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Greetings Israel Society for History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science, New items have been posted matching your subscriptions. Table of Contents H-HistGeog: New posted content H-Net Job Guide Weekly Report for H-HistGeog: 23 December - 30 December [Announcement] H-Net Job Guide Weekly Report for H-HistGeog: 16 December - 23 December [Announcement] CfA – Interdisciplinary summer course on “Magic and Witchcraft: Beliefs and Trials in Historical Perspective” at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary, July 7–11, 2025 [Announcement] Call for Papers: 30th Annual James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference at Temple University (March 14-15, 2025) [Announcement] FIELD TRAINING SCHOOL AND RESEARCH SEMINAR 2025 URBAN RESEARCH: THEORY AND METHODS Montecatini Terme, Italy, 21-27 July 2025 [Announcement] H-Sci-Med-Tech: New posted content Taylor on Pedley, 'Mothers, Criminal Insanity and the Asylum in Victorian England: Cure, Redemption, and Rehabilitation' [Review] H-HistGeog: New posted content H-Net Job Guide Weekly Report for H-HistGeog: 23 December - 30 December [Announcement] H-Net Job Guide The following jobs were posted to the H-Net Job Guide from 23 December to 30 December. These job postings are included here based on the categories selected by the network editors for H-HistGeog. See the H-Net job guide web site at https://www.h-net.org/jobs/ for more information. To contact the Job Guide, write to jobg...@mail.h-net.org or call +1-517-432-5134 between 9 AM and 5 PM US Eastern time. Urban Design and Planning Urban Design and Planning Tufts University - Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Environmental Humanities https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68389 Contact Information Call +1-517-432-5134 between 9 am and 5 pm US Eastern time. Contact Email jobg...@mail.h-net.org URL https://www.h-net.org/jobs/ Read more or reply Repost Back to top H-Net Job Guide Weekly Report for H-HistGeog: 16 December - 23 December [Announcement] H-Net Job Guide The following jobs were posted to the H-Net Job Guide from 16 December to 23 December. These job postings are included here based on the categories selected by the network editors for H-HistGeog. See the H-Net job guide web site at https://www.h-net.org/jobs/ for more information. To contact the Job Guide, write to jobg...@mail.h-net.org or call +1-517-432-5134 between 9 AM and 5 PM US Eastern time. Geography - Urban Design and Planning Geography Brown University - Lecturer In Urban Studies, Ecological Urbanism https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68348 Urban Design and Planning Brown University - Lecturer In Urban Studies, Ecological Urbanism https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68348 Contact Information Call +1-517-432-5134 between 9 am and 5 pm US Eastern time. Contact Email jobg...@mail.h-net.org URL https://www.h-net.org/jobs/ Read more or reply Repost Back to top CfA – Interdisciplinary summer course on “Magic and Witchcraft: Beliefs and Trials in Historical Perspective” at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary, July 7–11, 2025 [Announcement] Kornelia Vargha Location Hungary Beliefs in witchcraft, the power of humans to intervene in the flow of life events and to harm others by supernatural means, is widely distributed both geographically and chronologically. How in European history the accusations were developed and put together with the elaboration of a sufficiently coherent framework of reference is an important focus of historical attention. This is indeed part of a wider process of formation of “othering” and scapegoat images through time and on social targets. All this, along with the late medieval construction of the concept of the diabolic witches’ Sabbath, constitute a historical issue, the discussion and the understanding of which demand the involvement of a multidisciplinary way of approaching historical inquiry as well as an open-minded sight.  This course, running for the fifth time and accommodated by CEU’s Summer University, aims to examine the rise and downturn of witch-beliefs in medieval and early modern Europe, while tracing the multifaceted roots leading to their construction, from the Classical Greek and Roman literary traditions to medieval lore and popular beliefs, up to the outburst of the “witch-craze” in early modern Europe. We will focus on the shaping of beliefs and their background in various magical theories and practices that were dominating the Middle Ages and the early modern period while directly or indirectly contributing to the witchcraft prosecutions. Special attention will be paid to the developments in East-Central Europe, the history of which is less known in international scholarship. The course should show the intricate dynamism of centers and peripheries, which is far from being as stable as earlier historiography often supposed.   For further academic information on the course and on eligibility criteria and funding options please visit the website at: https://summeruniversity.ceu.edu/2025-magic  Financial aid is available, in limited numbers.   