Modern History Research Articles

Food, Empire, and Mobility: An Introduction

Abstract Imperial and global histories of commodity and food trades predominantly emphasize a South-to-North orientation. This emphasis has tended to obscure lateral networks between colonies and smaller-scale geographies of exchange, particularly across the tropics. The five articles in this special issue address different ways in which food production, trade, and consumption evolved under colonial influence across Asia, Australia, and the Pacific, and variously through transcolonial and trans-imperial connections. This introduction briefly surveys the historiography, summarizes the articles' connecting themes, and outlines the new angles of vision they offer into histories of commodities and colonial modernity.

The impact of potentially morally injurious experience of betrayal on PTSD and depression following the October 7th terror attack

With about 1200 individuals murdered, the massacre of October 7th was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history. The mental health consequences of terrorist attacks have been documented. However, little is known of the impact of the potentially morally injurious experience (PMIE) of betrayal––in which individuals feel betrayed by leaders they once trusted––on levels of psychological burden in the aftermath of such an attack. In this national prospective cohort study, we examined to what extent the PMIE of betrayal exacerbates the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in the wake of the October 7th terrorist attack. A representative sample of 710 Israeli adults (362 female, 51.1%), Jews (557, 79.9%) and Arabs (153, 20.1%), aged 18–85 (M = 41.01, SD = 13.72) completed validated self-report questionnaires assessing PTSD, depression, and PMIE-betrayal at two timepoints: T1, in August 2023 (6–7 weeks before the attack) and T2, in November 2023 (5–6 weeks after the attack). In two hierarchical logistic regressions, we found that experience of PMIE-betrayal predicted diagnoses of both PTSD (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.26–2.92) and depression (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.37–3.01) at T2, beyond probable PTSD/depression at T1 and demographic and trauma-related variables. Moreover, in two repeated-measure analyses predicting PTSD/depression symptoms, we found significant interactions between PTSD/depression trajectories and PMIE-betrayal, meaning that the increase of PTSD/depression symptoms was significantly higher among participants experiencing betrayal in the context of the attack. Our study highlights the impact of PMIE of betrayal on the dramatic increase in psychopathology following the October 7th terror attack on Israel’s population. Clinicians treating individuals coping with PTSD and depression should attend to their patients’ possible exposure to betrayal following the attack. Moreover, national leaders and policymakers should take significant steps to repair the public’s betrayal experience.

Early Modern Histories of Fire on the Australian Continent

Early Modern Histories of Fire on the Australian Continent

THE EFFECT OF USING HEYDAR ALIYEV'S HERITAGE IN THE TRAINING PROCESS ON THE COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS

A wide network of pre-school, general, vocational, secondary and higher education institutions operating in our state today, and a powerful scientific and pedagogical staff potential have their core from the purposeful policy on education carried out under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev in the 70s of the last century, and the comprehensive educational creativity that will be carried out in the future has created a strong foundation of progress. At that time, full-time educational institutions in Azerbaijan rose to the level of modern development compared to previous years, and the consistent national policy implemented in this direction played a special role in raising the educational, general cultural and intellectual level. The life and political active activity of Heydar Aliyev is the founder of the modern history of the Azerbaijani nation, the creator of the free Azerbaijan state and statehood in every citizen of Azerbaijan. It evokes a sense of pride. The life of the national leader, full of struggles, is a living chronicle of a special period, an epoch, which he dedicated to his native nation. For the first time in the history of the Azerbaijani nation, Heydar Aliyev put forward the idea of creating the concept of national ideology, gave recommendations on the work to be done in this field, the areas of application of these works, means and opportunities. The leader attaches special importance to the promotion of the subjects of the Azerbaijani language and Azerbaijani history, religious viewpoints, traditions, and our statehood meetings, and highly valued the work and role of teachers, whom he especially respected, in creating, organizing, and implementing this ideology.

Свобода слова в военное время: опыт Израиля

The article focuses on freedom of speech in the State of Israel in the context of the ongoing war with Hamas. Throughout its modern history the Jewish state has faced national security threats from some neighboring countries and military groups in the Middle East, that is why freedom of speech regulation has had to reflect these factors. However, parties’ compliance with the rules and customs of war (international humanitarian law) is not within the scope of this article. The first part of the study shows the evolution of the legislation, as well as key precedents of the Supreme Court of Israel, where the highest court of the land consistently considered freedom of speech as a core element of Israeli democracy. Then, the author moves on to current challenges, namely anti-war student protests on campuses and foreign media coverage of the war. Regarding freedom of speech at universities, Israeli legislation is quite ambiguous, leaving wide discretion to the administration of educational institutions and creating legal uncertainty. In contrast, foreign media face the opposite problem, i.e. the rigid regulation and military censorship. Consequently, both situations present equal challenges to freedom of speech in the country that require Israeli legislature and courts to act. In conclusion, the author fully acknowledges that the State of Israel, faced with military aggression, has a legitimate and justified interest in ensuring national security and it may lead to certain restrictions on freedom of speech. Meanwhile, it is important that such restrictions are clearly formulated in the statutes, balanced and proportionate. Today, more than ever, it is important that Israel preserves its democratic values that have always formed the very foundation of the Jewish state.

