Departmental news

The University of Warwick has launched the Sweetest Odours exhibition at Shakespeare’s New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, showcasing the historical art of rose perfumery through cutting-edge scent technology. This unique exhibition is a collaboration between Warwick's Centre for the Study of the Renaissance and the School of Engineering, Floris and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Dr. Aysu Dincer Hadjianastasis from Warwick History has played a pivotal role in this project. Her research on historical household records and recipes has provided invaluable insights, enriching the exhibition with authentic historical context.

Visitors can explore how roses were used in perfumes, medicines, and food dishes during Shakespeare's era. This innovative blend of history, botany, and technology offers a captivating experience for all visitors.

More information about the exhibition can be found in the news section of the University website.

Fun fact - in Shakespeare's time, roses were even used to make mouthwash!

Professor Susan Carruthers new book 'Making Do; Britons and the Refashioning of the Postwar World' was officially published Thursday 24 April. In this richly textured history, Prof Carruthers unpicks a familiar wartime motto, 'Make Do and Mend', to reveal how central fabric was to postwar Britain. Clothes and footwear supplied a currency with which some were rewarded, while others went without. Making Do moves from Britain's demob centres to liberated Belsen – from razed German cities to refugee camps and troopships – to uncover intimate ties between Britons and others bound together in new patterns of mutual need. Filled with original research and personal stories, Making Do illuminates how lives were refashioned after the most devastating war in human history.

The Sunday Times featured the publication as 'book of the week' and the Daily Mirror ran an exclusive two page feature about the book.

For more information about Prof Carruthers new book visit Cambridge University Press website.

‘This is a necessary inoculation for anyone prone to nostalgia. Making Do is proof that clothing is always a reflection of the human condition - especially when those conditions are dire. Carruthers deftly brings the historic significance of wartime down to the human level, with entertaining interludes and well-researched stories that will make you question your own relationship to your garments.’ Avery Trufelman - host and producer of Articles of Interest

‘From Land Girl breeches to demob suits, austerity chic to Dior’s New Look, Making Do follows the fascinating story of bodies in motion, through air raids, rationing and recycling, as a nation sought to dress the part for war and peace.’ Alan Allport - author of Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1938–1941

Congratulations to Professor Susan Carruthers, Professor of US/International History, who has had an article linked to the 80th anniversary of Belsen published in The Conversation.

Read the article in full

Clothing can kill. So, too, can the absence of personal protective equipment. For decades, the medical establishment has understood the role of fabric in both spreading contagion and guarding against its transmission — but never with greater urgency than 80 years ago.

On April 15 1945, British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near Celle in northern Germany. Shocking scenes awaited behind the barbed wire.....

Congratulations to Dr Jack Bowman, Teaching Fellow in Modern History, who has been given an Honourable Mention in the inaugural Historical Journal Early Career Prize! Jack gives an insight into their article 'The Early Political Thought and Publishing Career of V. K. Krishna Menon, 1928–1938', which was published last year.

Watch here on X.

BBC News have published an article on the restoration of a historic Venetian record featuring History's Professor Luca Mola.

Prof Mola, who rediscovered the document, said it was a "unique window into the active trade routes that brought east and west together" between the 13th and 15th centuries.

Read the article in full.

Head of Department, Professor Tim Lockley MBE, features in a Times article about the discovery of three complete and two partial copies of Alistair Cooke’s famous ‘Letter from America’ series, dating from the late 1940s and the early 1950s, which were missing from the BBC archives.

Read the article in full here.

Prof Lockley has also been interviewed by Vic Minnett of BBC CWR for their feature ‘Vicapedia’ discussing why cricketers wear white jumpers.

Listen again on BBC Sounds from 2:40.

Professor Fred Reid, Emeritus Professor and former Head of Department for History, features in the 13 November dated edition of 'insite', the Warwick staff hub, for Disability History month.

Fred, who was 14 years old when he went blind, is known for his work to support blind and disabled people across the UK. He and his wife Etta have even been presented with honorary Warwick degrees to recognise their efforts.

UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) is an annual event which aims to promote disabled people's rights and their struggle for equality now and in the past. This year, UKDHM will take place from 14 November – 20 December 2024. Every year, UKDHM focuses on a theme. This year, the theme is Disability, Livelihood and Employment.

Read the insite article in full.

Professor J.E. Smyth appeared on BBC 4's Woman's Hour, 30 October 2024, to talk about her 'fiery, page-turning biography' [Sight & Sound] of pioneering American screenwriter and labour leader Mary C. McCall Jr.

Listen to the show at the following link: Woman's Hour - Online scams, US election, Mary McCall Jr - BBC Sounds

Dr Martha McGill, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow for the project "Bodies, Selves and the Supernatural in early Modern Britain", will be appearing in a six-part documentary series, 'Witches: Truth Behind the Trials', airing on the National Geographic channel weekly from 8pm today, Wednesday 30 October.