Local History

Spring Term: January 2012 - March 2012
Summer Term: April 2012 - June 2012

 

The Victorian Asylum: Mental Health Provision in York
This course explores life within the walls of the mental health institutions of Victorian York. Examining the treatment of lunatics, safely incarcerated outside of the town, can provide startling insights about the society which excluded them. Investigating diverse aspects of day-to-day life in the hospitals, from admission, diagnosis, and eating to how the hospitals and their patients were perceived by the wider public, this will be an eclectic introduction to a fascinating aspect of York’s history. We will use the three main mental hospitals in York - the York Lunatic Asylum; the North Riding Asylum; and the Friends’ Retreat - for which large amounts of primary source material has survived, to explore life within the walls, and the hospitals’ position within a wider context of Victorian York.
Alexandra Mould BA MA
Term: Spring
Day: Wednesday
Start Date: 25 January 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 6
Full fee: £40.50

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Summer Term: April 2012 - June 2012

 

The Development of the Urban Landscape and Built Environment of York from the Roman Period to Present
The course will explore the changing form of the city of York using archaeology, historical research, standing buildings, historical and modern cartography and pictorial sources. It will take a social-anthropology approach, explaining ideas and behaviours that have left their mark on the fabric of the city. We will question why a successful town has been built and grown here in this location, and whether the reasons were geographical, economic or social. The city walls and their changing meanings throughout the centuries will be explored as well as centres of power and authority, residential and commercial areas within the city. The influence of Antiquity in present topography will be identified, looking at medieval developments preserving antique structure and the reuse and recycling of Roman materials. Developments outside the city walls and their specialised functions such as care of the poor and sick and industrial activity will also be discussed.
Stefania Perring PhD
Term: Summer
Day: Tuesday
Start Date: 24 April 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 10
Full fee: £67.00

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Defending York
York, as the most important northern outpost of medieval government was the military base for the Scottish Wars and the centre of the defence against the Scots. This day course examines the development of York’s medieval defences, including the castle and town walls. What would it have been like inside a besieged medieval city and how were men mustered to defend the town? What roles did medieval women take to defend their hearths and homes? Using contemporary sources we will also consider how to effectively attack a castle using siege machines, trebuchets etc., how the city of York withstood sieges and why it eventually fell to Royalists and Parliamentarians in the English Civil Wars.
Gillian Waters BA MA PGDip PGCE
Term: Summer
Day: Saturday
Start Date: 30 June 2012
Time: 9: 30am-4:30pm
No. of weeks: 1
Full fee: £35.00

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Last Updated: February 10, 2012 | Iain Barr (ijb3@york.ac.uk)

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