London Post # 3


The Museum of London's exhibit Doctors Dissection and Resurrection Men brought to light not only the historical and scientific, but wove in the political through the section on the Anatomy Act of 1832.

In 1832, Parliament passed the Anatomy Act, which regulated what cadavers could be used for scientific research and teaching. Parliament needed to pass such legislation because "body-snatchers" were raiding cemeteries for cadavers. The Science Museum of London's page on the legislation states, "Anatomists were given access to 'unclaimed bodies', those who had died without any family coming forward to claim them for burial"(Science Museum). This qualifier caused more people in poverty to become cadavers rather than members of wealthier families.  Though the legislation was difficult to put into practice and not popular, but it did succeed at ending the careers of resurrection men. ("Use of the dead to the living")  The Anatomy Act of 1832 was in effect until the 2004 Human Tissue Act, which reformed and clarified the principle of consent ("Human Tissue Act").

This is an example of politics and science working together, but it was not without a fight. (The exhibit had recorded a re-enactment of the debate). Government has to find the delicate balance between supporting and limiting scientific research and study. The government needs to help fund research but also police the ethical boundaries.

It is difficult to think about people stealing cadavers from graves for medical study, but without proper channels for accessing bodies there was no alternative to grave robbing.

Bibliography

"An Act for regulating Schools of Anatomy, print, England, 1832." Science Museum. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=6870

"Use of dead to the living..." Museum of London  http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Corporate/Press-media/Press-releases/Doctors+Dissection+and+Resurrection+Men.htm

"What is the Human Tissue Act and what does it mean?" University College London. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slms/research/human-tissue-act/ht-act

London Post #2

The Crown Jewels

The orb that the new king or queen holds during the coronation represents Christ's rule. The Queen is head of state while the Prime Minister is the head of the government, but there is still an outright mingling of religion and politics as the Queen is also head of the Church of England. According to the official website of the British Monarchy the Queen is the "defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England("Queen and Church"). This bond between church and state is completely different from the American experience. In the US, we have the free exercise and establishment clauses which declare a secular government. Though during the oaths of office the new officer places their hand on the Bible, but other than that religion seems to have no place in government. There is also the Prayer Breakfast. 

Is it ever really possible to separate church and religion? Should they be separate? 

Religion or church and politics struggle to co-exist and define their individual as well as mutual spaces. I can see both sides of the story because not only am I a person of faith, but I am part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT). I can relate to people who worry about religion controlling politics, but I see the value of religion and see how religion and politics are bound together. They need to be protected from each other. I do not believe that there is a scientific equation or exact place to draw the line, I guess it is trial and error.  

Bibliography

"Queen and the Church of England" Official Website of the British Monarchy. http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/QueenandChurch/QueenandtheChurchofEngland.aspx

The Main Event: Sadie and the Hotheads!

Jammin'

 

Having fun!

Isn't she lovely? 

A few weeks ago, I was procrastinating writing an essay, which I happen to be doing right now, and I decided to search 'Sadie and the Hotheads' just to see what came up. Tour dates appeared on their homepage, so out of curiosity I wondered if there was anything near Oxford. On Monday, February 18 they were playing Milton-Keynes, but I have essays due Monday night/ Tuesday morning so I decided against that. After several moments of contemplation and a little sadness, I realized that they were going to play in London the weekend I was there! I was all over that! (We happened to have Sunday night free to do as we pleased)

There was a little announcement below where you purchased tickets saying something along the lines of "Enter for your chance to meet Elizabeth McGovern!" WHY NOT?!? She's one cool and beautiful lady, yes I'll enter! I kind of forgot about the whole thing, ok well not really, I'm far too in love with her to forget such a thing. I did manage to get through my homework then a few days before the concert I got an email saying I was runner up and I'd won free tickets! I didn't believe it so I Facebook messaged the band - crazy right? Well they responded the next day saying "Yes you did win, it's legit - see you Sunday!" (fangirl freakout) I had a little trouble coercing people to come with me but I managed to get one of the boys to come with me. 

