March 2023

After a discussion today we have decided to postpone the conference until April 2021. It seems unlikely our university will be able to host an in-person conference in September, and we would prefer to still aim to have a face-to-face meeting rather than switching to a digital conference. This also means that the global situation […]

Here at the University of Northampton our first years have the option to take HIS1028 ‘United States: War and Society, 1610-2020′. I am a specialist on the eighteenth century, so I teach the segment that covers the Seven Years’ War and the War of American Independence. I always start with a class on how to […]

I have noticed that during lockdown here in the UK, a lot of people finding it difficult to get hold of bread, or even the ingredients for making bread – yeast seems to be in particularly short supply. There are some wonderful ways of harvesting wild yeast, but if you aren’t confident enough to try […]

[This blog does not contain plot spoilers, but does mention themes and incidents in the story.] During lockdown, many of us are watching more TV, and the BBC are doing a great public service by putting lots of boxsets on iPlayer. Unexpectedly, they acquired the classic American science fiction blockbuster Battlestar Galactica, broadcasting the first […]

History is supposed to give us a sense of perspective, some way of understanding current events by looking backwards, at those in the past. I’ve seen some very good articles, comments and blogs on the 1919 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic (which wasn’t Spanish at all of course), and some reflections on how our ancestors coped with […]

One feature of the History degree at Northampton is a recurring opportunity to engage with optional field trips. Students posing in front of historical military hardware at the Imperial War Museum! Last Thursday sixteen second-year students took a break from their normal classes to visit the Imperial War Museum.  Most were studying the optional module HIS2014 First […]

A shorter version of this blog post originally appeared on the University of Northampton news page for Valentine’s Day. Fountain pen writing the word “Love” on paper. Photo by John Jennings on Unsplash Love it or loathe it, Valentine’s Day is a holiday that’s hard to escape. But you might be surprised to learn it… […]

Senior lecturer Caroline Nielsen continues her Employability blog series, helping you develop your skills.  Missing our department’s monthly research seminar series? Thinking about postgraduate studies in History, Heritage or archives, or in Teaching? Want to reach out to other academics and students and build your network? What to learn about completely new subjects or the […]

For several years now I’ve been putting undergraduates on trial. Before you get excited I only mean as an exercise in understanding the criminal trial in the past, I don’t lock them up or send them to Botany Bay! Each year I set an assessment which involves groups of 2nd year History and Criminology students […]

Students working together. (Image: John Schnobrich on Unsplash) Just got your A level results? Still not decided where you want to go in September? Or maybe you’re super organised and are looking ahead to autumn 2021. We would love to welcome you at Northampton, where our small (but perfectly formed, in our opinion!) department means […]

The BBC has been a big part of life in Britain since its foundation in 1922. The BBC’s History of the BBC 100 Voices news and archive site regularly publishes the latest research on how the corporation has envisaged and represented (or misrepresented) its audiences over time. Their LGBTQ+ History mini-site and the BBC Archive […]

When I finally switched off from a day of online meetings on Wednesday I thought I’d relax by watching some gentle TV. Then a prompt from a friend on social media made me switch over to a new channel, the BBC at first and then CNN. Within moments I was hooked in to the drama […]

From time to time historians are tasked with writing new modules from scratch, often because their research has changed direction. Over the past few years my research has shifted from a focus on the gender identities and consumption habits of the gentry and aristocracy towards the emotions of elites – still with an eye to […]

This blog is based on the presentation given on 8 November 2018, as part of the History at Northampton Research Seminars series at the University of Northampton. It explores the origins of perinatal (premature baby) care in the UK from 1947 to 1965, using recently available archival material for Northampton, made possible through the generosity of… […]