Blog version: https://roycross.blog/

1. Here’s the second pair of Cambridge Elements that I promised on Tuesday:

 Harriet Jacobs by Alan M. S. J. Coffee https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/harriet-jacobs/36A28B248321946C492A2BBF3EC86268 (PDF below.)

Long celebrated for her heroic feat of endurance in escaping slavery and subsequent activism, Harriet Jacobs was also an astute political thinker. Her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a remarkable philosophical text. It is one of the most insightful reflections, both on the nature of life as a slave, and on the relationships amongst slaves and between enslaved and free people.

Cognition and Conspiracy Theories by Andreas Musolff  https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/cognition-and-conspiracytheories/C0B84AB1F850EEF2769D680EC7BEFEFE (PDF below.)

Conspiracy theories, or “CTs” for short, have a bad reputation – and a great appeal. Together with “fake news,” they can have detrimental effects on the public’s understanding of political issues, leading to confusion and delusions about important topics, especially crises and their possible solutions. On the other hand, many, if not most, people across ideological and cultural divides seem to enjoy accessing and “entertaining” CTs. This observation cannot come as a surprise, however, if we remind ourselves that much of entertainment fiction, from fairy tales to popular novel and film genres, is based on plots that include conspiracies and theories about them.

2. Next Tuesday, 18^th October, at 12:00 UK time, Anamaria Pinter & Helen Sherwin are presenting a TeachingEnglish webinar on Bringing today’s world into the classroom which aims “to explore gaming-informed ways to make classrooms more engaging, collaborative, and relevant to learners’ real-world experiences”. More info and pre-webinar reading and task here https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/news-and-events/webinars/webinars-teacher-educator/bringing-todays-world-classroom There’s also a recording of Gilly Salmon’s webinar last month on Becoming an e-moderator: Skills for the future https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/news-and-events/webinars/webinars-teacher-educator/becoming-e-moderator-skills-future

3. Here’s the latest Engelsberg Ideas (EI) podcast, Andrew Ross Sorkin on lessons from the Wall Street Crash in which Sorkin discusses his new book, ‘1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History’, with EI’s Iain Martinhttps://engelsbergideas.com/podcast/ei-talks/andrew-ross-sorkin-on-lessons-from-the-wall-street-crash/

4. Very timely, given I’m listening to Andrew Graham-Dixon’s life of Vermeer at present, Tiffany Jenkins’s latest post on her Strangers and Intimates Substack, Lice combs, vaginal syringes and cesspits: at home in 17th century Holland https://substack.com/home/post/p-178402081

This is how Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum has chosen to answer one of its most frequently asked questions: what was daily life really like in the age of Rembrandt and Vermeer? Rather than mounting the usual parade of paintings and fine furniture, curators from different fields – decorative arts, textiles, jewellery – have joined forces with an archaeologist and an anthropologist. Together, in the exhibition At Home in the 17th Century, they have reconstructed a day in Dutch domestic life.

5. And, finally, many people have suggested that the BBC’s response to President Trump’s threat to sue should follow the precedent set by Arkell v Pressdram [1971] https://proftomcrick.com/2014/04/29/arkell-v-pressdram-1971/