This Valentine’s Day, we revisit some romantic – and spiteful – traditions from the past. DO: Be romantic and create a love token Love tokens in the Victorian era were synonymous with emotion. Generally, a love token was a round flat disc (often smoothed coins), engraved by hand with names or initials intertwined. However, there […]
Dr Liz Barnes discusses the difficulty of uncovering ordinary queer lives in the past. Please note that this post contains references to sexual violence and language that readers might find offensive. Criminality is ever-present for historians seeking to uncover queer lives in the American past. Prior to the reforms of the twentieth century in the […]
The department was greatly saddened to learn that our friend and former colleague Nicola Verdon was killed in a cycling accident on 29th December. Nicola was a research fellow in the Department from 2001 to 2004 and returned to us as an external examiner between 2018 and 2022. She also had a long connection with […]
James Smith, finalist in BA History, traces the evolution of Father Christmas in Britain across the nineteenth century. Father Christmas driving a car! Even in the twenty first century, the idea of him piloting anything other than a sleigh seems weird. What is even weirder is that the above cartoon, published in Punch, was published […]
Undergraduate Open Days
We typically hold Undergraduate Open Days in June and October each year. These events offer an opportunity to speak to students and lecturers from all our courses, enjoy talks, and find out more about University life.
Master's events
These events typically include live presentations from academic staff on our different master's courses, live chat with staff and students, and lots of other useful digital resources.