Latest news and updates: https://www.facebook.com/ceu.summer  Contact Information Central European University, Summer University Nador utca 11., Fourth floor, Room 403, 1051 Budapest, Hungary Contact Email sum...@ceu.edu URL https://summeruniversity.ceu.edu/2025-magic Read more or reply Repost Back to top Call for Papers: 30th Annual James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference at Temple University (March 14-15, 2025) [Announcement] Ryan Cosner Location PA United States Call for Papers: 30th Annual James A. Barnes Graduate History Conference  Temple University, March 14-15, 2025   As we wrap up the Fall semester, the James A. Barnes Club, Temple University's graduate student history organization, would like to remind you about the 30th edition of its Annual Barnes Club Graduate Student History Conference, one of the largest and most prestigious graduate student conferences in the region, drawing participants across the nation and around the world. The Barnes Conference will be held Friday evening March 14th and Saturday March 15th, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Temple University's Center City Campus in downtown Philadelphia. Proposals from undergraduate and graduate students for individual papers or panels are welcome on any topic, time period, or approach to history. We welcome proposals that foreground public history and digital humanities, and are eager to work with applicants in these fields to facilitate their participation. Panels will include three or four paper presentations, running between fifteen and twenty minutes each, with comments and questions to follow. At the conclusion of the conference, cash prizes will be awarded to the best papers in multiple scholarly categories. Of particular note is the Russell F. Weigley – U.S. Army Heritage Center Foundation Award, a substantial award offered through the U.S. Army Heritage Center to the best paper in military history presented at the conference. The Barnes Conference is also proud to announce the inaugural Howard Spodek Prize in World History that celebrates the important work and life of renowned world historian, author of "The World's History" (1996, currently in its 5th edition) and Temple University Professor Howard Spodek who passed away on August 20, 2023. Other distinguished prizes are the Undergraduate Poster Award which will be offered to the best poster presented by an undergraduate student at the conference, and the Public History Scholar Award which will be presented to the best project or paper centered around public or digital history. Please submit a 250-word abstract that outlines your original research or project and a current C.V. via this link no later than Friday, January 17, 2025. Final conference papers will be due on Friday, February 28, 2025. Papers should be 15 double-spaced pages (excluding endnotes). The registration fee is $50 for presenters. A continental breakfast, lunch, and pre- and post-conference receptions are included. Registration is free for all Barnes Club Members. If you have any questions, please email: jab...@temple.edu   Kind regards,   The Barnes Conference Committee Contact Information Ryan Cosner - tur7...@temple.edu Contact Email jab...@temple.edu URL https://sites.temple.edu/barnesclub/2024/10/09/call-for-papers-30th-annual-jame… Read more or reply Repost Back to top FIELD TRAINING SCHOOL AND RESEARCH SEMINAR 2025 URBAN RESEARCH: THEORY AND METHODS Montecatini Terme, Italy, 21-27 July 2025 [Announcement] Giuliana B. Prato Location PT Italy CALL for APPLICATIONS FIELD TRAINING SCHOOL AND RESEARCH SEMINAR 2025 URBAN RESEARCH: THEORY AND METHODS Montecatini Terme, Italy, 21-27 July 2025 This 7-day Training School is organised and hosted by the International Urban Symposium-IUS in collaboration with an international group of senior scholars from leading universities. The School is aimed at postgraduate students, doctoral and postdoctoral scholars and practitioners who are interested in research in urban settings and in empirically-grounded analysis. The School offers an interactive learning environment and opportunities to discuss the rationale and practices of traditional and new research methods and mainstream debates. The primary aim is to train participants in the ‘art’ of conducting ethnographic fieldwork, develop the link between ethnographically-based analysis and social theory and bring out the relevance of such analysis to the broader society. The School will address key contemporary urban issues, including: governance; legitimacy and legitimation; urban diversity; stereotypes and stigma; informality; healthy living; mega events and security; crisis, emergency and conflict; urban infrastructure; public space, vernacular landscape, heritage; application and challenges of new technologies (e.g., digital technologies and AI). The School Programme includes: • Teaching Seminars led by senior scholars from international universities. • Targeted observational field trips. • Research seminars, and the chance to publish in a peer-reviewed journal. Teaching will be in English.  DEADLINE: Applications will be accepted until Monday 17th March 2025. Applications should be sent to Prof. Italo Pardo at i.p...