Amantes Humanitatis, Autumn Term

1st Issue- ‘Lovers of Humanity’ Winter Term 2023

Oxford High School Student-Led Humanities Magazine Club

AMANTES HUMANITATIS

Winter Term 2023 “History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.”

“The calling of the humanities is to make us truly human in the best sense of the word.”

CONTENTS #1

Identity in Northern Ireland: How can a Deeper Understanding of the Humanities Prevent the Resurgence of Conflict in Northern Ireland? - Elizabeth

#2 -The climate crisis: An aesthetic or a humanitarian emergency?

-Lucinda

#3

The Life, Work and Influence of Edgar Allan Poe Ruoying

#4

#5

“The mystery of the Stonehenge” Alison

Cultural Celebrations in Northern ‘Dwarf’ Countries Alanur

#6 Philosophy Time!

#7

Puzzle Page

#8 Credits

Identity in Northern Ireland: How can a Deeper Understanding of the Humanities Prevent the Resurgence of Conflict in Northern Ireland?

Introduction: The 2016 Brexit referendum has threatened stability in Northern Ireland (Landow and McBride, 2023). With 44.2% of the nation voting to leave (BBC, 2016a), the vote quite literally split Northern Ireland in two - making many worry of a return to the sectarian violence experienced during the Troubles. An understanding of the historical, geographical and religious situation on the island are key to preventing a resurgence of conflict. This essay aims to dissect Irish nationalism and identity with each of the three humanities in order to gain a deeper insight into how this crisis can be averted.

Identity and Nationalism: Identity can be defined as: ‘Refers to a person’s sense of self and how it shapes an individual’s interaction with others in the social world’ (Ho, 2017) Identity is highly subjective, consisting of several layers such as a person’s national, religious and regional identity (Ho, 2017). It is also a concept which underlies all three humanities.

National identity in Northern Ireland is a contentious issue, a report published by the Northern Ireland Assembly highlighted its diverse national identities (Garry and McNicholl, 2014a). Figure 1 is a survey of what different citizens of Northern Ireland see as their national identity (Garry and McNicholl, 2014b).

There is no singular identity held by the majority of citizens: the plurality choosing British at just over 40% (Garry and McNicholl, 2014b). However, a majority does emerge when isolating the Protestant and Catholic respondents (Garry and McNicholl, 2014b). Approximately 65% of Protestants identify as British nationals whilst just under the number of Catholics identify as Irish (Garry and McNicholl, 201b). This highlights how people’s religious identity has become intertwined with their national identity - an issue key to understanding the situation in Northern Ireland. When national identity starts to permeate into other facets of life (or vice versa), the result is often nationalism. Hans Kohn (2019) defines nationalism as: ‘

‘ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests.’ (Kohn, 2019) Whilst nationalism is not inherently problematic, Kohn’s definition shows how it can lead to other beliefs and groups being deemed as ‘inferior’ or in opposition to a nationalistic agenda (2019).

Afterall, nationalism hinges on loyalty to a particular state so, in the context of Northern Ireland, differing national identities e.g. British vs. Irish, means that ideologies of nationalism come into direct conflict. This is what has played out throughout Northern Ireland’s history, with nationalism melding into ethno-religious identities.

A Brief History of Relevant Tensions in Northern Ireland: Current tensions cannot be understood without first examining the lead up to the Troubles and the Troubles themselves through a historical, geographical and religious lens.

The north of Ireland has maintained a distinctive cultural identity since as far back as the 5th century, where the region was known as Ulster, derived from the celtic word Ulaid (Aughey et al, 2023). Ulster refers to nine provinces on the island, ⅔ of which are currently in the country of Northern Ireland - this highlights this historic connection many people still have to those on the other side of the border (Aughey et al, 2023). The indigenous Irish population has historically been Roman Catholic since approximately the 6th century, with St Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland) being the most famous Christian missionary in the region (Aughey et al, 2023). Great Britain and Ireland have had a complicated relationship over the centuries, with different areas of Ireland coming under the rule of various invading forces who came across the Irish Sea (Aughey et al, 2023). For example, King John created the earldom of Ulster in 1205 in response to growing powers in the south of Ireland - with British forces often taking great pains to assert control in Northern Ireland in order to push back against the south, cementing the cultural differences between the regions (Aughey et al, 2023).

