Making Madness Visible explores how societies have pictured insanity, from medieval fools to modern brain scans. Alvise Sforza Tarabochia shows how these images not only reflect but also shape ideas of madness, defining boundaries between sanity and insanity while questioning their stability across history and culture. For World Mental Health Day 2026, the author guides the reader through five images from their monograph, exploring how madness and mental health have been depicted historically.
The Moment of Trevor Griffiths’ Comedians: When Jokes Became Lead Pellets
Marking fifty years since the premiere of Trevor Griffiths’ Comedians, Stephen Wagg reflects on the changing role of comedy in modern society. He traces the rise of alternative comedy, the decline of a shared national comedy culture, and the growing influence of comedians in shaping political and social conversations.
The defiant creativity of Liverpool’s Black community
Professor Stephen Small, author of the recently published Black Liverpool, 'The real thing': West African, West Indian and Afro-American culture at the end of the twentieth century, introduces his new book in this blog post, touching on how different the history of Black Liverpool is to that of Black London, and the influences which makes … Continue reading
The (uniquely interesting) Architecture of Suzhou
The Architecture of Suzhou by Fei Chen, Andre Brown, and Yiping Dong provides a contemporary snapshot of Suzhou’s key architecture and urban structures from different historical periods. It serves as a companion to understanding how the city balances modernisation, environmental constraints, and the preservation of cultural heritage. This blog post introduces the unique architecture of … Continue reading
The Journal of Beatles Studies: Call for Editorial Board members
The Journal of Beatles Studies invites applications for Editorial Board members. We welcome applications from academics and researchers globally, particularly encouraging those from under-represented groups and those who might aid in reaching beyond the Anglophone world.