@kent.ac.uk and Prof. Giuliana B. Prato at g.b....@kent.ac.uk HOW TO APPLY and FURTHER DETAILS available at:  https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/urban/2024/12/05/field-training-school-research-seminar-2025/ Contact Information Prof. Italo Pardo at i.p...@kent.ac.uk and Prof. Giuliana B. Prato at g.b....@kent.ac.uk Contact Email g.b....@kent.ac.uk URL https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/urban/2024/12/05/field-training-school-research-semina… Read more or reply Repost Back to top H-Sci-Med-Tech: New posted content Taylor on Pedley, 'Mothers, Criminal Insanity and the Asylum in Victorian England: Cure, Redemption, and Rehabilitation' [Review] H-Net Reviews Pedley, Alison C.. Mothers, Criminal Insanity and the Asylum in Victorian England: Cure, Redemption, and Rehabilitation. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023. 265 pp. $115.00 (cloth), ISBN 9781350275324. Reviewed by Steven Taylor (University College Dublin) Published on H-Sci-Med-Tech (January, 2025) Commissioned by Penelope K. Hardy (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse) Printable Version: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=59889 It might be expected that women who killed, or attempted to kill, their children, often in a violent manner, would face the full wrath of the Victorian criminal justice system. The existing scholarship of Meg Arnot and Jade Shepherd, however, has demonstrated that a nuanced approach was taken to those convicted of this crime, which often leaned toward understanding and rehabilitation, rather than punishment.[1] The situation has been found to be different for fathers, who faced more severe discipline, with a death sentence not being out of the question.[2] Alison C. Pedley’s book Mothers, Criminal Insanity and the Asylum in Victorian England: Cure, Redemption and Rehabilitation sits at the intersection of crime, psychiatry, and print media and offers further insights into the institutional experiences of women convicted of infanticide, or attempted infanticide, and by doing so provides a compelling addition to the rich literature of this topic. There are eight chapters, and each is crafted using detailed emblematic accounts of the convicted mothers that Pedley has meticulously reconstructed using exhaustive record-linkage techniques. Each case study reveals its own tragedy, but the details are handled with care and sensitivity throughout. The institutional history of Amelia Burt opens the monograph. It was reconstructed through an impressive trawl of archival material from two psychiatric institutions, the Crown Court, the United Kingdom’s decennial census, and governmental records from the Home Office. This level of comprehensive archival research underpins the analysis running through the whole book. These case histories reveal the challenges faced by the women in question but are also used as analytical prisms to explore interactions with the courts, the place of institutions for the criminally insane in a network of care and control, and responses of the press. Unsurprisingly, gender is a theme that runs throughout the book, with an emphasis on how infanticide was framed, understood, and managed within the patriarchal organization of the courts and medicine. The well-educated, professional men who operated in these spaces found themselves confronted with lower-class and, often, poorly educated women. In this context, Pedley offers a lucid argument that demonstrates the shifting contours of feminine respectability in the mid- to late nineteenth century and the medicalizing of their crime within the framework of their biology. The evolution of the criminal insanity defense and specifically how this affected women accused of killing their children is explored to shed light on how the male-dominated judiciary, legal team, and medical experts depicted these women through the prisms of Victorian ideas and ideals of respectability and education. Resultantly, accused mothers were found to be not of sound mind, suffering from puerperal or postpartum insanity usually, and were filtered toward asylum care rather than prison. Pedley argues that “insanity was used to rationalize a socially objectionable crime, with an underlying acceptance that the women were not criminals but victims of mental incapacity” (p. 55). In the institutional setting of the criminal lunatic asylum, unlike other female lunatics who faced stigma of association with the asylum, they received a degree of compassion. Pedley suggests that the reason for this leniency emanated from a position, often, of married respectability that was shaped by the wider socioeconomic context that increasingly understood poverty as a consequence of social change. We are thus presented with the fact that the institutional experiences of convicted mothers were shaped by the moral outlook and power of male-dominated medical structures and legal systems. Due to the unique position of these women within the asylum system, a number of anomalies were associated with women convicted of infanticide that distinguish them from the wider asylum population. Firstly, the insanity that led to their crimes was often associated with biological