Professor Justin Willis, from our Department of History, comments on Shari'a law in Somalia and, in particular, Shari’a, Insha’allah which was recently published by Professor Mark Fathi Massoud from the University of California.

Professor Matthew Daniel Eddy, from our Department of Philosophy, has found new evidence of the first known research paper to be published in a British medical journal by an African American doctor.

Professor Stephen Gorard and Professor Beng Huat See, from our School of Education, ask if the idea of paying £3,000 to attract maths and science teachers to poorer schools and areas will work?

Professor Stephen Gorard and Dr Nadia Siddiqui, from the School of Education, consider if bringing back SATs for 14 year olds will help disadvantaged students.

Dr Fiona Vera-Gray, from our Department of Sociology, addresses the way women are depicted onscreen and the real-life consequences.

Dr Hansun Hsiung, from our School of Modern Languages and Cultures, discusses Japan's previously high-tech image and their current position in the global race to digitise.

Professor Tim Luckhurst, Principal of South College, looks back on how the British media covered the Second World War.

Our Durham Arctic Research Centre for Training and Interdisciplinary Collaboration (DurhamARCTIC) and the Embassy of Iceland are celebrating 25 years of the signing of the Ottawa Declaration that led to the creation of the Arctic Council. Here Romain Chuffart, a PhD student in Durham Law School and chair of an event to mark the milestone anniversary, tells us more about the important work of the Arctic Council in changing times for the region.

COVID-19 has put our working lives under the microscope: Does my job make a difference? Does it bring me joy?

Dr Kevin Waite, from our Department of History, comments on how the original narrative of American slavery misses a huge swath of the North American map and a crucial chapter in US history.

Dr Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, from our Durham Law School, Jordan Parsons, PhD candidate from University of Bristol and Thomas Hampton, Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow from University of Liverpool, comment on the changes to abortion laws during the pandemic.

Covering two million parliamentary speeches held in the UK House of Commons and the Irish Parliament, Professor Sara B. Hobolt (LSE), Dr Moritz Osnabrügge (SGIA), and Dr Toni Rodon (UPF) use a dictionary-based method to measure emotive rhetoric. They show that emotive rhetoric is more pronounced in high-profile legislative debates, such as Prime Minister’s Questions, illustrating that emotive rhetoric is one of the tools politicians can use strategically to appeal to voters.