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Notes from the archive, Page 2

Translating Darwin, Translating History

The history of science and of scientific knowledge offers lessons in many ways of thinking about the world we live in, past and present, scientific and beyond. Katalin Straner, Lecturer in Modern European History at Southampton, is writing a book on the translation and reception of Darwinism and evolutionary theory in nineteenth-century Hungary and the Habsburg Empire. Continue reading →

The final and fateful sojourn of the Iranian Revolutionary and Scholar, Dr Ali Shariati (1933-1977), in Southampton

This year, as part of the group project module, my students* explored the brief stay, in Southampton, of Dr Ali Shariati, who is recognised as the ideological father of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. His short stay in the UK and unexpected death on 18 June 1977 have been shrouded in myth. Both scholars and the wider public have thought that Shariati died in London. Information on Shariati’s time in Southampton was sparse and hazy. Continue reading →

Trust Me, I’m a Doctor…

Joan Tumblety has recently published an article in the Lancet exploring the history of medical lobbying (follow the link here to read more). Here she explores some of the key questions that she has about this topic: Trust me, I'm a doctor.... If we laugh at this popular phrase, what is the truth we are recognising? In my research, I have become increasingly interested in the problem of what might be called the cultural overreach of physicians. Continue reading →