The Editorial Board
Dear Reader,
As summer arrives, the EPOCH Team has been busy working with our contributors to bring exciting new scholarship for you to enjoy in Issue 12. Lancaster has been basking in a spell of glorious sunshine, giving us plenty of opportunities to experience the city's vibrant culture. Issue 12's theme - popular culture - allows us to discover the history of society's pastimes and pleasures. Popular culture is a window to see history from below, at the level of individual experience. Modern popular culture also provides a fascinating commentary on how we view the past today.
Engage with the current AI debate with Ben Wills-Eve as he discusses the challenges that readily accessible AI tools, such as ChatGPT, present for the discipline of history. Consider how different it might be to read without familiar punctuation marks by joining Florence Hazrat in her investigation of the history of writing. Explore how crochet was a hot new craze in the 1840s, and the women who made businesses out of teaching their skills to the public.
This Pride Month discover lesbian and gay popular culture in late twentieth-century Lancaster through the archive of Lancaster Gay Switchboard, in conversation with Peter Wade. Join EPOCH's interview with Lela Harris and the Lancaster Black History Group about how art can illuminate the stories of eighteenth-century Black Lancastrians.
We continue to centre the work of the global ECR/PG community, and broaden our collaborations with heritage institutions and archives. Keep up-to-date with our social media, where you can find our upcoming themes, calls for articles, and spotlights on our favourite items from the EPOCH catalogue!
Sincerely,
The Editorial Team