Trials,Blunders and Profits: The Changing Contexts of Currencies in Sierra Leone

The work presented here is in the form of a case study that connects currencies with merchants in Sierra Leone from the early fragmentary British presence in 1787 to wide-scale colonisation late in the century. Through accounts from archival research, it traces particularly early examples of monetary instabilities prior to formal colonial rule as well as the first attempts made by the British to regulate indigenous currency systems and standardise them into a homogeneous currency system. Through a monetary perspective, the article shows that colonial authorities did not succeed in having full control over the currencies nor did local ways of using them determine their circulation but merchants, who were responsible for shipping specie to the region, also had a degree of control over the circulation of currencies. As such, the article provides very interesting—and complex—cases that emerged from the interfaces in situ among indigenous populations, merchant companies, international traders, settler communities and British colonial officials.     

Atoms in wonderland

This paper examines the representation of atomic science in Britain in museums, exhibitions, and print in the period 1945–1960. Due to postwar shortages, authors and publicists initially relied more on the written text than on visual representation. Underlying much writing was the idea of the “intelligent layman,” which formed a shorthand way of conceptualizing the non‐specialist reading public, and accounts for much of the approach and tone of writing. The paper then examines the constraints of presenting atomic science in the Science Museum, London, and the 1951 Festival of Britain, as well as a range of publications for the wider market. These include the official publications of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the enthusiastic output of the Institute of Atomic Information for the Layman, as well as works such as George Gamow's Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland. The use of images from Alice in Wonderland is examined as recurring motif for presenting an optimistic view of the benign potential of atomic science.     

Spaces of nostalgia: the hollowing out of a London market

In this paper we look at the place of memory and nostalgia in peoples' narratives of an old, traditionally white, working-class market in London, which over the last decade has experienced social and economic decline. We argue that in this hollowed out space, abandoned by many of those who can move, has emerged a nostalgia for the halcyon days of the market when people came from far and wide to shop, and when there was a strong sense of community. What these nostalgic discourses mask are the social divisions (particularly racialized divisions) of the time, while in this romanticized vision of the past, the new population of asylum seekers have become an easy trope for the dissatisfactions of the present. Regeneration strategies in an area such as this need to confront the force of these nostalgic discourses in order to tackle the deep social and racial divisions and reverse the socio-economic decline.