Earth Month 2024

Earth Month takes place during April every year, with Earth Day falling on 22 April. First held in 1970, EARTHDAY.ORG’s annual campaign aims to “diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide”, and focuses this year on Planet vs. Plastics. Since the 1960s and 70s, more and more historians have been asking how previous generations used and inhabited their own environments, how the environment has shaped human history, and how people in the past dealt with ecological crises such as those we are facing today. At the History Faculty Library, we have put up a display of books that cover environmental history from recycling in the eighteenth century to slavery in the American South.

As well as physical books, we have lots of e-resources on the topic of environmental history across the world. These are available online to Oxford University members on SOLO – just make sure you’re signed on with your ‘Single Sign-On’. Click on the book cover below to access the SOLO record. Many more e-resources and physical books can be found on SOLO by searching for ‘environmental history’ or by following the links above.

When smoke ran like water : tales of environmental deception and the battle against pollution Ecological imperialism : the biological expansion of Europe, 900-1900 The Oxford handbook of environmental history Global environmental history : 10,000 BC to AD 2000 Environment and history (journal) Environmental history (journal) An environmental history of the Middle Ages : the crucible of nature From the Ground Up : Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement

Women’s History Month 2024

As it’s now March, the History Faculty Library is celebrating Women’s History Month! This annual campaign is a chance to celebrate and remember women’s contributions to history, culture and society, with International Women’s Day falling on 8 March. Many institutions in Oxford and around the world, including the Ashmolean Museum, will be highlighting women’s stories to inspire us all year round. Check out more IWD events in Oxford here, including the 35th Oxford International Women’s Festival.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is Inspire Inclusion. At the History Faculty Library, we’ve put together a diverse display showcasing women’s histories from around the world.

LGBT+ History Month display on four shelves. Left to right: 'Women intellectuals and leaders in the Middle Ages', 'Why they marched : untold stories of the women who fought for the right to vote', 'A herstory of economics', 'Woman : the American history of an idea', 'The century of women : how women have transformed the world since 1900', 'Uncontrollable women : radicals, reformers and revolutionaries', 'Women in world history', 'Writing women's history since the renaissance', 'A black women's history of the United States', 'Vanguard : how black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all', 'A lesbian history of Britain : love and sex between women since 1500', 'Public faces, secret lives : a queer history of the women's suffrage movement', 'Women of Westminster : the MPs who changed politics', 'Women in the history of science : a sourcebook', 'No straight path : becoming women historians'.

Please do take a look at the display the next time you’re in the Camera, or check out some of our e-books and e-journals exploring women’s histories below. These are available online for Oxford University members – just make sure you sign into SOLO with your ‘Single Sign On’ first. Click on the book cover below to access the SOLO record.

 How Women Became Poets : A Gender History of Greek Literature Schooling the system : a history of Black women teachers  Reshaping women's history : voices of nontraditional women historians Journal of women's history Invisible women exposing data bias in a world designed for men Gendering the Master Narrative : Women and Power in the Middle Ages Gender and history journal The Wife of Bath : A BiographyForgotten wives : how women get written out of history

 

LGBT+ History Month 2024

LGBT+ History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, including the histories of other marginalised sexualities and gender identities. Last year’s observance marked 20 years since the law that banned “promotion of homosexuality” in the UK, Section 28, was repealed. This year’s theme is ‘Under the Scope’, celebrating LGBT+ peoples’ contribution to the field of medicine and shining a light on the history of the LGBT+ community’s experience of receiving healthcare.

LGBT+ History Month display on four shelves. Left to right: 'Tomboys and bachelor girls' by Rebecca Jennings; 'Britannia's glory, a history of 20th century lesbians' by Emily Hamer; 'A lesbian history of Britain' by Rebecca Jennings; 'Let the record show, a political history of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993' by Sarah Schulman; 'How to survive a plague' by David France; 'Before AIDS' by Katie Batza; 'Stonewall' by Martin Duberman; 'Red closet : the hidden history of gay oppression in the USSR' by Rustam Alexander; 'Before we were trans' by Kit Heyam; 'Queer public history' by Marc Stein; 'The shape of sex : nonbinary gender from Genesis to the Renaissance' by Leah DeVun; 'Same-sex sexuality in later medieval English culture' by Tom Linkinen; 'Queer voices in post-war Scotland' by Jeffrey Meek; 'A little gay history : desire and diversity across the world' by R. B. Parkinson

Our book display for LGBT+ History Month features some of these stories of AIDs activism and experiences in healthcare, as well as histories of queer oppression, revolution, and lived experiences across the globe from 200 AD to the present day. Please do peruse the display the next time you’re in the Camera, or check out some of our e-books and e-journals below.

When signed into SOLO with your ‘Single Sign On’, the following e-resources will be available for Oxford University Members—click on the covers below to access their SOLO records. Many more e-resources and physical books can be found by searching on SOLO.

Outrageous! : the story of Section 28 and Britain's battle for LGBT education by Paul Baker

Sapphistries : A Global History of Love between Women by Leila J. Rupp

 

 

 

Plane queer : labor, sexuality, and AIDS in the history of male flight attendants by Phil Tiemeyer

 

Bi : the hidden culture, history and science of bisexuality by Julia Shaw

 

Journal of the history of sexuality
The Routledge history of queer America edited by Don Romesburg

Seeing sodomy in the Middle Ages by Robert Mills

GLQ : a journal of lesbian and gay studies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK Disability History Month 2023

UK Disability History Month is an annual event, running from 16th November to 16th December, focusing on the history of the disability rights movement and commemoration of the achievements of people living with disabilities. At the History Faculty Library, we have put together a display highlighting the histories of people living with disabilities from antiquity to the near-present.

