Uncategorized – Grains of Knowledge

University of Lincoln Libraries LGBTQI+ History Month Displays and Reading List

Oonagh Monaghan / February 4, 2025February 4, 2025 / #LGBTHM25, LGBT+ History Month, Uncategorized

LGBT+ History month was founded by Schools Out with a new theme is outlined each year on their Schools Out website

This year the UK 2025 LGBT+ History Month theme is: Activism and Social Change.

*Library Displays in the Ross Library and University Library*

Throughout history LGBT+ people have been activists and helped shape and create social change, advancing society for everyone using many different approaches to activism. In addition to simply living openly with their sexuality or gender identity, activism can be participation in protests and rallies, campaigning for rights, boycotts and direct action to creative protests such as art, music, literature, poetry, theatre, comedy, dance or creating zines to highlight the issues of the day. There are many ways throughout history that LGBT+ people have been actively lobbying for rights and for meaningful change.

Each year, five LGBT+ historical figures are chosen in line with the theme. This year, five LGBT+ people have been chosen, who have created social change from across the centuries in progressing change for women, the environment, housing, nuclear disarmament, preserving heritage, abolition of the slave trade, and immigration, among many other causes.

The 2025 LGBT+ Historical Figures are:

Octavia Hill
Ivor Cummings
Annie Kenney
Charlie Kiss
Olaudah Equiano

The University Library and Ross Library have produced displays and reading list to highlight the life and work of these amazing activists and change makers. In addition, the reading list also highlights the activists who have fought for LGBTQI+ rights over the years. In the current political climate it continues to be necessary for LGBTQI+ people and their allies to stand up against bigotry and discrimination.
University Library LGBTQI+ History Month 2025 Reading list

A day of zines, fashion, art and imagination.

Oonagh Monaghan / February 4, 2025February 4, 2025 / Uncategorized

A group from the Library team were treated to a trip to London to celebrate our award-winning Zine Collection. We visited the London College of Communications to explore their amazing collection of vintage zines, and then were allowed to choose an exhibition of our own to visit.

Jemima chose ‘Rebel – 30 Years of London Fashion‘ at the Design Museum, London. (REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion – Design Museum # RebelFashion)

This exhibition celebrates 30 years of the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN programme, which supports new design talent. Guest-curated by BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent Sarah Mower MBE and co-curated by Design Museum Senior Curator Rebecca Lewin, the exhibition showed many outfits which have garnered attention throughout the last three decades, such as Bjork’s swan dress from 2001 and Sam Smith’s inflatable latex suit from 2023’s BRIT awards. Items such as the sketchbooks, accessories, and the design process were shown alongside the clothes. Nearly 100 innovative fashion designs were included, from names such as JW Anderson, Wales Bonner, Erdem, Molly Goddard, Christopher Kane, Simone Rocha, Russell Sage, and many more. There were also interactive experiences such as backstage virtual make-up mirrors to get an idea of the culture behind the scenes at a fashion show, and video of the original catwalk shows, complete with music to transport you back in time to the turn of the millennium.

Jocelyn chose ‘Fantasy: Realms Of The Imagination‘ at The British Library

The British Library exhibition explored the beautiful, uncanny and sometimes monstrous makings of fantasy. It celebrated some of the finest fantasy creators, revealing how their imagined lands, languages and creatures came into being. It explored the traditions of a genre that has created some of the most passionate and enduring fandoms. From fairy tales and folklore to the fantastical worlds of Studio Ghibli. I was able to travel through Middle-earth and into the depths of Pan’s Labyrinth. And discover how the oldest forms of literature continue to inspire fantasy authors, filmmakers and game producers today.

Oonagh chose ‘Women in Revolt: Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990‘ at Tate Britain.

The exhibition presents two decades of art as provocation, protest and progress. Taking the 1970 National Women’s Liberation Conference as it’s starting point, the exhibition explores the relationship between art and the women’s movement in the UK. It rings together women who made art about their lives and the inequalities that informed them, acknowledging that the personal is political.

