Tag Archives: 2025

Disability History Month 2025

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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 20th 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.

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.)

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.
Book cover for "Crying Hands: Eugenics and Deaf People in Nazi Germany" by Horst Biesold. Navy and Orange blocked background, with black text in the centre. Underneath the text, an ink illustration of a group of skeletal people with a hand shape made up of many individual hands crosses diagonally on top of them.
Book cover for "Disability in the Global South: The Critical Handbook" edited by Shaun Grech and Karen Soldatic. White text on a background of modulated colours in red, orange and purple.
Book cover for "Disability, Liberation and Development" by Peter Coleridge. Gold text on a photographic background, that has been manipulated to a green hue. A n older woman dressed in a sari helps a child read a book. Another child stands next to them, also holding a book
Book cover for "Menace to the Future: A Disability and Queer History of Carceral Eugenics" by Jess Whatcott. Black text set to the left on a painted abstract celestial background. A large round yellow shape underlays the text, green-blue at the edges. Behind it, a dark navy background with spots of white. Underneath both of these, layers of orange, white and purple streaks in different gradients. Overlaying all of this are graphite-looking sketches of plant matter and symbols.

Black History Month 2025

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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

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.)

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.

Pride Month Display

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Banner reading "pride month" in alternating rainbow colours. The banner features an illustration of a bumblebee hummingbird with its feather colours altered to resemble the Gilbert Baker rainbow pride flag

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.

Explore the activism of black members of the LGBT+ community and their relations to the civil rights movements post-WW2 with Jennifer Dominique Jones’ book “Ambivalent affinities,” featured in the on-shelf display or read analysis about the desires between ancient women of the greek and roman worlds with Sandra Boehringer’s book on the e-book display below, plus many more.

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.

photograph of a display of 14 books along with 2 posters promoting the e-books linked further down in this article. The books, from the top left are: 1) As good as marriage : the Anne Lister diaries, 1836-38 / [edited by] Jill Liddington. 2) Unmaking sex : the gender outlaws of nineteenth-century France / Anne E. Linton. 3)The Stonewall Riots : a documentary history / Marc Stein. 4)LGBT Victorians : sexuality and gender in the nineteenth-century archives / Simon Joyce. 5)Unsuitable : a history of lesbian fashion / Eleanor Medhurst. 6) Ambivalent affinities : a political history of Blackness and homosexuality after World War II / Jennifer Dominique Jones. 7) Surpassing the love of men : romantic friendship and love between women from the Renaissance to the present / Lillian Faderman. 8) On queer street : a social history of British homosexuality, 1895-1995 / Hugh David. 9) No bath but plenty of bubbles : an oral history of the gay liberation front, 1970-73 / Lisa Power 10) Not a passing phase : reclaiming lesbians in history 1840-1985 / Lesbian History Group 11) James VI and I and the history of homosexuality / Michael B. Young. 12) Ambiguous gender in early modern Spain and Portugal : inquisitors, doctors and the transgression of gender norms / François Soyer. 13) Same-sex sexuality in later medieval English culture / Tom Linkinen. 14) Before homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic world, 1500-1800 / Khaled El-Rouayheb.

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.)

Book cover for "Trans Historical: gender Purality Before the Modern" edited by G. LaFleur, M. Raskolnikov and A. Klosowska featuring a stylistic illustration of a woman with red hair in a black dress
Book cover for "Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940" by G. Chauncey featuring an illustration of two men in suits wearing top hats and smoking sigars on a pastel yellow background darkened in the corners to convery illumination.
Book cover for "Female Homosexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome" by S. Boehringer featuring a painting of three young women
Book cover for "Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World" edited by N. S. Rabinowitz and L. Auanger featuring black and white freize illustrations with a red border.
Book cover for "Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan" by S. Chalmers featuring a kanji character on a teal background
Book cover for "The Libertine's Friend: Homosexuality & Masculinity in Late Imperial China" by G. Vitello featuring an ink illustration of two men in a forest
Book cover for "Not Straight, Not White: Gay Black Men from the March on Washington to the AIDs Crisis" by K. J. Mumford featuring white text on a black background with a photograph of a man standing with his back to the viewer.
Book cover for "TransAntiquity: Cross-dressing and Transgender Dynamics in the Anicent World" It features a photograph of a relief wall carving of four figures on a black and blue background.

