This blog post is by our undergraduate student Joseph Price. Image from It's A Sin The recent Channel 4 drama series ‘It’s a Sin’ directed by Russel T Davies offers a terrifying and heartbreaking insight into the experiences of gay men in the 1980s. The series follows the lives of a group of friends where... Continue Reading →
Is our ‘freedom loving country’ about to become to a more heavily policed state?
I think that everyone, from whatever political perspective, will agree that the events of Saturday night in Clapham were regrettable. The image broadcast to the world was of a large gathering of women protesting male violence and mourning the death of a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. For this vigil... Continue Reading →
In the light of another assault on democracy we need the Humanities more than ever
When I finally switched off from a day of online meetings on Wednesday I thought I’d relax by watching some gentle TV. Then a prompt from a friend on social media made me switch over to a new channel, the BBC at first and then CNN. Within moments I was hooked in to the drama... Continue Reading →
Lessons from Lockdown
England is about to enter Lockdown Take 2, and we know that particularly for our students who are living away from home for the first time that this probably feels very daunting. Here are some tips.
We love our freedom and that includes our freedom to not do as our ‘masters’ tell us
So, last Thursday the department for education (DfE) ordered schools in England 'not to use resources from organisations which have expressed a desire to end capitalism'. This has prompted quite a strong reaction from many on the left (and not on the left) on the (quite reasonable) grounds that it appears to prevent teaching the... Continue Reading →
James Boswell Under ‘Lockdown’ in Eighteenth Century London
Recently reading James Boswell’s London Journal I came across a period when due to Gonorrhoea, Boswell decided to isolate himself from the rest of the world and society at large apart from a few select individuals who were permitted to see him. Boswell is most famous for his work as a diarist and biographer. His... Continue Reading →
Comfort and Coronavirus
The internet has been filled with blog posts reminding us of the importance of self-care during the Covid-19 crisis. But what does comfort actually mean, both historically and today? Ruth Barton, one of our PhD students, explores. At the time of writing, it has been just over eleven weeks since I began my PhD at... Continue Reading →
Lockdown Recipe: Tomato and Mozzarella Chicken with Rice
Ursula Watkins has supplied another recipe, following on form her delicious Tiramisu. Hopefully these ingredients can be found too! Ingredients serves 4 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 garlic clove peeled and sliced you can add more if you like garlic 1 onion peeled and sliced 1 pepper any colour of your choice sliced and deseeded... Continue Reading →
Thinking about the History of Women’s Work in the Age of Covid-19
Since the implementation of restrictions on movement in the UK since 23 March 2020, there have been extensive discussions about how best to protect key-workers who are continuing to ensure that the population is able to access food, medicines and other essential items during the lock-down. Employees of the NHS and care-workers have been singled... Continue Reading →
Tiramisu!
In an online revision session last week on the history of Communism module, second year student Ursula Watkins let slip she had a killer recipe for Tiramisu. I persuaded her to write it up as a blog in our series on recipes to get though the Covid-19 crisis. So here it is. Paul Jackson, Senior... Continue Reading →