The Diary of a Dissection: Jane Jamieson and the Newcastle Barber Surgeons. By Patrick Low
The recent furore in France, over the wearing of Burkinis, has shone a new light on an age-old societal problem; the female body. Nowhere was the shock of a woman’s form greater than on the c18th and c19th anatomists’ slab. The prospect of total exposure to the eyes of an uncaring crowd and the […]
Dismemberment in Victorian London: The Thames Torso Murders. By Shane McCorristine
One of the most disturbing unsolved murder mysteries in London’s history began on the morning of 5 September 1873 when a Thames policeman rowing on the river found the left quarter of a woman’s torso in some mud off Battersea waterworks. On the same day other policemen found the right side of a […]
The Bloody Business of the Bloody Code: Dissecting the Criminal Corpse. By Elizabeth Hurren
Imagine hearing local gossip that a notorious murderer was about to be executed, and that everyone in the vicinity of a homicide was planning to turn out to see the violent culprit punished in Georgian England. Getting to the gallows to secure a good spot would mean having to take an unpaid half-day off […]
#SocialHistoryAssociationAnnualConference2016. By Emma Battell Lowman
In late March 2016, the Social History Association (SHA) met for its annual conference. In beautiful Lancaster, at the University of Lancaster, a large group of energetic scholars met to share new research, connect with colleagues, and celebrate four decades of successful operation. This was my first engagement with the Association. I have hesitated […]
A chance to talk about gibbeting and hanging in France? Yes, please! By Emma Battell Lowman
One of the joys of academic work is participating in study days or workshops that bring together a diverse group of scholars to approach a theme or issue from multiple vantage. It is easy to fall into working within the same networks and groups – whether textually in the form of the bodies of […]
The Geography of the Criminal Corpse: Magic, therapies and bodily pieces across Europe. By Francesca Matteoni
I have been involved in the first two years of the project as a postdoctoral researcher working on the medico-magical employment of the criminal corpse’s pieces: hands, fingers, blood, corporeal fragments, but even those objects who had a direct contact with the body, such as the rope, or more intangible, mysterious substances like the […]
Dismemberment in Prehistory – Not Just for the Criminally Insane. By Shane McCorristine
For as long as humans have been around we have cut up, hacked, butchered, and mutilated corpses. Today, the practice is mostly associated with serial killers and abnormal personalities. So what is it about post-mortem dismemberment that some people find so shocking and horrifying? This might be a silly question to ask but it is […]
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