Historical Studies Society (HSS) Newsletter – December 2015  

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“Consumerism, Capitalism, & Christmas” All UTM students are invited to a Movie Night with the HSS!! Please join us on Friday, December 4th at 6:00 PM in CC2150 to watch a holiday themed movie!! Food and Drinks will be provided!

HSS MOVIE NIGHT Dear HSS students, Thank you for joining us at both the November Movie Night and Graduate School Information Night. Please also come out on December 4th for holiday fun in CC2150 at 6PM! We will be watching a holiday film. There will be food and treats

for all. After the movie, Dr. Petrakos will begin a short discussion of consumerism, capitalism and the holidays. Join the HSS to de-stress before exams! In the new year, please stay tuned for many exciting HSS events including our monthly movie nights and a series of roundtable discussions with professors and students in Historical Studies. As always, if you have a question about anything related to Historical Studies, please connect with us by email or come to our office hours. We would love to hear from you! As always, we are here to offer information about subject POSTs, academic workshops, fundraisers, networking/ volunteering opportunities, campus social events, and grad school applications.

 

Historical Studies Society (HSS) Newsletter – December 2015  

TITUS OATES AND THE POPISH PLOT – Nicholas Oswald This picture is of Titus Oates, a man who in 1678 invented a story of a Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II and seize control of Britain, leading to mass hysteria and the execution of about 24 British Catholics under false accusations. The so-called 'Popish Plot' was the topic of a presentation I made to Professor Petrakos' HIS395H5F class on Tuesday, November 17. As I researched the Popish Plot for my presentation I was struck by the bizarre and often ludicrous nature of the accusations and proceedings. Elaborate and convoluted tales of Papist conspiracies found ready belief and caused mass hysteria even when little to no evidence was found to confirm them.

Known criminals were able to bring accusations against respected noblemen and be believed by the

court judges! It was not merely the London rabble, but many educated and intelligent people like the Earl of Shaftesbury who fell under the sway of the Popish Plot hysteria. Britain in the late 17th century was a divided and anxious society, still struggling with social, political and religious divisions that had burst into civil war in the 1640s and living with fear of invasion from growing continental powers like France. In such times of social anxiety, there is often an unfortunate tendency to look for scapegoats, which many in the late 1670s found in English Catholics. Titus Oates appeared at exactly the right time and found a ready audience for his wild tales. The story of how this scheming clergyman became one of the most powerful men in Britain is absolutely fascinating.

Nicholas Oswald is a third year student in History and Political Science. He is currently pursuing an Independent Study on religious and political struggle in 17th Century Britain with Professor Petrakos.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss the abyss also looks into you.”

-Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146.