Settlers became an important part of these efforts around the 16th century (Aughey et al, 2023).

Figure 2 illustrates the closeness of Northern Ireland and Scotland, with the sheltered North Channel posing few geographical challenges for British ships (World Atlas, n.d.). Backed by the monarchy, English and Scottish migrants crossed the North Channel (Aughey et al, 2023). This was part of a scheme known as ‘plantation’ where land was confiscated from the Irish to give to new settlers (Aughey et al, 2023). This established these migrants in a position of authority, and the large number of settlers meant that the Protestant, British identity had cultural power (Aughey et al, 2023). Land was given to Northern Irish people under the conditions that they would legally and religiously assimilate (Aughey et al, 2023). This religious agenda was promoted by Scottish Calvinists in particular, who had core beliefs in regard to evangelising (Aughey et al, 2023).

By the late 16th century, Catholics had started to become legally discriminated against (Moore, 2021). The nature of the plantations meant that those who were of the Catholic faith were also the most likely to resist British rule - showing how national and religious identity were starting to intertwine (Moore, 2021). The Penal Laws (1695-1728) were part of the Reformation, and aimed to restrict Catholics from doing things like buying land and being educated (Moore, 2021). The 1641 Ulster rebellion strengthened religious divides as the Irish population rebelled against English authorities, however it was depicted as a religiously motivated Protestant macsecure (Moore, 2021). Cromwell used this as justification for the 1649 Massacre at Drogheda and further penal laws (Moore, 2021). Britain continued to exert control over the island, and by the turn of the 18th century 90% of all land was owned by British Nobles (Moore, 2021).

Ireland officially became part of the UK in 1801, a decision that was strongly contested by many native Irish people (Moore, 2021). The ‘Act of the Union’ abolished the Irish parliament, which was symbolic of how the Irish people’s right to self-determination was being eroded (Moore, 2021).

The next several decades marked the exploitation of Irish land and resources (Moore, 2021). The Irish Potato Famine killed one million peasants between 1845-1852, disease caused many crops to fail, including potatoes which ⅓ of the population were dependent on for food security (UK Parliament, 2023). The UK government did little to intervene, due to laissez-faire economics and fears that money would be used to mount a rebellion (UK Parliament, 2023). Then Prime Minister John Russell and Charles Edward Trevelyan played key roles in limiting aid (UK Parliament, 2023).

Trevelyan studied under economist Thomas Malthus, subscribing to Malthusian Population Theory as a result (O’Flynn, 2009). The theory outlines that famine and disease are inevitable, as population will always outstrip food supply after a certain point (O’Flynn, 2009). Malthus, and by extension Trevelyan, believed that aid would only worsen the situation and that the mass death and migration was a desirable result since it effectively culled the unsustainable population (O’Flynn, 2009). In a letter to an Irish peer, Trevelyn said that: “the judgement of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson” (UK Parliament, 2023) This statement was influenced by Trevelyn’s evangelical background, another example of how contrasting religious identities have bled into the politics of Northern Ireland over time (UK Parliament, 2023). Northern Ireland's demographic changes and economic advancement (despite the stark inequality) moved the region further away from the rest of Ireland (Aughey et al, 2023). Hence both the study of demography and religion are key in understanding the evolvement of the Northern Irish identity., The famine marked a turning point in the movement towards Irish nationalism (UK Parliament, 2023). Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the British government aimed to unionise Ireland and Great Britain through a series of Home Rule Bills (Aughey et al, 2023). During the same period, there were increasing numbers of rebellions in response to the growing poverty in Ireland caused by mass eviction by English landlords looking to maximise profits (Moore, 2021). Sinn Fein, the Irish nationalist party, was formed in 1905 with the aim of an independent Ireland (Moore, 2021). These rebellions made it clear that the UK government could not maintain control over the entire island so the later Home Rule Bills drew up plans for a ‘partition’, officially dividing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Moore, 2021).

