Studying the relics of Pompeii has uncovered evidence providing not only a window into the past, but also a reflection of the present. Dr. Max Jones is a senior lecturer in Modern History at the University of Manchester. His research and teaching focuses primarily on nineteenth- and twentieth-century British history, with particular interest, among others, […]
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 […]
The Jarrow Crusade remains one of the most evocative emblems of the interwar period. It captures something of the resilience of the interwar British population in the face of unemployment, hunger and depression. In October 1936, 207 hungry and bedraggled marchers travelled to London from Jarrow in the North East to protest against the terrible […]
Nominated for four Academy Awards at this year’s Oscars, The Help, based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett, is a story of the racism experienced by black maids working for white households in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. Their plight takes place in the era of the Jim Crow laws and the subsequent push for Civil Rights, […]
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 […]
St. George is revered in England, but who was he and why was he cannonised? A brief look into the historiography of one of England’s greatest legends. The city of London was bombed for 72 consecutive nights in 1940, but this article explores the destruction of our city. Were you aware of Manchester’s forerunning achievements […]
John Downey, accused Hyde Park bomber, recently walked free from the Old Bailey. Ben Beach looks at the ongoing and sometimes controversial process of pacification in Ireland. After both the chairman of the Co-operative Bank and the mayor of Toronto recently fell from grace due to their extra-curricular activities, Vivienne Dellious-Daly examines some of the […]
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 […]
The ritual of sacrifice has been an integral part of hundreds of cultures throughout the centuries. Many times this would involve the sacrifice of life, being a cow, a bull, or even a human being. But over the years sacrifice has manifested itself in other forms. Most notably, is the concept of self-sacrifice; the idea […]
Nominated for four Academy Awards at this year’s Oscars, The Help, based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett, is a story of the racism experienced by black maids working for white households in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. Their plight takes place in the era of the Jim Crow laws and the subsequent push for Civil Rights, […]
This rather relatively underperformed Tennessee Williams’ play is set in the Deep South in the 40s. Claustrophobia and prejudice smothers the small town, where the parochial poison of vicious and sadistic hatred of wops, blacks and those that just don’t conform steadily intensifies. This is a deeply unsettling play that discomforts the audience, who can […]
Born in 1946, Steve Biko was a black anti-apartheid campaigner who died in police custody in 1977. Biko established himself as a student leader in the 1960’s. His belief in the need for black South Africans to organise and liberate themselves free from liberal white influence led him to establish the Black Consciousness Movement in […]
20 years it took for their cherished novel to finally reach television screens were most likely spent anticipating the disappointment they would inevitably feel. How could a TV adaptation of a tale that pushes all human emotion to the very brink of despair, embodied in the charming Stephen Wraysford (played by Eddie Redmayne), ever replicate […]
(1/2) Were you, or someone you know, involved in the #immigration protests in #Glasgow? We’d love to hear from you! People’s History Museum is looking for placards or photos with a focus on #Migration for our #ContemporaryCollection. DM or Email us at [email protected]
