Latest Posts

  • Medieval Christmas Celebrations

    by Dr Ruth Salter Feasting at King Arthur’s court, British Library MS Royal 20 D. iv. f.1r. It was Christmas at Camelot, and there was the king with his leading lords and all his best soldiers, the famous company of… Continue reading

    Medieval Christmas Celebrations

  • Inventing the English Christmas

    Professor Anne Lawrence-Mathers Did the Anglo-Saxons have a midwinter festival before the coming of Christianity and Christmas? Most of what is documented comes from the work of the Venerable Bede (c672-735). His references to pagan practices suggest distaste for what… Continue reading

    Inventing the English Christmas

  • Christmas under Cromwell

    by Dr Rachel Foxley In modern Britain – in spite of what some of the papers sometimes say – you would have to look quite hard to find anyone who made no concessions at all to Christmas. Many people without… Continue reading

    Christmas under Cromwell

  • Christmas 2015: A Pre-Modern Christmas

    This year the Department of History’s seasonal theme is ‘A Pre-Modern Christmas’. The halls have been deced in the department and we have a caption competition for our students running at the moment.  The competiton is based on Pieter Bruegel… Continue reading

    Christmas 2015: A Pre-Modern Christmas

  • Suffregette: ‘Film and Fact’

    This Thursday Reaing Film Theatre are showing the film Suffregette (2015), 8-10pm Palmer Building. To mark the screening we are reposting Dr Jacqui Turner‘s excellent blog post from October ‘Suffregette…but what happened next?’ – enjoy! *please note small editorial changes… Continue reading

    Suffregette: ‘Film and Fact’

  • Seminar in Global History

    10th February 2016, 5pm, Henley Business School S G15 In February Dr Miles Larmer (University of Oxford) will be speaking on ‘Localising Africa’s Cold War: The Katangese Gendarmes and Conflict in Central Africa, 1960-1978’. Miles’ research focuses on political and… Continue reading

    Seminar in Global History

  • Insight Day for Part 1 students interested in Careers in Law

    The end of the first term of your degree course is not too soon to start exploring graduate career options! Here is a special opportunity: Macfarlanes are offering an insight day for first year students of any three year undergraduate… Continue reading

  • Dr Simon Lee ‘Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People’: an Accidental Icon?’

    7.30pm, 4th December 2015, Reading School. Are you interested in nineteenth-century French history and free this Friday evening at 7.30 pm? If so, do come along to the local branch of the Historical Association at Reading School to hear Dr… Continue reading

    Dr Simon Lee ‘Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People’: an Accidental Icon?’

  • American Politics Group Annual Conference

    7th-9th January 2016, University of Reading The Programme is now out for next year’s American Politics Group [APG] conference. January’s conference will not only be held at the University of Reading but has also been organised by Dr Mara Oliva,… Continue reading

    American Politics Group Annual Conference