In This Issue
Greg Cotton, Common People Like You: Jarvis, Jekyll and the British Fetishisation of the Working Class.
Shannon Doyle, Definitions of Masculinity in Early Modern England
Rain Howard, Repetitive Motions, Transformative Notions: Exploring the Interplay of Physical Exercise and Non-Binary Genders.
Ally Keane, Experiences of High-Technology Voices by Augmentative and Alternative Communication Users, c. 1980 to 2020
Dr. Ioannis Mitsios, “Isolation Through Autochthony in Classical Athens”
Ben Sharpe, The Questioning of Personal Alliances during the Glorious Revolution as illustrated by the actions of the 2nd Earl of Clarendon between 1688 and 1689
Message from the Editors
It is no secret that identity has begun to dominate the cultural landscape. From literature to film, politics to journalism, the term encompasses a large proportion of our contextual zeitgeist. Academia is not removed from this milieu. Historians, classists, and archaeologists have long since considered the meaning of identity; and debated, in turn, what this interpretation means for their respective discipline. Of course, we can never truly know what identity meant for people living in the past.
Submissions for our sixteenth edition of Pons Aelius have critically engaged with the connotations of the word “identity”. Our front cover gives a quick taste of the flavours that one will find within this journal.
Greg Cotton’s piece contains an insightful analysis of Pulp’s hit Common People. Greg places this song into the FanFair surrounding John Prescot’s “New Labour”. Pulp’s song, and the subsequent anxieties about class, are only a snapshot of a longer history associated with identity. As Greg does aptly note, this is akin to Robert Louis Stevenson’s publication of the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the nineteenth-century.
Shannon Doyle unpacks masculine identities in Early Modern England. Using self-help guides, Shannon shows the impact of identity on men, women, and the family. The use of self-help literature is seeing a resurgence in recent scholarship; Shannon’s work is significant in brining that research to Early Modern England. This is an insightful read, one that should not be overlooked by any historian – no matter their chosen epoch.
Rain Howard evaluates the works of Sarah Crews and Solomon Lennox, Rebecca Schneider, Broderick Chow, Erini Kartsaki, and Søren Kierkegaard, in relation to non-binary genders. Taking these historical philosophers one by one, Rain offers a perceptive interpretation to how these works might impact repetitive actions in a work-out environment. Rain’s work, which is unique for this journal, not only gives a historical understand of literature, but also offers insight on how these works might be relevant today. It is a work of contemporary history, pre-modern history, and political action.
Oral Historian Ally Keane offers an insight into the experiences of using Augmented and Alternative communication systems. Ally demonstrates effectively how their encounters has changed over time. Ally grounds the article in discussions on accent, dialect, and tonality; offering a unique perspective on class, gender, and geographical locations. Ally is certainly an Oral Historian to watch out for.
Dr. Ioannis Mitsios employs a holistic approach, taking into consideration the literary, iconographic, and topographic evidence — along with the historical and ideological context of the classical period — to examine how the ideology of autochthony, isolated the Athenians from the rest of the Greeks. Special emphasis is given to the autochthonous aspects of the heroes Erechtheus, Erichthonios, and Kekrops, all of them connected to autochthony through myth and iconography. This analysis will contribute to a deeper understanding of how these figures were used to construct Athenian identity in contrast to other Greek states.
Finally, Ben Sharpe offers a unique perspective on the Glorious revolution. By examining the personal lives of individuals, Ben demonstrates how relationships were informed by both political principles and personal consciousness. Ben systematically dissects a person’s personal identity and how this is often interwoven with ones personal connections. Ben’s article not only demonstrates the skills of an admirable historian but may also illuminate some of the problems facing our societies today.
Shannon Doyle (Editor in Chief) s.doyle2@newcastle.ac.uk
Ryan Fallon (History Subject Editor) r.fallon@newcastle.ac.uk
Daisy Barker-Mathews (History Subject Editor) d.b.barker-mathews1@newcastle.ac.uk
Daisy Dorrington (Associate Editor) d.dorrington2@newcastle.ac.uk
Hannah Reynolds (Associate Editor) h.reynolds4@newcastle.ac.uk