists have played a major role in shaping our understanding of the war and its after-effects on those who participated and those who remained at home. We discuss well-known war poets such as Wilfred Owen and Edward Thomas as well as examining how modernist writers such as Ford Madox Ford, T. S. Eliot, and Virginia Woolf responded to the ‘Great War’.

Students explore, discuss and debate areas of research, sparking conversation and thought.