History of Writing

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.

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.

Disability History Month

Banner with a gold background with "Disability History." written in black in the middle. The background is decorated with black and white triangles in shadow and reflection patterns

Disability History Month is an annual event that endeavours to document the history of inequality experienced by people with disabilities. The purpose of which, as stated by the official Disability History Month organisation, is to encourage for greater social change and human rights protections to improve the lives of those at present and in the future. It will be running from the 14th of November until the 20th of December.

This year, the official theme is “Employment and Livelihood,” which examines the factors that impact the employment of disabled people and how they have made a living throughout history, as well as in the present day. This will hopefully create a better understanding of these issues, so that a fair and just future might develop.

From our collections in the History Faculty Library, we have selected five books to work in accordance with this theme, as well as a further eight e-books which will be linked below. The remainder of the display commemorates the lives, accomplishments of people with disabilities as well as studying the challenges and attitudes they have faced throughout the world and over millennia.

Photograph of the Disability History Month display in the Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera, 12 books and 3 posters.

Banner with a gold background with "Online Resources." written in black in the middle. The background is decorated with black and white triangles in shadow and reflection patterns

To view the SOLO catalogue record for each of these online resources, please click on the front cover pictures! Please note that you will need to log in to SOLO with your Oxford University Single-Sign-On in order to access the full text. External readers will be able to access these resources by using the Bodleian Wi-fi network within the library or by using our reader PCS with their Bodleian Log-in details.

  Work requirements : race, disability, and the print culture of social welfare by Todd CarmodyNo Right to Be Idle : The Invention of Disability, 1840's to 1930's by Sarah F. Rose

 Global histories of disability, 1700-2015 : power, place and people by Esmee Cleall Blind in early modern Japan : disability, medicine, and identity by Wei Yu Wayne Tan

 Black disability politics by Sami Schalk Curating access : disability art activism and creative accommodation by Amanda Cachia

 Out of the Horrors of War : Disability Politics in World War II America by Audra Jennings Disability and labour in the twentieth century historical and comparative perspectives by Radu Harald Dinu and Staffan Bengtsson

On the 22nd of December, the History Faculty at Lincoln College will be hosting a Disability Month Workshop which you can find out more about by clicking here.

Banner with a gold background decorated with black and white triangles in shadow and reflection patterns

 

 

 

Black History Month

As of the start of October, we at the Radcliffe Camera History Faculty Library are celebrating Black History Month! The theme for this year is “Reclaiming Narratives,” which aims to highlight underexplored aspects of black history and experience, as well as encouraging aspects of global history to be examined and told by members of the black community through their perspectives. Another goal of this theme, as mentioned by the official UK Black History Month organisation, is to honour the work of black people throughout history with accomplishments in fields such as the arts, sciences, law, and of everyday life, the “unsung heroes.”  In accordance with this, we have curated a collection of History Faculty Library material in the Gladstone Link to suit this theme, as well as an array of online material which will be linked below.

Our online collections can be accessed via SOLO with a Single-Sign-On Oxford University Login, as well as from our reader PCs and Bodleian WIFI network within the library for Bodleian card holders. If you are a member of the university and would like to access our online collections remotely, then please check out our remote access service (note that this service is not available to external readers.)

Click on the images to be directed to the SOLO record for each resource!

Oxford University will be running a series of events and lectures during this month, which you can find through this link. In addition to this list, Kellogg College will be hosting its annual Black History Month lecture on the 15th of October, which you can find details for here. 

History of Sport

With the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics having drawn to a close and the 17th Summer Paralympic Games beginning on 26th August, there is still time to check out our History of Sport display in the Upper Gladstone Link. 

A book display on the history of sport. Titles displayed (left to right): Laduma! : soccer, politics and society in South Africa; Sports in American life : a history; City games : the evolution of American society and the rise of sports; Women, sport and modernity in interwar Britain; The FIFA World Cup, 1930-2010; The game of our lives; Marrow of the nation : a history of sport and physical culture in Republican China; Scoring for Britain; The changing politics of sport; And the sun shines now; Sports in world history; Sport and politics in modern Britain; A social history of English rowing; Sport under Communism

As well as the physical books on our display, the Bodleian Libraries have a number of e-books and e-resources covering sporting history. 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 access the record.

