When people today imagine the ‘Renaissance’, they typically think of the transitional period that ushered in the glorious modern era, and marked the end of what Petrarch termed the ‘Dark Ages’. However, the reality is far less definite than this perspective allows. Seb Falk, in his book, The Light Ages, argues that the Medieval period is really one of ‘scientific interest and inquiry’. The twelfth century, in particular, stands out with its very own ‘renaissance’.

It was called the “bloodiest border in Europe” for a reason. Thousands of people died escaping Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist regime of 1974-1989—no one knows exactly how many. People from all across Eastern Europe risked everything to flee south through Romania into Yugoslavia and freedom. This border was heavily patrolled and covered in tripwires and barbed-wire fences.

The winter season of 2024-25 marked a resurgence of fur clothing – both faux and real – in fashion across Europe and North America. Shearling jackets and embroidered “Penny Lane coats” featured widely in reports on the latest fashion trends. Vintage fur coats are also back in vogue.

As a materials scientist, I’m interested in what can happen when new materials become available. Glass, steel and rare earth magnets are all examples of how innovation in materials science has driven technological change and, as a result, shaped global economies, politics and the environment.

Practitioners of what is often called 'histoire totale' (or ‘total history’)——have engaged with the question of contingency, determination, human agency, and change in several discernible phases.