Exploration of Innovative Teaching Paths in the Classroom of “The Outline of Modern and Contemporary Chinese History”

The purpose of “The Outline of Modern and Contemporary Chinese History” is to help college students grasp the entire process of historical development, summarize experiences correctly, understand the national history and conditions, deeply understand why history and the people made the “four choices,” and stimulate their patriotism, national pride and self-confidence. This article is based on the reform of multimedia teaching methods and carries out the construction of the “Outline” course from six dimensions: improving teaching methods, strengthening teaching material construction, improving online teaching, extracurricular training mode, strengthening teacher team construction and reforming the examination system. Efforts are made to build this course into a high-quality course, making it a course that college students truly love and benefit from.

Prisons on the Edge: Perspectives on the Late Medieval and Early Modern History of Confinement in the Francosphere

Abstract It is high time we took stock of the field of carceral history—something particularly true for the French-speaking world. In the last twenty years, the Francosphere has seen a frenzy of research activity centred on the prison, and more broadly around multiple forms of confinement. The field is being radically transformed under the watchful eye of a whole new generation of researchers who have produced numerous monographs, articles and colloquia on the subject. The research and thinking about the prison model that the current generation is developing diverges so completely from the classical revisionist historiography as to be unrecognisable, transfigured from previous iterations. The purpose of this article is to explore those recent transformations of the field following three parameters. The first is linguistic (reviewing only the work emerging from the Francosphere); the second is one of academic discipline (History); and the third is temporal (the emphasis is on research touching on the long pre-Revolution period). These three parameters provide a focused view, while remaining sufficiently widely relevant to identify the dominant trends in French-language research. This is set in the context of past research, of work that has been done elsewhere, and of what sets Francophone research apart from corresponding English-language scholarship.

Periodisation and modernity: an introduction

ABSTRACT Dividing time into separate epochs is fundamental to historical research. However, while periodisations reflect particular interpretations of political, economic, social, and cultural developments, they often rely on the concept of ‘modernity’ as a foundation. This nexus between modernity and periodisation is well-established yet deeply problematic. Pre- or non-modern times and spaces are deemed deficient and backward, as not yet modern. This bias extends to colonial and postcolonial regions, where Western historical paradigms were imposed to interpret political and social realities. Confronting these biases unveils how historians conceptualize space and time and highlights the normative assumptions embedded within different forms of periodisation. However, simply expanding the scope or timeframes of research alone does not address the dilemma. Historians do well to historicise this nexus and develop alternative approaches to writing history. The intricate relationship between periodization and modernity forms the intellectual starting point of this special issue. Originating from dialogues between medieval and modern European history, this issue aims to critically reevaluate classical periodisation models and explore alternative paradigms. By integrating contributions from scholars of medieval, early modern, modern, and contemporary European history, this issue bridges previously separated debates, promotes a comprehensive understanding of historical temporalities and challenges established historiographical norms.

Legacy of the British Mandate: Eliminating The Palestinian Right to Self‐Determination

AbstractIn February 2024, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a plan for the “postwar” Gaza Strip that envisions Israel's military as unilaterally and indefinitely patrolling the enclave while an unnamed third party runs the local government. While even allies like the United States criticized this scheme, Palestine has never enjoyed autonomy as a state, and the institutions and practices of Israel's far‐right government—and even of the Palestinian elite—are rooted in the settler colonialism facilitated by the British mandate, 1922–1948. This period was the first and last time in modern history that Palestinian Arabs and Jews were administered as a single polity, albeit on radically unequal terms. This article examines how international law was used to suppress the Palestinians and privilege the creation of a Jewish state of Israel. The legacy of this regime can be seen in the present‐day thwarting of Palestinian self‐determination through Israel's use of the military for civil administration, digital surveillance, and the right‐wing agenda for annexation of the West Bank and perpetual war in Gaza.

Медиапространство как направление массовой коммуникации у студентов

Modern media space is an actively developing area of mass communication. A number of modern historians define it as a perspective for a negative scenario of social development. Modern man is actively involved in the media space, which forms his priorities, moods, tastes. Complements and diversifies leisure time. Almost everyone's day begins and ends with watching media content. Children and young people turned out to be especially active users. This trend is alarming. Live human communication is being replaced by a digital copy that does not require special energy costs from the user. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the problems of the production of audiovisual content in the media space. Building high-quality information content will minimize the negative component of the transforming communication process.

