By BRIHC Scholar Carmen Thompson
Today, Thursday 2 March 2017 marks World Book Day, an annual celebration of reading across the globe. To celebrate, fellow BRIHC scholar Grace Owen and I took a trip round the university’s College of Arts and Law to find out what people are reading.
BRIHC is all about cross-disciplinary conversations and we thought it would a great way to get just a small snapshot of the types of subjects people are studying.
Here’s what we found out:
Bad Queen Bess?
Elizabeth, MA Early Modern History (BRIHC Scholar)
"This book shows how unpopular Elizabeth I was amongst her Catholic subjects and how pamphlets and libels mocking her were circulating in England throughout her reign."
The Human Stain
Lydia, American Studies & English Literature
“It’s for a module called “Passing and the Fictions of American Identity”. The book is about passing as a Jewish man.”
Tibullus
Heather, MA Antiquity
“I’m looking at the transmission of texts. How they come down through time, how they have been used/misused and how there are often errors within them.”
The Civilising Mission in the Metropole
Jamie and MA Contemporary History read group
“It’s about how the French government went about ‘civilising’ Algerian migrants after World War II”
Sin Is A Puppy That Follows You Home
Pernille, MRes African Studies
“It’s a Nigerian romance novel, translated from Hausa to English. It follows the characters through there ups and downs in love, committing various different ‘sins’. A lot of ‘puppies’ following you home!”
Court Rolls Of The Manor Of Wakefield
Grace, MA Medieval Studies (BRIHC Scholar)
“It contains court records of the behaviour of free peasants. I’m reading it as part of my MA dissertation looking at social and economic implications and roles of officials.”
Global Nollywood: The Transnational Dimensions Of An African Video Film Industry
Carmen, MA African Studies (BRIHC Scholar)
“It’s background reading for my dissertation. It’s looking at the evolution of ‘Nollywood’, the Nigerian film industry, and how the films are now consumed and produced around the globe, forming transnational links between Nigeria and global diasporas.”
Gender Trouble
Dr Rebecca Jones, Lecturer in African Studies
“I’m rereading it, because it’s one of the key texts on feminist thought. It helps us to understand how gender is constructed, as oppose to essential or innate.”
Seasons of Mercy
Dr Margaret Small, Lecturer in Europe and the Wider World
“I’m rereading for my new project looking at failed colonies.”
Carmen Thompson is a BRIHC Scholar currently undertaking an MA in African Studies, with a research interest in media representations of Africa and in particular visual portrayals of East Africa.