Thirty years ago, my grandfather, the first person in my family to have acquired university level education, came to England to work for the Angolan Embassy. In doing so, he opened doors and created opportunities for my mother, and now myself, to have a high-quality education.
Have a flick through this week’s top stories, curated by Kinza Nithianandan
This week’s topical cartoon, illustrated by Kinza Nithianandan
When you hear the term “pseudoscience” your mind may instinctively go towards the fields of study linked to acupuncture, aromatherapy, and other alternative types of medicine. And in this thinking, you would be correct. However, there is a whole segment of pseudoscience surrounding the study of psychology. Some of these sciences include phrenology, craniology, and the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test. These studies and practices have had major ripple effects on the way the brain is studied and how a person views themselves today.
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.
