#elizabeth m. hallam

[lightdancer1]

The Capetians laid the groundwork for the French state:

The history of France is in a very large part the history of Western Europe as it was the territory from which the Carolingian Empire that founded the core of Latin European civilization was spawned, and from which cultural winds blow and have blown to the rest of it. This is among the reasons it's so much fun to poke fun at the French because they're entirely aware of this and utterly insufferable about it. The medieval history of France, then Francia, the western portion of the divided Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun, begins with the Capetian Dynasty, which started with kings who were reduced from the swaggering autocrats of the Carolingian days to relatively minor rulers of a minor province.

By circumstance and determined effort and a great deal of luck in the unintended person of John Lackland, King of England, they were able to build the unpromising Ile De France into the basis of a kingdom that in turn encountered the succession problem and accordingly came perilously close to total collapse. That is the narrative charted here and it lays the point that the emergence of absolutism in France is not natural, it was a combination of deliberate choice and specific circumstances beyond the control or prediction even of Philip Augustus, the French King who did the most to turn the title of King from one with hollow powers to one of all too real ones. In the process it set in motion key developments of the medieval era, established feudalism in its classical form across the entirety of what's now France by fire and sword, and was the political backdrop to the dawn of universities and the next wave of educational and cultural flowering.

On the whole this is also a good corrective to the idea of both absolutism as some natural development and not a specifically promoted ideology with specific goals, and to the idea of there being a single predetermined destiny by which the course of events takes place. The course of Capetian France shows none of these, it was a contingent set of events where the deep structural forces and the willful acts of individuals overlapped in an uneasy pattern that in turn secured the future of Western Europe as one whose hub was in Paris more than London, not for the lack of trying by the rulers of Normandy-England and then the Angevin super-state, nor in the Holy Roman Empire that would fall prey to its own internal divisions in a manner that had some parallels in France but very different outcomes.

9/10.

[histoireettralala]

Medieval Brittany

Brittany was a region with strong traditions of independance, with an ethnic identity, a language and culture of its own. Formal integration into and continued interaction with the Carolingian empire, and with adjacent regions, nevertheless ensured that the political and social institutions of Brittany were similar to those prevailing elsewhere in western Francia. This was especially true of the eastern portion of the medieval duchy (the counties of Rennes and Nantes) which were within the Carolingian Breton march.

Brittany was severely affected by Viking attacks, and when ducal authority was re-established in the 930s (with the first ducal charters surviving from the 940s), it remained fragile. Dynastic disputes caused the political fragmentation of the duchy into counties. Comital authority was in turn diminished by the appearance of adulterine castellanies, which by the mid-twelth century constituted independant baronies. Comital authority further suffered from the pressures of resisting claims to overlordship pursued by both the dukes of Normandy and the counts of Anjou in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The process of fragmentation was halted and reversed from the mid-eleventh century, when intermarriage among the comital houses resulted in the ducal title vesting in one individual, Duke Alan IV (1084-1112). It remained for the ducal dynasty to revive central authority. The long and stable reigns of Alan IV and his son Conan III (1112-1148), ably assisted by the dowager-duchess Ermengard, daughter of Count Fulk IV of Anjou, saw progress in this direction.

A succession dispute following Conan's death not only undid the dukes' achievement, but also created the circumstances in which the claims to overlordship by neighboring princes could be fulfilled in the person of Henry II, king of England, duke of Normandy and count of Anjou. Between 1158 and 1166, Henry II annexed Brittany to his continental possessions, marrying his younger son Geoffrey to Constance, heiress of the duchy. The Plantagenet regime in Brittany further consolidated important links with the Anglo-Norman kingdom, which began with grants of lands in England to Bretons who had supported William the Conqueror in 1066 and later his son Henry I. The largest bloc of English lands, the honour of Richmond, pertained to the dukes of Brittany by hereditary right after 1146, but other Bretons held English lands in chief of the crown independantly of Richmond.

