When you wake up every morning and get dressed, you probably don’t stop to think that you’re taking part in a millennia-old cultural tradition. How you choose to look is all part of the long history of humans altering their appearance to make a statement - from self-expression and individuality to signalling which group you belong to.
Join Eleanor Janega and a panel of experts to explore the weird, wonderful and fascinating history of body modification - from tattoos to outlandish clothing and hairdos, piercings to diets.
The panel comprises Dr Matt Lodder of the University of Essex, an art historian who works on tattoos and body piercings; Dr Susan Vincent from the University of York, a cultural historian of clothing and hair; and Dr Eleanor Barnett from Cardiff University, who is a cultural and religious historian with a particular interest in the history of food.
Ask yourself why you chose to present yourself the way you did today - and how that decision is part of an age long process of body modification that is inherently human.
Up Next in Expert Panels
-
Sir Thomas More - Not Just the Tudors...
How far would you go to save your immortal soul?’
This is the question that plagued Tudor High Chancellor, Sir Thomas More. Lawyer, philosophiser, and advisor to Henry VIII, when the court turned on its head at the arrival of Anne Boleyn. Hounded by prolific characters like Thomas Cromwell, his ...
-
The 7 Deadly Sins with Eleanor Janega
January, time to purge ourselves of the excesses of the holidays! Medievalist Eleanor Janega takes a deep historical dive into the 7 Deadly Sins. When did they begin, what's the worst sin, and should we be so anxious about our vices? And who decided what was evil anyway? Joined by Dr Rachel Sto...
-
The Queens Council
Earlier this year, to coincide with the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, History Hit took the long view on some of the other women who were queens in Britain - from the 12th century Empress Matilda right through to Queen Victoria.
In a lively and fascinating debate, Prof Suzannah Lipscom...
10 Comments