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John Steele
Babylonian astral science of the 1st millennium BC was a multi-faceted practice including detailed and systematic astronomical observation, the development and use of various computational methods for predicting the positions and phenomena of the sun, moon, and planets, descriptions using simple numerical schemes of regular changes in the celestial realm, and various forms of astrology. Despite the detailed study of these practices over the past 150 years or so, historians of science remain divided as to whether Babylonian astronomy should be classified as a ‘science’. Specialists of Babylonian astronomy and astrology uniformly agree that it is science, whereas some non-specialists argue that science is a uniquely Greek invention. Much of this disagreement comes down to the question of whether Babylonian astral science is ‘theoretical’ or (merely) the fitting of numbers to empirical data. In this paper, I explore whether we can identify ‘theories’ within Babylonian astral science and if so where these are to be found.
26 August 2025
Tendai Mangena
Historically, the lived experiences, particularly the sexual lives, of single women have been overlooked and marginalised within African feminist discourse. Early African feminist movements prioritised pro-heterosexual marriage and natalism, often sidelining women who did not conform to these norms. This article examines the sexual lives of single Shona women in order to complicate the understanding of female sexualities, desires, and pleasure, particularly how women challenge and dismantle the intertwined systems of heterosexuality and patriarchy that shape heteropatriarchal Shona cultures. This study is grounded in ethnography, using methods of life story interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. Ultimately, this paper argues that single women’s narratives especially disrupt dominant epistemologies, contest disparaging perceptions of unmarried women, and challenge stereotypes and patriarchal and religious norms by asserting sexual autonomy, redefining personhood beyond marriage, and resisting societal control over their bodies and desires.
25 August 2025
John Heathershaw, Tena Prelec, Thomas Mayne
This article discusses the phenomenon of transnational kleptocracy and explains how kleptocrats and oligarchs have been welcomed in rule-of-law settings. The paper summarises a large body of research, including our recent book, Indulging Kleptocracy (Oxford University Press, 2025). Taking the rise of postcommunist Eurasian kleptocracy and its servicing in the UK as the context of a series of case studies, the research findings indicate that the global form and function of kleptocracy are best explained neither by patterns of geopolitics nor the corrupt power of incumbents in countries of origin but by what we call professional indulgences. These indulgences are the product of the work of professional enablers—the variously witting and unwitting, compliant and non-compliant, provision of legal, financial, and related services—across many service sectors to circumvent rules for kleptocratic elites and bring their assets, status, and influence from their countries of origin to erstwhile liberal democracies.
25 August 2025
Tendai Mangena
Historically, the lived experiences, particularly the sexual lives, of single women have been overlooked and marginalised within African feminist discourse. Early African feminist movements prioritised pro-heterosexual marriage and natalism, often sidelining women who did not conform to these norms. This article examines the sexual lives of single Shona women in order to complicate the understanding of female sexualities, desires, and pleasure, particularly how women challenge and dismantle the intertwined systems of heterosexuality and patriarchy that shape heteropatriarchal Shona cultures. This study is grounded in ethnography, using methods of life story interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. Ultimately, this paper argues that single women’s narratives especially disrupt dominant epistemologies, contest disparaging perceptions of unmarried women, and challenge stereotypes and patriarchal and religious norms by asserting sexual autonomy, redefining personhood beyond marriage, and resisting societal control over their bodies and desires.
25 August 2025
John Heathershaw, Tena Prelec, Thomas Mayne
This article discusses the phenomenon of transnational kleptocracy and explains how kleptocrats and oligarchs have been welcomed in rule-of-law settings. The paper summarises a large body of research, including our recent book, Indulging Kleptocracy (Oxford University Press, 2025). Taking the rise of postcommunist Eurasian kleptocracy and its servicing in the UK as the context of a series of case studies, the research findings indicate that the global form and function of kleptocracy are best explained neither by patterns of geopolitics nor the corrupt power of incumbents in countries of origin but by what we call professional indulgences. These indulgences are the product of the work of professional enablers—the variously witting and unwitting, compliant and non-compliant, provision of legal, financial, and related services—across many service sectors to circumvent rules for kleptocratic elites and bring their assets, status, and influence from their countries of origin to erstwhile liberal democracies.
25 August 2025
Fiona Williams, Elizabeth Edwards, Andrew Hadfield, Angela McRobbie
The Editors introduce the second issue of Volume 13 of the Journal of the British Academy. This Introduction includes an overview of the content of the issue.
19 June 2025
Ben Ansell, Martin Daunton, Emily Grundy, John Muellbauer, Michael Murphy, Avner Offer, Susan J. Smith
British housing systems seem trapped in a ‘perfect storm’ of rising costs, declining choice, affordability stress, and unmet need. Housing outcomes are increasingly polarised, with implications for intergenerational conflict, economic and social inequalities, and environmental sustainability. There is no easy explanation, and no quick fix. These six short reflections, shared during an interdisciplinary meeting of Fellows of the British Academy, on the origins, impacts, and future of the present housing `crisis' are thus timely provocations adding momentum to key debates. This article accompanies another in this issue, ‘The UK housing emergency: personal reflections’, by Shani Dhanda, Susan J. Smith, and Jessie Speer.
19 June 2025
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Suggestions for a thematic collection of articles are welcome from those who have been supported through any of the British Academy's programmes and activities and from Fellows of the British Academy. See Information for Guest Editors for more information.