The Festival of Archaeology 2026

Posted on 2 July 2026 by ljones

The Festival of Archaeology, held annually by the Council for British Archaeology, is an event that invites the public to participate in and learn about archaeological practices and discoveries in the UK.

The History Faculty Library is using this opportunity to highlight our collections focusing on archaeological discoveries in the UK, as well as British archaeological practices abroad. Please feel free to browse the display in the Upper Gladstone Link at the Radcliffe Camera, as well as the e-book display listed further below. Explore the realities of commercial archaeology in the UK with Paul Everill’s book here or read about the discovery of roundhouses built on slits over a river that collapsed in a catastrophic fire around 950 BCE in modern day Cambridgeshire here.

The books present on the physical display are as follows :

In Search of Cult: Archaeological Investigations in Honour of Philip Rahtz edited by M. Carver | Appropriated Pasts: Indigenous Peoples and the Colonial Culture of Archaeology by I. J McNiven | The Making of England: Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture, AD 600-900 edited by L. Webster and J. Backhouse | The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland, c.AD 400-1200 by L. Laing | Oxford Before the University: The Saxon and Norman Archaeology of the Thames Crossing, Defences and the Town by A. Dodd | The Staffordshire Hoard: An Anglo-Saxon Treasure by C. Fern | Archaeology in British Towns: From the Emperor Claudius to the Black Death by P. Ottoway | Gold, Gilt, Pots and Pins: Possessions and People in Medieval Britain by D. A. Hinton | An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms by C. J. Arnold | The Archaeology of Medieval England and Wales by J. Steane | Excavating Women: A History of Women in European Archaeology edited by M. Díaz-Andreu García and M. L. S. Sørenson | A Smith in Lindsey: The Anglo-Saxon Grave and Tattersall Thrope, Lincolnshire by D. A. Hinton | The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland by N. Edwards | Vikings in Scotland: An Archaeological Survey by J. Graham-Campbell and C. E. Batey | The Bretons by P. Galliou and J. Michael | Blood Red Roses: The Archaeology of a Mass Grave from the Battle of Towton AD 1461 edited by C. Knüsel, V. Fiorato, A. Boylston, A. W. Boardman

Pride 2026

Posted on 2 June 2026 by ljones

This Pride month, the History Faculty Library has arranged a display commemorating the history of LGBT+ communities throughout the world. This display aims to address diverse experiences throughout the LGBT+ spectrum, as well as across many different cultures and time periods. The display can be browsed in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera, in addition to the collection of e-books which can be accessed by clicking on the book cover pictures further below.

Check out the events that are being held by Oxford University for pride by clicking here and scrolling to the second sub-section, or head to Oxford Pride to see the itinerary of events throughout Oxford and how to get involved.

Books featured on the display above, from left to right:
Before we were trans by Kit Heyam ; In her hands by Emma Day ; Haunted Bauhaus by Elizabeth Otto ; Queer Georgians by Anthony Delaney ; A black queer history of the United States by C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost ; Lesbian intimacies and family life by Rebecca Jennings ; Histories of the transgender child by Jules Gill-Peterson ; Public faces, secret lives by Wendy L. Rouse ; Queen James by Gareth Russell ; The straight state by Margot Canaday.

Accessing the e-resource materials below will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.)

Mental Health Awareness Week 2026

Posted on 4 May 2026 by ljones

This year, Mental Health Awareness Week runs from the 11^th to the 17^th of May, organised by the Mental Health Foundation. In support of this important campaign, the History Faculty Library’s book display features a collection of items on the history of mental health, in Britain and around the world, to showcase how our understanding of mental illness and wellbeing has developed differently across the globe.

Books featured on the display above, from left to right:
A history of male psychological disorders in Britain, 1945-1980 by Ali Haggett | Psyche on the skin : a history of self-harm by Sarah Chaney | Cultures of psychiatry and mental health care in postwar Britain and The Netherlands edited by Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra and Roy Porter | The Routledge history of madness and mental health edited by Greg Eghigian | “Shattered nerves” : doctors, patients, and depression in Victorian England by Janet Oppenheim | Mad princes of renaissance Germany by H.C. Erik Midelfort | Madness, religion and the state in early modern Europe : a Bavarian beacon by David Lederer | Invention of hysteria : Charcot and the photographic iconography of the Salpêtrière by Georges Didi-Huberman ; translated by Alisa Hartz | Surfacing up : psychiatry and social order in colonial Zimbabwe, 1908-1968 by Lynette A. Jackson | Mass hysteria : medicine, culture, and mothers’ bodies by Rebecca Kukla | Remembrance of patients past : patient life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane, 1870-1940 by Geoffrey Reaume | From swords to sorrow : homicide and suicide in early modern Stockholm by Arne Jansson

With Trinity Term upon us, now is a particularly relevant time to remind students of the array of mental health resources that they can access through the University and the Bodleian Libraries. You can find out more about available supportive resources here, and a list of wellbeing initiatives and activities currently running here. Additionally, the Oxford Student Union offers a wide range of advice and support, which can be found on their website.

