Penelope J. Corfield is a historian, lecturer and education consultant. She recently served as the President of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS).
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MONTHLY BLOG 134, A YEAR OF GEORGIAN CELEBRATIONS – 2
/in History, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldWell, here is an unusual Georgian celebration but a congenial one. As part of the professionalization of many industrial and service occupations, the ancient trade of clowning in the eighteenth century came into its own. With population and urban growth, the number of theatres and circuses across Britain also multiplied. They provided evening…
MONTHLY BLOG 133, A YEAR OF GEORGIAN CELEBRATIONS – 1
/in History, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2022) To celebrate the imminent publication of my book on The Georgians 1, my next set of BLOGs commemorates significant Georgian milestone dates: one for every month of the year.2 No problem for January. It must be Burns Night: Tuesday January 25th. The hero is […]
MONTHLY BLOG 132, IS TEACHING SEXY?
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Fig.1 Symbol for Infinity, referencing the infinite unknown … Image from Wikimedia Commons (2021) It’s the author and playwright Alan Bennett who says that teaching is sexy. And, before the massed ranks of educationalists protest instead that their work is exhausting and under-paid, let’s […]
MONTHLY BLOG 131, REMEMBERING ADRIAN AGAIN
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Adrian Corfield, on the South Coast seafront, not long before his death from lymphoma at the age of forty-four. Thinking about ‘Being Penelope’ (BLOG/130 October 2021) got me remembering – again – my next brother Adrian (1946-90). We were the oldest two of a […]
MONTHLY BLOG 130, MEANINGS OF BEING PENELOPE
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Fig.1 A swatch of weaving, illustrating the metaphor for History as ‘Penelope’s Web’ being constantly woven and unwoven by Penelope in Greek myth. It’s a great name, Penelope. English. Greek. And very international. Recognised everywhere. Can be used in long majestic form. Or abbreviated […]
MONTHLY BLOG 129, The Surprising Consequences of Learning to Float-and-Kick Simultaneously
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Floating © Clipart 2021. Having been an enthusiastic swimmer all my life, it was a shock to be told casually by a friendly swimming-pool attendant that I was squandering my efforts by swimming wrongly. That is, I was using my arms for propulsion and […]
MONTHLY BLOG 128, Appreciating Northumberland and seeking the best adjective to describe its scenic beauties.
/in Current Affairs, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Fig. 128.1 Silhouette Hedgehog © https://flyclipart.com (2021) A wonderful short trip to Northumberland yielded five great pleasures, headed by a night-sighting of a live hedgehog. Something that I personally have not witnessed for very many decades. Reassuringly, the hedgehog looked exactly as I expected […]
MONTHLY BLOG 127, World citizens in the twenty-first century are generating an ‘international sphere’ of public opinion, outside and beyond the control of national governments.
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Fig.1 Globe in Speech Bubble by Moilleadóir (2009): from WikiMedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WiktLogo-Bubble-WikiGlobe-red-1-.svg There is today a growing international sphere of public opinion. It stretches well outside and beyond the control of national governments. It is purely informal; often fragmented; and lacking direct power. Nonetheless […]
MONTHLY BLOG 126, Does classifying people in terms of their ‘Identity’ have parallels with racist thought? Answer: No; Yes; and ultimately, No.
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Specimen HC1 © Michael Mapes (2013) It’s impossible to think without employing some elements of generalisation. (Is it? Yes: pure mental pointillisme, cogitating in fragmentary details, would not work. Thoughts have to be organised). And summary statements about fellow human beings always entail some […]
MONTHLY BLOG 125, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A WHOLE PERSON? WHY WE SHOULD ALL BE ARTY-SMARTY.
/in Current Affairs, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldIf citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2021) Fig:1 Specimens © Michael Mapes 2021 Having declared my wish to be appreciated as a whole person,1 I got a mix of replies – some testy, some curious – asking what personal ‘wholeness’ actually means. It’s a fair question. Referring to a ‘whole person’ […]