Features

Social Sciences

This a selection of our features that fall under the subject heading 'Social Sciences'. This is to give you a flavour of the rich and diverse collections that you can find on the Archives Hub.

• 100 years at Highfield: stories from Southampton’s University Archives and Special Collections: The first developments at University College, Southampton's Highfield Campus were completed in 1914. When the College moved to Highfield in 1919, many of the buildings retained traces of their service as a War Hospital, such as the inscription ‘dysentery’ on the door of the staff refectory.
• Around the Campfire: the Boy Scouts and other youth movements; with photos of Boy Scouts, the Boys' Brigade and the Woodcraft Folk.
• Papers of the Association of Chief Police Officers – the National Reporting Centre: The Association of Chief Police Officers formed part of the tripartite system of governance over the police service.
• The Basque child refugee archive: In May 1937 approximately 4,000 children, came to Southampton on board the Habana from Santurzi/Santurce, fleeing the Spanish Civil War and its consequences. Special Collections at the Hartley Library, University of Southampton, hold a range of Basque child refugee collections.
• A Cabinet of Curiosities: folk beliefs and parapsychology.
• Bicycle Clips: bicycles, cycling clubs, and road safety.
• Brass Bands: composers, bands and events.
• Black History Month: southern African political activists, including senior figures in the African National Congress.
• British Women's Emigration: encouraging educated middle-class British women to emigrate.to the colonies in the 19th century and early 20th century; with images from The Illustrated News Ltd at Mary Evans Picture Library.
• Calendar: includes images from Cyclists' Touring Club calendars.
• Carter Vincent archives and the Kneeshaw family papers: The Carter Vincent Archives held at Bangor University Archives and Special Collections span over 350 years, including records relating to the Kneeshaws, a prominent family in North Wales and a significant client of Carter Vincent.
• Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902): a selection from the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House concerning the imperialist and mining magnate.
• Chartism: the 19th century movement for political and social reform, with its Six Point Charter for the reform of Parliament.
• Christmas: folklorists, writers, and Christmas traditions.
• Christmas at the Co-op: images of how Co-operative Societies prepared for the festive season. As well as photographs, there are examples of publications the co-operative movement produced in the run up to Christmas.
• Curiouser and Curiouser: folk beliefs, curious collections, and strange histories.
• Designs on Delivery: GPO Posters from 1930 to 1960: University of the Arts London Archives and Special Collections Centre, in collaboration with the British Postal Museum and Archive, presents the online version of the exhibition at the Well Gallery, with eight additional posters exclusively available online.
• Dig for Victory!: includes a description papers relating to the Women's Land Army, illustrated with a 1940s recruitment poster.
• Dirty Linen: domestic science and women's education.
• Edge of Darkness: the papers of scientists, politicians and campaigners, as well as the records of organisations, who have sought to limit or end the use of nuclear weapons, have been opposed to nuclear power, or have investigated alternative sources of energy.
• The Editorial Correspondence of C.P. Scott in the Guardian archive: Held by The University of Manchester's John Rylands Library, the editorial correspondence of Charles Prestwich Scott, Editor of the Guardian newspaper for 57 years, comprises nearly 13,000 items from over 1,300 correspondents.
• Fairs and Circus: some of the collections held at the National Fairground Archive, with photographs from fairs and circus posters.
• Festivals: the Edinburgh Festival and other summer events.
• Firefighters: highlighting descriptions for the records of fire and rescue and civil defence services, with an empasis on descriptions for the papers of men and women working for these services during the Second World War; illustrated with photographs of the Air Raid Precautions services (A.R.P.) and the National Fire Service in London during the Blitz, from the Bishopsgate Institute.
• Forensics: a partial print of the history of forensic science, shining a light on the descriptions for the papers of physicians, pharmacists, chemists and toxicologists involved in criminal investigations, and records relating to forgery and violent crimes.
• From Pulp to Print: Records of the Papermaking Industry: descriptions for the records of mill owners and mill workers, paper merchants, printers and publishers; with images from the Tweedie Photograph Collection.
• Genesis: relaunch of the Genesis portal for Women’s Studies.
• Gratulerer med dagen!: collections with a Norwegian flavour.
• The Great War: collections reflecting personal experiences of the First World War: on the 'Home Front', at war in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, and the papers of poets and artists in the military.
• Hats: milliners - hat manufacturers and retailers, from haberdashers to department stores.
• History of textiles: Scottish textile heritage: descriptions of the archives of many companies, organisations, and individuals connected to the Scottish textile industry and textile arts and crafts held by Scottish Further and Higher Education archives.
• The archives of Horrockses, cotton manufacturers of Preston: This large collection of business records relating to the Horrockses cotton firm was first deposited at Lancashire Archives in 1969, and has proved popular with researchers throughout the last half century.
• Iraq: Britain's historical connections with Iraq: travellers and archaeologists, diplomats and military personnel, oil companies and weapons technology.
• John Ruskin: John Ruskin (1819-1900), was an author, artist, critic - and social reformer.
• Enhancing Access to the Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture (LAVC) at the University of Leeds : The LAVC is a unique, nationally important collection that holds all the materials from the internationally renowned Survey of English Dialects and the archives of the University’s former Leeds Institute of Dialect and Folk Life Studies.
• The Legacy of Ahmed Archive and the Courage and Inspiration of his Mother: In 1986 Ahmed Iqbal Ullah was murdered by a fellow pupil in the grounds of his high school in Manchester. Very quickly, Ahmed the boy disappeared behind the story of his tragic death. The story of his family and of his mother’s bravery and fortitude similarly became obscured.
