Category: Archive

  • Hay fever: An irritating history

    Hay fever: An irritating history

     By Carys Brown (@HistoryCarys) ‘About the beginning or middle of June in every year the following symptoms make their appearance, with a greater or less degree of violence. A sensation of heat and fulness is experienced in the eyes…until the sensation becomes converted into what may be characterized as a combination of the most acute…

  • A tale of two cultures: a historian’s guide to Bolzano

    A tale of two cultures: a historian’s guide to Bolzano

    By Zoe Farrell (@zoeffarrell) As part of my research fieldwork this year, I was lucky enough to be able to visit the city of Bolzano in Northern Italy. This South-Tyrolean city provides a perfect example of how small, provincial cities often have rich and diverse histories which make them prime points of study for enquiries…

  • Doing Family History from Byzantium through Today

    Doing Family History from Byzantium through Today

      By Ana Núñez (@anac4_nunez) The Byzantine princess Anna Komnene (1083-1153) appears to have been a most devoted daughter. The first-born of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r.1081-1118), Anna took it upon herself to continue the work started by her late husband, Nikephoros Bryennios, and write a history (The Alexiad) of her father’s eventful…

  • Some advice for people embarking on their PhD

    Some advice for people embarking on their PhD

    By Helen Sunderland (@hl­_sunderland) As I come to terms with the fact that I will soon no longer be able to call myself a first-year PhD student, I want to give some advice to those starting their doctoral research. Things I wish I knew when I started, some things I’ve learnt and others that I…

  • Bagging a bargain in the Renaissance: questions surrounding the ethics of shopping and consumption

    Bagging a bargain in the Renaissance: questions surrounding the ethics of shopping and consumption

    By Zoe Farrell (@zoeffarrell) In recent rhetoric, the ‘rise’ of consumerism has been challenged. Our throw-away culture has led to a multitude of problems for the environment, as well as issues surrounding body-image, debt and over-corporatisation. In a recent article, George Monbiot, for example, argued that ‘regardless of what we consume, the sheer volume of…