British History on the Small Screen: Why Period Drama Television Matters
British History on the Small Screen: Why Period Drama Television Matters
Period drama television, like romance novels, has traditionally been dismissed by historians as trivial entertainment, most likely because the targeted audience has been women. Yet, as recent studies show, more people learn history not from academic books but from television programs. This talk will survey some of the most popular dramas to hit our TV screens in recent years (such as Downton Abbey, Poldark, Outlander, Bridgerton and Call the Midwife) to show how such TV programs indeed "do" history, in particular, restoring the lives and voices of those previously marginalized by historians: from the working class and POC to victims of domestic abuse and rape, and the LGBTQ community. These dramas also perform functions that should not be ignored: they provide pleasure and reveal how nostalgia for the past shapes our fantasies, consumer habits and social media experiences, as well as how we engage with history on multiple levels.
Speaker:
Julie Taddeo is a Research Professor of History at UMD, College Park. She specializes in Modern British social and cultural history with a focus on issues of gender, class and sexuality. She is the author and co-editor of several books, including, Rape in Period Drama Television: Consent, Myth, and Fantasy (2022); Diagnosing History: Medicine in Television Period Drama (2022); Conflicting Masculinities: Men in Television Period Drama (2018); Doing History in the Age of Downton Abbey (2019); Catherine Cookson Country: On the Borders of Legitimacy, Fiction, and History (2012) and Lytton Strachey and the Search for Modern Sexual Identity (2002). She frequently gives public history lectures on such topics as the British Royal family; Victorian scandal and crime and the relationship between history, nostalgia and period drama television.
This event is part of the Alumni Association Faculty Series, a virtual series featuring some of UMD's most distinguished faculty as they showcase their research and its impact on humanity.