• Liberty, Parity and Justice at the Hull History Centre: pressure groups collections of Hull University Archives at Hull History Centre, including records of Liberty (formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties), Parity (formerly the Campaign for Equal State Pension Ages), and Justice (British Section of the International Commission of Jurists).
• Love letters: handwriting, calligraphy, and palaeography.
• Manchester Histories Festival: the very first Manchester Histories Festival, an exploration of Manchester's unique and fascinating past.
• Mass Observation: the Mass Observation Archive specialises in material about everyday life in Britain, with papers generated by the original Mass Observation social research organisation (1937 to early 1950s); the new phase of Mass Observation, the Mass Observation Project, has been running since 1981.
• Mills Archive Trust: collections held at the Mills Archive
• Miners' Strike, 1984-1985: the year-long miners' strike of 1984-1985; papers and photos of mining communities, the union, supporters, and politicians.
• My Funny Valentine: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender history.
• The Nobel Prizes: awarded each year for achievements in sciences - and the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace and social welfare.
• The Nuclear Disarmament Symbol sketches: The nuclear disarmament symbol, often known as the ‘peace sign’, is a modern icon, used by protestors and activists across the world and provoking powerful emotions. Special Collections at the University of Bradford is home to the original sketches of this extraordinary design.
• pay&power: includes Sedgley Park School, Wolverhampton, and Cotton College, Oakamoor, Staffordshire, with records dating back to the 18th century.
• Perchance to Dream: beliefs and traditions surrounding sleep, and some of the practicalities involved.
• Pubs and Inns: breweries, licensed premises, and trade associations.
• Quaker Bankers and their Archives at Barclays Group: Barclays Group Archives hold the records of Jonathan Backhouse & Co. of Darlington, one of the three principal partnerships that combined in 1896 to form the modern Barclays, which by the mid-20th century became the largest domestic clearing bank in Britain.
• Railway history: 200 years of the steam engine: papers of inventors and engineers, records of locomotive manufacturers, railway companies and unions.
• The Rathbones: a family of merchants and shipowners, with a tradition of philanthropy and public service; this illustrious Liverpool merchanting firm traded during the nineteenth century in a variety of commodities including American cotton, China tea and silks and Brazilian coffee.
• Recipes through the ages: collections of culinary, household and medicinal recipes through the centuries.
• Robert Burns: Scotland's national poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) is celebrated on Burn's Night, January 25th.
• Robert Owen: 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Owen (1771-1858), cotton mill owner and philanthropist.
• Romanies and Gypsiologists: at the beginning of the last century, a shared interest in Romani people and culture brought together linguists, historians, anthropologists, genealogists, and artists.
• Science Year: Science Year is a UK-wide educational initiative to promote science, technology, and engineering.
• Scottish Brewing Archive: Celebrating 20 years of preserving Scottish brewing heritage: founded in 1982, the Archive has extensive holdings of archives, photographs, and objects representing 120 companies and trade associations for the brewing, malting, and coopering industries - some dating back to the 18th century.
• Silt, sluices and smelt fishing – The Eau Brink Cut and the Bedford Level Corporation Archive: Cambridgeshire Archives is privileged to hold the records of the Bedford Level Corporation. This significant archive, which includes records of Commissions of Sewers dating as far back as 1362, documents, arguably, the greatest land reclamation seen in the country’s history; the drainage of the Fens. 2018 marked the 200th anniversary of the commencement of work on one of the more controversial and problematic drainage projects undertaken; the Eau Brink Cut.
• Somerville and Ross: writers Edith Somerville (1858-1949) & Violet Martin (1862-1915), and composer Ethel Smyth (1858-1944).
• The Spanish Civil War: papers of political campaigners, historians, and International Brigades volunteers, the records of aid organisations, and descriptions for collections of posters, photographs, and interviews with veterans of the Spanish Civil War.
• Sport: highlighting some of the sporting figures, events, and organisations whose records are described on the Hub.
• Steve Cohen: highlighting Steve Cohen's collection which he deposited at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre in 2001. Steve Cohen was a lawyer and anti-deportation campaigner and he dedicated his life to anti-racism and anti-Semitism.
• Stuff the diet!: baking cakes and biscuits at home, teaching domestic science, and manufacturers of the ingredients and the finished product.
• Think Positive: individuals and organisations who have played a part in improving quality of life, from suffragists to peace campaigners.
• Town and Townscape: The Work and Life of Thomas Sharp: town-planner Thomas Sharp (1901-1978).
• Trees: trees and how they weave their way through our lives, our history, our art and architecture and our folklore.
• Typewriters and Office Machines: typewriters and their impact on office workers in collections at The Women's Library and other collections around the UK.
• University of Portsmouth Archive: In July 2017 the University of Portsmouth celebrated 25 years since gaining university status. However, the University of Portsmouth archive reveals that the roots of the institution go back much further than this, to the late 19th century.
• Viceroys & Chief Secretaries: Bodleian Library collections relating to the British government of Ireland, 1560-1921.
• Waterways: Britain's inland waterways; with images of the Manchester Ship Canal and the Bridgewater Canal.
• The Welsh in Patagonia: the founding of a Welsh-speaking settlement in Patagonia in the mid-19th century.
• What's in a place-name?: linguists, geographers, and historians who have researched place-names in the British Isles.
• World Book Day: Unesco's World Book Day is on March 14th, and we highlight a selection of novelists, focusing on writers of science fiction, supernatural tales, and children's books.
• World War One: collections from the First World War.
• X: general elections in the UK: papers of politicians, records of political parties, and general election campaign ephemera.