There were over 100 artists represented and the exhibition follows the footsteps of the artists, historians and archivists who have safeguarded their history. Art historians Rozsika Parker and Griselda Pollock published ‘Framing Feminisim‘ in 1985 which introduces the reader to art and the women’s movement in the UK.

Overall, the trip was a fantastic opportunity to network with library professionals and to take advantage of the amazing experiences London has to offer.

Demystifying the ‘I’ in LGBTQI+

Oonagh Monaghan / February 9, 2024October 7, 2024 / Uncategorized

By Lexi Breen (Senior Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care, College of Health and Science)

In 2015 as an incidental finding at the age of 50 I found out I was intersex and had XXY Chromosomes, I was initially surprised and concerned, but the more I learned about it, the more it explained the way I looked, felt, some developmental and health issues I had experienced and why I’m now being monitored and treated for other medical conditions. Although I have had a generally healthy and happy life, it does make me wonder what difference it would have made if it had been diagnosed earlier and suspect it would affect some of my life choices.

XXY is a chromosome variation characterised by an additional X chromosome in those assigned male at birth (47, XXY) and one of 50+ intersex variations.

When Rishi Sunak said in a cheap jibe against trans people last year “a man is a man and a woman is a woman, it is just common sense” he couldn’t be more wrong and demonstrated his lack of knowledge and inbred bias.

When we talk about sex rather than gender its not as simple as a binary choice. Sex is a combination of; Chromosomal, Gonadal structures, Internal and external reproductive system, hormones, Pubertal Sex Changes, Brain Sex, Behavioural and “Cognitive” Sex.

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads, hormone production and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies.

Intersex people like the wider population can have any gender identity and sexual orientation. However, a number are drawn to the LGBTQI+ community as they too are a marginalised group, who are often stigmatised and subject to discrimination.

Although the majority of people with XXY will identify as men, there is a number who have gender incongruence and or dysphoria or in my case gender euphoria, a celebration of the person I was meant to be and had kept hidden for most of my life.

As an institution as part of our ongoing programme of decolonising the curriculum we need to look outside our borders to the wider world and how they respect intersex and transgender people. In many countries intersex or a third gender is legally recognised on passports and other legal documents. And in other countries subsets of the population who live in a gender that differs than that assigned at birth are accepted and sometimes hold a place of reverence in their culture, Examples of this include; Argentina, Austria, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Indigenous people of North America, Ireland, Malta, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan and Samoa.

Now I do what I can to advocate for all intersex people regardless of their identities.

Bibliography

Davis, G (2015) Contesting intersex : The dubious diagnosis. [ebook]. New York: NYU Press (Biopolitics: Medicine, Technoscience, and Health in the 21st Century). Available from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xww&AN=1020827&site=eds-live&scope=site [accessed 9 February 2024].

InterACT (2024) Intersex variations glossary. Sudbury, MA, US: InterACT. Available from https://interactadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Intersex-Variations-Glossary.pdf [accessed 9 February 2024]

Klinefelter’s Syndrome Association (2024) Available from https://www.ksa-uk.net [accessed 9 February 2024]

McKenzie, K (2023) Sexual differentiation of the nervous system [Lecture]

Prevet, S. E (2003) Intersex and identity. The contested self. London: Rutgers University Press.

Taylor, O (2018) 10 societies that recognise more than two genders. Listverse. Available from https://listverse.com/2018/10/03/10-societies-that-recognize-more-than-two-genders/ [accessed 9 February 2024]

Turners Syndrome Support Society (2024) Available from https://tss.org.uk/ [accessed 9 February 2024]

United Nations Human Rights (2024) Intersex. United Nations Human Rights. Available from https://www.unfe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Intersex-English.pdf [accessed 9 February 2024]

Walker, M. (ed.) (2018) Interdisciplinary and global perspectives on intersex. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Trans identities and medicalisation: A complex relationship.