The international journal of the history of sportSwimming against the tide : true story of para swimmer Madhavi Latha by Madhavi Latha PrathigudupuRoutledge handbook of sport history The History of Women's Football by Jean Williams Athlete first : a history of the paralympic movement by Steve BaileyHow Football Began by Tony Collins  Games people played : a global history of sport by Wray VamplewMore than medals : a history of the Paralympics and disability sports in postwar Japan by Dennis J. Frost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more e-resources, including the Paralympic Archive, check out our Disability History LibGuide under the heading ‘Sport’. The Bodleian also holds the archive of athlete and neurologist Sir Roger Bannister (1929-2018), and you can view the catalogue online at Bodleian Archives and Manuscripts.

Pride Month 2024

Happy Pride Month from the HFL! To celebrate, we put together a display of physical and e-books showcasing the history and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community around the world from Roman London to modern Jamaica. Be sure to take a look at the display when you’re in the Camera, or check out some of our e-books and e-journals 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.

 Fractal Repair : Queer Histories of Modern Jamaica by Matthew ChinJournal of the History of SexualityLong Live Queer Nightlife : How the Closing of Gay Bars Sparked a Revolution by Amin Ghaziani Matchmaking in the archive by E. G. CrichtonA pill for promiscuity : gay sex in an age of pharmaceuticals by Andrew R. SpieldennerSuffering Sappho! : Lesbian Camp in American Popular Culture by Barbara Jane BrickmanQueer Newark : Stories of Resistance, Love, and Community by Whitney StrubThe Two Revolutions : A History of the Transgender Internet by Avery Dame-Griff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mental Health Awareness Week 2024

Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual campaign aiming to combat stigma and promote understanding of mental health running from 13th to 19th May. At the History Faculty Library, we have put together a display on the history of mental health, featuring books that shed light on the struggles individuals have faced with their mental and behavioural health and the evolution of attitudes towards mental illness throughout history. It also includes works on the history of emotions, exploring how humans have expressed and understood their complex feelings over time.

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.

 The Oxford handbook of the history of psychology global perspectives Madness in civilization by Andrew Scull  Madness cracked by Mick Power Voices in the history of madness : personal and professional perspectives on mental health and illness From Melancholia to Depression : Disordered Mood in Nineteenth-Century Psychiatry by Asa Jansson Anxiety : A Philosophical History by Bettina Bergo The Routledge history of madness and mental health Our minds, our selves : a brief history of psychology by Keith Oatley

Many more e-resources and physical books can be found on SOLO when searching “Mental illness — History“. Check out the Bodleian mental illness history LibGuide for further resources (including specific resources on depression and PTSD).

Please follow these links for information about Bodleian Libraries Wellbeing Sessions and the Student Welfare and Wellbeing webpages!

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

Taylor and Francis Humanities and Social Sciences ebooks 2016-2025

Readers have been severely impacted by the British Library outage and the loss of access to electronic legal deposit material. To support our readers, Bodleian Libraries have set up an ebook deal with Taylor & Francis EBA (access until 30 December 2025).

Taylor & Francis (including the Routledge imprint) is by the largest depositor of Non Print Legal Deposit (NPLD also known as eLD) material, with over 124,000 items held in the currently inaccessible British Library repository. Calculations from NPLD usage statistics from 2016-June 2023 show that T&F is also the most heavily used publisher (over 30,000 title accesses). Content, usage and requests fall predominantly in the subject areas of Humanities and Social Sciences.

An evidence-based acquisitions (EBA) package for the “missing” NPLD content from Taylor and Francis was decided to be the single most effective measure to mitigate the effect of the BL outage, which has had a far greater impact on monographs and edited collections, in comparison to journal holdings, where our subscriptions and R&P deals have largely covered the effects of the outage.

The new EBA for 2016-2025 (running until end 2025, and adding new content on publication) provide coverage for most currently missing titles and for the anticipated delay in restoring ingest of new publications.

Access has been turned on for current content and the individual records have been added to SOLO. Current content is just over 30,000 ebooks, splitting 60:40 between Social Sciences and Humanities. By the end of the subscription (December 2025), Oxford will have had access to over 35,000 titles.

At the end of the agreement, the libraries can select titles for perpetual access to the value of the deal, with a 17% uplift). Selections will be carried by library staff, with the benefit of the usage statistics during the period of the deal, to inform choices on permanent retentions.

While you are here:

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