LGBT+ History Month 2025

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In the UK, February marks LGBT+ History month, an initiative started by the education charity Schools OUT. Now in its twentieth year, the month provides an opportunity for LGBTQ+ people from a variety of backgrounds to explore their histories. You can learn more about the national campaign here.

This year, our display highlights some lesser known queer stories in history, from the medieval islamicate world to Brighton in the 50s and 60s. Be sure to check out the physical books on display, as well as our e-book display below.

Oxford University members can access all e-books remotely by signing into SOLO with their ‘Single Sign On.’ Click on the book covers below to view the SOLO records for some of the featured texts.

Our physical display includes:

  1. Black on Both Sides : A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton.
  2. Re-Dressing: America’s Frontier Past by Peter Boag.
  3. Daring Hearts : Lesbian and Gay Lives of 50s and 60s Brighton by The Brighton Ourstory Project.
  4. Male Colors : The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan by Gary P. Leupp.
  5. Masculinity, Class and Same-sex Desire in Industrial England, 1895-1957 by Helen Smith.
  6. Islamicate Sexualities : Translations Across Temporal Geographies of Desire, edited by Kathryn Babayan and Afsaneh Najmabadi.
  7. Female Masculinity by Jack Halberstam.
  8. The Pink Triangle by Richard Plant.
  9. True Sex : The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Emily Skidmore.
  10. Autobiography of an Androgyne by Ralph Werther/Earl Lind, edited by Scott Herring.
  11. Intimate Friends : Women Who Loved Women, 1778-1928 by Martha Vicinus.
  12. Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson.
  13. Gay Life and Culture : A World History by Robert Aldrich.
  14. Good as You by Paul Flynn.
  15. It’s Not Unusual: A History of Lesbian and Gay Britain in the Twentieth Century by Alkarim Jivani.
  16. Out on Stage by Alan Sinfield.

History of Writing

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Banner reading "History of Writing" in black text over a light grey background. In the background, there are illustrations in white depicting: a lighthouse with a wave next to it, a bouquet of violets, and a manor surrounded by blighted trees and framed by heather flowers and buds.

This January marks the birth month of many widely acclaimed writers, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, Anne Brontë, A. Milne, Edgar Alan Poe, Isaac Asimov and many more contemporary writers like Haruki Murakami. It is also the beginning of the 250th year since Jane Austen’s birth, which will be celebrated in December 2025.

To celebrate this, a display showcasing the history of writing has been prepared in the Radcliffe Camera. It will follow the broad history of writing as a medium of storytelling, from ancient times to the modern world as well as the print and publishing processes that go along with it. An e-book display, which can be accessed below by clicking on the book cover pictures, goes into more detail with the historical context of the writers mentioned above, as well as following the histories of writing outside of Europe.

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.

Book cover for "Virginia Woolf in context" edited by Bryony Randall. Cover includes a sketch of Virginia Woolf in the background.
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Book cover for "Tolkien the medievalist" edited by Jane Chance. Cover depicts a medieval manuscript style ink illustration of a procession of people walking over a precarious bridge with dismembered bodies in the water below.
Book cover for "Routledge Handbook of Ancient, Classical and Late Classical Persian Literature" Photograph on cover depicts architecture with a dome and columns behind a canal.
Book cover for "J. D. Salinger's The catcher in the rye : a cultural history" by Josef Benson. Background depicts a photograph of carousel horses edited in red.
Book cover for "East of Delhi: Multilingual Literary Culture and World Literature" by Francesca Orsini. Gold text on a burgundy background.
Book cover for "Bleak houses : marital violence in Victorian fiction" by Lisa Surridge. Illustration depicts a sketch of a man holding a sword while throwing a newspaper at a woman on the floor in bandages.
Book cover of 'A history of Chinese literature' by Zhang Longxi, with an illustration of trees and mountains done in ink.
Book cover for "A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe" edited by J. Gerald Kennedy. Depicts an illustration of a woman lying in a bed with flowers.
Banner reading "History of Writing" in black text over a light grey background. In the background, there are illustrations in white depicting: a raven on a branch with twigs and branches in the background and a dragon on a pile of sparkling treasure including goblets, crowns and jewels.