What we’re about
Welcome to the London History cafe!
This is a group for people who love history and love talking about it with others.
The format is simple: each event will have a topic (e.g the bombing of London in ww2) and some light reading/listening/watching materials (e.g a podcast episode, a chapter from a book…)
We’ll me up in a quiet pub and participants will have a chance to express what they find interesting about the topic, leading a Freeform discussion.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- History Cafe - Meiji RestorationThe Tokenhouse, 4 Moorgate, London
Hello fellow history enthusiasts!
After the great session on the Opium Wars, we'll be staying in the east and talk about the Meiji Restoration.
We'll wrap our heads around the flow of events and try to compare the situation to the state of affairs in China. I'll add more questions later.
Resources:
Start with this BBC podcast
Also watch The Last Samurai - It's not historically accurate and takes place in the wake of the restoration rather than during it, but it's close enough and has Samurai and Tom Cruise.I'll add more resources as we go.
- History Cafe - Japan as an Art Museum - Guest TalkThe Tokenhouse, 4 Moorgate, London
Japan was from the beginning an aesthetic fiction - Oscar Wilde
Following our meetup on the Meiji Restoration, we will have a guest talk about the period, titled "Japan as an Art Museum". The talk will be around 60 minutes long, after which we will proceed to a discussion on the topic.
The talk will include plenty of visual examples from the period (I have faith will manage to present the slides on the TV at the TokenHouse private room).About the talk:
The Meiji revolution at the end of the 19th century opened Japan to the Western world and vice versa. In terms of visual arts, this interaction resulted in a love story that lasted for decades. Western visitors in Japan introduced the concept of "Art" and brought the European system of knowledge. Meanwhile, artists such as Van Gogh and Monet incorporated Japanese motifs into their works. However, this exchange involved more complex underlying ideas.The talk will be given by Suzy Baz - MA. Phil, MA. Art History
