The feature that arguably most defines the ‘postmodernist turn’ in historical studies is its engagement with the question of objectivity in historical inquiry.

Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies’ creed of Australian liberalism was informed by the ideas of three thinkers from Victorian Britain.

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’.

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.