We would also like to spotlight the wellbeing display in the Bodleian Old Library, which can be found outside the Upper Reading Room. This is a breakout space that offers a selection of poetry, self-help books and even a collection of zines, submitted by kind contributors both within and beyond the university. Do stop by when you need a peaceful moment away from your studies!

Accessing the following e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either with a device connected to the Bodleian Libraries Wi-Fi network or using the reader PCs within the library). Select a cover to be taken to that item’s SOLO page.

To add to our display, the following is a selection of more books on the history of mental health that are available to read online, in addition to a number of memoirs. Reading about others’ experiences begets greater understanding, and can help those struggling feel less isolated, hence these personal stories have been chosen to that end.

Earth Day 2026

Posted on 2 April 2026 by ljones

To raise awareness of the impact of anthropogenic climate change, Earth day will be held on the 22nd of April. This campaign spotlights the many challenges faced throughout the world due to the mounting effects of ecological changes as well as championing the work being done to limit this, acknowledging especially how this will disproportionately affect impoverished and marginalised communities. In accordance with this, the History Faculty Library has arranged a display in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera exploring the history of human impact and research on the environment, as well as current social and political issues surrounding climate change. This also includes a spotlight for our E-book collections, which you can browse further down this post. Please click on the book covers to be directed to the SOLO catalogue record for each entry.

Photograph of the book display in the Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera.

Books on the display above, from the top left:
“The Chimney of the World: A History of Smoke Pollution in Victorian and Edwardian Manchester“ by Stephen Mosley | “A Cultural History of Climate“ by Wolfgang Behringer | “Rummage: a History of the Things We Have Reused, Recycled and Refused to Let Go“ by Emily Cockayne | “Dark Laboratory: on Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis“ by Tao Leigh Goffe | “Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First“ by Frank Trentmann | “Climate, History and the Modern World“ by H. H. Lamb | “Footprints: in Search of Future Fossils“ by David Farrier | “Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914“ by John Robert McNeil | “The Afterlife of Used Things: Recycling in the Long Eighteenth Century“ edited by A. Fennetaux, A. Junqua, and S. Vasset. | “An Environmental History of Britain Since the Industrial Revolution“ by B.W. Clapp | “Science and Nature: Essays in the History of of the Environmental Sciences“ edited by Michael Shortland | “An Environmental History of the Middle Ages: The Crucible of Nature“ by John Aberth | “Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change“ by Nathaniel Rich |

banner reading "E-Books", white text on a green background with line illustrations of roses in a darker green.

Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.) Please note that one of the entries below: “Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse” by Dave Goulson is an Electronic Legal Deposit item, and will need to be consulted on a reader PC within the Bodleian Libraries using the ELD browser.

Book cover for "Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse" by Dave Goulson. An illustration of various moths, butterflies and beetles in a circular pattern on a black background.

book cover for "At Nature's Edge: The Global Present and Long-Term History" by Gunnel Cederlof and Mahesh Rangarajan. White text on black borders with a photograph in the middle of a woman walking across sand with a water container in her hand.

banner reading "More Resources", white text on a green background with line illustrations of roses in a darker green.

If you would like to get involved in making a difference, please check out these links:

Volunteering in Oxfordshire
Lifestyle and consumer choices in Oxford (And further to that, have a look at: SHARE Oxford to borrow instead of buying, or Ethical Consumer to consider your options.)
Read up on Oxford University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy, and check out the Climate and Environment page
Talk to a Student Union representative

International Women’s Day 2026

Posted on 4 March 2026 by ljones

This March, to mark International Women’s Day 2026, the History Faculty Library’s book display shines a light on women whose lives, labour, and influence have too often been overlooked. The theme, untold and forgotten female histories, invites us to look beyond familiar names and stories, and to consider how history is shaped by power and access. These books challenge us to ask why so many women have been left out of historical narratives.

Among the works on display is The Graces: The Extraordinary Untold Lives of Women at the Restoration Court, which uncovers the political, cultural, and personal influence of women navigating the male-dominated world of seventeenth-century England. Similarly, Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women’s Bodies explores how women’s bodies have been understood, controlled, and represented across time, revealing the deep connections between gender, medicine, and social power. Together, these texts show how women’s experiences were central to historical change, even when they were excluded from official accounts.