Oonagh Monaghan / February 2, 2024February 9, 2024 / #LGBTHM24, Uncategorized

By Dr Michael Toze (Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Social Determinants of Health, Medical School, College of Health and Science)

Gender diverse people existed well before modern medicine. One relatively well documented example is Erauso, who escaped from a convent in Spain somewhere around the year 1600 and spend much of the next fifty or so years living as a man, eventually receiving permission from the Pope to go on wearing male clothes even after his birth sex became known. It is difficult, and arguable entirely anachronistic, to determine how Erauso would have lived and what he would have called himself had he lived now, and this raises questions about how we narrate his story. It is also important to note that Erauso’s story is inextricably located in a context of class, race and colonialism. Nonetheless, it seems clear that in his own time and place, Erauso sought to live his life as a man. Velasco (2001) explores how Erauso’s life story has been reshaped over the centuries in line with the fears and desires of others.

Attributed to Juan van der Hamen – https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/increible-historia-catalina-erauso-monja-alferez_13152

Catalina de Erauso (San Sebastián, España, 1592 – Cuitlaxtla, México, 1650), llamada “La Monja Alférez”, fue una monja y soldado española.

Hidden Architectural Voices

Oonagh Monaghan / October 27, 2023October 27, 2023 / decolonisation, Display, Uncategorized

Decolonising@Lincoln summer project 2023

Chiji Amaechi (Graduate – Bachelor of Architecture 2023)

Kuro Krukrubo (Graduate – Bachelor of Architecture 2023)

Leslie Mfonow Tochukwu (3rd Year Student – Bachelor of Architecture 2023)

(Mentor: Mark Olweny, Senior Lecturer in Architecture)

Architectural education embarks on a journey of exploration, utilising various architects and their projects to foster an understanding of the development of architectural ideas. Yet, a conspicuous absence becomes apparent – the lack of architects of colour and architectural projects designed by individuals of colour in formal lectures, tutorials, and architectural publications. This absence in the established canon poses a challenge, particularly for us as students of colour who may come to believe that architects of colour are non-existent.

Recognising the importance of providing students with access to diverse histories within architectural education, we initiated a project that culminated with this exhibition. A pivotal question arose: ‘Where are the hidden voices in architecture?’ As Craig Wilkins suggests in his book “Diversity Among Architects,” we must exercise caution not to equate invisibility with absence. Undoubtedly, architects from minority groups have existed in the past, and their lack of immediate visibility does not negate their existence. This realisation propelled us to delve into the archives to uncover some of these individuals and their individual stories. This was bolstered by the election of Muyiwa Oki as the first black president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2022.

Six Remarkable Black Women Who Shaped British History

Oonagh Monaghan / October 27, 2023October 27, 2023 / decolonisation, Uncategorized

The focus for this year’s Black History Month is the theme ‘Saluting Our Sisters and the #WEMATTER movement.

Black women have played an important role in British life for centuries, but we don’t know much about them. Their stories are not told in schools and rarely told in higher education. It’s time to celebrate their achievements and introduce as many people as possible to the many black women who have not be recognised for so long.

The Black Lives Matter movement has shone a light on black history in the UK and the Decolonising initiatives that have happened in the education sectors, including the University of Lincoln are beginning to uncover uncomfortable truths as well as campaigning for a change in the narrative more widely. This is crucial to dismantling systemic racism.

1948 saw the arrival of the Windrush generation but black women were already in the UK from as early as the 1700s. What do we know about these women? We should learn from them and be inspired by their courageous and resilient lives.

The University of Lincoln libraries provide many resources to research these amazing black women.

Black history month display pictures. — *Images of displays in the main library and the Ross library*

The History of Black History Month

Oonagh Monaghan / October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 / Uncategorized

Jamie Markham (History and Heritage student and The School of Humanities and Heritage’s SEDIC (Student EDI Committee)

Black History Month entails rich, cultural history in which’s paves a bright and diverse future for people of colour. It is vital to recognise the extent of racism and discrimination in which have targeted black people for centuries, alongside celebrating the significant contributes of black people to culture, science, politics, sports, and many other fields. However, the history of how Black History Month came to fruition is significantly undermined and underrepresented. Thus, we begin on this journey back in time and seek to build a relationship with Black History Month and it’s past.

