Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

Kate Bush performs live in London, 1979.
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This woman’s work

Male-dominated music is no meritocracy. But look beyond chart rankings and sales, and the work of true artists endures.

Fay Schopen May 13, 2021
Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain
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Football’s most perfect meritocracy

The transfer market rewards footballers on merit. If only the same could be said about managerial performance.

Simon Kuper May 12, 2021
Portrait of Emperor Napoleon I by Jacques-Louis David
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The Napoleonic myth of la méritocratie

The French Revolution spawned a new age of opportunity for the many to make it to high office. Or did it?

Robert Tombs May 11, 2021
Members of the imperial family at the centenary celebrations at the University of Berlin in 1909.
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Imperial Germany – mighty aristocracy or modern meritocracy?

Post-1871 Imperial Germany's embrace of meritocratic ideals was only skin deep.

Joachim Whaley May 10, 2021
Aspasia of Miletus (c. 470-400 BC). with her lover Pericles.
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Apology for a woman writing

Not all women in ancient Greece benefited from the advent of democracy – but exceptions like Aspasia are a source of inspiration today.

Erica Benner May 8, 2021
Seven Angels Pouring Vials of the Wrath of God upon the Earth.
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Angels among us

Rainer Maria Rilke’s masterpiece extends the dimensions of poetic discourse and offers a fresh view of humanity.

Harry Cluff May 5, 2021
Portrait of a young George Frideric Handel, 1720. Credit: DeAgostini / Getty Images.
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What if Bach and Handel had met?

The massive international stature of Handel’s success seems to have irked Bach’s acolytes enough for them to fashion a false binary which to an extent persists to this day.

Mahan Esfahani April 28, 2021
Qassiarsuk Bay, in southern Greenland.
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The promise of Greenland

Inhospitable Greenland is no longer a geopolitical wasteland. New opportunities are spawning competition for the island.

Bruce Anderson April 20, 2021
Two Cats, Blue and Yellow, 1912. Artist Marc, Franz (1880-1916).Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images.
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Cats rule

Cats are the winners from pandemic lockdowns. We could learn a thing or two from them.

Fay Schopen April 17, 2021

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