Bonfire night marks a plot in 1605 to burn down the Houses of Parliament. It’s also a reminder of the ferocious divides that existed between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Historian Liesbeth Corens is researching the measures taken by English Catholics to educate their children in the 'true faith'.
As Great British Bake Off sizzles towards tomorrow’s final, historian Sophie McGeevor reveals the less glamorous realities that faced working class women in the mid-19th century when home baking was already considered a dying art.
With the autumn 2014 fashion shows in full swing, all eyes are on the top designers. In 16th-century Italy, the latest looks didn't always go down well with the authorities. Historian Giulia Galastro is researching the sumptuary laws regulating the level of opulence that could be paraded in public – and how the dandies of the day neatly side-stepped the rules.
New research on the treatment of 'hardcore' female Mau Mau prisoners by the British in the late 1950s sheds new light on how ideas about gender, deviancy and mental health shaped colonial practices of punishment.
The Beatles' song A Hard Day’s Night was released 50 years ago today. Its runaway success in the charts overlapped with a major sociological study of the newly-affluent working class that features in Lennon and McCartney’s lyrics. Cambridge historian Dr Jon Lawrence discusses what this study reveals about perceptions of class identity in 1960s Britain.
The Choir of Clare College will tomorrow (5 July 2014) perform a special concert at West Road as tribute to outgoing Master and eminent historian Professor Tony Badger. With characteristic candour, Badger answers questions about his trajectory from grammar school boy to leading specialist in American political history.
Seventy five years ago, the publication of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath shocked the world with its description of starvation in the midst of plenty. PhD candidate Rasheed Saleuddin is re-evaluating established views of the causes of the Great Depression and argues that there are lessons to be learned today.
In 2017 a new £1 coin will appear in our pockets with a design extremely difficult to forge. In the mid-16th century, Elizabeth I’s government came up with a series of measures to deter “divers evil persons” from damaging the reputation of English coinage and, with it, the good name of the nation.
The early modern period (1500-1800) saw a surge in the keeping of records. A conference later this week (9-10 April 2014) at the British Academy will look at the origins of the archives that shape our understanding of history. We asked ten of the speakers to tackle some fundamental questions.
In a talk on Monday (10 March, 2014) Sophie McGeevor (Faculty of History) will explain how her research into a collection of autobiographies by working class women is helping to fill a gap in our knowledge of the occupational structure of 19th century Britain.
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