Crutched Pharaoh, Seated Hunter

Academic and popular sources alike regularly refer to Tutankhamun as “disabled” at the time of his death, citing artistic representations from the items in his tomb to back up such claims. This group of objects has been said to depict the young king seated while hunting and using a staff as a walking aid seemingly highlighting the presence of a leg-based disability. This narrative of the image depicting the truth of Tutankhamun’s physical condition has publicly become accepted as fact with images of the seated king even being used in the advertising for the touring exhibit “Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh” to suggest Tutankhamun’s “fragile constitution.” A comparison of these depictions to historical representations of kings hunting and using staffs of authority, however, suggests that these depictions of Tutankhamun were part of a traditional iconography utilized by Tutankhamun’s artists, not to highlight his disability, but instead to situate his image within the artwork of kings of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. This study, thus, works to dispel the pervasive myth of the existence of artistic representations of a disabled Tutankhamun, while providing a basis for understanding the true nature of the representation of disability in Egyptian art. Furthermore, this work urges Egyptologists to avoid relying on physical remains to “decipher” mortuary artwork. Such a change in method can only lead to a better understanding of the purpose of the depicted body within the mortuary context and its role as separate but complementary to the physical body in New Kingdom thought.

Jain Memory of the Tughluq Sultans: Alternative Sources for the Historiography of Sultanate India

Some of the earliest narratives of meetings between leaders of an Indian community and their Muslim ruler appear in the Vividhatīrthakalpa (Chapters on Many Sacred Places) of the Jain monk Jinaprabhasūri (c. 1261–1333 ce). The text depicts the monk's relationship with Sultan Muḥammad bin Tughluq (r. 1325–51) in the years 1328–33, which resulted in the sovereign issuing a number of edicts (farmāns) to protect Jains and Jain temples and which led to the return of a Jina icon (Pkt. paḍima, Skt. pratimā) and the establishment of a Jain quarter in Delhi. Over the next two-and-a-half centuries, Jinaprabhasūri's story would be retold several times, with fifteenth-century narrators shifting his interlocutor to Fīrūz Shāh Tughluq (r. 1351–88). In the process of making Jinaprabha an object of memory, Jain authors of both the monk's own and rival monastic orders (gacchas) depicted the sultans as benefactors of the Jain community. While these narratives were attempts to delineate the proper relationship between Jain monastic leaders and Muslim rulers, they also constituted a Jain memory of the Tughluq sultans that is often at odds with modern historical representations of them. Reading these narratives alongside other evidence of Jains’ relations with the Tughluqs offers historians an alternative view of these figures and their relations with their Indian subjects, helping to de-centre modern historical narratives based on selective readings of Persian and Arabic sources and a privileging of Brahmanical or colonial viewpoints of the period. However, these narratives require historians to theorise this ‘memory’ to understand them productively as historical sources.

When history perpetuates stereotypes and narratives: The burden of historical representations on the well-being of Africans living in Europe

Previous research outlined that historical representations of different groups underlie stereotypes and prejudice. Considering the gap in the literature on historical representations and their potential impact on well-being, this study tested hypotheses concerning historical representations of Africans (N = 225) in Europe in relation to well-being outcomes in that population. Furthermore, the study tested the mediational role of stereotype confirmation concerns and social identification in the relationship between historical representations and well-being. Consistent with the predictions, historical representations were associated with poorer well-being. Particularly, historical representations were related to increased anxiety and low self-esteem through their relationship with stereotype confirmation concerns. Social identity mitigated the harmful effects of historical representations on self-esteem. However social identity did not mediate the relationship between historical representations and anxiety. The findings highlight the effects of historical representations on well-being.

