Regular events

Department of History research seminar series
Historical Studies lunchtime lecture series and events (with the Department of History of Art)

History research seminars 2014/15

This year we have a mix of our own colleagues – using a variety of methods from the more traditional paper to ‘dead author’ where we discuss a pre-circulated piece of work in progress - alongside colleagues from elsewhere in the University and beyond. Two of our sessions will be co-sponsored with other departments/research themes, so the time and place for these will differ. Papers will range from the medieval through the modern and cover a very broad range of historical approaches and topics!

Running parallel to these seminars will be a series of postgraduate research seminars which provide an opportunity for postgraduate students to present shorter papers on their research (convened by Marianne Dudley and Milica Prokic).

All seminars (apart from 28 October and 27 January) will be on Tuesdays at 4.15 in LT1, 3-5 Woodland Road, followed by drinks in the HUMs common room, 11 Woodland Road.

Autumn Term

30 September: Welcome to new research postgraduates. There will be a chance for staff and postgraduates to meet to find out about research interests, followed by further conversation over drinks.
14 October: Dr Peter Crooks (Trinity College, Dublin) (Brendan chairing), 'Before Humpty Dumpty: England and its empire in the late Middle Ages'
28 October: Professor John Foot (Bristol, Italian) 5.15 in G11, English. ‘The Republic of the Mad: Franco Basaglia and the revolution in mental health care in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s' Co-sponsored with Medical Humanities
11 November: Dr Chris Pearson (Liverpool), 'Messy Modernity: Governing dog excrement in 20^th c. Paris'
25 November: Professor Robert Bickers (Bristol), 'For China and the World' (BICC / Calling the Shots, 2014), directed by Jeremy Routledge, and produced by Robert Bickers and Jeremy Routledge, explores the life and legacy of Sir Robert Hart, head for 60 years of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service. In this session we will introduce and show this 31 minute film, and then discuss -- and be open for questions about -- the pleasures and challenges of collaborating on the project.
2 December: Dr Sophie Page (UCL) ‘Positive approaches to learned magic in the Late Middle Ages’
9 December: Professor Peter Mandler (Cambridge), 'Technocracy, meritocracy, democracy: Access to Higher Education in Britain since 1963'

Spring Term

13 January: Dr Fernando Cervantes (Bristol, History), 'The Ethics of Elfland: Cervantes, Shakespeare, Montaigne and the Longue Durée'
27 January: Professor Susan Rankin (Cambridge) 4 for 4.30 in the Music Department. Title tbc
Co-sponsored with Music and Religion and Theology
10 February: Professor Aristotle Kallis (Lancaster), ‘The Noah’s Arc of modernism: the bizarre physical, political, and futural context of the 4th International Congress of Modern Architecture (1933)’
24 February: Dr Lois Bibbings (Bristol, Law), 'Binding Men: The trials of Mrs Jackson'
10 March: Dr Kenneth Austin (Bristol, History), ‘The Reformation and the Jews’
24 March: Dr Victoria Bates (Bristol, History) Dead author session. Work in progress will be pre-circulated and then we will discuss in the seminar after a brief introduction from Victoria.

For more information please contact Professor Tim Cole.

Historical Studies lunchtime lectures & events 2014/15

Venue: Arts Faculty Lecture Theatre 1 (LT1)
Time: 1.10 - 1.50 pm

The Historical Studies 'lunchtime lecture' series gives students an opportunity to hear about twenty talks each year on subjects of general interest, across both History and History of Art.

The lectures focus on the process of research, as well as research outcomes, to give participants a sense of how research projects evolve and the sort of problems historians encounter. As such, the lectures are designed to be of particular use to students. The lectures include talks by both existing members of staff and scholars from other institutions.

In addition to the lunchtime lectures, we typically provide a number of other academic events over the course of the year that are open to all our students: ranging from tours to oral history interviews.

Teaching Block 1

29 September: Evan Jones, 'What sort of extra-curricular events do students want?': focus group
6 October: John Reeks, 'Misreading a document: William Piers's letter to John Lambe and the historical interpretation of religious reform in the seventeenth century'
13 October: Tricha Passes, 'Neil Jenney: sixties counterculture and its influence on visual practice'
20 October: Emily Baughan, 'Saving the children: British humanitarianism in the twentieth century'
27 October: Stephen Page (CEO, Faber and Faber), 'Futures in publishing'
3 November: Reading Week
10 November: Daniel Haines, 'Finding the Bigger Picture: The challenges of researching in Pakistan'
17 November: No lecture
24 November: Su Lin Lewis, 'Cities in motion: urban life and cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia, 1920-1940'
27 November (Thursday, 16.00-17.45): Evan Jones, 'Wine through Time' at Flinty Red. This is a repeat of last year's successful history talk combined with a food and wine tasting at one of Bristol's best restaurants. Numbers are limited and there is a (subsidised) fee of £8 to cover the cost of the wine and food. If you wish to attend, please email Dr Jones to reserve a space.
1 December: Richard Stone, 'John Guy: Bristol's forgotten hero'. This will be followed by an Advent reception in the Humanities Student Common Room, 14.00-15.00, with bread, cheese and mince pies, as well as mulled cider from Richard's own press.
8 December: Andy Flack, 'Animal magic and animal madness: mental illness in the twentieth-century zoo'

Teaching Block 2

26 January: Reading Week
2 February: Peter Dent, 'Sculpture in Dante's Verona: An Introduction and Three Discoveries'
9 February: Dr Harriet Webster's lecture has been cancelled following her appointment to a lectureship at the University of Wales.
16 February: James Thompson, 'Beermats, buttons and banners - what can emphemera tell us about politics?'
23 February: Hugh Pemberton, 'How do we improve the skills of British workers? Lessons from the 1960s'
2 March: Peter Evans, 'Socialist Utopian Literature c.1888-1900'
9 March: Heather Dalton (University of Melbourne), 'Putting the women back in exploration history: Sebastian Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci's niece-in-law'. This will be followed by an lunchtime reception in the Humanities Student Common Room, 14.00-15.00, sponsored by the Cabot Project.
16 March: Louise Wilson, Miracles, Medicine and Medieval Science, 1180-1320'
23 March: Robert Bickers, TBA