March 2023 – Page 2 – Manchester Historian

When a controversial bill is passed through Parliament in England, the streets surrounding Westminster may suddenly turn red or blue, either in support or opposition. Sometimes the streets turn into a rainbow. Yet in Argentina, the streets near the Palace of the Argentine National Congress have turned green for over two decades.

Anyone who has kept up with decolonial action will know that museums are one of the key sectors expected to undertake decolonisation, with Eurocentric narratives and colonised or unethically acquired objects taking centre stage in museums throughout the world. The original indigenous contexts, and sometimes even the consent of the objects’ country of origin, have historically been absent from these displays.

The Iron Lady or a woman conforming to patriarchal expectations in 1980s Britain? A Feminist icon or the feminine face of patriarchal politics? Since the end of her almost twelve-year term as Prime Minister in 1990, the legacy of Margaret Thatcher is one that has been widely debated in Britain.

The literary creations of Elizabeth Gaskell have had an irrefutable legacy that, from the mid-twentieth century, marked her out amongst critics as one of the most important and esteemed writers of the Victorian era. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of her literary career was that she seemed to just fall into it at the age of 38. After the tragic death of her infant son William, her husband, also named William, suggested she start writing as a means of distraction from her grief.