This is the blog of Martin Johnes, Professor of Modern History at Swansea University.
Recent blogs
Why Welsh history matters
History is not easy. It’s not about learning dates and facts; it’s about understanding, understanding why things happened, what they meant, what they led to. This isn’t straightforward. It can require challenging preconceptions, reading between the lines and being critical of the evidence before us. It requires empathy, imagination and creativity as we put ourselves…
School Resources about the Welsh Not
Thanks to an AHRC Impact Acceleration Account grant, a suite of learning resources for schools have been created based my book on the Welsh Not. The learning resources can be found here: https://welshnot.swansea.ac.uk/ A short animated film explaining the Welsh Not can be watched below. Click on cc for English subtitles. The website will be…
Christmas Day Football
Christmas football was originally rooted in a wider tradition of communal entertainments on the 25th. While for the Victorian middle class, Christmas was a festival of the home, for the workers, who lived in cramped, overcrowded housing, getting out was often more important. Football, pantomimes, informal gatherings, community rituals and traditions all provided people with…
Martin Johnes 