These wide-ranging essays are based on new research and linked by a vigorous methodology. Some re-visit well-known historians and subjects. Others make a convincing case for resurrecting the neglected or forgotten. All are problem solving and reach outwards, as well as inwards.
Venereal Diseases and the Reform Enigma
Many consider misogyny, class conflict and racial paranoia the drivers of venereal disease control policy in the early twentieth century. This book re-examines sources from Edinburgh and Adelaide to reveal a more complex reality of practical disease control.
Victorian Traffic
This collection explores “traffic”—a key concept for the Victorian era’s imperial expansion. With a global range, these essays address the two-way, cross-cultural exchange of ideas, images, and identity, revealing it as relational and always in motion.
Views from the Parish
This collection of essays explores churchwardens’ accounts in a number of parishes in England, Wales and Ireland. These accounts offer an invaluable source of information about the maintenance of the church fabric, and the nature of parish worship and community life in general.
Visualizing the Miraculous, Visualizing the Sacred
Contrary to a facile spiritual conquest, native peoples in Mexico incorporated Catholicism on their own terms. This study examines visual evidence of the persistence of traditional religious practices, from pre-hispanic stones in churches to pagan iconography in murals.
Voices from within the Veil
The Veil hangs between Then and Now, between Black and White, between You and Me. Voices from within the Veil explores this 400-year prelude, addressing African Americans’ marginalization and their paths to empowerment through protest and organization.
Voices on the Loss of National Independence in Korea and Vietnam, 1890-1920
This comparative study of anti-colonial movements in Korea and Vietnam examines two protagonists. Molded by shared pasts, they dealt with their countries’ condition and envisioned an alternative world order that has pertinence today.
This book analyses four Welsh communities in the US to test the assumption they were a prime illustration of the American Dream. It assesses their socio-economic success and tracks the cultural changes that transformed the Welsh into Welsh-Americans and, ultimately, Americans.
Informed by Indigenous researchers and daily walks, this volume links scientific findings on deep time evolution to embodied interactions with rocks, trees, and weather. It explores ancient Gondwana, the first songbirds, and brings hope to young people facing climate change.
War on the Human
The essays here explore the question of the human, both as a contested concept and as it relates to the wider global conjuncture. They explore the theoretical underpinnings of the term “human,” inviting the reader to reflect upon the contemporary human condition.
Explore the preaching and teaching of Rudolf Bultmann and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Often misunderstood, this book objectively views their methods of biblical interpretation, showing how both sought to communicate the Gospel in a relevant manner during a challenging time.
This volume offers insights into warfare, diplomacy, and peacemaking on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. The essays emphasize both violent conflict and the brokering of allegiances, from Muslim warlords serving Christian rulers to merchants coping with pirates.
Wars and the World
This book analyzes the Soviet/Russian wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Georgia and their framing in popular culture. Russian and Western remembrance are locked in a world war of memory, proving that the Cold War, in many ways, never really ended.
Waterford’s Anglicans
As Catholic democracy eroded the power of Waterford’s Church of Ireland community, they retreated into denominationalism. This study focuses on their controversial bishop, Robert Daly, a ‘Protestant Pope’ who strove to resist the Catholic Church’s advances.
West of Eden
West of Eden is a study of botanical discourse in colonial and post-colonial contexts. It explores the loss of roots and identity when plants were brought along the slave-route. The loss of a plant may also mean the loss of its name, putting a rich eco-literature at risk.
Western Azerbaijan and the Zangezur Corridor
This book explores the Zangezur Corridor, a geopolitically critical region connecting Turkey and Azerbaijan. Expert scholars reveal how this is more than a transit route—it is a potential turning point capable of reshaping regional geopolitics and fostering peace and cooperation.
In an age of sectarianism, Shakespeare sought tolerance for freedom of conscience. His histories show conflict results from human ambition, not Providence. His tragedies invite us to cope with life’s worst, and his insight into women’s suffering and need for freedom is vital.
Why Slavery Endures
Slavery, seemingly abolished in the nineteenth century, was never eradicated. With an estimated 21 to 46 million slaves today, its legacy endures. These essays critically examine the historical roots of slavery, the issue of reparations, and contemporary human trafficking.
Challenging most historians, this book suggests the struggle to establish a Jewish state was less a response to international challenges and more a struggle for power within the future state, providing new insights into pivotal historic events.
Wicked Ladies
This book shifts the focus from London to explore female crime in 18th-century provincial England. It examines why women offended and their treatment by the justice system, comparing their experiences to those of men and their counterparts in the capital.