The Plantagenet regime came to an end in 1203, in consequence of King John's murder of his nephew Arthur, the son of Duke Geoffrey and Constance. From that point, Brittany was indisputably subject to Capetian authority, which could now be exercised directly. Brittany had at all times acknowledged Capetian sovereignty- even the Plantagenet rulers had rendered homage for the duchy to the kings of France- but typically of the principalities, this sovereignty was purely nominal until the early thirteenth century. Nevertheless, after the marriage of infant heiress, Alix, to Pierre de Dreux, a Capetian cadet, in 1213, Brittany was allowed a large measure of autonomy, subject to the continued acknowledgement of Capetian sovereignty, and the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries would see the golden age of ducal Brittany.

Elizabeth M. Hallam & Charles West- Capetian France, 987-1328

[bookclub4m]

Episode 117 - Sociology Non-Fiction

This episode we’re reading Sociology Non-Fiction! We discuss the differences between sociology and psychology, what Karl Marx and Aziz Ansari have in common, the over-educated but kind-of-broke worker, and the difficulties of reading books that make us both sad and angry. Plus: Pandemic Monkey Brains!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Amanda Wanner

Things We Read (or tried to read)

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor by Virginia Eubanks (this is better than Matthew implied in the episode, it is worth reading)

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr

Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenberg

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell

All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers and the Myth of Equal Partnership by Darcy Lockman

Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Other Media We Mentioned

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshona Zuboff

Disasters: A Sociological Approach by Kathleen Tierney

The Credential Society: An Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification by Randall Collins

Engines of Anxiety: Academic Rankings, Reputation, and Accountability by Wendy Nelson Espeland and Michael Sauder

Beyond the Body: Death and Social Identity by Elizabeth Hallam, Glennys Howarth, Jenny Hockey

The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman

Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America by Michael Ruhlamn

Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal by Abigail Carroll 

Death of Sandra Bland (Wikipedia)

Food Mirages in Guelph, Ontario: The Impacts of Limited Food Accessibility and Affordability on Low-income Residents by Benjamin Reeve (not mentioned during the episode, but this is someone’s actual sociology thesis that Matthew thinks is neat)

Body Politics: Power, Sex, and Nonverbal Communication by Nancy M. Henley (Amanda meant to mention this book but forgot!)

Links, Articles, and Things

Where Do Librarians Come From? Examining Educational Diversity in Librarianship by Rachel Ivy Clarke (I think this is way less humanities-focussed than our program was…)

Michel Foucault (Wikipedia)

Dr. Thomas Kemple

Readers' Advisory for Library Staff (Facebook Group)

JUMPSUIT - “Jumpsuit: how to make a personal uniform for the end of capitalism”

Code Switch (NPR Podcast)

Louder Than A Riot (NPR Podcast)

According to Need (99% Invisible Podcast)

Sabrina and Friends: Answers in Progress

How Conspiracy Theories Work (a good example of a video showing the research process)

Trader Joe's (Wikipedia)

What does it mean to be working class in Canada? (Macleans article)

15 Sociology Books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Beauty Diplomacy: Embodying an Emerging Nation by Oluwakemi M. Balogun

W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America edited by by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert

The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs &  Scott Kurashige

Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas

Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani

I Am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism by Lee Maracle

Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and The Fight Against Medical Discrimination by Alondra Nelson

Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity by Paola Ramos

Fruteros: Street Vending, Illegality, and Ethnic Community in Los Angeles by Rocío Rosales

Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor by Sudhir Venkatesh

Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada by Chelsea Vowel

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Watch us Stream!

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Join us again on Tuesday, January 19th when we’ll be talking about our Reading Resolutions for 2021!

Then on Tuesday, February 2nd, just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’ll be doing our annual romance fiction episode and talking about the genre of Regency Romance!

[awhilesince]

Friday, 2 May 1823

7 55/60

1 1/4

Read aloud volume 2 Hallam on the middle ages from 9 50/60 to 10 1/2 – at 10 40/60 Mr D– (Duffin) and I just called at the Gages, then went over the bridge Mr D – (Duffin) fancying he had to got to the County hospital tho’ it turned out a mistake – Left him at the end of Stonegate and went to the Belcombes’ – sat a little with Eliza, and then 1 1/4 hour tête a tête with Mrs Milne in her room – rather a flirting style of conversation – 

