Cannabis, Race, and Mental Illness in Britain, 1980-1993
For the ninth post in the RHS ‘Writing Race’ blog series, Jamie Banks investigates ‘cannabis psychosis’ and its disproportionate diagnosis amongst Britain’s Afro-Caribbean communities. Studying this intersection of medicine, culture, and policing brings to light the methodological difficulties around motivation and responsibility which racism poses for historians.
Nigerian cultural heritage abroad: the case of an Itsekiri chief
How do we study material culture taken from Africa during colonialism? In the next in our ‘Writing Race’ series, Allegra Ayida considers the material legacy of the nineteenth-century Itsekiri Chief, Nanna Olomu.
Why does the commemoration of slavery and its victims remain so difficult in France?
How do modern European nations remember the abolition of slavery, and how does this affect campaigns for racial justice? Olivia Durand introduces her research on France’s complicated relationship with abolitionism and slavery.
Sir Earle Page’s war diaries, 1941-42: new Camden Series volume
Kent Fedorowich and Jayne Gifford shed new light on Anglo-Australian relations during the Second World War in their new volume, ‘Sir Earle Page’s British War Cabinet Diary, 1941-1942’ (2021): the latest title in the RHS Camden Series.
When Rhodes was not built
Statues and commemorations of Cecil Rhodes provoke strongly reactions. In this post from the ‘Writing Race’ series, Durba Ghosh considers the longer history of Rhodes statuary. This, she reveals, has been equally turbulent.
RHS Gladstone Prize, 2021 – shortlisted author videos
Learn more about the eight books shortlisted for this year’s RHS Gladstone Prize. In this post, authors introduce their books, and discuss principal themes and argument, and how they came to write it.
RHS Whitfield Prize, 2021 — shortlisted author videos
Learn more about the six books shortlisted for this year’s RHS Whitfield Prize. In this post each of the six early career historians introduces their book, its principal themes and argument, and how they came to write it.
Travels in ‘Coal Country’ – and other New Historical Perspectives
Dr Ewan Gibbs introduces his new book, ‘Coal Country’, the latest title in the RHS series, New Historical Perspectives. Ewan’s is the first of four NHP titles in 2021 with forthcoming books also profiled here.
The Future of (Teaching) the Past
What happens when a university Digital History module goes online during lockdown? You might think this digital switch would be straightforward for ‘born digital’ students. But as Dr Jessica van Horssen explains, experimenting remotely with digital tools for research and communication poses its own challenges.
Historians on ‘Contested Heritage’
When is historical research ‘political’? When is it ‘too political’? Professor Peter Mandler calls for professional curators and academics working on ‘contested heritage’ to do their jobs without government interference.
Teaching the Tudors on a two-way street
John Cooper was runner-up in the 2020 RHS Jinty Nelson Award for Inspirational Teaching and Supervision. Here, he reflects on the rewards of dialogue and exchange in the classroom.
Race, Prostitution and the British Empire
In what ways did colonialism redefine and enforce concepts of sexual behaviour, and how do historians best recover the lives of those affected? For the ‘Writing Race’ series, Sudeshna Chatterjee considers the governance of commercial sex work in British India.