As well as physical books, we also have a variety of e-books and e-journals which explore these issues. When signed into SOLO with your ‘Single Sign On’, the following e-resources will be available for Oxford University Members—click on the covers below to access their SOLO records. Many more e-resources and physical books can be found on SOLO by searching for ‘disability history’ or by following the links above.

 

The Ugly Laws : Disability in Public Understanding disability throughout historyDisability and society (Journal) Disability rights and wrongs revisited Destigmatising mental illness? Disability rights and religious liberty in education Disability histories A cultural history of disability in antiquity

Trans Awareness Week 2023

To celebrate Trans Awareness Week, running 13th-19th November, we have created a display from our collections highlighting the current and historical issues faced by trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people, and recognising those raising awareness. This annual event will culminate in Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday, a day of observance honouring the memory of those who lost their lives in acts of transphobic violence.

Top shelf (left to right): Autobiography of an androgyne ; A history of women in men's clothes : from cross-dressing to empowerment ; British queer history. Second shelf: Queer public history ; Transgender warriors ; True sex : the lives of trans men at the turn of the twentieth century. Third shelf: Ambiguous gender in early modern Spain and Portugal ; Unmaking sex ; Stonewall : the definitive story of the LGBTQ rights uprising that changed America ; Queer beyond London. Bottom Shelf: Governing gender and sexuality in colonial India ; From a girl to a man : how Laura became Michael ; LGBT Victorians ; Gender : a world history.

As well as physical books, we also have a variety of e-books and e-journals which explore these issues. When signed into SOLO with your ‘Single Sign On’, the following e-resources will be available for Oxford University Members. Click on the covers below to access their SOLO records.

Transgender Studies QuarterlyBrown Trans FigurationsFemale husbands : a trans historyBlack trans feminismThe transgender issue : an argument for justice Trans Britain : our journey from the shadowsTrans historical : gender plurality before the modern Others of my kind : transatlantic transgender histories

Black History Month 2023: Saluting Our Sisters

BHM 2023 : Dig Deeper, Look Closer, Think Bigger

To celebrate Black History Month 2023, running from the 1st October – 31st October, we have curated a display highlighting the exceptional achievements and experiences of black people throughout history. This year’s theme is Saluting Our Sisters, therefore this display focuses on the overlooked contributions of black women to culture, politics, and the struggle against racial injustices.


To complement our display of physical books, we would also like to highlight some of our e-books on black history, available online for Oxford University members to read remotely. Once signed into SOLO with your single sign on, search for these titles or click on the book covers below to access their SOLO records and start reading!

 Sisters in the struggle African American women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement, edited by Bettye Collier-Thomas and V.P. Franklin Beyond Respectability : The Intellectual Thought of Race Women by Brittney C. Cooper  Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge  At home in our sounds : music, race, and cultural politics in interwar Paris by Rachel Anne Gillett  To 'joy my freedom : Southern Black women's lives and labors after the Civil War by Tera W. Hunter  Divas on screen Black women in American film by Mia Mask Fugitive Pedagogy : Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching by Jarvis R. Givens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The making of black lives matter : a brief history of an idea by Christopher J. Lebron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Throughout October, Oxford University will be hosting a series of exhibitions and lectures for Black History Month. See here for more details.

UK Disability History Month

To mark the UK’s Disability History Month, from 18th November – 18th December, we have put together a book display featuring books on disability history, across different geographic areas and time periods.

Disability History Month Book Display

As well as physical books, there are lots of e-books dedicated to Disability History. The e-books below are available to Oxford University members to read remotely- click on the book cover to access the SOLO record. You’ll need to sign into SOLO with your ‘Single Sign On’ to read the books. Of course, there are more titles available electronically and you can find them on SOLO, by searching for the subject ‘disability – history’

Find out more about UK Disability History Month on their website, including their online launch event this evening.

Black History Month Book Display

October is Black History Month in the UK and we have put together a display of books from the History Faculty Library’s collections which explore Black British history. You’ll find the display in the Upper Gladstone Link.

The university is hosting various online talks and events to mark Black History Month 2020. Margaret Casely-Hayford, CBE, will deliver the university’s Black History Month lecture. For information about this, and other virtual events taking place throughout October, follow this link.

Below are E-books on Black British history which are available to Oxford University members- simply click on the book cover to access the SOLO record. This is just a handful of what’s available. To find more, you could run a search for the subject ‘Blacks — Great Britain’ and filter the results to ‘online resources.’

Further, we would like to highlight the LibGuide for BME Studies which is part of the Bodleian’s ‘Changing the Narrative’ project championing diversity in collection development.

LGBT History Month 2017

February is LGBT History Month and we’re joining colleagues across the University in celebrating! Although we’re nearing the end of the month there are still lots of interesting things happening in Oxford and the University so have a look at the LGBTHM17 website for talks and events. We’ve put together a small display in the Gladstone Link of relevant books from our collections so get browsing!