Black History Month begins with one man and his determination to represent the resilience of black people and the discrimination in which they faced on a daily basis. Carter. G. Woodson established ‘Negro History Week’ in 1926, in a conscious effort to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the emancipation. Known as the ‘“Father of Black History” he founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) to support this mission. During the week, was a celebration of experiences and accomplishments of African-Americans. Woodson seeked to deepen understanding and knowledge of black peoples and their powerful influences on the rest of the world. Therefore, the second week of February became an opportunity to celebrate black liberation.

With this,Negro History Week gained a vast amount of interest and gradually gained popularity and expanded to become Black History Month in 1976. The reason behind it, to expand and allow for more extensive exploration of African American History throughout the entire month. It was conceded that the original purpose of this month was set to recognise and educate people about the efforts of black people despite their struggles in history. Alongside this, the event aimed to combat historical inaccuracies and misconceptions around black history and platform black individuals across a variety of fields. This has previously included individuals such as Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou.

Black History Month began in America but quickly spread to encompass global influence and now serves as a month of national dedication towards the black experience. Many countries gradually followed in a linear fashion, adopting similar approaches towards black representation and racial equality. In the UK for instance, Black history month was first celebrated 11 years later in 1987. After visiting America in the 1970s, Ghanaian-born, Akyaaba Addai Sebo, a special projects officer at the Greater London Council (GLC), founded the UK’s version of Black History Month in 1987. The event coincided with the 150th anniversary of Caribbean emancipation of slavery and the 25th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity. Thus, black history month became a staple in reversing the suppression continuously experienced by Black people and paying tribute towards their influence. Today, most importantly, it serves as a reminder of a sustainable journey towards social justice and racial equality. As human beings, it is our responsibility to protect this message.

References

BiM2023 (2023) Black history month 2023. BiM2023. Available from https://blackhistorymonth.org.uk/black-history-month-2023 [accessed 19 October 2023]

History.com (2023) Black history month. A&E Television Networks. Available from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month [accessed 19 October 2023]

History.com (2023) The man behind black history month. A&E Television Networks. Available from https://www.history.com/news/the-man-behind-black-history-month [accessed 19 October 2023]

National Museum of African American History and Culture (2023) Celebrating black history month. Washington, US: Smithsonian. Available from https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/celebrating-black-history-month [accessed 19 October 2023]

Student Decolonising@Lincoln bursary project

Oonagh Monaghan / August 7, 2023August 7, 2023 / decolonisation, transgender, Uncategorized

Olivia Hennessy (she/her) ‘Decolonising Queer History in Britain’

My name is Olivia Hennessy, and I recently completed my third year of BA (Hons) History. I am pursuing a Master’s degree at the University of Leicester in September, specifically Museum Studies. From this, I made the decision to involve myself in the Decolonising @ Lincoln Project to broaden my understanding of decolonisation in educational and curatorial practises.

The Decolonising@Lincoln Project (D@L) highlights how the colonial past has a negative impact on our present and unjustly excludes particular groups of people, ideas, and practices. In order to reintegrate them into our teaching, learning, research, and administrative practices, it aims to reclaim suppressed voices and excluded types of knowledge and practice.

Olivia Hennessy (she/her) with her zine.

I decided to specifically focus on establishing a university syllabus about decolonising Queer History in Britain as a new approach. This syllabus has been visually broken down through a zine alongside a reading list implemented on the University of Lincoln library, including readings and films produced by people of colour.

The link for the list is here: Decolonising Queer History in Britain

Additionally, I produced a Word document describing how the syllabus may use creative assessments rather than essays. Since essays are notoriously challenging, having more creative assessments will allow students, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds, to approach decolonising Queer History in new and innovative ways. Podcasts and interviewing activists are included as the proposed assessments, enabling students to develop their skills in public history and communication.