THE EYE AND THE MIND: MARY CHEVES WEST PERKY, IMAGINATIVE PHENOMENOLOGY, AND THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF REVERSE HALLUCINATION

ABSTRACTRevisiting the remarkable experimental work of the pioneering early twentieth‐century psychologist Mary Cheves West Perky (1875–1940), this article argues for the historiographical significance of her counterintuitive findings concerning the human imagination and the phenomenon of “reverse hallucination.” By means of an exhaustive and forensic archival inquiry, this article reconstructs Perky's heretofore (essentially) unknown biography, providing new insights into the context and broader importance of her research, both with respect to the history of the human sciences and in relation to the history of American artistic modernism. At the same time, these pages recursively deploy her distinctive perspective on the way the perceptual experiences of reality inosculate with projective fantasy, activating her findings as a component of a nontraditional disciplinary practice.

From Tragedy to Achievement: The Case of the Refugees of the Asia Minor Disaster in the Modern History of Greece. Refugees’ Access to Education

The Asia Minor catastrophe of 1922 changed world history. The mass displacement of Greek Orthodox and Muslim populations troubled the world community. The fate of these populations was tested, forcing the Great Powers of the time, who bore significant responsibility for this disaster, to hasten the process of concluding an agreement between Greece and Turkey: the well-known Treaty of Lausanne. Hastily signed on January 30, 1923, it included an agreement on the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations as an integral part of the Treaty of Lausanne, signed six months later. This massive uprooting dramatically changed the geographical, population, and social map of Greece and marked the violent exclusion of Greek cultural elements and spirit from historical areas of the ancient Greek world. The refugees faced enormous problems in Greece, such as survival, housing, finding work, and educating their children. Political leadership was divided, and education was shaken.

“Armed” with Modern History. The Statue of the River God Meander at Miletus, 1909-2023.

“Armed” with Modern History. The Statue of the River God Meander at Miletus, 1909-2023.

A Modern History of British Eggs

A Modern History of British Eggs

The role of Baghdad Kurds in writing diaries and memories between the years 1991 - 2003

Writing diaries and memories is an educated attempt by the Kurds settled in Baghdad between the years 1991 to 2003. The Kurds settlements in Baghdad has a long historical root, their footprints can be easily seen in different fields, from the establishment of the Iraqi country in 1921 and the establishments during monarchy all the way to the foundation of the republic in 1958. Kurds have had different role in Iraq till 2003. A number of those Kurd who settled in Baghdad felt the importance of writing their diaries and memories to familiarize the new generation and to create a source for the researchers. Investigations about such a field has a historical significance due to its diverse nature. Besides, the political developments, social aspects, media, economics, education, geography, women, civil…. etc. such, diaries and memories contain significant information that can have a profound historical impact on the modern history. Monarchy era is paid more attention compared to the republican era which shows the monopoly of politicians and military elites in which (5) out of (8) of those diary and memory writers were among them. Women had a narrow space in this field and the writers depended on themselves in writing their diaries and memories.

The revival of Wudang Daoist martial arts

This paper writes the recent history of the revival of Wudang Taiji Boxing. In 20th-century China, first reformers, then communists stigmatized traditional martial arts. But after China's leaders, under Deng Xiaoping, initiated a new era of reform and opening up in 1978, all that changed. In 1980, a member of the Qing royal family who had spent seven months at Wudang Mountain in 1929 performed the style he had learned at Wudang at a national sports event. In so doing, he sparked a revival leading to the formation of the Wudang Taoist Martial Arts Academy and other academies and groups. The modern history of Taiji Boxing is not only the history of a martial arts form, but also of the secularization of Chinese ideology, suppression of religion, the reworking of traditional practices of self-cultivation as exercise and sport, and the commercialization and commodification of martial arts for a global audience.

Strategic Storytelling: Russian State-Backed Media Coverage of the Ukraine War

Abstract Strategic narratives help shape wars. In modern history, strategic narratives were used during the Cold War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War to justify military invasions and manipulate opponents. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia was accused of weaponizing its state-backed media outlets to promote a pro-Russian version of the war. Consequently, Russian state-backed media faced a series of new sanctions from Western governments and technology companies. While some studies have sought to identify disinformation about the war, less research has focused on understanding how these stories come together as narratives, particularly in non-English language contexts. Grounded in strategic narrative theory, we analyze Russian state-backed media coverage of the Ukraine war across 12 languages. Using topic modeling and narrative analysis, we find that Russian state-backed media focused primarily on promoting identity narratives, forming an image that Russia is powerful, Ukraine is evil, and the West is hypocritical. Russian strategic narratives both converged and diverged across languages and outlets in ways that met Russia’s desired image and objectives in each region. This paper allows us to better theorize the evolving and transformative role of strategic narrative in Russian state-backed news media during times of conflict.

