70th Anniversary, Announcement James D. Watson And Francis Crick Discovered Structure Of DNA Molecule (28th February 1953) - Ep 10

The discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule is one of the most important scientific advancement events of our history, because of it we can trace genetic ancestries, determine relation, alter or determine the most appropriate agricultural species for a region, develop targeted medicines, etc. etc. etc. This is a significant anniversary that we at The Flipside are privileged to be able to explore with Dr. Maria Nieves-Colón, who is an educator and anthropological geneticist at the University of Minnesota, the lab that Dr. Nieves-Colón is a scientist with there produces some truly exceptional research. This was a truly wonderful and informative discussion, that was genuinely inspiring. Ancient DNA is an important aspect of our toolkit which does not hold all the answers but can enhance our interpretation as archaeologists.

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Intro/Outro Music - Creative Commons - "Fantasia Fantasia" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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100th Anniversary, Howard Carter's Discovery Of Tutankhamun's Tomb (4th November 1922) - Ep 9

The discovery of the Tomb of Pharoah Tutankhamun is one of the most celebrated discoveries in Egyptology and perhaps archaeology in general. This month is a significant anniversary of that discovery and we at The Flipside are privileged to be able to explore this topic with Dr. Daniela Rosenow and Prof. Richard Parkinson, who are both educators at the University of Oxford and custodians/researchers of the Griffith Archive. For those who are not already aware the Griffith Institute Archive is one of the most significant UK-based collections to explore the cultures of Ancient Egypt. In particular the Archive houses the complete excavation records including journals, reports, object cards, drawings and photographs of Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Working with these materials Dr. Rosenow and Prof. Parkinson have curated an exhibition entitled Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive, this provides an exceptional exploration of previously neglected aspects of the Archive and asks questions about how the Archive itself came to be and highlights the absence from the narrative of the Egyptian people. The discussion this month was truly exceptional and insightful and I for one am sure that it will influence my future practice and the way in which I think about archaeology.

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Intro/Outro Music - Creative Commons - "Fantasia Fantasia" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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125th Anniversary, Dracula By Bram Stoker Published (26th May 1897) - Ep 8

The author of Dracula, Bram Stoker, like many of his peers and subsequent literary generations took significant inspiration from the more gruesome details of our histories, surprisingly this extends beyond folkloric influence to a core of archaeological examples, broadly referred to as 'deviant burials'. From actual exemplar of these 'victims' comes our tendency towards monster-making. This episode is inspired by the 125th Anniversary of the publishing of the standard vampire-literature text, the one everyone has heard of... Dracula, on 26th May 1897. How close is this text to a historical reality of the 'Vampire', reality I should clarify in regard to actual belief resulting in pre- and post- mortem persecutions of real people... people who were often othered and scapegoated to sooth the real everyday realities of fear... varying from disease, political control, war, famine, rebellion against societal normalcy. Joining me this episode is Dr. Sorcha Ni Fhlainn a senior lecturer in Film Studies and American Studies at the Manchester Metropolitan University, the puzzles presented by cultural media are endlessly fascinating and Dr. Ni Fhlainn is an expert at decoding them!

NOTE: Keep your eyes (...and ears) peeled for an October Bonus Episode on Vampire Studies, the rest of this episode and reading recommendations for Spooky Season!

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Intro/Outro Music - Creative Commons - "Fantasia Fantasia" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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95th Anniversary, Agatha Christie Disappears For 11 Days - Ep 7

It is quite common for mystery to be associated with the festive season, in particular, adaptions of Agatha Christie's famous work have had a place as Christmas reading or nowadays watching since they were first published. This is a tradition which holds today with my own family and in honor of the season we want to share it with you! This episode is luckily then inspired by the 95th Anniversary of the most mysterious event in Christie's own life, her disappearance for 11 days whereupon she reappeared with apparent amnesia, on 3rd December 1926. But how is archaeology involved... well, in quite a few ways actually, Christie was a pretty brilliant archaeologist-in-training, was married to a professional archaeologist, was a fixture at many Middle and Near Eastern sites, and wrote quite a bit of insightful narrative surrounding archaeology in her fiction novels. Joining me this episode is Dr. Rebecca Mills a lecturer in Communications and English at the University of Bournemouth, also Agatha Christie aficionado. From my family to yours, Merry Christmas, Yule, or simply Happy Holiday Season, may next year be utterly brilliant for all of you!

Dr. Mills has rather brilliantly also provided a further reading list below:

Graphic biography: The Real Life of Agatha Christie, by Anne Martinetti and Guillaume Lebeau, illustrated by Alexandre Franc, translated by Edward Gauvin (SelfMadeHero, 2016)

J.C. Bernthal, Queering Agatha Christie: Revisiting the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (Palgrave 2016)

Christopher Prior, 'An Empire Gone Bad: Agatha Christie, Anglocentrism and Decolonization' in Cultural and Social History: The Journal of the Social History Society Volume 15:2 (2018)

More about Christie's young women: Merja Makinen, Agatha Christie: Investigating Femininity (Palgrave 2006)

Rebecca Mills and J.C. Bernthal, editors, Agatha Christie Goes to War (Routledge 2021)

More about Death on the Nile and Appointment with Death: Brittain Bright and Rebecca Mills, 'The Revelations of the Corpse: Interpreting the Body in the Golden Age Detective Novel' in New Perspectives on Detective Fiction

Mystery Magnified, edited by Casey Cothran and Mercy Cannon (Routledge 2015)

Brittain Bright, Beyond the scene of the crime : investigating place in Golden Age detective fiction (Doctoral Dissertation, Goldsmiths University 2015) https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.650408

Nadia Atia has a forthcoming chapter on Orientalism in Christie's work in the forthcoming Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie (November 2022)

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Intro/Outro Music - Creative Commons - "Fantasia Fantasia" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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162nd Anniversary, Charles Darwin Publishes Origin Of Species. (24th November 1859) Prof. Stephen Shennan - Ep 6

This episode is extremely scientific, and inspired by the 162nd Anniversary of the publishing of Charles Darwin's epic tome 'On The Origin Of Species', which hit the public on the 24th November 1859 and caused quite a stir. Everyone of you has probably already heard of this book, but what relevance does this research have on archaeology, well, it impacted how we see the developmental processes of societies, material culture and archaeological environments. So it's a pretty big deal! Everything from human niche construction, developments in pottery, a new exciting interdisciplinary project, population thinking vs typological thinking and so much more! Joining me this episode is Prof. S. Shennan a lecturer in Theoretical Archaeology at University College London.

Music

Intro/Outro Music - Creative Commons - "Fantasia Fantasia" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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