Sinn Fein refused to accept the partition (Moore, 2021). In contrast, the Ulster Volunteer Party, which was formed in 1913, refused to accept Home Rule in the rest of Ireland (Moore, 2021).

These tensions were magnified by World War I, and culminated with the Easter Uprising (Moore, 2021). The Uprising lasted five days in April 1916, with Irish rebels taking Britain’s instability as an opportunity to gain control of Ireland (Moore, 2021). However, the British army responded in force, the rebels surrendered and the death toll exceeded 400 (Moore, 2021). This event marked the formation of the IRA (Irish Republican Army), a group of radical Irish separatists who were known for their violent tactics (Moore, 2021). The British government sentenced 70 rebels to death for their involvement in the uprising, which corresponded with a rise in support for Sinn Fein (Moore, 2021). It is no coincidence that Easter was chosen, the resurrection is the holiest day in the Christian calendar and has connotations of the victory against evil, the persecution of the righteous and rebirth (Moore, 2021). The conflict cannot be separated from religion. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were officially separate countries in December 1920 - however separatist groups like Sinn Fein and the IRA still rallied in support for an independent Ireland (Moore, 2021). Civil war between those who did and did not support the partition ensured in 1921 (Moore, 2021).

In the mid-20th century, civil rights movements were projected onto the world stage (Moore, 2021). Marginalised Catholics in Northern Ireland, still suffering from the legacy of the Penal Laws, took inspiration from Black Americans' fight for equality and began their own fight for civil rights (Moore, 2021). The first marches took place in 1968, and were responded to with excessive force (Moore, 2021). This is the same year that the Troubles began.

The Troubles refer to a period in Northern Ireland’s history between 1968 and 1998 (Aughey et al, 2023). Sectarian violence broke out between nationalist and unionist groups, usually divided along religious lines (Aughey et al, 2023). Northern Ireland’s long history of ethno-religious tensions meant that a person’s religious identity became synonymous with their national identity allowing for faith based violence. Attacks were not triggered by any Christian doctrine, in fact the differences between Protestant and Catholic doctrine bear little weight in any conversations surrounding motivation, but because of the complex identities in the region (Finnegan, 2016). By the end of the Troubles, 3,600 people had been killed and ten times that number injured (Aughey et al, 2023).

A ceasefire was called in 1994, but violence persisted until 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement was signed on the 10th of April (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). The full contents and consequences are too complex to properly explain within the constraints of this essay but a brief summary is necessary in understanding current tensions. Members from various Northern Irish parties, the Republic of Ireland and the UK all participated in the talks leading up to the signing (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). One of the primary reasons the agreement was so impactful, was how sects in direct opposition and with a personal legacy of violence met for the peace talks (O’Carroll, 2023). The agreement allowed for the disarming of the nation, the release of prisoners, and a power sharing agreement which guaranteed Catholic representation (O’Carroll, 2023). The Agreement created three administrative strands of government: the Northern Ireland Assembly dealt with local matters, another institution dealt with trans-border issues and a third dealt with the British government (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019).

1999 saw both the UK and the Republic of Ireland retracting claims to Northern Ireland - the UK no longer claiming direct rule (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019). It also ensured a soft-border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, allowing for the free movement of goods, people, capital and services which was made easier by both country’s EU membership (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019).