This project addresses the D@L agenda to challenge the White Euro-American dominance of knowledge production by uncovering marginalised knowledge that is missing from subject disciplines and practices.

The aim of the project is to understand Queer British History through a decolonised perspective, assessing Black and Asian British queer identities, desires, and lives through films, documentaries, literature, and photographs. Specifically, Queer People of Colour and Asians in Twentieth Century Britain are the chosen marginalised groups for the syllabus. Some of the academics incorporated into this proposed syllabus are Ronald Cummings, Kobena Mercer, Jason Okundaye, Ajamu X, Topher Campbell and more. These academics give a comprehensive understanding of how decolonising queer history can be associated in Britain.

I decided to work on the proposed project as decolonisation is an important topic that needs to be discussed between students and staff more in our university community, particularly how intersectionality should play a significant role in decolonising the curriculum. I would like to conduct more research on this type of syllabus, especially how it may be applied to subjects other than history. This notion was inspired by Sabah Choudrey’s book ‘Supporting Trans People of Colour’ where Choudrey argued that Black Queers had to fight twice as hard to be ‘seen, heard, and loved.’ (14) Choudrey is a black transgender individual who shares their own contemporary experiences of feeling alienated as black and transgender. The research, education and content for this syllabus is relevant since racial and ethnic Queer communities continue to face discrimination in the United Kingdom.

The outcome of the zine was incredible! I have had a lot of interest from students and staff for either a paper or online copy. This demonstrates how important it is to decolonise Queer History through the university curriculum!

Photograph of zine being held in hand - 'Decolonise Queer British History' - a University Curriculum by Olivia Hennessy (she/her)

What I found compelling was Dr Simon Obendorf’s feedback on the reading list. Obendorf leads the Decolonising@Lincoln project and also specialises in gender, sexuality and decoloniality. He mentioned that this is very distinctively British and mostly Black British approach but very impressive. Obendorf also commented that Asia is more than just South Asia and looking at global history more generally. He gave a fantastic suggestion to look at the colonial legacy of anti-gay laws worldwide. This feedback has made me consider how to produce a global approach to Decolonising Queer History, which will be undertaken when I pursue my Master’s in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester.

Overall, D@L has enabled me to think more broadly about approaching Queer History through a decolonised lens. This opportunity is part of a progression towards my future studies at Leicester, described by Obendorf as ‘an awesome trajectory – a great success story’ and that a ‘showcase of decolonial work would be a great idea’. Racial and ethnic queer lives and histories should be seen and heard all year round!

Student bursaries for decolonising work

Oonagh Monaghan / May 15, 2023May 15, 2023 / decolonisation, Reimagining Lincolnshire, Uncategorized

Whose voice are you hearing round black image with white words and ear shaped question mark — Image *Created by Ccrow @worldofccrow*

As part of the University of Lincoln commitment to engage and involve students in work to decolonise the university, students are invited to apply for bursaries to conduct projects supervised by members of University staff for up to 1 month during the period 12 June – 14 July. Up to 15 bursaries are available: to support student maintenance (£200 per month / pro rata for shorter periods) and project expenses

The Decolonising@Lincoln (D@L) project draws attention to how the colonial past negatively influences our present, operating unjustly to exclude certain peoples, knowledges and ways of working. It seeks to recover silenced voices and excluded forms of knowledge and practice, and to reintroduce them into our teaching, learning, research, and administrative practices. Bursaries can be used to support any activities that align with this agenda, and which will produce outputs that can raise awareness, and inspire decolonised ways of thinking and working within and potentially beyond the university.

Students may wish to focus on identifying and/or critically challenging coloniality in their subject areas or experiences of teaching and learning practices; or to identify ways of diversifying, decolonising or internationalising the university curriculum, for example by including the voices and works of formerly colonised people, and/or ideas and practices that are not from the Euro-Western tradition. Exploratory research projects in preparation of dissertation research projects are welcome, as are experimental research approaches and conceptual studies and thought pieces. Projects may be conducted by individual students or in collaboration with others.

