The Dominion of History

The next school seminar is to be held this coming Wednesday, 10^th March. It will be on The Dominion of History: The Export of Historical Research from Britain since 1750. 4:30pm at 1, Salisbury Road. Alas they don't have cake, but there will be a visit to the pub afterwards. All welcome; enquires to Nigel Aston.

Collaboration - invitation.

If you think you'll have you recovered from the excitement of the 12^th, then you may be interested in this. Postgraduates at the University of Nottingham are organizing a collaborative training event on Wednesday 17 March for History postgraduates across the East Midlands, and we would very much like students from the University of Leicester to be involved.

Training sessions in the morning focus on career development for History postgraduates, including a talk from the Head of History at Nottingham. A structured networking session in the afternoon is designed to foster links between the History postgraduates across our universities and across chronological boundaries, with an aim to encourage future collaboration in research or similar training events. The poster attached gives more detail on the programme. With the event fast approaching however, we would ask people to register their interest as soon as possible, preferably by Wednesday 10 March, as numbers are limited.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Information or registration requests should be sent to Faye Taylor ([email protected]), Theresa Tyers ([email protected]) or Rachel Middlemass ([email protected]).

Labcast 7: Transcending the Boundaries: William Marshall - Luddism in Victorian fiction

Thanks to Colin Hyde, Terese Bird and all at the BDRA/Graduate School Media Zoo for making, posting and hosting the mp3 files. Do all please enjoy.

William Marshall (Huddersfield) - Will the real George Mellor please stand up?: the treatment of Luddism in Victorian fiction

Download it here, from the Graduate School Media Zoo website.

Labcast 6: Transcending the Boundaries: Matthew Hollow - Bringing the scientist into the kitchen

Thanks to Colin Hyde, Terese Bird and all at the BDRA/Graduate School Media Zoo for making, posting and hosting the mp3 files. Do all please enjoy.

Matthew Hollow (Oxford) - Bring the scientist into the kitchen: modernity, technoscience and domestic space in post-war Britain

Download it here, from the Graduate School Media Zoo website.

Labcast 5: Transcending the Boundaries: Paul Marshall - Using Replicant Technologies

Thanks to Colin Hyde, Terese Bird and all at the BDRA/Graduate School Media Zoo for making, posting and hosting the mp3 files. Do all please enjoy.

Paul Marshall (Manchester) - Using replicant technology as an aid to understanding television history
Download it here, from the Graduate School Media Zoo website.

A History of the World in 3 minutes and 12 seconds

This is apparently someone's A-level art coursework which they've posted to youtube. And frankly it's sublime. A bit whiggish, I suppose, but it saves a lot of faffing about.

The LGBT History Series (28) - Ladies of Llangollen

The 'Ladies of Llangollen' were Lady Eleanor Butler, and The Honourable Sarah Ponsonby. The pair lived estranged from their families, in a house called Plas Newydd from 1780 to 1830, near Llangollen, their relationship has been described as a 'romantic friendship'.

The pair devoted their time to seclusion, private studies of literature and languages and improving their estate. They did not actively socialise and were not interested in fashion. Town-dwellers of Llangollen simply referred to them as "The Ladies".

Author: Unknown, Permisson: Public Domain

After a couple of quiet years, their life attracted the interest of the social elites. Their house became an attraction for all manner of visitors, including writers such as Robert Southey, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Scott; but also the Duke of Wellington and industrialist Josiah Wedgwood; aristocratic novelist Caroline Lamb (who was born a Ponsonby) came to visit too. The Ladies were known throughout Britain, but in fact led a rather unexciting life. Even Queen Charlotte wanted to see their cottage, and persuaded the King to grant the Ladies the pension that their disapproving families had held back.

Butler and Ponsonby lived together for the rest of their lives, over 50 years. Artefacts like their books and glassware had both sets of initials and their letters were jointly signed.

Eleanor Butler died in 1829. Sarah Ponsonby died two years later. Their house is now a museum run by Derbyshire Council.