Reflections on Studying the Past – Meddyliau ar Astudio'r Gorffennol
@swanseahistory On 1 May 1851 – almost exactly 170 years ago – the Great Exhibition first opened its doors to the public. Housed in Hyde Park, in the vast temporary structure that was quickly christened the Crystal Palace, the exhibition remained open until 15 October. During that time, it attracted millions of visitors, many of whom … Read more
Professor Martin Johnes recently gave an online talk for the genealogy website FindmyPast about using the census to understand the history of the Welsh language. Drawing upon his research into the role of education in the decline of Welsh in the late 19th century, Martin explored how the census collected language data, questions around its … Read more
This event, organised by Swansea University’s Conflict, Reconstruction and Memory (CRAM) research group, will explore debates surrounding the cultural and political uses of monuments, reflecting upon their role in the memorialisation and imagining of the past. We will take a broad view of ‘monuments’, considering artefacts such as war memorials, cenotaphs and public statuary as … Read more
A public event open to all. Register here: bit.ly/storiesandsilences
On 10 March the College of Arts and Humanities welcomed three external speakers with extensive public policy and political advice careers to give employability guidance to students interested in political careers. Organised and chaired by Dr Sarah Crook, Lecturer in History, the roundtable shed light on what an ‘average’ day might be (there’s no such … Read more
In this short video, you can watch Dr Emma Cavell discuss the impact of the Black Death on Wales. Dr Cavell is a historian of the central Middle Ages with a particular interest in questions of gender. Her current research concentrates on Jewish men and women and the law.
Dr Gemma Almond writes: The Social Worlds of Steel project, which has been running since May 2019, has unearthed important new evidence of the impact of the steel industry on towns and cities in twentieth-century Britain. In the current phase of the project we are exploring how the heritage of the industry is represented to, … Read more
Dr Matthew Stevens’ book, The Economy of Medieval Wales, 1067-1536 has been attracting some glowing reviews recently. The book examines the economy of Wales from the first Norman intrusions of 1067 to the Act of Union of England and Wales in 1536. Key themes include the evolution of the agrarian economy; the foundation and growth … Read more
Dr Matthew Stevens has launched a new podcast. It investigates episodes in history that highlight the worst and best of the human condition. He says: History can tell us about past ideas and events, and in doing so it tells us something about the universal. When we hear voices from the past, that say what … Read more
Professor Martin Johnes has recently been researching the intersections between race and boxing in post-1945 Britain. With Matthew Taylor (De Montfort University), he explored the abolition of the sport’s colour bar in 1948 and the impact that had on the sport in the context of rising migration and racial tensions in the 1950s and 1960s. … Read more