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Uncommon Knowledge 11: Sarah Griffin on Medieval Cosmological Diagrams and Opicinus de Canistris

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2017 32:30


Sarah Griffin talks to us about the fourteenth-century cosmologist Opicinus de Canistris, who attempted to reconcile medieval theology, cosmology, and cartography in a series of incredible diagrams.

Uncommon Knowledge 10: Kristin Grogan on Modernists

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2017 33:05


D.Phil student in English, Kristen Grogan, joins the podcast to talk about the relationships between modernist writers, including T. S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Richard Wright, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald

Uncommon Knowledge 9: Emily Knight on Death Masks

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2017 37:09


Emily Knight, DPhil in Art History, tells us about the morbidly fascinating world of Victorian death masks, and what they can tell us about society, science, celebrity, and attitudes towards death.

Uncommon Knowledge 8: Helen Slaney on Emma Hamilton's 'Attitudes'

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2016 29:31


Dr Helen Slaney joins us to discuss Emma Hamilton's 'Attitudes' - the series of classical poses she developed in response to the ancient vases collected by her husband, William Hamilton, in Naples. Listen and find out how to do an eighteenth-century impression of Medea!

Uncommon Knowledge 7: Courtney Traub on The Whole Earth Catalog, Ecology, and the Early Internet

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2016 26:28


Dr. Courtney Traub, Teaching and Research Fellow at the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford, joined us this week to tell us about an off-beat, counter-cultural publication from the 1960s and 70s, the Whole Earth Catalog.

Uncommon Knowledge 6: Myriam Frenkel on how to 'say' things in Old English

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2016 41:26


Myriam Frenkel speaks to us on words for speech in Old English the many ways we can say, tell, or speak something. We also talk about Old English poetry, alliteration, and where to look for etymologies on the internet.

Uncommon Knowledge 5: Danielle Bishop on Besmirched Honour in Medieval Spanish Epics

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2016 21:01


In this episode, Danielle Bishop talks to us about how to dishonour your enemies in medieval Spain. We discuss blood-filled cucumbers, people hiding under other peoples' skirts, escaping prison, and ways to insult people.

Uncommon Knowledge 4: Rowan Nicholson on the Pope v the Mongols, international law and micronations

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2016 19:41


This week, Rowan Nicholson joins us to discuss an argument between Pope Innocent IV and the Mongol Emperor Güyük Khan, micronations in the US and Australia, and the treatment of indigenous peoples by colonial international law.

Uncommon Knowledge 3: Adam Ward and Eurovision

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2016 23:55


This week, politics student Adam Ward joins us to talk about the politics of the Eurovision Song Contest. Why didn't Australia win last year? How likely is it that Australia will win this year? These questions and other, less Australia-focused ones are answered.

Uncommon Knowledge 2: Cannibals, Crustaceans and Classics

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2016 17:01


This week, Emily and Rachael talk about cannibalism in convict Australia, war trophies, a dog-headed Saint Christopher, and Alexander the Great's submarine.

Uncommon Knowledge 1: Strange Stories from Medieval Histories

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2016 11:41


This is the first episode of our podcast series, Uncommon Knowledge. For more information, please go to uncommonknowledgeoxford.wordpress.com

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