On Misunderstanding Taylor Swift
"When she does reach pop music, she exerts an extreme amount of control and mastery over commonly used sonic structures. ‘Blank Space’ parodies both the narratives surrounding her and general pop structures. This is done by the marking out of the chorus and the excessive use of four chords that are commonly used throughout music. The basic structure of a song is tripartite: setup, build-up, and climax, often corresponding to the sections verse-chorus, verse-chorus, bridge-chorus.‘Shake It Off’, as basic as it may seem, is one of the most complex songs on the album ‘1989’. This is because each sub-setup, build-up, and climax have their own setup, build-up, and climax. We praise Homer for his ability to expand on his basic structural frameworks: to appreciate the artistry of the compositions, we should look at Taylor’s songs in the same way."
Cis-piscion and the difficulties of ‘identifying’ ancient transgender figures
"The Classical world remains one that was intensely interested in gender."
‘Fear of Kidnapping and Beating’: The ‘Triple Crisis’ of Female Refugee Care
"Silence is a hard stain to get out. Even when they reached their host countries, refugee women and asylum-seekers could not voice their trauma."
The Damaging Effects of Mild, Persistent Sexism and Why it’s so Hard to Talk About
"When the sexist behaviours are mild but occur over a long period of time, the effect can also be damaging and yet an intense angry reaction is easily dismissed."
The price of Citizenship: The inherent britishness of bureaucracy
I cannot speak for immigrants everywhere, but an enduring sense of anxiety looming in the back of my mind has been fears of a recalcitrant government revoking residency rights. What would follow would entail deportation to a country I feel rather distant from and would struggle to adjust to.
The Prosecutor’s Fallacy: How flawed statistical evidence has been used to jail innocent people
CW: Discussion of murder and infanticide, mentions of rape and alcoholism.
On the 24th October 2003, Kathleen Folbigg was sentenced to 40 years in prison...
A Green Wave of Change: Why Argentina’s landmark abortion law will leave a lasting legacy in South America
"Argentina is a country where the Catholic Church has historically held sway, and it forms part of a continent where swathes of women and young girls are ostracised, shunned and even imprisoned for wanting to end their pregnancy."
Defiance in the face of Danger: Human Rights Activism in Colombia
The inconvenience caused by having to navigate through the hanging faces as you walk from class to class, serves as a reminder of the mass disruption in the lives of the protesters themselves. Activism should not be easy and in Colombia this is a given.
Permanent Private Halls: the good, the bad and the ugly
Marnie Ashbridge demystifies the rumours about life in a PPH and highlights the financial challenges that they are facing without the status of an Oxford college.
Restrict, Regulate or Educate? Young People and Online Porn
Mia Sorenti explores the complexities regarding young people and exposure to online pornography.
It is likely the majority of us have come into contact with...
THRIVE OR SURVIVE? Experiences from Year Abroad
BERLIN - Marte van der Graaf
I didn’t want to
go on a year abroad at all. I remember telling my mum at the end of...
Modi’s India: Division Over Democracy
Demonstrations have been met with harsh police crackdowns and resulted in international outcry; it appears to all that the sanctity of human rights has been cast aside in the world’s largest democracy.
Anarchy unmasked; Peterloo 200 years on
Felicity Victoria Graham discusses the 200th anniversary of The Peterloo Massacre and what we could learn from it
In the Spotlight, at Last
After a week as Prime Minister, has Boris Johnson set himself up to fail?
