As the woman who brought us both Christmas trees and Christmas crackers, Victoria had more of an effect on your 25th December than you might imagine. Becky Hennell-Smith investigates Victoria’s fascination with Christmas celebrations, as well as the popularity that gave rise to the widespread adoption of these new traditions. Haddon Sundblom was the artist […]
Advertising gained new momentum in the Victorian era, not least because of the exotic trading afforded by the Empire. Katherine Almond analyse the effect of Empire on advertising, from the eugenics of the Victorian Empire to the ‘Empire Made’ products of the 1950s and 60s – the last bastion of Empire at home. Kate Curtis […]
Already one of the most talked about pieces of television in recent years, Benefits Street has been accused of demonising the working classes. Ben Beach explores the history of working class derision, from the petty punishments of the middle ages to the slums of the industrial revolution and beyond. Kathryn White looks at the disputed […]
The discovery of Richard III’s remains in Leicester marks a significant moment for both Historians and Archaeologists in this country. The fact that the remains of the king were situated in Leicester is not what is significant, although the ignominy of an English King being buried ungraciously under a car park does make for an […]
In conversation with the History department’s latest addition Professor Paul Fouracre’s book Frankish History: Studies in the Construction of Power has recently been published in Ashgate’s Variorum Collected Studies Series. Dr Yangwen Zheng edited The Chinese Chameleon Revisited: From the Jesuits to Zhang Yimou which was also published recently. Dr Pedro Ramos Pinto wrote a […]
Megan Dina Garlick explores how the modern carolling has formed from medieval liturgical songs, travelling to wish friends good fortune, and the nineteenth century carolling which defines another current Christmas tradition. As department stores, supermarkets and other retailers grapple for the best Christmas advert, Alex Hulmes looks back to the original form of marketing at […]
President of the History Society Jamie Lawless speaks candidly to Henry Lee about life in the public eye, ‘that ball’ in 2012 and how he’s got himself back on track in 2013 in his first public interview. For a man with such responsibility on his shoulders, on first impressions Jamie Lawless has the demeanour of […]
Nowadays, Thanksgiving is a national holiday. There’s a parade in New York, and everyone gathers with their families and loved ones to eat turkey, spend time with one another and give thanks. But Thanksgiving hasn’t always been like this. The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Pilgrims from Britain came over […]
Mary Wollenscraft is one of the most famous people you’ve never heard of. Her presence in the school curriculum is minimal; her only appearance comes as a contextual note for ‘Frankenstein’ – the popular book written by Mary Shelley, her daughter Merging aspects of different ideologies is not uncommon in the history of the world. […]
Niall Ferguson certainly thinks so, but will following his lead be detrimental to the teaching of history in schools today? Modern day experts look at the past in an attempt to understand the present. A look at Niall Ferguson’s groundbreaking documentary series on financial history. The Manchester Historian pays a visit to the vast exhibition […]
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On 16 October, 1953, Fidel Castro gave an impassioned speech while on trial for his role in the Moncada Barracks attack. The speech was entitled, ‘History will absolve me.’ Having studied law at Havana University, Castro represented himself at the trial, and being a skilled propagandist, used this platform to spread his message of revolution against […]
We all remember the children’s books, but what will a history undergraduate make of the television series? The Oscar winning picture that gives history a voice. You walk past it every day, but what lies behind the wall of the Manchester Museum, and what is the story behind that infamous crab? A local event with […]
6 December 1956: The closing moments of an Olympic water polo match. Hungarian Ervin Zádor leaves the pool bleeding due to a punch from Soviet player Valentin Prokopov. The fracas? Evidence of the tensions consequential to a month’s worth of revolt in Hungary against the Soviet regime between 23 October and 10 November 1956. The uprising […]
