Hysteria comes from 'hyster' (Greek for uterus). From the phenomenon of the wandering womb believed by the ancient Greeks to hysteria's popularisation in the 19th century, Victorian males were quick to diagnose female hysteria with the emergence of symptoms such as depression, nervousness, erratic behaviour, loss of appetite, insomnia, sexual desire and so on. It … Continue reading Hysterical Females
history
Mellification: The Process of Turning Oneself into Honey in the name of Medicine
I have just been searching through Facebook and discovered a link to a list of weird ancient medical treatments on Listicles.com. One I found particularly fascinating is the consumption of a honey-coated cadaver. Being naturally curious as to the truth behind this assertion, I researched on... Reported in Chinese sources, significantly of the 16th Century, … Continue reading Mellification: The Process of Turning Oneself into Honey in the name of Medicine
Biggest decision of the new year…
To stick with my BBC History magazine subscription or to switch to History Today??
World History in one sentence…
Haven't posted for a while so here is Disney subtly explaining most of World History in one swift sentence!
In 1,000 words, write a comparative essay discussing how two history books written by different authors can fit within historiographical categories. Define these categories, discuss any overlaps and uncertainties and reflect on what we can learn from locating books in their historiographical context.
This is a draft version of a recent essay. I have no idea where the completed one is... Probably lost in the university computer system. This is an unedited version, therefore, and may be a little waffley or mistake-ridden. History is a vast subject, spanning thousands of years of wars and conflicts, the lives of … Continue reading In 1,000 words, write a comparative essay discussing how two history books written by different authors can fit within historiographical categories. Define these categories, discuss any overlaps and uncertainties and reflect on what we can learn from locating books in their historiographical context.
Can’t say I’m a fan…
Can't say I'm a fan of the History Channel, mainly because the (decent) history documentaries are usually few and far between!
What a depressing image!
Is this really the light at the end of my three-year degree course tunnel? Surely not! However, anyone who has watched the news in the last five years would believe that it is. In the same breath, however, I am going to leave this chart here. Yes, graduates are suffering unemployment, but so is everyone … Continue reading What a depressing image!
Religious Wars
This is an interesting take I found on the causes of religious wars. Obviously it lacks any real knowledge of the causation and development of any past religious wars or of the actual differences between religions, but it poses an interesting thought on society's perception of such.
What does a historian do exactly?
Isn't that the truth!
Loic Wacquant’s article ‘From Slavery to Mass Incarceration’
For a seminar this morning, I have been reading a number of articles and chapters on the topic of mass incarceration in the United States. One in piqued my interest, however. Loic Wacquant's article, published in the New Left Review in early 2002, offers a fascinating theorem on the continuing confinement of African Americans. Entitled … Continue reading Loic Wacquant’s article ‘From Slavery to Mass Incarceration’
The Historian's Apprentice 