Böcker av Paul Barrett

Reexamine the life and impact of King Penda, whose villainous portrayal was challenged as he shaped early medieval Britain through cultural pluralism, stability, and the rise of Mercia during a transformative era.Since the Venerable Bede wrote his iconic Ecclesiastic History of England in the eighth century, King Penda has been relegated to the role of villain and treated as a barrier to advancement in a battle between new ideas and a new culture. Paul Barrett outlines the background to the Anglo-Saxon takeover in England and explores the broad concepts of the Angles' traditional culture, before delving into the life of Penda (605 - 655). Penda's life spanned the first half of the seventh century, the era which gave birth to national identities which still form the central components of modern Britain; Wales, Scotland, and England all take shape through this period. Penda's seemingly impossible ascent to prominence starts on the very periphery of power and ends with the dominance of Britain. He is at the center of Mercia's birth, expansion and rise. Throughout his reign his kingdom becomes a bastion of stability in a period of endemic warfare, climate change challenges, cultural competition, and unstable nation-to nation relationships. Throughout his life Penda challenges the status quo and shows the value of cultural pluralism in a time when the growing power of a new faith, Christianity, was pushing all others into extinction. Guided by his loyalty to an ancient culture, service to his family, and his powerful Queen Cynewise, Penda launched Mercia towards eventual supremacy, which would last for over 200 years. He was the last of the great Anglo-Saxon heathen warlords.

Across more than twenty chapters, Future Horizons explores the past, present, and future of digital humanities research, teaching, and experimentation in Canada. Bringing together work by established and emerging scholars, this collection presents contemporary initiatives in digital humanities alongside a reassessment of the field's legacy to date and conversations about its future potential. It also offers a historical view of the important, yet largely unknown, digital projects in Canada. Future Horizons offers deep dives into projects that enlist a diverse range of approaches--from digital games to makerspaces, sound archives to born-digital poetry, visual arts to digital textual analysis--and that work with both historical and contemporary Canadian materials. The essays demonstrate how these diverse approaches challenge disciplinary knowledge by enabling humanities researchers to ask new questions. The collection challenges the idea that there is either a single definition of digital humanities or a collective national identity. By looking to digital engagements with race, Indigeneity, gender, and sexuality--not to mention history, poetry, and nationhood--this volume expands what it means to work at the intersection of digital humanities and humanities in Canada today. Available formats: trade paperback, accessible PDF, and accessible ePub

Focusing on the work of black, diasporic writers in Canada, Blackening Canada investigates the manner in which literature can transform conceptions of nation and diaspora.

The story of how Dippy came to the Museum is one that involves danger and adventure in the harsh environment of the American Wild West, the generosity of an eccentric millionaire and the involvement of the British royal family. This book combines a narrative with details of dinosaur discoveries and the research on Diplodocus anatomy and behaviour.