In returning called on Mrs Middleton (wife of major M– (Middleton) of the 2nd Dragoon Guards) at Dawson’s in Castlegate – not at home – then called and sat a little with Mrs Willey, and got home at 1 50/60 – 

Set quietly about 1/2 hour, then went out again – called at the Yorkes’ – went with Miss Y– (Yorke) to meet Mrs Y– (Yorke) at Jamesons’ and we all 3 took a turn or 2 on the new walk, and crossed the ferry, and returned by Clementhorpe, and I got home at 4 – 

In the evening at 8 1/2 Mr D– Duffin and I walked to the Belcombes’ – a large routparty for the time of theirs – 2 whist tables and a loo table – a quadrille in the breakfast room, Mrs Widmer played on the piano accompanied by Eli on the harp – Pleasant Evening – Talked chiefly to Major Middleton, Miss Elizabeth Foulis, and Miss Mosely – the latter introduced me to her mother – Introduced to Mrs John Barlow and her friend Miss Walker both staying at the Lloyds in St. Saviour gate Mr D– (Duffin) came away at 11 – I in a chair and got home at 11 50/60 – 

Very fine day – very hot –

reference number: SH:7/ML/E/7/0008

[oupacademic]

Psychology of Music Reading List

Ever wondered why catchy songs get stuck in your head? How retailers use music to sway customer decision-making? How music can help to promote mental health?

We’re bringing music psychology to center stage, to underscore the fascinating interplay between music and our minds. Take note of our reading list below, composed of a range of major books and key articles that will give you pause for thought:

The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction by Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis

Musical Illusions and Phantom Words by Diana Deutsch                

Musical Emotions Explained by Patrik N. Juslin

Music and Consciousness 2 by Ruth Herbert, David Clarke, and Eric Clarke

Handbook of Music, Adolescents, and Wellbeing by Katrina McFerran, Philippa Derrington, and Suvi Saarikallio

The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology by Susan Hallam, Ian Cross, and Michael Thaut

 “Does Music Arouse Emotions? How do We Know?” in Musical Emotions Explained by Patrik N. Juslin

“Music, Subjective Wellbeing, and Health: The Role of Everyday Emotions” in Music, Health, and Wellbeing by Raymond MacDonald, Gunter Kreutz, and Laura Mitchell

“Music and Consumer Behaviour” in The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology by Susan Hallam, Ian Cross, and Michael Thaut

 “Socio-cultural, Acoustic, and Environmental Imperatives in the World of Singing” in The Oxford Handbook of Singing by Graham F. Welch, David M. Howard, and John Nix

“Mental Preparation for the Performer” in The Oxford Handbook of Singing by Graham F. Welch, David M. Howard, and John Nix

“Music Training and Cognitive Abilities: Associations, Causes, and Consequences” in The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain by Michael H. Thaut and Donald A. Hodges

“Using Music Therapy-Based Songwriting to Support Bereaved Students” in Supporting Bereaved Students at School by Jacqueline A. Brown and Shane R. Jimerson

“Vitality Forms in Music, Dance, Theater, and Cinema” in Forms of Vitality by Daniel N. Stern

“Blind Tom: A Celebrated Slave Pianist Coping with the Stress of Autism” in Stress and Coping in Autism by M. Grace Baron, June Groden, Gerald Groden, and Lewis P. Lipsitt

“Music, memory and mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease” in Brain: A Journal of Neurology

If you like the sound of this list, explore the full scale of our music psychology collection here.

[histoireettralala]

The "Anglo-Norman" realm ?

Many historians have emphasised the links of the Duchy with England to such an extent that the two are often seen as the "Anglo-Norman realm". This is a convenient term, but what does it mean, and does it tie in with contemporary usage ? Certainly the term regnum was often used in the eleventh and early twelth centuries to refer to principalities as well as to kingdoms. It was applied frequently to Normandy both before and after 1066; it was applied to England, and it could be applied loosely to both England and Normandy together, to describe the lands ruled by Henry I.

But it would be far-fetched to infer from this that England and Normandy formed a single kingdom. It is true that the two were linked closely by ties of family, tenure and patronage throughout their long if interrupted association. And the title of king of England was often used in the formal diplomas of Henry I for Normandy either to replace the title of duke or in conjunction with it. The Warenne chronicler even went to far as to describe Henry as rex Normananglorum, but this is a rare and literary exception.