The Good Friday Agreement has long been held up as an example of conflict resolution (O’Carroll, 2023). John Taylor has recommended the document to talks around the IsraelPalestine conflict and two figureheads of the agreement became Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (O’Carroll, 2023). The opening declaration of support contained within the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement states that: ‘We, the participants in the multi-party negotiations, believe that the agreement we have negotiated offers a truly historic opportunity for a new beginning.’ (Northern Ireland Peace Agreement, 1998) The agreement acknowledges the nation’s complex and painful history, however this desire to move forward permeated all surrounding discussions (Northern Ireland Peace Agreement, 1998).

Current Situation in Northern Ireland: Sectarian violence did not end with the Good Friday Agreement (Aughey et al, 2023). However, it did put an end to the Troubles and facilitated further progress (Aughey et al, 2023). The 2010 Hillsborough Agreement was signed by both Sinn Fein and the DUP - Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party which had refused to cooperate with the Good Friday Agreement (Landow and McBride, 2023).

Despite this, Northern Ireland is still very much a nation divided by religious identity and along demographic lines. Residential segregation along religious lines is still an issue, with Catholics significantly more likely to move into a Catholic dominated area than Protestants (Shuttleworth et al, 2020). There are also economic divides, with 2011 data showing how Catholics are noticeably more likely to be unemployed than their Protestant counterparts (Rowland, McVicar and Shuttleworth, 2021).

Even before the 2016 referendum, Northern Ireland politics was still suffering from the effects of sectarianism - however this decreased in the ensuing years after the Good Friday Agreement.

Political polarisation was still a problem, with extremist parties such as the DUP and Sinn Fein routinely outpolling more moderate groups (Aughey et al, 2023). This can be contrasted with the IRA’s 2005 announcement that the organisation was converting to non-violent methods showing that the new beginning spoken about in the Good Friday Agreement was possible (Aughey et al, 2023).

Brexit has threatened this tentative peace. Figure 3 shows the results of the 2016 referendum (BBC, 2016b). Whilst the nation collectively voted to remain, there is a clear geographical divide between the west and the east. This divide correlates with the distribution of Catholics in Northern Ireland, Figure 3 and 4 together show that wards with the lowest percentages of Catholics are also more likely to have voted leave (BBC, 2016) (Prasannan, 2001).

Further reports show who Catholics were far more likely to vote remain (Garry, 2017). The disparity becomes even more dramatic when examining self identified ‘nationalists’ and ‘unionists’, as nationalists were almost a ⅓ more likely to have voted to remain (Garry, 2017). In his 2017 report for the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series, John Garry concluded that political decisions in the referendum were clearly split along ethno-national lines - even 18 years after the end of the Troubles. It follows that those who voted to remain may view Protestant unionists as the reason for the UK’s retraction of its EU membership. Tensions between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK rose as the majority of Northern Ireland voted to remain, hence the result feels to many as an erosion of the nation’s right to self governance (BBC, 2016).

It is undoubtedly that Northern Ireland will be hit economically by the referendum. Aside from the trade and investment the EU brings to the UK, the EU is an important institution by way of direct funding (Landow and McBride, 2023). The EU has supported various peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives in Northern Ireland to the tune of more than €1.5 billion over the last 18 years (Landow and McBride, 2023).

The European Union allowed for the lines between the Republic of Ireland and the UK to blur, as there was no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland hence a greater sense of connectedness was created (Landow and McBride, 2023). The varied national identities in Northern Ireland were all under the umbrella of a cultural and political identity as European/part of the EU (Taub, 2023). When Brexit introduced the possibility of a hard border, the centuries old tensions that are always bubbling under the surface had a chance to erupt (Landow and McBride, 2023).

April 2021 saw intense violent unrest in Belfast that lasted for more than a week (Silk, 2021). This period has been seen as the worst violence the nation has seen since the 1990s (Landow and McBride, 2023). Unionist protests were at the forefront as many felt the UK government should’ve enforced pandemic restrictions on those in attendance to former IRA member Bobby Storey’s funeral - with this event signifying the UK’s pandering to Nationalist groups (Symington, 2021).

The protests were also influenced by the economic impacts of the Brexit vote on working class families. In March this year, the terror threat in Northern Ireland was raised to the second highest level: ‘severe’ (Grierson, 2023).

