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WELCOME TO ANTHROPOLOGY AND HISTORY
Tim Boatswain Professor of Anthropology & History
Chairman of TMC Academy, Singapore
Chairman TMCI, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Chairman British United College, Myanmar
Chairman of Blue Plaques St Albans
Chairman of Conservation 50
Council Member of SAHAAS
Trustee of OVO (Theatre) Charity
Welcome to Anthropology and History, a unique blog here for you to explore. Anthropology and History has added such value to my life, and I love having the opportunity to share my passions and thoughts with my loyal readers. Read on, and enjoy.
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What is Power?
The philosophy of "What is Power?" is one of the most enduring and contested questions in political philosophy, social theory, and ethics. Unlike questions about truth or beauty, power is not an abstract ideal but a practical reality that shapes every human relationship, from the family to the state, from the workplace to the international arena. Philosophers have offered competing answers, but most agree on this: power is the capacity to produce effects – to make things happ
Tim Boatswain
6 days ago6 min read
Does our Educational System Fail our Children?
AI generated I once gave a talk on the Future of Education at Kellogg College, Rewley House, which is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. In the talk, I criticised the UK educational system, particularly at the secondary school level, because it so often failed to enable the individual to reach their potential, and at the same time denied students the ability to think democratically. I had the audacity to propose a different model to the existing educational
Tim Boatswain
6 days ago4 min read
The Healer of St Albans: Restoring the Grave of a Mental Health Visionary
The gravestones of Nathaniel Cotton and his wives, Anne and Hannah Under a gentle midday sun on Monday, 1st June 2026, a good turnout gathered in the historic grounds of St Peter's Churchyard for the dedication of a newly renovated monument: the gravestones of Nathaniel Cotton and those of his two wives, Anne Pembroke and Hannah Everett. Yet the atmosphere suggested something more significant than a simple repair. This was a long‑overdue act of gratitude for Dr Nathaniel Co
Tim Boatswain
Jun 44 min read
Tiananmen Square: Why we should not forget
AI generated by Gemini The spring of 1989 began with hope. Students, workers, and intellectuals gathered in Beijing's central square, calling for political reform, freedom of the press, and an end to official corruption. At its peak, the protests drew more than a million people, not just in Beijing, but across hundreds of Chinese cities. The demonstrators were largely peaceful. Some went on a hunger strike. Many simply sat and sang. The image of a lone man standing before a c
Tim Boatswain
Jun 43 min read
Are we all Romantics, and is that a problem?
AI generated by Gemini Recently, I gave a talk at the Cathedral where I claimed we are all Romantics, why and is this true? In one sense, the answer is yes: we are all Romantics now. The movement that began in the late eighteenth century as a rebellion against Enlightenment rationalism and industrialisation has seeped so deeply into our cultural water that we no longer recognise it as a historical phenomenon. It is simply the way we think. Consider the evidence. We prize auth
Tim Boatswain
Jun 23 min read
Why Study Archaeology? Giving Voice to the Silent Majority
St Albans Roman Theatre © Tim Boatswain It has been a long time since I studied archaeology for my first degree. If I am honest, I only wanted to go to university because my elder brother went. He was the first in the Boatswain family to do so, and I was fiercely competitive with him. I had to go too. I was not particularly suited to archaeology, but after passing my A levels and taking a year out, I looked around for somewhere I could use the Greek and Latin I had studied at
Tim Boatswain
May 314 min read
A New Chapter for St Albans History: Dr John Morewood Stands Down as President of St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeology Society (SAHAAS).
After six distinguished years at the helm, Dr John Morewood has stepped down as President of the St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society (SAHAAS), handing the reins to Professor Mark Freeman. Professor Freeman is the author of the definitive modern history of the city. The transition, which starts on 1 June, marks the end of an era for one of the region's most respected heritage organisations and the beginning of another led by one of the city's forem
Tim Boatswain
May 283 min read
The Romantic Vision in Art: A Report on Professor Tim Boatswain's Presentation
On 21st May 2026, Professor Tim Boatswain delivered a presentation entitled The Romantic Vision in Art. The event, held at St Albans Cathedral, drew a face-to-face audience alongside a significant Zoom contingent, both prepared to explore one of the most passionate and transformative movements in Western art. What Was Romanticism? Professor Boatswain began by dispelling a common misconception: Romanticism is not about romance in the modern sense. Rather, it was a profound aes
Tim Boatswain
May 224 min read
Celebrating St Albans Blue Plaques: A City's History Written on Its Walls
Blue Plaques St Albans recently celebrated its sixth anniversary, with sponsors and donors gathering at S.A Law, thanks to host Marilyn Bell. Since the first plaque in 2021, fifteen have been installed across the district, commemorating figures such as John Ball, Sarah Churchill, Nathaniel Cotton, E. R. Hughes, Betty Entwistle, and Stephen Hawking. Professor Tim Boatswain, Chair of the scheme, said: "A blue plaque is a memory made visible. It turns an ordinary building into a
Tim Boatswain
May 191 min read
Seventh Philosophy Session at the Lower Red Lion: What is Choice?