We are also highlighting HFL’s online materials such as Thanks for Typing: Remembering Forgotten Women in History, dedicated to recovering the uncredited female contributions throughout history. From court insiders to clerical workers, these books and resources remind us that history is full of hidden lives waiting to be rediscovered.

This International Women’s Day, we invite you to explore the display, reflect on whose stories have been marginalised, and consider how recovering women’s histories can reshape our understanding of the past.

Books featured on the display above, from left to right:

Legenda : the real women behind the myths that shaped Europe by Janina Ramirez | Medieval women religious, c. 800-c. 1500 : new perspectives by Kimm Curran and Janet Burton | I am not afraid of looking into the rifles : women of the resistance in World War One by Rick Stroud | Femina : a new history of the Middle Ages, through the women written out of it by Janina Ramirez | The graces : the extraordinary untold lives of women at the Restoration court by Breeze Barrington | Not just a man’s war : Chinese women’s memories of the war of resistance against Japan, 1931-45 by Yihong Pan | La Duchesse : the life of Marie de Vignerot : Cardinal Richelieu’s forgotten heiress who shaped the fate of France by Bronwen McShea | Women, witchcraft and the Inquisition in Spain and the New World by María Jesús Zamora Calvo | Public faces, secret lives : a queer history of the women’s suffrage movement by Wendy L. Rouse | Immaculate forms : uncovering the history of women’s bodies by Helen King | Bringing home the White House : the hidden history of women who shaped the presidency in the twentieth century by Melissa Estes Blair.

These e-book resources can be accessed via SOLO, which will require an Oxford University SSO login. Alternatively, they can be used through a Bodleian reader account for external readers who can access the material by connecting to the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or logging on to the reader PCs within the library.

LGBT+ History Month 2026

Posted on 4 February 2026 by ljones

With the start of February comes LGBT+ History Month in the UK, which was founded by the LGBT+ education charity Schools OUT in 2004. You can learn more about their history and work on their official website.

Here in the Radcliffe Camera, we have put together a display to celebrate this important period of observance, focused on the theme of ‘Science & Innovation’.

Our display covers multiple aspects of this theme: spotlighting the lives of queer scientists and other intellectuals, showcasing their work, as well as considering the harm and other discrimination LGBT+ people have faced in the medical world and beyond due to bias and prejudice or even just inadequate research. Therefore, our selection features varying topics.

You will find several biographies, as well as compiled letters, first-hand accounts and other writings from queer voices in these relevant spaces. There are stories from AIDS activists, collections of medical and social research over the years, and the published works of LGBT+ writers.

Examples include: gay rights activist Frank Kameny, an astronomer who was fired for his sexuality during the Lavender Scare; marine biologist Rachel Carson, the nature of whose relationship with Dorothy Freeman has been debated as a result of them destroying many of their letters before her death, and the contents of the correspondence that remains; Florence Nightingale and Leonardo da Vinci, two widely renowned figures who are believed to have been queer in some way.

Of course, most historic figures can only be speculated as LGBT+, given that the times and societies they lived in did not have the same standards and definitions we use today. Until recent years, it would be rare to find records of anybody identifying with specific queer terminology.

Interpretations are made based on their words and actions and relevant cultural context, and it’s important to remember that we can appreciate and identify with those that were likely queer without needing to assign strict labels. We encourage readers who are interested to have a look into these fascinating people themselves!

Books featured on the display above, from left to right:

Florence Nightingale : the woman and her legend by Mark Bostridge | The New Negro edited by Alain Locke ; with an introduction by Arnold Rampersad | Turing : pioneer of the information age by B. Jack Copeland | The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall ; with an introduction by Maureen Duffy | Silent Spring by Rachel Carson ; with an introduction by Caroline Lucas | Let the record show : a political history of ACT UP New York , 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman | How to survive a plague : the inside story of how citizens and science tamed AIDS by David France | Before AIDS : gay health politics in the 1970s by Katie Batza | The Transgender Studies Reader 2 edited by Susan Stryker and Aren Z. Aizura | I’ll stand by you : selected letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland with narrative by Sylvia Townsend Warner ; edited by Susanna Pinney | Leonardo : the artist and the man by Serge Bramly | Generation on fire : voices of protest from the 1960s : an oral history by Jeff Kisseloff

The Remedy : Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care edited by Zena Sharman

Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality by Simon LeVay

International Day of Education – 24th January 2026

Posted on 7 January 2026 by ljones

24^th January marks International Day of Education, with the theme for 2026 focusing on AI and education. To mark the occasion, our HFL book display highlights some historical research on access to education, and the development and dissemination of knowledge. Among these books are historical studies on segregated education, the impacts of war on learning, and AI technology in the classroom.