Risk Predictors of Severity in Egyptian Patients with Covid-19 Infection

Abstract Background In modern human history, infectious diseases have posed a threat to public health several times, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a global public health crisis. Objective Identification of demographic, laboratory and radiological predictors of progression of COVID-19 infection in Egyptian patients. A special concern is focused on the poor prognostic factors associated with mortality, this will help to classify and monitor COVID-19 patients to deliver best medical care in order to decrease mortality and morbidity in Egyptian patients. Patients and Methods A single-center, retrospective cohort study. This study was conducted in Almaza Fever Hospital after obtaining approval from the Research Ethical Committee. Results The current study conducted on (325) known positive COVID-19 patients divided into 2 groups: Group I (204) patients and Group II (121) patients. It was found that an increase in age among Group II (mean age was 66.22 ± 12.18) in comparison to Group I (mean age was 47.78 ± 14.73) with a statistically significant difference (p-value <0.001). There was no statistically significant difference (p-value 0.432) between Sex and severe disease patients. Among Group II (121) out of the total study population 103 (85%) of these were found to have co-morbidities (highly significant, p value < 0.001. Moreover, there was a higher prevalence of co-morbidities among non survivors however this didn’t reach the level of statistical significance (p-value 0.174). The current study showed that there was an increase in hematological parameters (TLC, Neutrophils), biochemical parameters (Urea, Creatinine, AST, D-Dimer, Ferritin, CRP, LDH, IL-6) and a decrease in Lymphocytes within Group II in comparison with Group I with statistically Significant difference (p-value < 0.001), also there was a trend toward higher levels of ALT in group II, however this didn’t reach the level of statistical significance (p-value 0.068). Statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.001) was found between disease severity and CT findings as from a total of (121) severe disease patients 105(86.8%) had CORADS (4-5). Conclusion The current study shows old age, elevated biochemical parameters (creatinine, urea, AST, D-dimer, IL-6, CRP, ferritin and LDH), hematological parameters (TLC) and extensive lung affection could be considered predictors of severity and mortality among Covid-19 patients. Also lymphopenia and associated co-morbidities are considered predictors of severity.

Imperialist Multispecies Aspirations

Humanities and social science scholars have recently turned their attention to the embeddedness of microbes in human life as a potential way to decentre the human and thereby decolonise assumptions about the human conquest of the natural world. In this article, I argue that, before such claims can be made, careful historical, regional, and ethnographic analyses of human-microbe relations are needed. My case study of a Japanese sustainable development, agricultural, and environmental NGO shows that human attunement to microbes is not necessarily decolonial in the context of Japan’s modern history. In fact, discourses of human openness to microbial life find affinity with Japanese nationalism and imperialism. Through my analysis, I contribute to scholarship that reveals how environmental visions link up with conservative and right-wing politics.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Māori Patients Attending Diabetes Annual Review.

Māori, the indigenous population of New Zealand, represent 17.1% of the country's population (Statistics New Zealand 2021) and are over-represented in all negative indices. In particular, Māori are underprivileged in terms of socioeconomics and health due to the residualeffects of colonization. The global COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has been one of the most significant public health crises in modern history. Vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, wereand remainat higher risk of severe outcomes. In the New Zealand context and given the health statistics, Māori were identified as a group that was at high risk from COVID-19.Using a mixed method approach, we attempt to identify the reasons why a cohort of New Zealand Māori with type II diabetes mellitus (DM II) and a history of regular attendancefailed their Diabetes Annual Review (DAR) post-COVID-19. Twelve Māori participants were recruited (> 18 years) from a Māori Diabetes database of an urban General Practitioners (GP) Clinic in Northland. A 9-point questionnaire and an unstructured telephone conversation utilizing a Kaupapa Māori (Māori philosophy) approach were utilized, and data were collated. Findings suggest the New Zealand government's COVID-19 vaccine mandates served to exacerbate Māori distrust of health professionals. Trust is the foundation of every successful relationship whether it be business, professional, health, or personal. Health delivery and uptake are based on this foundation. Whatever the reason for the loss of trust in the medical profession, historical colonial trauma, swayed by conspiracy theory, or otherwise, considering this factor should influence the structure and approach of public health initiatives directed toward Indigenous people internationally.