The 2021 Northern Ireland Protocol was partially responsible for these outbursts (Landow and McBride, 2023). The protocol meant that all goods from the UK were checked before they reached Northern Ireland and then could freely move to the EU (Landow and McBride, 2023). The DUP (a unionist party) strongly opposed this policy as they saw it as a separation between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK (Landow and McBride, 2023). Member of the DUP, Paul Givan, officially resigned from his role as First Minister in February 2023 after a year-long stalemate over the Northern Ireland Protocol (McCormack, 2023). Stalemates have been common since the Brexit vote and reflect the increasing polarisation of Northern Irish politics which has increased political instability as parties in power disagree (Aughey et al, 2023).

The opposition was as much an issue of identity as it was a protest about economic concerns - the checks were symbolic of the difference between a Northern Irish and British identity. Sunak’s 2023 Windsor Framework addressed many of these concerns as the framework removes the need for checks on goods from the UK destined for Northern Ireland however necessitates checks on goods that would go onto the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU (Landow and McBride, 2023). However, this framework has still not provided a satisfactory solution to Northern Ireland’s issues surrounding Brexit.

Conclusion It is clear that any positive solutions to issues in Northern Ireland must be based on a thorough understanding of the complex ethno-religious identities in the nation. This essay finds that this can be achieved through the study of the three humanities. Northern Ireland’s history, religious identity and geography are all crucial components of its ethno-religious identity matrix, and factors that overlap in such a way that it is impossible to truly understand one without the others.

Elizabeth

The climate crisis: An aesthetic or a humanitarian emergency?

By Lucinda If you were online at all in 2019, you’re likely aware of the infamous ‘VSCO girl’. Characterised by an oversized hoodie, scrunchie hair band, and hydro flask, she advocated to #SavetheTurtles while religiously adhering to her quirkily ignorant lifestyle. She represented how so many people are todaywilling to care about climate change as long as it doesn’t interfere with their everyday life and as long as it remains un-controversial. It was almost an aesthetic, being incredibly offended when someone didn’t use *metal* straws, but not understanding any deeper problem with the climate crisis than polar bears with no home and sea turtles choking on plastic.

Quite the contrary, climate change has been deemed ‘the biggest health threat to humanity’ by the WHO and extends past ‘slightly warmer ice caps’ to deepen almost every existing marginalisation in every country on earth. And it’s more than just heatwaves and floods taking lives- the effects can take root into all aspects of society, for example just slight increase in temperatures can alter where and how mosquitoes breed, increasing the frequency and geographical spread of diseases like malaria and dengue. However, ask anyone walking down the street what their connotations of ‘climate change’ are, and most likely the wide-eyed polar bears will come to mind. That’s not their fault, but the fault of those who benefit from climate change letting it become a purely environmental issue, because you are a lot less likely to spend time worrying about fallen trees than thousands of people killed. And the less you worry, the more they can focus on financial interests.

That’s not to say the environmental impacts of climate change aren’t important. In fact, healthy ecosystems are vital to keeping our planet habitable and a loss of biodiversity is also a loss of resources and livelihoods of whole communities, as well as the loss of animal lives, which matter too. It’s when human lives are completely taken out of the equation that it becomes a problem. Because, if a problem this large, that takes 7 million lives a year from air pollution, that increases all sorts of disease, that threatens to wipe out 18% of global GDP, and does unimaginable damage to people’s homes and lives, is purely called an ‘environmental crisis’, no one is going to do anything. A deeply political issue is being neutralised. In the same way, no one would’ve worried if we had called COVID-19 a cold. Can you imagine?! No one would have done a thing! So don’t let it happen to this crisis either. It’s an environmental, economic, and humanitarian crisis.

