History - Rationale Magazine

07 Mar

Ukraine as a ‘borderland’: A brief history of Ukraine’s place between Europe and Russia

One interpretation of the name 'Ukraine' is borderland. This needs to be taken seriously. Borderlands are all about diversity and co...

01 Mar

History

Ukraine crisis: The Russian leader’s vision of the past

01/03/2022
By Paul Monk
2 comments

The day that Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces into Ukraine, President Biden spoke publicly about the sheer mendacity of Putin’s propa...

20 Jan

History

Why I won’t be celebrating Australia Day on 26 January

22/01/2022
By Ian Robinson
0 comments

Most nations – the United States, Greece, Finland, India, Indonesia and many others – celebrate their national day on the day they stop...

24 Dec

History

The sordid underbelly of Christmas past

When English Puritans outlawed Christmas in 1647, it was not without good reason. When American Puritans, in turn, outlawed Christmas i...

05 Nov

History

Tolstoy’s last years

05/11/2021
By Reg Naulty
0 comments

Tolstoy’s death in 1910 occurred just seven years before the Russian Revolution. His last two essays What’s To Be Done? and I Cannot B...

03 Nov

History

How do you spot a witch? A notorious 15th-century book gave instructions

14/11/2021
By Melissa Chim
0 comments

Books have always had the power to cast a spell over their readers – figuratively. But one book that was quite popular from the 15th to...

05 Jul

History

My time: The experiences of an ordinary soldier in Papua New Guinea

02/10/2021
By Stephen Mooney
0 comments

The overwhelming majority of Australians who have served in war zones have been volunteers. However, during the Vietnam war, 63,735 mal...

30 Jun

History

Not just the Sphinx: Ancient Egyptians and their treasured felines

02/10/2021
By Melissa Bailey
0 comments

Ancient Egyptian culture and practices have intrigued historians and archaeologists for years. Thought to be the pre-eminent civilisati...

15 Jun

History

Memories of the factory: The extraordinary war stories of some ‘new Australians’

02/10/2021
By Reg Naulty
0 comments

It was Litchfield Engineering Company, Croyden Park Extension, then an outer suburb of Adelaide, in 1960. My father, who was in charge ...