By Zuzanna Mietlinska The following article presents a short introduction to the Jewish lifecycle – namely, the most important events for every practicing Jew – from birth to death, through circumcision, bar mitzvah and marriage. All these occasions are associated with a set of customs and practices, common to JewsContinue Reading
By Eugenia Valais and Ricardo Pereira Teixeira On Sunday 6 October, U.S President Donald J. Trump went against the recommendations of top officials in the Pentagon and the State Department by endorsing, via a phone call with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Turkish-led military operation in northern Syria.Continue Reading
Editorial In a crowded room, a mixed bunch of students were eagerly awaiting the panel discussion on Kashmir. The event, highly relevant due to the recent revoking of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, was the first academic event of the year for CIROS. Indian-administered Jammu-Kashmir, a contested area betweenContinue Reading
By Juni Moltubak Climate change is in a state of crisis. And so, many would argue, is democracy. Some may say that we need to sacrifice certain democratic rights in order to solve the climate emergency, whilst others claim democracy is the very key with which we can solve theContinue Reading
By Sasha Zinchenco Did you know that the Carnival in Brazil had a much more violent sister festival? This other event, called Entrudo, was finally prohibited in 1830 in order to give way to the more “civilized” Carnival. Initially it involved brutal and violent pranks and throwing of disgusting liquidsContinue Reading
By Ayse Mısırlıoğlu A couple of years back, I started noticing a curious pattern in several of the New York-based TV series or movies that I was watching. Whenever certain characters had a cup of coffee in their hands, it was always the same cup of coffee. I could seeContinue Reading
By Radoslaw Gryczka Translated by Zuzanna Mietlinska What is this all about? We all know the topic: the Second World War started on September 1st 1939, and ended on May 8th 1945. But just between us, this information is anything but interesting – as we endlessly repeated it in school.Continue Reading
By Nick Psomas Democracy is dead, and we have killed it. Paraphrasing the 19th century philosopher Friedich Nietzsche, the current state of democratic institutions resembles the political ‘Death of God’. Radical polarisation, surge in national and populist sentiment, a twisted bewitchment of the public by demagoguery and hostility to the political “Other”, areContinue Reading
By Juni Moltubak The world is changing and it’s changing fast. By the year 2050 the amount of people living in urban areas will increase from 50 to 70% of the world’s population. Energy demand will have increased by 40%. And 140 million people are likely to be displaced asContinue Reading
By Lea Schiller Decorations, music, delicious meals and most importantly, spending time with family and friends: as we move closer to the end of the semester, the holidays are waiting after the last exams. Because of the stress of the last block, relaxing at home is something many of usContinue Reading