When history perpetuates stereotypes and narratives: The burden of historical representations on well-being

Previous research outlined that historical representations of different groups underlie stereotypes and prejudice. Considering the gap in the literature on historical representations and their potential impact on the well-being of Africans, we hypothesised that historical representations of Africans and perceptions of these representations among Africans (N = 225 in Europe relate to well-being outcomes in that population. Furthermore, we predicted that the relationship between historical representations and well-being is mediated by stereotype confirmation concerns and social identification. Consistent with our predictions, historical representations were associated with poorer well-being. Particularly, historical representations were related to increased anxiety and low self-esteem through their relationship with stereotype confirmation concerns. Social identity mitigated the harmful effects of historical representations on self-esteem. However, social identity did not mediate the association between historical representations and anxiety. Our findings highlight the effects of historical representations on well-being.

The Beggar’s Opera as Social and Political Satire: Origin, Development and Popularity

This research paper revolves around the origin, development and popularity of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera when taken as a significant social and political satire. Historical representations are required to set up the shaping factors and origin of this play. Besides, the paper sheds light on the influences that have prompted him to attempt this kind of dramatic art. Furthermore, it can be assumed that that play is the production of Gay’s satirical attitudes towards the social and political systems prevailing in his time that are facilitative to this artistic production. The researcher will make certain touches upon Gay’s innovative mind to create a genre unprecedented in his time—the ballad opera tradition—that has gained immense popularity in the literary media and influenced many major dramatists such as Thomas Beckett and others to follow his example.

The origins of the negative historical representations of burghers in Hungary

Hungarian historiography needs to review its negative representation of towns and burghers typical of the first half of nineteenth-century Hungary, as Vera Bácskai, a major figure of Hungarian urban history suggested in a paradigmatic paper. Starting from her statements, this article examines the historical narratives of secondary school textbooks and wider historical syntheses of Hungarian history published in the age of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). The author shows that the burghers’ negative image was rooted in the political fights prior to the 1848 Revolution and the emergence of modern nationalism.

Rewriting the Nation: German-Turkish Transformations of the Bildungsroman

Literatures arising in the context of migration and cultural contact are known to provoke the nationally confined canonisation of literature. While the view that so-called ‘migrant literature’ does belong to German literature and culture is widely established within recent scholarship, the literary means of claiming space in the national canon are still an under-researched topic. The purpose of the study is to analyse the literary means of claiming space in the national canon and thereby investigate the permeability of its boundaries. By rewriting a canonical genre of German literature, which is historically linked to the emergence of a sense of a national identity, the analysed German-Turkish texts are using the Bildungsroman as a frame of reference to articulate pluralistic national identities. They further inscribe historical representations that have been omitted from dominant historical discourse into the national cultural memory. While rewriting the genre, the texts participate in the actualisation of the Bildungsroman and thereby reposition its traditional boundaries. Finally, the novels express the need to renegotiate the concept of the nation as well as its demand for homogeneity.

The sidewalk is a history book: Reflections on linking historical consciousness to uses of history

The ongoing discussion about what constitutes historical consciousness is intensifying within the growing international community of history-education researchers. What started as an exploration of how life outside schools affects our historical thinking has become a key concept for structuring formal education. This shift has largely been positive; however, there are reasons for caution. If practical adaption means outlining, classifying, and measuring levels of achieved awareness, it also presents a risk of losing the initial reason for considering the wider influence on our perceptions and orientations. My reflection in this article concerns this paradox and how it can affect a complementary concept, use of history. Using examples from everyday historical representations in public life, namely song lyrics, the BLM, and Sweden’s approach to Covid 19, I demonstrate why history education requires a broad understanding of historical consciousness and a readiness to work with public uses of history.

Incorporating the Critical Music Framework: An Autoethnographic Reflection

I articulate an autoethnographic narrative of using different songs to counter dominant interpretations of gender, class, immigration, slavery, and education in the social studies classroom. Framing it as the Critical Music Framework, the practice of using music addressing social issues and historical representations of women and people of color provided secondary students with reflective, learning opportunities. The resulting conversations illustrate the importance of music not just on the personal, but also the academic aspects of individuals.