Author: Samuel Woodall
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Review: Anthony Grafton, ‘Nobility: Arms and Letters’ – E. H. Gombrich Lectures 2026, Lecture III
A review of Anthony Grafton’s final 2026 E. H. Gombrich Lecture on Scaliger, noble identity, scholarly performance and the limits of historical criticism.
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Hobbes: Fear, Power and Faction – A Three-Part Beyond the Text Series
A three-part Beyond the Text series exploring Thomas Hobbes on political fear, sovereign authority and the danger of faction.
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Review: Anthony Grafton, ‘Genealogy: Forms and Uses’ – E. H. Gombrich Lectures 2026, Lecture II
A review of Anthony Grafton’s second 2026 E. H. Gombrich Lecture on Scaliger, genealogy, historical criticism and scholarly identity.
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Review: Anthony Grafton, ‘Scaliger: Critic and Forger’ – E. H. Gombrich Lectures 2026, Lecture I
A review of Anthony Grafton’s first 2026 E. H. Gombrich Lecture on Joseph Scaliger, criticism, forgery and the unstable boundaries of scholarship.
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Review: Bureaucracy and Development, Intellectual History Workshop 2026
A review of the 2026 Intellectual History Workshop on bureaucracy, development and modernity across European and Asian history.
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Rapin: The Forgotten Historian of Party
Paul de Rapin de Thoyras transformed party conflict from a symptom of political decay into a moderated and historically embedded feature of English liberty.
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The Intellectual Historian Newsletter – September 2026
Welcome to the first monthly edition of The Intellectual Historian Newsletter. Each issue will bring together a new essay, a concise update from my research, and selected work in intellectual history and public engagement. New essay: music as political power This month’s featured article examines the Baltic Singing Revolution and the Baltic Way of August…
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The Political Power of Song in the Baltic Way and the Collapse of Soviet Rule
How collective singing turned cultural memory into a form of non-violent political mobilisation during the Baltic Way and the collapse of Soviet rule.
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Fascism: Symbols, Violence and the Politics of National Rebirth
Fascism emerged from the upheavals of interwar Europe as a politics of ultranationalism, violence and promised national rebirth. This essay examines Roman symbolism, Mussolini’s rise, Nazi racial ideology, paramilitary power and the need to use the term with historical precision.
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George Orwell: Truth, Language and Democratic Socialism
Orwell’s defence of truth emerged from anti-imperialism, democratic socialism and the betrayal he witnessed in Spain. This essay explores political language, historical memory, surveillance and power across Homage to Catalonia, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.