Dr James Poskett and Dr Elise Smith gave a joint talk on the history of the "skull sciences". This event was part of the Warwick Words History Festival.

"How does the mind work? This was a question which fascinated scientists and the public in the nineteenth century. Many started to believe that the mind could only be understood by studying the skull and the brain. Craniologists collected and measured skulls in the service of racial science, whilst phrenologists could be found in prisons and on slave plantations. Queen Victoria asked a phrenologist to measure the heads of her children, and disciples of Charles Darwin used cranial size to rank people hierarchically."