What can you do? The most common question I’m asked. Really, it’s beyond us as individuals, it's an international, intergovernmental shift away from fossil fuels that must happen, but that won’t happen without political pressure. Join a movement like GND Rising or Greenpeace, write to MPs about fossil fuel licensing, educate yourself, come to one of the climate action clubs at school, go to a protest, boycott polluting companies, and keep hope!

Lucinda Bibliography: ://www.swissre.com/media/press-release/nr-20210422-economics-of-climatechange-risks.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9874214/# https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/12/exxon-climate-changeglobal-warming-research https://www.who.int/health-topics/airpollution#:~:text=The%20combined%20effects%20of%20ambient,are%20mul tiple%20and%20context%20specific. https://www.concern.net/news/climate-injustices https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/biodiversity/biodiversity_and_you/ #:~:text=Biodiversity%20underpins%20the%20health%20of,For%20humans% 20that%20is%20worrying.

Want to know more about the Life, Work and Influence of the great American gothic horror story writer Edgar Allan Poe? Ruoying

“The thousands years of injuries I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, that I give utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged, this was a point definitely settled, but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity..” ---The Cask of Amontillado

Want to know more about the Life, Work and Influence of the great American gothic horror story writer Edgar Allan Poe? Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809, in Boston, United States. Both Poe’s parents were professional actors but unfortunately, they both died before Poe was three. Poe was raised by John Allan, who never legally adopted Poe. The relationship between Poe and Allan fluctuated several times before it finally broke. Poe attended the University of Virginia in 1825, but was later forced to quit due to his bad debts and inadequate financial support from Allan. He later became desperate for money, thus, he joined the army and rose up the ranks in the following years. Poe ’s relationship with Allan must had improved again because Allan later brought him back from the army with him already being a high-ranked soldier, Allan also sent him to the most prestigious college which is specialized for army trainings at the time. Nevertheless, once again, Allan’s relationship with Poe worsened. Poe didn’t succeed a career in the army but quitted the army due to him ignoring regulations and duties and the not enough financial support from John Allan. In 1831, Poe published his first collection of verseTamerlane and Other Poems, but his first work gained barely any attention from the public. His relationship with Allan finally broke, that Poe went to Baltimore in the same year, to live with his aunt Mrs. Maria Clemm.

By 1836, his financial problems were alleviated since he accepted an editorship in the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond and lived there with his aunt and cousin.

Poe married his aunt Mrs. Maria Clemm’s young thirteen years old daughter, who is also Poe’s cousin. Edgar Allan Poe’s work gained more attention in the United States, that he rose as the leading man of letters in America. His work became gradually popular among the gothic horror story readers, short stories such as ‘ The Cask of Amontillado’, and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ all gained a measure of popularity.

Despite short stories, Poe’ poetry also gained popularity, especially after the publication of ‘The Raven’. As a writer, Poe’s first love was poetry. Poe’s early verses were greatly influenced by English Romantics such as Lord Byron. For example, his first poem, Tamerlane and Other Poems exemplifies Poe’s evolution from the portrayal of Byronic heroes to the depiction of journeys with his own imaginations and subconscious.

Unfortunately, after Edgar Allan Poe’s wife’s death in 1847, Poe had multiple romantic affairs. In late September 1849, that Poe, for reasons unknown, went to Baltimore. Poe was discovered in a state of semi-consciousness and died four days later. Poe died in a mysterious way, many suggest his death was caused by poisonous animal infections whereas some others suggest the death was caused by overdose of opium…

Today, Poe is recognized as one of the foremost progenitors of modern literature, both in its popular forms, such as horror and detective fiction, and in its more complex and self-conscious forms, which represent the essential artistic manner of the 20th century.

www.poetryfoundation. org poemuseum.org

CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS IN NORTHERN ‘DWARF’ COUNTRIES - ALANUR

Our world functions so that we have little to no idea of the traditions elsewhere. This applies specifically to dwarf countries with a lot of people unaware of their existence. Below there are 3 relatively small countries and their annual celebrations!