AI generated On the 5th of May, an engaged group gathered once again in the 'snug' of the Lower Red Lion on Fishpool Street. Drinks were raised before the conversation began. This is my account of what we talked about at our seventh meeting of an informal philosophical discussion that has, since 2024, explored justice, happiness, freedom, morality, truth, and love. Tonight's question was perhaps the most personal of all: 'What is choice?' We opened with a simple definition of
Tim Boatswain
May 65 min read
The Great Education Gamble: Why Losing Polytechnics and Starving FE Colleges Was a Mistake
Back in 2000, I was Chair of the Board of Governors of Dunstable Further Education College. It was a very difficult time, as FE colleges were desperately short of resources and struggling to teach practical qualifications using outdated, often non-functioning equipment. I remember being part of the FE colleges' delegation that went to the Houses of Parliament to meet with Margaret Hodge, then the Minister responsible for FE colleges in the Tony Blair government. It was a ve
Tim Boatswain
May 35 min read
Bring back Exams
AI generated I can remember 40-odd years ago, as a humble university lecturer, spending a lot of time checking whether undergraduate essays had been plagiarised. At that time, universities were moving their systems of assessment towards more coursework away from traditional examinations. Later, the COVID-19 pandemic catalysed a significant acceleration in this transition; the underlying motives can be seen as related to a pedagogical philosophy, which claimed a move to equity
Tim Boatswain
Apr 265 min read
Has Western Society Become a Victim Culture?
AI-generated image I was recently listening to an interview with Marie Kawthar Daouda, author of Not Your Victim: How our Obsession with Race Entraps and Divides Us (2026). Marie Daouda is a Lecturer in French at Oriel College, Oxford. Originally from Morocco, she studied French and English literature at La Sorbonne and at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale. In the interview, she argued that there is an identity crisis in the Western World, partly due to Western Societ
Tim Boatswain
Apr 185 min read
Equality versus Egalitarianism
TMC Institute 2021 I am sitting in the airport in Tashkent, waiting for my return flight to Heathrow. My visit has been a great experience thanks to my friends and colleagues at the TMC Institute. I have been very well looked after, and I have had the pleasure of taking part in a fifth anniversary celebration, a graduation ceremony, a wedding, a special birthday party, and, had the added excitement of giving talks to both students and staff. On top of this, I signed an agre
Tim Boatswain
Apr 106 min read
The Romantic Movement: a force for good?
Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer above the sea of fog , 1818 I am sitting in a conference room in the higher education college, TMC Institute, Tashkent, where I am the chairman. I am waiting to take part in some videos - mainly to promote the UK Master's and Bachelor's programmes we run here. I have finished my emails et al., and I started to think about the coming talks I will be giving: one of them will be for Adult Learning at St. Albans Cathedral. It will be on 25th Ma
Tim Boatswain
Apr 83 min read
Slavery: The Barbary Trade to Modern Day
Captain Croker horror stricken at Algiers, on witnessing the Miseries of the Christian Slaves chaind & in Irons driven home after labour by Infidels with large Whips." Additional information about the source: "The cruelties of the Algerine pirates, shewing the present dreadful state of the English slaves, and other Europeans, at Algiers and Tunis; with the horrid barbarities inflicted on christian mariners shipwrecked on the north western coast of africa and carried into perp
Tim Boatswain
Mar 279 min read
A World of Bewildering Choices
On the 5th of May, I shall be at the Lower Red Lion on Fishpool Street, gathering with others to consider the seventh question in our philosophical series: "What is Choice?" By accident, I came across an article with a relevant claim on the theme of choice: "Since living requires choosing, we will always feel regret about the paths not taken. But what matters is the future we forge." This sent me, as they say, down something of a rabbit hole. The article in question weaves to
Tim Boatswain
Mar 186 min read
Authoritarian Regimes and War
It seems an age ago, but back in March 2022, at the start of Russia’s ‘special operation’ against Ukraine, I wrote an article in response to a question I had been asked: 'Was there a clear anthropological theory for the evolution of war?' The answer appeared to be that while our primate heritage provides a capacity for coalitionary aggression, the widespread appearance of organised, lethal warfare belongs more to cultural innovation, which may have been triggered by a powerf
Tim Boatswain
Mar 144 min read
A Different Perspective on School Bullies
Back in April 2023 , I wrote a blog about bullying ( https://timboatswain.wixsite.com/website/post/no-to-bullying ) , where I argued that we always need to stand up to bullies. Just recently, I considered a different perspective on bullying triggered by the Government's National Behaviour Survey Report: 2024 to 2025 academic year, which examines behaviour in schools, and it was alarming to read that t he survey found that roughly 1 in 5 to 1 in 3 pupils experience bullying.
Tim Boatswain
Feb 284 min read
Does Seneca's Advice Have a Modern Relevance?
Back in June 2024, I gave a talk at St Albans Cathedral, entitled, Marcus Aurelius, a Modern Thinker? I had been fascinated to learn that the sales of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations had skyrocketed from 12,000 copies in 2012 to 100,000 copies in 2019. Its popularity indicated a resurgence of interest in Stoicism that spans academic interest, popular culture, and practical self-help applications. This ancient Greek philosophy, founded around 300 BC, has found a remarkably rece
Tim Boatswain
Feb 237 min read
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