I was so excited I got to the venue 90 minutes early, but no one was around so I grabbed a hot chocolate then went back when I saw people were starting to gather. We waited until 7:05 when they finally let us in, luckily it wasn't freezing cold. I got in, got my hand stamped as a "guest." then proceeded in to decide where to sit. I chose middle of the second row. I think the only person more excited than me was the girl next to me - she was a contest winner so she was going to get to meet Ms. Elizabeth. Everyone else I me was very chill, just there to enjoy some good music. 

The first two acts were pretty fantastic. Open Road was the first act followed by Rachel Sage who was accompanied, by a very cute fiddle player that looked kind of like Kate Moening. 

Finally, the band walks on to the stage after a short intermission and starts playing, "Where's Elizabeth???" and she comes dancing on with her back up vocalist. They danced around for a bit, just having fun until they started with their first song, which I'm pretty sure was "All the Time," but it's been a few days and I was just in awe sitting there. My favorites are "How not to lose things" and "Superficial," but all if it is wonderful. 

They wrapped up then came back for an encore to sing "Open Mic Blues Song," which is quite cool. I mean one line is "I'm happy today so shoot me." Then it was all over. There was a little part of me that was disappointed I didn't get to meet her but my new friend's excitement made it ok (I mean the girl flew in from Hungary for the show) and I was just happy to have gotten to go at all. It was so worth it. 

Thanks to Sadie and the Hotheads for a wonderful show and an amazing night! 

Now I'm back to reality filled with French Philosophers and women's history, but I'll always have the memory of that night to take with me along with everything that's happened these past few weeks and what is yet to come! 

LONDON!!!!!!

Alright so big city, one weekend--it was a whirlwind, but a thrilling one.

Friday we get to LDN drop our bags at the hotel and dash off to Westminster Abbey. We had a lovely tour guide show us all around. Unfortunately, we weren't allow to take pictures inside, but it was absolutely spectacular. Our tour guide was lovely and gave us loads of information and fun anecdotes. My favorite part was  the tomb of the unknown warrior because it was quite moving and lovely because the tomb is surrounded by poppies.

I feel like Dr. Myers had some great stories about Westminster Abbey and those buried there, but I'm a bit too giddy about life to remember all of the great anecdotes from Western Civ.

From Westminster Abbey to the Churchill War Rooms. It was astounding to look at how the people there had lived. I cannot imagine the fear they felt. I was a little tense about it all and I was just walking around a museum! I think I'd like to go back one day and do it all again, when I'm less exhausted and can really take in what the museum has to offer.

AND BREAK!

We had a small amount of time between the museum and the show to get some dinner so my friend and I dashed off to Piccadilly Circus, we ate at an American chain, but we were pressed for time and I had no idea about anything. We managed to dash back to the hotel after dinner, only a few minutes late only to go back to Piccadilly Circus for the show! One Man, Two Guvnors was quite the slapstick comedy - the right amount of humor and levity for the time. We trudged back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

The next morning we were up and going early to make it to the Houses of Parliament for our tour. Our guide was quite the story teller. I loved the story about the suffragette chained to the statue too bad we couldn't snap a picture! Oh well! From the Houses of Parliament to the British Museum where we had a scavenger hunt for quite obscure things that you really had to be paying attention to find, but we found them! (Thank you Ryon and Kim) From there we hustled to the theatre to see The 39 Steps, another hilarious British comedy. Once the show was over, we were free for the night. I went to my room and just enjoyed some quiet "me time," which my little introverted self needed. I also went to bed early because Sunday was my big day.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!

We spent the morning at the Tower of London, which was pretty cool. I saw the Crown Jewels, the Armory, and the memorial to those that died there.

That's the memorial that recognizes some of the victims of the Tower. 

From there, I managed to get to Aldgate East to meet a family friend for a jaunt around Brick Lane, which was really cool. There were so many different places within blocks of each other. Bangladeshi stores and restaurants, Hipsters, Jewish Bagel shops. 

