Worcester College History Society

LAST HISTORY SOC EVENT OF TERM!!
Come along this Friday ( 22nd) at 7:30, Worcester College, memorial room.
There will be two interesting talks this week followed by drinks and discussion🤩
And Here We Rest: Poland and the Jews in the 13th Century
- presented by Hannah Scott Ravikumar

Material Authorities: Hegemonic Masculinity and the Great Seal of William Rufus, King of England (r.1087-1100)
– presented by Josh MacRae

The second talk of this year will be THIS FRIDAY, 7:30 pm in the Memorial Room.
The talk normally lasts 30 minutes followed by questions then FREE wine and soft drinks to finish.
We always have such amazing speakers who are so passionate to discuss their areas of research.
As always, all subjects are very very welcome. There is no pressurised discussion at all- it is only if you want to ask some questions of the speaker. 99% of people just come along to learn a bit about an area they knew nothing about beforehand and enjoy drinks after.
ESPECIALLY HISTORY FRESHERS - this will be a great chance to get to know your fellow historians 🤩🤩
Hope to see loads of you on Friday !
History love xx

WORC HISTORY SOC WORC HISTORY SOC WORC HISTORY SOC !!
The first talk of this year will be THIS FRIDAY, 7:30 pm in the Memorial Room.
The talk normally lasts 30 minutes followed by questions then FREE wine and nibbles to finish.
We always have such amazing speakers who are so passionate to discuss their areas of research.
As always, all subjects are very very welcome. There is no pressurised discussion at all- it is only if you want to ask some questions of the speaker. 99% of people just come along to learn a bit about an area they knew nothing about beforehand and enjoy drinks after.
ESPECIALLY HISTORY FRESHERS - this will be a great chance to get to know your fellow historians 🤩🤩
Hope to see loads of you on Friday !

History love xx

MINI LECTURE THIS MONDAY ( 3rd June) !!
7:30 pm in the MEMORIAL ROOM

Come along for a fascinating talk, FREE nibbles and FREE wine/ non-alcoholic options.
It would be great to see as many people there as possible !! It's a fab study break, anyone ( all subjects !!) are welcome and the speakers really appreciate a full audience 🤩🤩

Arthur will be speaking on: 'Death on the Dniester: Escaping from Ukraine to Romania during the Holodomor'.

Synopsis: 'In this talk I will examine how the specific geography of southwestern Ukraine informed peasant survival strategies during collectivisation and the Holodomor.'

History love xx

History soc cancelled tonight !!! Sorry everyone 😭😭
Enjoy your evenings xx

MINI-LECTURE TOMORROW 7:30pm Memorial Room. Come along for a fascinating talk, snacks and drinks.

Catherine Finnie will be speaking on : ''The Death of Anti-Devolutionism: A Study on the Tartanisation of the Labour Party in Opposition (1979-97)''
Synopsis : work focuses on Unionism and Nationalism in Modern Scotland. For my Master's thesis, I am examining the shift in the Labour Party's position on devolution from the relatively short time between the 1979 referendum to the successful vote in 1997. It also seeks to examine the gradual ‘tartanisation’ of the party while in opposition. Given the dominance of the Labour Party in Scottish politics, the party have received little attention in comparison to the relatively tumultuous time of the SNP and Conservatives. The work seeks to place the constitutional issue within the context of the Labour-SNP rivalry, rather than within the Labour-Conservative duopoly which was less significant within Scottish politics. ''

It would be great to see as many people there as possible !! It's a nice study break and the speakers really appreciate a full audience 🤩🤩

MINI-LECTURE TOMORROW 7:30pm Staircase 5 Lecture Room. Come along for a fascinating talk, snacks and drinks.

Bhadrajee Hewage will be speaking on : "Was the Buddha Actually Sri Lankan? Challenges to Existing Historiography on Buddhism's Origins"
Synopsis: ''For the past 200 years, our understanding that Buddhism originated somewhere in the Middle Gangetic region of the Indian subcontinent has been largely unchallenged. While Nepal and India often publicly argue as to who can rightfully claim ownership over the Buddha, could Sri Lanka, too, stake its own claims to Buddhism’s founder? A closer exploration of the archaeological, epigraphical, and written evidence involving the island, however, suggests that a Sri Lankan origin for the Buddha may not be so far-fetched."

Would be great to see as many people as possible for the first talk of term !! :)

Term card for this term!

Come along on Monday 6th May to the staircase 5 lecture room at 7:30pm to hear about the historiography of Buddhism!

MINI LECTURE: Monday 19th feb

7:30pm in the memorial room

“A slave by any other name? The terminology of Ancient Greek slavery”

Abstract:

Even the most cursory glance at surviving ancient Greek texts reveals that slavery must have been central in all parts of life. Be it comedy or tragedy, inscriptions or papyri: slaves turn up everywhere—or do they?

What we translate and hence imagine as one phenomenon, namely that of slavery, looks diverse in Greek. This fact is entirely obvious to anyone looking at the original evidence. But what are we to take from such linguistic diversity? Its implications for how we are to think of slavery in the ancient Greek world have not been given the attention they deserve. In this paper, I will look at three terms: δοῦλος, οἰκέτης, and ἀνδράποδον. I will analyse their various connotations in different contexts in ways that scholarship is yet to capture. In doing so, I hope to show the overarching connections that can be found within that diversity that speak to the different ways the Greeks conceptualised the exploitation of the enslaved. Where these words overlap and where they do not hints at exactly those conceptualisations. The difference in usages of δοῦλος and ἀνδράποδον capture complimentary models of what it means to be a slave in the abstract and often metaphorical. The discrepancies between occurrences of ἀνδράποδον and οἰκέτης, on the other hand, reveal differences on the concrete and literal level, specifically in the perception of different kinds of slave labour. Together, these differences in usage of δοῦλος, οἰκέτης, and ἀνδράποδον capture complimentary models of what it means to be an enslaved person. What seems to us like one phenomenon was conceptualised in entirely different and mutually exclusive ways.

MINI LECTURE: Monday 5th feb 7:30pm in the memorial room

Come along to hear about the role of gender in shaping experiences of Athenian children during the classical period

Summary: are there iconographical differences in the representation of girls, as opposed to boys, throughout childhood? Are girls or boys depicted more often in certain social contexts? Since there is no evidence directly from children themselves; their experiences should be studied through a material approach, that is, through the archaeological or iconographic record. This study explores representations of infants, toddlers, and adolescents in classical Attic red-figure vases, white-ground vases, and terracotta votives to identify patterns in the iconography of boys and girls, and to shed more light on children's gendered and ritual realities in Classical Athens.

BOOK LAUNCH x3

On the 9th feb our very own Max Lau is holding a book launch in the Nazrin Shah centre for his new book “Emperor John II Komnenos: Rebuilding New Rome 1118-1143”

This groundbreaking work of Byzantine history is the product of almost a decade of fieldwork and research by Dr Maximilian Lau, Junior Research Fellow at Worcester College Oxford, who was previously a President of the Oxford Byzantine Society and a doctoral student of Mark Whittow.

The event will start at 6pm with a few words from Dr Catherine Holmes and Dr James Howard-Johnston on the book, before a drinks reception.

RSVP using the form below:

Byzantine Book Launch RSVP You are invited to the book launch for Emperor John II Komnenos: Rebuilding New Rome 1118-1143 (OUP) on the 9th of February, likely to be held in the Naz Shah Centre, Worcester College Oxford, and supported by the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. This groundbreaking work of Byzantine history is...

TERM CARD x3

Check out our term card below for all the amazing talks happening this term!