North Macedonia: North Macedonia has its Saint of Clements day which is a holiday taking place on the 8'th of December. As you would have guessed-only Orthodox Christians celebrate it. It is a day which celebrates the saint Clement of Ohrid who was a bulgarian academic who wrote and taught-even having his own school. For Bulgaria and North Macedonia he is an important figure in shaping their country today. Since it is a public holiday no one goes to work-and since the saint Clement of Ohrid was an enlightener they hold many competitions on that day.

The winners are presented with the Saint Clement Award. In Macedonia, on days like these-families bring around sweets and drop by other people's houses (older than them) to sit and have a chat! They also host parties and participate in other fun activities.

CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS IN NORTHERN ‘DWARF’ COUNTRIES - ALANUR

-Liechtenstein: On August 15'th in Liechtenstein there is the Liechtenstein State Celebration. It is not a very old holiday and the date is August the 15'th because of two factors. The first is that The Assumption of Mary was already celebrated at that time and the second is that the (late) Prince of Lichtenstein's birthday was on the 16'th. Even after he died it was kept that way and is a national holiday.

Traditionally everyone meets in Vaduz to have fun and watch the fireworks at night. There is also a big folk festival and speeches by important figures of Liechtenstein. Overall I would say that it is a fun and uniting experience for all the residents and attendees.

-San Marino: Most of San Marino's holidays are religious ones and even San Marino's foundation day is not really an exception! San Marino has an interesting story of how it was founded centuries ago. The holiday commemorates Saint Martinus coming to present day San Marino from present day Croatia to escape the Emperor's tyranny of Christians. Of course it was not only Saint Martinussome other men came with him and started to build San Marino… On the 3'rd of September the day is celebrated and traditions include flag raising and celebrations all around the country. To further enhance the day, most people visit museums and eat traditional foods. These include wine or beer with a comforting dish of pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs!

The mystery of the Stonehenge The stonehenge located in Salisbury is considered as one of the world’sG famous prehistoric monuments. It was built in six stages mainly in the lateG Neolithic period of the stone age. The function of the stonehenge is believedG to be a site for religious functions. Many archaeologists said it used to be aG place for burial purposes as well. It is unique because of its artificially shapedG sarsen stones. What's most significant about it is aligned with the sun. ThisG meant that it could possibly be used for observing the sun and moon andG working out the farming calendar. In 1963, Gerald Hawtin proposed that theG Stonehenge had been constructed as a tool to predict lunar and solarG eclipses. This amazing architecture is actually constructed by very simpleG methods and tools. Large stones were placed on top of each other by theG pulley system and there are six stages in total of the building process.

Scientists and archaeologists nowadays are using various methods to findG more about the mystery of the stonehenge. One example is radiocarbonG dating. This method involves using carbon-14 radioactive atoms to date theG age of the stones as carbon-14 has a relatively long half life. Although thereG had been some progress about it, when it came down to questions like whoG built it and the accuracy of it, the mystery of the stonehenge still remainsG unknown.

Alison References

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stonehenge/Third-stage-2470-2280-bce https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-14-dating https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

PHILOSOPHY TIME!

Play online: https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/6473324/female-philosphers/

Think like a philosopher- use syllogism!

Syllogism- is the logical structure of an argument (premises& conclusion) Valid/invalid- a conclusion that follows logically from the premises *NB- the premises don’t need to be true Sound- a valid argument with true premises Example P1 All dogs are pink P2 Luna is a dog C- Therefore, Luna is pink

Puzzle Page!

A QUIZ FOR COUNTRIES AND CITIES IN THE WORLD!

Credits:

Student contributors:

Staff helpers:

Ruoying, Amy, Alison, Elizabeth Davies, Lucinda, Alanur

Ms Nebesnuick Ms McMorrow Dr Willis Mr South Miss Sissons Ms Gillham

1st Issue- ‘Lovers of Humanity’ Winter Term 2023 The Winter Term Product of the Oxford High School Student-Led Humanities Magazine Club