The ‘Solitude and Modernity’ colloquium was co-sponsored by ‘Diseases of Modern Life’ (Oxford) and ‘Pathologies of Solitude’  (Queen Mary University of London). This collaboration resulted in a one-day programme which brought  together researchers working on solitude and loneliness, in literature  and society, from the nineteenth century to the present. Following  literary and historical sessions on the Victorian City and Modern  Britain, the event concluded with a discussion on enforced solitude,  from the perspectives of first-hand experience of incarceration and  forensic psychotherapy.

This discussion Gwen Adshead (West London Trust and Central North West London Trust) and researcher Shokoufeh Sakhi (Toronto) made up the final portion of the day. This talk contains information and language that may trouble some listeners.

The ‘Solitude and Modernity’ colloquium was co-sponsored by ‘Diseases of Modern Life’ (Oxford) and ‘Pathologies of Solitude’  (Queen Mary University of London). This collaboration resulted in a one-day programme which brought  together researchers working on solitude and loneliness, in literature  and society, from the nineteenth century to the present. Following  literary and historical sessions on the Victorian City and Modern  Britain, the event concluded with a discussion on enforced solitude,  from the perspectives of first-hand experience of incarceration and  forensic psychotherapy.

This talk by Dr Sarah Green, entitled 'JM Barrie and the Solitary Young Man' is from the first panel, Alone in the Victorian City.

In this episode, Dr Emilie Taylor-Brown and Dr Katerina Johnson explore the central role which has long been attributed to digestion in the promotion of physical and mental wellbeing, from the nineteenth century to the present day. How did Victorians perceive the connection between the brain and the stomach? What does science tell us now? Why is digestive health so central to our understanding of who we are?

In this episode, Dr Grant Blank and Dr Jean-Michel Johnston explore what it means to live in a networked age, an age that began with the emergence of the electric telegraph during the nineteenth century, and which has entered a new phase since the advent of the internet. Have the benefits of new means of communication been universal? To what extent is the internet built on the foundations of older technologies? Is the long-awaited ‘global village’ still on the horizon?

Surgical Consent: From the 'reasonable doctor' to the 'reasonable patient'?

In this episode, Prof. Ashok Handa and Dr Sally Frampton consider how the relationship between doctor and patient has changed since the nineteenth century, in light of new medical knowledge and practices. Did Victorian surgeons take their patients’ wishes and expectations seriously? How have the regulations surrounding medical consent changed? How can we ensure that individuals are adequately informed when they choose whether to undergo potentially life-changing surgery? 

This is the same podcast, 'After the Show: Victorian Speed'. It has been edited for listening using computer speakers, rather than headphones. The recommended (headphones) version is here: https://anchor.fm/diseasesmodlife/episodes/After-the-Show-Victorian-Speed-e3jv0d

Last year, Diseases of Modern Life collaborated with The Projection Studio on the light and sound spectacular, 'Victorian Speed of Life'. Recently, Principal Investigator from Diseases of Modern Life, Sally Shuttleworth, sat down with Ross Ashton and Karen Monid from The Projection Studio to ask how the project impacted their work. This podcast features sounds from the show itself. 

This podcast was presented and edited by Dr Catherine Charlwood for the Diseases of Modern Life project.

Book for the 8th February Ruskin conference and public lecture at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History here.

The guests were

Professor John Holmes (University of Birmingham)

Dr Fraser Riddell (Trinity College, University of Oxford)

Professor Fiona Stafford (Somerville College, University of Oxford)

The quotation from Ruskin’s letter to his father was written on 31st January 1849 and can be found on page 93 of Volume 36 of The Complete Works of John Ruskin. I am indebted to William J Gatens’s 1986 article ‘John Ruskin and Music’ for highlighting this letter.

Music for this episode was extracts from ‘Qui la voce sua soave’ from Bellini’s opera I Puritani (1835). It was performed by Maria Callas at the Teatro alla Scala and directed by Tullio Serafin. This recording can be found at Liber Liber and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial - Share Alike 4.0 International Licence.