change, often brought about following childbirth, and they were thus considered to be curable; secondly, they were differentiated from other female lunatics by their crime. They were not considered degenerate or congenitally insane but instead occupied a unique space because of their temporary mental unsoundness; and, finally, they were more likely to be released when their reproductive capacities had diminished, and a repeat of their crime would not occur. Pedley’s work expands our understanding of this unique patient group and subsequently makes a significant contribution to the existing literature. In addition to the psychiatric treatment that was provided by asylums, the book follows the convicted women through their initial experiences within the criminal justice system. It demonstrates how court cases were constructed as strange affairs where the actions of the defendant were not questioned but a dissection of their lives occurred to understand the circumstances surrounding their alleged crimes. The coroner’s inquests, often conducted by someone who may have known the accused and taking place prior to the trial, often set a sympathetic tone for the criminal proceedings and relied on the testimony of many of the same witnesses. Pedley thus unpicks the competing social and cultural factors that underpinned the legal and medical responses to the accused women as they moved through the “system” in England and Wales. Pedley highlights some of the quirks of the criminal justice processes of the time, particular developing a discussion of the “unfit to plead” verdict that meant some women who were accused of infanticide would bypass a court trial altogether and be admitted directly to Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane because it was thought the trial process would “irreparably damage the physical and mental health of the accused mother” (p. 68). Debates emerged about the legality of these actions and whether by being sent to Broadmoor the women were facing a de facto prison sentence without fair trial. Pedley notes that paternalistic judges held the view that “women, particularly the seemingly young and vulnerable, needed protection, nurturing, and guidance, not confinement and punishment” (p. 71). Yet, by confining them in the criminal lunatic asylum they were being thought of and imagined as criminals. The book also offers a much-needed discussion of the privately managed and under-researched Fisherton House Asylum, located near Salisbury, England, as well as the more notorious institutions of Bethlem and Broadmoor. The impact of the opening of Broadmoor as the state asylum for the confinement of criminal lunatics was an important moment of change in the treatment of the insane in Britain. It was particularly significant as infanticidal women occupied a somewhat liminal space within it. Pedley engages in debates about the intersection of treatment, discipline, and rehabilitation and extends the debate as to whether Broadmoor functioned as a site of cure or imprisonment; the institution received practically all cases of maternal infanticide after opening in 1863. Mothers, Criminal Insanity and the Asylum in Victorian England: Cure, Redemption and Rehabilitation reveals the institutional journeys undertaken by women convicted of infanticide in Victorian Britain. It highlights broader attitudes toward women, class, and welfare as well as providing glimpses into the lived experiences of women through detailed record-linkage work. Through the analysis, Pedley moves beyond the experiences of women who were confined as criminally insane to offer insight into how asylum care was utilized as a broader tool that aided society in making sense of the horrific crime of infanticide. This is an engaging and well-written monograph that provides important insights into the relationship between medicine and the law, as well as detailed histories of understudied Victorian asylums. Notes [1]. Jade Shepherd, “‘One of the Best Fathers until he Went out of his Mind’: Paternal Child-Murder, 1864-1900,” Journal of Victorian Culture 18, no. 1 (2013): 17-35; Meg Arnot, “The Murder of Thomas Sandles: Meanings of Mid-Nineteenth-Century Infanticide,” in Infanticide: Historical Perspectives on Child Murder and Concealment, ed. Mark Jackson (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2002), 149-67; Meg Arnot, “Infant Death, Childcare and the State: The Baby-Farming Scandal and the First Infant Life Protection Legislation of 1872,” Continuity and Change 9 (1994): 271-311. [2]. Shepherd, “One of the Best Fathers.” Citation: Steven Taylor. Review of Pedley, Alison C.. Mothers, Criminal Insanity and the Asylum in Victorian England: Cure, Redemption, and Rehabilitation. H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews. January, 2025. URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=59889 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Read more or reply Repost Back to top Message from a proud sponsor of H-Net: The New Books Network is proud to be a sponsor of H-Net. If you are interested in becoming an NBN host, please go here. Si te interesa hacer entrevistas en español, contáctanos. 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