Overall, the inconsitency of the terminology used in "official" documents points to a blurring in the distinctions between ducal and royal authority and suggests also that there was no defined notion of an Anglo-Norman kingship. It is also known that Stephen was both crowned in England and invested in Normandy, a demonstration that the two were seen as separate holdings. Then there is the issue of homage to the French king. It is true that no duke-king of Normandy and England seems to have recognised the overlordship of the Capetians in person from about 1060 until 1156; in 1109 Henry I was joined by the dukes of Burgundy and Aquitaine in openly refusing homage to Louis VI. But an admission by the dukes of Normandy of the theoretical supremacy of the French king was already beginning to emerge.

As well as their sporadic rendering of military services, the duke-kings permitted two successive designated heirs to the duchy, William Aetheling son of Henry I, and Eustace son of Stephen, neither of whom in the event became dukes, to do border homage in 1120 and 1137 respectively. Then in 1151 Henri Plantagenet paid homage for the duchy to Louis VII in Paris, homage he repeated as king of England in 1156. Thus the earlier defiant stance of the Norman kings of England was gradually weakened by the growing legal and political significance of the feudal bond between the French kings and the princes.

None of this supports the idea that Normandy was seen as attached to England rather than France. For despite the ambiguities surrounding the use of the royal and ducal titles, and despite the strong ties between the kingdom and the duchy, the Anglo-Norman realm as a kingdom exists far more clearly in the minds of modern historians than it did in the consciousness of contemporaries: Henry I ruled with kingly powers in both but he was not king of both. Normandy remained a French principality, albeit the strongest and most independant. It did not split away from the French kingdom and its links with the French king were to strengthen later in the twelth century.

Elizabeth M. Hallam & Charles West- Capetian France, 987-1328

[histoireettralala]

The impact of Viking raids.

Far more significant for France, however, were the activities of the Vikings. Our sources for their expeditions in the ninth century, as seen from the Frankish side, tend to present a picture of unmitigated gloom. In his celebrated mid-ninth century account of the wanderings of the monks of Noirmoutier who fled from their island on the west coast of France eventually to settle at Saint-Philibert at Tournus, the monk Ermentarius writes:

"The number of ships grows larger and larger, the great host of Northmen continually increases; on every hand the Christians are the victims of massacres, looting, incendiarism, clear proof of which will remain as long as the world itself endures; they capture every city they pass through, and none can withstand them; they take the cities of Bordeaux, Périgueux, Limoges, Angoulême and Toulouse. Angers and Tours, as well as Orléans, are wiped out; the ashes of many a saint are carried away."

To monastic chroniclers such as Ermenatrius, the hordes of savage heathen raiders seemed to be a manifestation of the wrath of God. Accounts such as theirs, coloured by the outlook of the cloister, should not, however, be discounted as merely hysterical imaginings. In France as in England, the raids, with their plundering and burning, clearly caused much hardship, damage and misery on a local level for the monasteries, castles and towns attacked, although the Noirmoutier monks probably travelled further than most.

The long-term impacts of the raids is harder to assess, for the destruction they wreaked clearly varied from region to region. The Paris basin, although often a target for attack, emerged fairly rapidly and relatively unscathed. The experience of western France, stretching from the coast to Limousin, was different. This region was experiencing a period of expansion in the ninth century before the destruction of growing towns such as Bordeaux, and the disruptions and sense of danger which caused whole communities of peasants and monks to migrate. The impact of these raids, both psychological and physical, could have been felt for decades, if not longer.

Burgundy, by contrast, an area relatively unaffected by invasion, became a refuge for fleeing ecclesiastics, and a flourishing monasticism grew up here. The lower Seine had a different experience again. As the raiding activities of the Vikings gradually mixed with and then gave way to trading, settlements were established. The Scandinavian settlement on the banks of the Seine, recognized in 911 by Charles the Simple, and later to develop into the Duchy of Normandy, was to play a vital role in trade, as well as in the political life of northern France.

Elizabeth M. Hallam & Charles West- Capetian France, 987-1328