Mark Seymour

Sean Brady

Inspired by recent adoptions of same-sex marriage, From Sodomy Laws to Same-Sex Marriage provides international perspectives on the legal and social history of same-sex relationships from the early 19th century to the present. Its emphasis is on areas where the impetus for change has been most noticeable: Europe, the Americas, and Australasia. From Sodom and Gomorrah to Britain's sodomy laws and continental Europe's abhorrence of sexual acts 'against nature', the history of same-sex love traditionally ranged from fire and brimstone maledictions to secrecy and scandal. Until recently, legal positions across the western world reflected the legacies of the British and French empires, as well as Christianity, particularly Catholicism. In recent years, however, there has been a revolution in attitudes towards same-sex relationships. This poses hitherto unanswered questions: what historical complexities lie behind the revolutionary shift from punitive attitudes to legal endorsement of same-sex relationships? Given the cultural variety of historical attitudes to same-sex relationships, why has their legal acceptance been so international? The essays in this volume provide answers to these questions, offering the first international overview of the topic. While other studies have attempted to explain the change in legal and social treatment of same-sex relationships in a national context, or within a shorter time frame, this is the first volume to examine the topic from the French Revolution to the present day, bringing together a diverse array of perspectives over a range of countries. It is an important volume for students and scholars of queer history, the history of sexuality, law and sociology.

International Perspectives since 1789

From Sodomy Laws to Same-Sex Marriage

International Perspectives Since 1789

We were all equal, but sometimes the band could be led by whoever shouted the loudest. Step inside one of Australia's most beloved and hard-working bands. For eighteen years, Mark Seymour fronted Hunters and Collectors - although he was never remotely in control of it. Together they released songs that remain Australian anthems like Talking to a Stranger, Say Goodbye, Throw Your Arms Around Me and Holy Grail. The band was also a great social experiment - an artistic collective that shared everything equally, from the drinks rider to songwriting copyright. It couldn't last. In the end, the relentless touring machine known as 'Hunnas' didn't break up so much as switch itself off. With a songwriter's eye for the perfect detail, Seymour tells the truth about the endless fried breakfasts, bewildering industry negotiations and the view from a thirteen-tonne truck on a never ending highway. More than a simple rock memoir, THIRTEEN TONNE THEORY is a dryly comic, revealing and passionate reflection on the struggle to be heard in a democracy of blokes. 'Anyone who writes of their years in rock music must know that this is the book they are going to have to trump.' Robert Forster, The Monthly 'Very funny . . . there can be no escaping the absurdity of rock'n'roll.' The Age

Thirteen Tonne Theory

Penelope Morris

Francesco Ricatti

La storia contiene da sempre un sottotesto emotivo, ma le consuetudini e i metodi della disciplina e l’idea della natura eminentemente soggettiva delle emozioni hanno a lungo indotto gli storici a lasciare lo studio di questa sfera ad esperti di altri settori. Negli ultimi decenni, tuttavia, la tendenza alla collaborazione interdisciplinare, con la conseguente evanescenza degli steccati tradizionali, gli sviluppi della storiografia femminista e della storia orale hanno incoraggiato un crescente interesse storiografico per lo studio diacronico delle emozioni umane. Le celebrazioni dei 150 anni dell’Unità d’Italia hanno rappresentato, da questo punto di vista, un’ottima occasione per presentare un nuovo filone di ricerca, ma anche per suggerire nuove prospettive da cui guardare alla storia politica italiana, mettendo al centro il rapporto fra emozioni e potere. Ripercorrendo alcuni passaggi cruciali della storia nazionale, a partire dalla rivoluzione del 1848-1849 e dal Risorgimento, attraversando le vicende politiche del primo Novecento, il fascismo, l’Italia repubblicana, per approdare ai nostri giorni, i saggi raccolti in questo volume provano a riflettere sul ruolo delle emozioni nella vita della nazione italiana, nel tentativo di mostrare non solo il carattere emotivo della politica, ma anche il carattere politico delle emozioni.

Politica ed emozioni nella storia d’Italia dal 1848 ad oggi

Based on the records of a murder trial that transfixed all of Italy in the late 1870s, this study makes use of a dramatic court case to develop a new paradigm for the history of emotions - the 'emotional arena'. Set in the decade following Italian unification, the context was one of notable cultural variety. An as-yet unexplored aspect of this was that the experience and expression of emotions were as variable as the regions making up the new nation. Through a close examination of the spaces in which daily lives, loves, and deaths unfolded - from marital homes to places of socializing and entertainment, to a Roman court room - Mark Seymour explores the way social 'arenas' are crucial to the historical development of emotional cultural rules. The narrative is driven by the failed marriage of a decorated but allegedly impotent Risorgimento soldier, his wife's scandalous affair with a virile circus artiste (who had a string of previous lovers), and the illicit new couple's murder of the hapless husband. Hundreds of witnesses - from local professionals to servants and even circus clowns - interviewed across the length and breadth of the peninsula, left their personal views on marriage, sexuality, and infidelity. These provide an extraordinary series of peepholes into little-known areas of the new nation's social fabric. A careful yet imaginative reading of the prosecution records, as well as contemporary newspaper coverage, allows reconstruction of the highly emotional experiences of all those touched by this extraordinary story. The result is a classic Italian micro-history with relevance for today's emotionally volatile times.

Mark Seymour

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