Latest Posts
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‘Pride’: Representing Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) in Cinema
After winning the Queer Palm award at the Cannes film festival, Pride (2014) grossed over £3.5million at the UK box office in its first month.[i] With such a reception, it was inevitable that Pride would come to be a widely… Continue reading
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Challenging the ‘Cistem’: The Importance of Diversity in Trans Representation, by Amy Austin
The policing of gender is nothing new, but in recent years the escalation in attacks against transgender and non-binary communities has seen fierce battles over the definition of ‘man’ and – more pointedly – ‘woman’ and who can be accepted… Continue reading
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Mini medieval ‘grete pyes’, by Dr Ruth J. Salter
Back in November, during the drinks reception ahead of our annual Stenton Lecture, I got chatting to our social media maven, Chessie Baldwin. Talk turned to History’s blog and what we’d be doing as our Christmas series this year …… Continue reading
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An American Christmas History, by Melanie Khuddro
When we think of the roots of our Christmas customs, we might typically think of nineteenth century England. The Victorian Royal family popularised the indoor, decorated tree in an image of them gathered around one which was published in Illustrated… Continue reading
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Pirate Legends Festive Special: A Caribbean Christmas Carol, by Luke Walters
‘Tis the season for merriment and comradery, and what better way to kick off this festive period than unwrapping a new edition of Pirate Legends. In this short and light-hearted entry, we’ll be taking a look at how pirates might… Continue reading
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Christmas in Mining Towns 1984: Turkey for a Striking Christmas, by Amy Longmuir
After two years of COVID uncertainty, family Christmas dinners are firmly back in festive plans as some form of normality returns for most people in the UK. Avian flu has, however, decimated a number of Christmas turkey and goose farms… Continue reading
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Halloween: Our Childhood Traditions
It’s the spookiest day of the year! We asked some students and staff to share their favourite Halloween traditions. But first, some Halloween history… ‘The name Halloween itself is simply a contraction of All Hallows Eve. This derives from the… Continue reading
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Top Tips for New Undergraduate Historians
Welcome to the University of Reading History department! If you are reading this, you are most likely a new student about to embark on their journey for an undergraduate History degree. Starting university can be overwhelming. In all the uncertainty… Continue reading
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Pirate Legends IV: Hoist the Colours, by Luke Walters
A Historical Blog Exploring the Myths and Legends of the Golden Age of Piracy ‘I ran to the colour lines, handed down their cursed black flag, and chucked it overboard…’ -Jim Hawkins, Treasure Island (1883) Despite the countless piratical tropes… Continue reading
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