Alongside these historical perspectives, these books invite us to consider how today’s debates around artificial intelligence fit into longer histories of educational change and technological innovation. From the printing press to digital learning, new tools and perspectives have continually reshaped education and how we share knowledge. By exploring these books, we can place contemporary discussions about AI in education within a broader historical and social context of equitable access to quality education.

Books featured on the display from the top left:

“The impact of the First World War on British universities : emerging from the shadows” by John Taylor | “Scholars and sultans in the early modern Ottoman Empire” by Abdurrahman Atçıl | “Education and empire : children, race and humanitarianism in the British settler colonies, 1833-1880” by Rebecca Swartz | “The history of education under apartheid, 1948-1994 : the doors of learning and culture shall be opened” by Peter Kallaway | “Histories of scientific observation” by Lorraine Daston | “The men and women we want : gender, race, and the progressive era literacy test debate” by Jeanne D. Petit | “Education in Britain : 1944 to the present” by Ken Jones | “Jim Crow moves North : the battle over northern school desegregation, 1865-1954” by Davison M. Douglas | “In her hands : the education of Jewish girls in tsarist Russia” by Eliyana R. Adler | “The new empire of AI : the future of global inequality” by Rachel Adams | “The scientific life : a moral history of a late modern vocation” by Steven Shapin | “Brown v. Board of Education : a civil rights milestone and its troubled legacy” by James T Patterson | “Education and fascism : political identity and social education in Nazi Germany” by Heinz Sünker |

Disability History Month 2025

Posted on 20 November 2025 by ljones

This year, the official theme for Disability History Month is “Disability, Life and Death.” This theme addresses concerns about the legislation being considered in parliament regarding assisted suicide and how it could be used against disabled people. Instead, as explained by the DHM website, it should be the responsibility of our society to properly accommodate disabled people to be able to live their lives to the fullest. They also address the history of ideas that have attacked disabled people’s right to life, including the history of eugenics and the sterilisation or mass murder campaigns that it led to.

From the 20^th of November through December, a collection of History Faculty Library material will be displayed on this topic in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera. In addition, a selection of relevant e-resources have been listed below. Please click on the book cover pictures to be taken to the SOLO catalogue record for each resource. For further reading on the subject of disability history, please check out our LibGuide by clicking here.

Books featured on the display from the top left:
“War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race” by Edwin Black | “Disability in Eighteenth Century England: Imagining Physical Impairment” by David Turner | “The Routledge History of Disability” edited by Roy Hanes | “Ramping Up Rights: An Unfinished History of British Disability Activism” by Rachel Charlton-Dailey | “The Problem of Mental Deficiency: Eugenics, Democracy and Social Policy in Britain c.1870-1959” by Mathew Thomson | “Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court and Buck v. Bell” by Paul Lombardo | “Death and Deliverance: ‘Euthanasia’ in Germany c.1900-1954” by Michael Burleigh | “Medical Films, Ethics and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany: The History of Medical Research and Teaching Films of the Reich Office for Educational Films– Reich Institute for Films in Science and Education, 1933-1945” by Ulf Schmidt | “Treatment Without Consent: Law, Psychiatry and the Treatment of Mentally Disordered People Since 1845” by Phil Fennell | “A Historical Sociology of Disability: Human Validity and Invalidity from Antiquity to Early Modernity” by Bill Hughes | “Colonising Disability: Impairment and Otherness Across Britain and its Empire c. 1800-1914” by Esme Cleall | “A History of Disability in England: From the Medieval Period to the Present Day” by Simon Jarrett.

Book cover for "The Staff of Oedipus: Transforming Disability in Ancient Greece" by Martha L. Rose. White text on a grey illustration of Oedipus seated, with his staff and a woman crying at his feet. The highlights of the illustration are in an orange-toned cream rather than white.

Book cover for "The Good Death: Nazi Euthanasia on Trail, 1945-1953" by Michael S. Bryant. Alternating white and orange text overlaid on a black background. Behind this, an illustration of men in long coats having a discussion stand in the top left corner. Underneath them, distressed people stuck in square-shaped holes in the floor hold their faces in their hands.

Black History Month 2025

Posted on 1 October 2025 by ljones

This month we are celebrating Black History Month! This years theme is “Standing Firm in Power and Pride”, which aims to highlight those people and communities who have resisted racism, lead social change, and stood firm in their pride for the Black community in Britain.