We are particularly keen to encourage projects that:

Support the Reimagining Lincolnshire project by uncovering hidden and neglected stories from Lincolnshire, about individuals whose contributions to the county, country and internationally have largely been forgotten
Challenge the Euro-American domination of knowledge production by revealing hidden/ marginalised knowledge that is missing from subject disciplines and practices
Involve students working in groups to gather data from staff and students about their knowledge and understanding of coloniality and decoloniality.
Develop understandings of whatstudents are asking and looking for in a decolonised curriculum
Reveal where coloniality is present in University spaces and offer ways of challenging this
Helping to Decolonise the Library by identifying gaps and imbalances in existing holdings, and/or developing a decolonising library guide for your subject area (see here for an example)
Consider how to decolonise university systems and processes e.g. training and recruitment

Suitable outputs include written reports, creative outputs, online resources, public exhibitions, blogs, zines, library reading list / event / installation, social media content/TikTok videos.

Each project must adhere to university ethical procedures, and should be supervised by a member of staff, who will advise on ethics and provide up to 3 hours of support over the duration of the project.

Students who are looking for supervisors or a student collaborator from another discipline or school should, in the first instance, contact the member of staff who acts as Decolonising champion for their school.

Contacts for Reimagining Lincolnshire are Victoria Araj VAraj@lincoln.ac.uk and Heather Hughes HHughes@lincoln.ac.uk

Contacts for Decolonising the Library are Oonagh MonaghanOMonaghan@lincoln.ac.uk and Hope Williard HWilliard@lincoln.ac.uk

Proposals should be submitted on the application form provided to decolonising@lincoln.ac.uk . The deadline for submission of applications is 26 May.

The applicationform is here:
student summer D@L project proposal form 2023 final.docx

You will be informed by 2 June whether your project has been selected for support. The selection process will focus on: viability of the project, clarity of the output, affinity to the theme.

‘That is no dog, but a witch!’

Claire Arrand / May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 / Library, Special Collections, Uncategorized

by Ella Gibson

Observations on Prince Rupert’s White Dog Called Boy

Last year I did a week’s work experience in the University Library and Lincoln Cathedral Library’s Exchequer Gate. During this time, I was lucky enough to view some original civil war material from the Wren Library and one item that particularly stood out to me was about Prince Rupert’s dog.

The English Civil War (1642-1660) split the country in half, Parliamentarians and Royalists fighting over the governing of their country.

Prince Rupert began his military career at the age of thirteen. He was born during the Thirty Years War, which tore his nation apart, therefore conflict was all many people of the time knew, including Rupert. He was a strong military leader until an unfortunate failed expedition, which landed him in prison in Austria. Due to his high status and romantic affiliation with his captor’s daughter, he received special treatment, such as books and then most notably the gift of his white hunting poodle ‘Boy’.

Upon returning to England, there was initial fear and superstition surrounding the dog, who was said to accompany Rupert everywhere, including into battle. Descriptions of their close relationship can be found in this pamphlet, which suggests ‘they lie perpetually in one bed’,

although the descriptions of the dog as a bullet proof witch may seem humorous to a modern audience, it reveals the superstition of the time.

Furthermore, this fear was not only of the supernatural but is intrinsically linked to the fear of women, who were blamed for all manner of failures. The words ‘woman’ and ‘witch’ are used interchangeably as explanations as to why Prince Rupert’s dog is working for the devil, revealing to us the ideologies of the time surrounding women and witchcraft.

Ultimately Boy was not weapon-proof as the pamphlet describes, as he died after being shot on the battlefield of Marston Moor, leaving a bereft Prince Rupert to mourn his loss.

The Wren Library is undergoing ceiling repairs, so the Civil War tracts are not currently available. However, Newark’s Civil War Museum is currently open see National Civil War Centre, Newark.

In 2022 during a Fake News exhibition a replica of Boy’s collar, ID tag, lead and paw print were on display.