by Talking Humanities | Apr 20, 2021 | Analysis & Comment, Archives & Libraries, Features, Politics & Law, Publications
The birth of a ‘school-book of political economy’, which originated from the notes of a teenager two centuries ago, is hailed by Dr Karen Attar, Senate House Library’s curator of rare books. Imagine yourself as a 13-year-old boy being dragged on daily walks by your...
by Talking Humanities | Mar 11, 2021 | Archives & Libraries, Libraries & Publications, Research & Resources
Rare books curator, Dr Karen Attar, turns her attention to a Senate House Library tome which concentrates on singing – Isaac Watts’s ‘The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament’. Around this time in previous years, I have sometimes discussed...
by Talking Humanities | Feb 18, 2021 | Archives & Libraries, Features, Libraries & Publications, Publications, Research & Resources
When donors bequeath collections to libraries, they sometimes also leave money to develop the collections on the lines on which they were begun. Depending on the amount left, purchases may continue indefinitely, or the capital may be spent, and trust fund closed. Dr...
by Talking Humanities | Feb 12, 2021 | Analysis & Comment, Archives & Libraries, Languages & Literature, Libraries & Publications, Publications, Research & Resources
Dr Christopher Ohge delves into the multiple levels and meanings of a classic piece of American literature. ‘About the “whaling voyage”—I am half way in the work, & am very glad that your suggestion so jumps with mine. It will be a strange sort of a...
by Talking Humanities | Feb 10, 2021 | Archives & Libraries, Features, Languages & Literature, Libraries & Publications, Publications, Research & Resources
Dr Karen Attar is fascinated by a rare Senate House Library autobiography full of art, politics and scandal. Like any venerable institution, the University of London accrues a variety of artworks. For example, it holds various sculptures: marble busts of Victorian...
by Talking Humanities | Jan 13, 2021 | Analysis & Comment, Archives & Libraries, Features, Libraries & Publications, Publications
Self-help books about depression are nothing new. Institute of English Studies fellow, Dr Karen Attar, looks at an important example that was first published in 1621. The Anatomy of Melancholy is the subject of a double anniversary for Senate House Library. The year...