An Extract from: King Alfred the Great and the Pursuit of Knowledge: why was wisdom considered so important for authority figures in Alfredian England?

In Alfred’s time, education and ‘wisdom’ were Christian pursuits, sought through the church, and teaching was part of the profession of a monk. The curriculum was fundamentally religious and designed to promote the transmission of Latin Christianity. Libraries were kept in monasteries, and to access the knowledge kept there one would have had to learn Latin, which was only taught to the clergy. As the pursuit of wisdom was seen as so intrinsically Christian, Alfred would have viewed ‘wise’ leaders as those possessing Christian traits. In fact, Alfred cites the acquisition of ‘wisdom’ as an explicit ‘duty’ of Christianity in his preface to Pastoral Care, supporting the connection between the two.

An Extract from: King Alfred the Great and the Pursuit of Knowledge: why was wisdom considered so important for authority figures in Alfredian England?

What challenges will future scholars face in writing the history of 2020?

The year 2020 will be studied for years to come as a great turning point. We saw the world suspended in chaos as a pandemic struck, democracy faltered and everywhere around the globe people’s daily lives changed dramatically. Its ubiquitous influence will be felt for decades to come. Writing such significant history is no small feat, issues of objectivity, authorship and censorship have long been present in historical writing and 2020 is no exception. Furthered by a new technological and increasingly conscientious age, new problems will begin to arise. How will future historians choose who is most suited to writing the history of the Black Lives Matter movement? With an abundance of documentation and media, how will they select their evidence? As Technology brings about greater secrecy, how will we glean the more intimate perspectives of the inner workings of a politician? As is true with the past, the present is plagued with difficulties. And for future scholars, navigating these challenges will be far from simple.

What challenges will future scholars face in writing the history of 2020?

Is education the most powerful weapon we have for changing the world?

In his address to the UN Security Council on 23rd February 2021, David Attenborough articulated the threat currently faced by humanity: “If we continue on our current path, we will face the collapse of everything that gives us our security…Climate change is the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced.” According to Attenborough, food production, access to fresh water, habitable ambient temperature and ocean food chains are all at stake, the most basic of human needs. If ever humanity needed a weapon for changing the world, it is now. In the face of these challenges, it is difficult to conceive of a more powerful tool than education. It can leverage women’s concern for the environment, provide them with more life choices and develop technologies to plug the gaps left by an aging population. While education has a wealth of other benefits, mentioned are the central themes I will explore further in this essay, starting with the role of female education in driving the climate agenda.

Is education the most powerful weapon we have for changing the world?

Colourism, and how it created a new cosmetics market

Colourism can be defined as prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. In regions or cultures where colourism is prevalent, and lighter skin is considered better, many women attempt to lighten their skin using cosmetic products in the form of pills, scrubs, creams and even injections. This demand for lighter skin has created a new cosmetics market in predominantly Asia and Africa which creates cosmetic products to make the wearer appear fairer.

Colourism, and how it created a new cosmetics market

Is it true that ‘parents are like doctors, but siblings are like nurses’?

For the purpose of this essay ‘parents are like doctors, but siblings are like nurses’ will be considered in terms of the relative influence of parents and siblings on the development of a child from their early childhood through to adolescence, and how that mirrors the relative influence of doctors and nurses on patient care and recovery.

Is it true that ‘parents are like doctors, but siblings are like nurses’?