History@Portsmouth

University of Portsmouth's History Blog

Archive | Research in Focus

Research in Focus

nina simone cropped

“How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?” – studying Nina Simone and her times

By on October 16, 2024 in Learning in Focus, Research in Focus

Below Pauline Standley describes the experience of studying for a master’s degree in history (MRes) at Portsmouth.  She looked at the role of Nina Simone as a civil rights activist, a feminist, and someone who reflected the broader socio-political shifts of her time.  Pauline’s supervisor was Dr Lee Sartain. Nina Simone. For many, her name immediately brings to mind her iconic, richly textured voice, often accompanied by signature sounds of the trumpets and piano in timeless classics like “I Put a Spell on You” or “Feeling Good”. While these songs undoubtedly capture her unshakeable legacy, Nina Simone is also a reservoir of intersectional experiences that reveal much about the socio-political […]

Continue Reading 0

A Norfolk train crash 150 years ago brings the forgotten deaths of rail workers into the spotlight

By on October 2, 2024 in Research in Focus

On the 9 September, our own Dr Mike Esbester had this piece on the Thorpe St Andrew train crash of 10 September 1874 published in The Conversation.  Mike compares how memories of the loss of lives in such dramatic events compares with the often forgotten deaths of working class railway workers, whose deaths lack the single point of reference that such events provide.

Continue Reading 0
Ikusgela_-_bell_hooks_lemazaina cropped

The different experiences of black and white women within the US feminist movement

By on August 14, 2024 in Learning in Focus, Research in Focus

Recent UoP history graduate Rebekah Sistig’s dissertation looked at how inherited racism divided members of the second-wave feminist movement in the USA.  She discusses her research below, with some good tips on breaking down the process. Rebekah’s supervisor was Dr Lee Sartain. Angela Davis, Betty Friedan, bell hooks and Gloria Steinem – all icons of the second wave feminist movement in the US, all women who dedicated their lives to fight against sexism. But were they truly united in their fight against the patriarchy? Was the supposed ‘sisterhood’ all it was chalked up to be? Judging by their contrasting books, organisations, ideologies, and social groups, I think it may not […]

Continue Reading 0
shenyang cropped

Researching the role of the Western powers in concealing Japanese War Crimes

By on August 7, 2024 in Learning in Focus, Research in Focus

Recent UoP history graduate Benjamin Taylor wrote his third-year dissertation on Japanese war crimes, discovering that the US and other Western states played a far larger role in the cover-up than has been previously acknowledged.  Below he writes about the trial and error process of writing his dissertation, and how the guidance of his supervisor, Dr Rudolph Ng, has been vital. My chosen topic for my dissertation was an investigation of the cover-up that has surrounded Japanese war crimes. Specifically, my dissertation sought to answer two questions: has there been a cover-up surrounding Japanese war crimes? And two, if so, which country was most instrumental in creating and perpetuating this […]

Continue Reading 2