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The Lapis – Introducing UCL History’s new student zine
16 February 2022
Lapis
Latin lazulum, transliterated Arabic لازوردlāzaward, from the Persian لاجوردlājevard for "sky" or "heaven".
Lapis. "Stone"
Lazuli. "Heaven"
A heaven-stone 'worth more than its weight in gold' to art as ultramarine dust. Older than history, for millions of years metamorphosed in Earth's molten body. Gilgamesh speaks of it. The Bible calls it sapphire. Lapis lazuli has been prized beyond its Badakhshan mines and for centuries brought the world's peoples together. We borrow its name to do the same.
The Lapis is a new zine launched by the History department as part of its Awarding Gap project. It is written and edited by undergraduates for their fellow students, as a point of connection for the department. We hope this will foster a sense of belonging amongst the student body, celebrate its diversity of talent, and showcase the different approaches to history present in our community.
The zine will feature three sections: ‘Our Voices’, Academic History and Public History. ‘Our Voices’ seeks to combat the isolating feeling of belonging to such a large university, by giving a platform to students’ personal histories and experiences. The Academic History section aims to showcase the breadth of expertise present within the History department and different ways of approaching a given issue. We hope it will raise awareness of what’s on offer in the department and make thematic connections across modules. Finally, the Public History section is about exploring how history is made contemporary, personal and inclusive for everyone, and a chance to creatively engage with the subject.
Fittingly, the first issue will debut on the theme of Roots. If you are interested in contributing, express your interest here: https://forms.office.com/r/GRiNcEwYYw. We cannot wait to hear your ideas!
The Lapis Team