Cherron Inko-Tariah MBE, the Editor in Chief of the Black History Month UK Magazine, wrote in this years issue that “The need to stand firm is especially clear against a backdrop of rising nationalism and systemic inequalities… Yet the story of power in Black history is not only about struggle — it is also about resilience and pride.” To read more of Inko-Tariah’s thoughts, and learn about Black History Month, go to their website, here.

Our physical display takes material from the History Faculty collection and tackles a range of eras, with a focus on resistance, liberation in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Books on the display above, from left to right:

Making the revolution global : black radicalism and the British socialist movement before decolonisation by Theo Williams | Police power and black people by Derek Humphry | Black for a cause– not just because : the case of the “Oval 4” and the story it tells of Black Power in 1970s Britain by Winston N. Trew | Slaves to fashion : black dandyism and the styling of black diasporic identity by Monica L. Miller | Ambivalent affinities : a political history of Blackness and homosexuality after World War II by Jennifer Dominique Jones | There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: The cultural politics of race and nation by Paul Gilroy | We were there by Lanre Bakare | Britons through negro spectacles by A.B.C. Merriman-Labor | Black voices on Britain : selected writings edited by Hakim Adi | Black England : a forgotten Georgian history by Gretchen Gerzina | Rhodes must fall : the struggle to decolonise the racist heart of empire by the Rhodes Must Fall Movement (Oxford) | A black boy at Eton by Dillibe Onyeama | Black Liverpool : the early history of Britain’s oldest Black community, 1730-1918 by Roy Costello | The struggle is eternal : Gloria Richardson and black liberation by Joseph R. Fitzgerald | Black Tommies : British soldiers of African descent in the First World War by Ray Costello | The motherland calls : Britain’s black servicemen & women, 1939-45 by Stephen Bourne | The other special relationship : race, rights, and riots in Britain and the United States edited by Robin D.G. Kelley and Stephen G.N. Tuck

As part of Black History Month, Oxford University will be holding their annual lecture, this year given by Dr José Lingna Nafafé on the topic of Lourenço da Silva Mendonça early abolitionists. Please check out the website here for more information and to book tickets.

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

Posted on 19 August 2025 by ljones

First observed in Haiti on August 23rd 1998, this remembrance day reflects on the lives of the victims of the Atlantic slave trade, as well as the institutional machinations that perpetrated it. In doing so, this project reveals the depths, the causes, and the continued legacy of ramifications that find their roots in this atrocity.

In accordance with this, a display featuring History Faculty Library material relevant to this topic has been arranged in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera for perusal. Alternatively, there is an e-book collection to browse through at the bottom of this page, please scroll down and click on the book covers to be taken to the SOLO record of each resource.

Books on the display above, from left to right:
“Maroon Nation: a History of Revolutionary Haiti” by Johnhery Gonzalez | “Slave Religion: The ‘Invisible Institution’ in the Antebellum South” by Albert J. Raboteau | “The Ragged Road to Abolition: Slavery and Freedom in New Jersey, 1775-1865” by James J. Gigantino II | “The Slave’s Cause: a History of Abolition” by Sinha Manisha | “Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation” by Kris Manjapra | “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family’s Keepsake“ by Tiya Miles | “Black Ivory: a History of British Slavery” by James Walvin | “Fugitive Slaves and Spaces of Freedom in North America” ed. Damian A. Pargas | “Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America’s Coastal Slave Trade” by Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie | “Spain and the Abolition of Slavery in Cuba, 1817-1886” by Arthur F. Corwin | “Beyond Bondage: Free Women of Colour in the Americas” by David B. Gaspar and Darlene C. Hine | “Romantic Colonization and British Anti-Slavery” by Deidre Coleman | “Slave Portraiture in the Atlantic World” by Agnes I. Lugo-Oritz and Angela Rozenthal | “Deep Like the Rivers: Education in the Slave Quarter Community, 1831-1865” by Thomas L. Webber

Book cover for: "Gendered Resistance: Women, Slavery and the Legacy of Margaret Garner ed. M. E. Frederickson and D. M. Walters. Text above a portrait of a black woman wearing a white hair covering.

Book cover for: "Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp" by J. Brent Morris.
Text overlaying a digital illustration of a couple wading through water with foliage all around them.

The National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House under Royal Museums Greenwich will be holding their annual exhibition with a range of talks and activities on the 23^rd of August for Slavery Remembrance Day. Click here for more details on the itinerary.
In addition, this date coincides with the anniversary of the opening for the International Museum of Slavery in 2007, a part of the collective of National Museums Liverpool. Which, in partnership with the black community of Liverpool, participates in events for Slavery Remembrance Day. There are a range of in-person events and online resources, click the link here for details on this.

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