I enjoyed my time with him and getting to walk around and just take in Brick Lane, but the main event, well she will just have to get her own post....

Another Lovely Friday!


Today was another amazing Friday, one of the days where I am especially thankful. Fridays are when I have my history tutes. My tutor is more than simply my academic guide, she is a mentor, friend, and sometimes she feels like family. I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Today, we talked about Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, which for the life of me, I cannot seem to understand. That is exactly what I said in my essay. Luckily, my honesty went over well.

We get to talking and before we know it, someone is sticking their head in to get the room for a meeting! We are far from finished so Dr. Davies takes me to an adorable little B&B near Lady Margaret Hall (LMH, as Oxsonians say). We sat in a gorgeous sitting room and enjoyed our coffee. I got to talk about my London trip, which is something I owe you all an explanation of as well as photographs. I don't even think I did my joy justice because I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Coming back to scramble to churn out an essay on lesbian feminism was less than ideal, but oh well.

I did not have any firm plans for my day, I just figured I go to the Bod (the Bodleian Library) and do a little work, possibly do my formal blogs for my Mason credits, nothing set in stone. I ended up riding with her over to Woodstock a Lovely little town north of Oxford. I think I will have to go back and take pictures because "quaint" and "tiny" just do not do it justice. I felt as though I had been plopped in the middle of Stars Hollow, except that this town is much older than that fictional one--it has more character and history. It's just so cool! We stopped in a tiny book shop to pick up a book then headed over for a bite.

I cherish every minute of days like this because I am truly lucky.

Though I did remark, "Whatever will I do when I have to go back to the States!? I'm going to miss you [my tutor] and Oxford so much!" Driving around DC just doesn't hold a candle to English cities and countryside. I will admit I'm kind of looking forward to driving again, but otherwise I'm just having such fun!

London Trip Entry 1

During our time in London, I learned a few stories about the Suffrage Movement here in Britain that did not come up in my research for my history tutorial. My favorite story was about the woman in St. Stephen's Hall in Westminster Palace.

This woman got into St. Stephen's Hall and chained herself to the statue of Lucius Cary- Viscount Falkland.("Your Paintings"). (It is hard to get a good picture of the statue because there was no photography allowed on the tour).  had to break the statue to free her.The statue is still broken, the suffragettes left their militant mark on Parliament. This one woman's actions demonstrate the extreme militancy these women participated in to achieve their goal.

The belligerence that the suffragettes had to resort to in order to make their point is astounding. If the women had been "proper" and passively ask for the right to vote, it is curious to wonder if they would have gotten the right earlier or later. These women were committed to the cause and would not only go to jail for their actions, but would go on hunger strikes in jail, many coming close to death until the 'Cat and Mouse Bill' in 1913 ("Suffragettes: Prison").  This legislation freed the hunger strikers to improve their health then they would go back to jail once they were healthier.

Women over 30 won the vote in 1918, but it took until 1927 for all women over 21 to be allowed to vote (Fraser).

It is disheartening to think about how low voter turnout is because of how hard these women fought for the right to a voice. We now take that right for granted. It has not even been 100 years since women won the vote. Women died. Some of their tactics are questionable such as throwing yourself under the king's horse at the derby, but women died for this right; it is time we took full advantage of that right.

Bibliography

Fraser, Rebecca. "Overview: Britain 1918-1945" BBC. 17 February 2011. Accessed 22 February 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwtwo/overview_britain_1918_1945_01.shtml

"Suffragettes: Prison and Hunger Strikes" Museum of London. Accessed 22 February 2013. http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Explore-online/Pocket-histories/wc/world_city_5.htm

"Your Paintings: Lucius Cary" BBC. Public Catalogue Foundation. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/lucius-cary-16101643-2nd-viscount-falkland-62690

So I wanted to share more about my tutors since they're such wonderful teachers, mentors and people. I am beyond lucky to be working with both of them.

Feminist Theory Tutor - Kate

Women's History of Great Britain and Western Europe - Janette

C'mon they're awesome!