Histories of the Unexpected explores the past in ways that you never dreamt possible. Surely there’s nothing unexpected about the past? About History? Aha, well Histories of the Unexpected adopts a new approach to exploring our past. Gone is the traditional linear plotting of battles, monarchs and political movements. Histories of the Unexpected argues that everything has a history, even the most unexpected of subjects. Like SLIME. Or COURAGE. or APPLAUSE.... Presented by Dr Sam Willis and Professor James Daybell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
https://www.historiesoftheunexpected.com
Rats!: Homeschooling the Black Death
In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, investigate the unnerving history of Rats. From the history of infestation, pets, the medieval tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the honoured position of rats in eastern culture, Sam and James rampage around history of rats before settling on the fascinating history of the Black Death. It looks at the three different forms of plague (Bubonic,Pneumonic and Septisemic) and their symptoms, before looking at descriptions of the plague in Messina from 1347, the spread of the plague from the Gobi dessert in Africa along trade routes to the east and in Europe. It also looks at how the plague was perceived by contemporaries, and the impact it had on society, the economy and culturally. As always, at the end there is a quiz and a couple of writing tasks, including writing a plague diary!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.