Karen James
I am a photographer, handwork enthusiast, and avid gardener with a background in cultural anthropology. I’m interested in stories and in how material objects help mediate storytelling.
Location Illinois, USA
Activity
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That’s interesting! Not something I’d heard before.
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Karen James made a comment
This made my head hurt. Insanely complex. Can’t imagine how this process was even developed!
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Karen James made a comment
I knew that dating methodologies were complex but this article helped me to better understand some of that complexity. What I learned hasn’t made me lose confidence in the process of scientific inquiry.
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Karen James made a comment
I have an undergrad degree in cultural anthropology. One of my professors described anthropology as “the study of all things human” and his description really resonated with me. I’m hoping this course will help me understand more about the human story and the ways that understanding our stories better can help us make better lives.
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Karen James made a comment
Hi all, I’m here because I’m curious about human evolution and the processes involved in dating human remains.
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Karen James replied to Chris Worpole
You know, it’s interesting that, while I’ve also heard Margaret of Anjou referred to as a “she-wolf”, I’ve never heard the term applied to Margaret Beaufort.
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Karen James replied to Emma Savory
Yes. I think perhaps his wife and Henry Tudor’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, were influential in his defection.
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Karen James made a comment
The Richard III reconstruction stands out for me. I hadn’t known about the reassessment on his hair and eye color. So young. And the face seems to express a kindness and humor that certainly haven’t been a part of Richard’s historical legacy.
I’d like to see a reconstruction of Elizabeth I, something along the lines of Richard rather than the Mary Queen of...
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Karen James replied to Karen James
Thanks, Kayleigh. It did, a bit. The umbrella analogy was helpful as well.
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Karen James made a comment
Hi, I’m Karen James. I have an undergrad degree in cultural anthropology and find forensic anthropology intriguing. I wonder if any of the educators can help me better understand the distinctions between forensic anthropology and forensic anatomy as well as each discipline’s role in identifying human remains from a crime scene?
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I have watched “Bones” as well and understand that Kathy Reichs, the forensic anthropologist whose books inspired the show, was involved in production to help keep the science more realistic. Concessions were made but, still, the attempt, right?
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Karen James made a comment
I took this course in the summer of 2017 but have just finished Josephine Tey’s “Daughter of Time” and wanted to revisit it all.
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Karen James replied to Rebecca Mahmood
@MarkJackson Thanks for these links.
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Karen James replied to Rebecca Mahmood
Thanks for the link.@Pamfarmer
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Karen James replied to Chris Worpole
Yes. Margaret Beaufort is another woman who was a huge player in events during this period.
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Karen James replied to Karen James
@ElizabethEstervig, thank you, things are making a lot more sense to me now.
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@CynthiaBague, it was the Queen’s comment, not mine, but @GwynethLock has answered your question.
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Karen James replied to Karen James
My curiosity extends that far. Thanks for the link!
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Karen James replied to Karen James
Thanks. I’ve wonsered about this forever.
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Karen James made a comment
First, I’d really like to say again how informative and well executed these videos are. I also appreciate the effort that’s gone into them!
One difference that I’m noticing as the interpreters are talking the costumes is that, while there still lots of layers and it would have been pretty impossible for these women to get dressed on their own, the arms are...
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Karen James made a comment
I find the masques interesting as a means of performing power and presenting an idealized image of the monarch particularly. It’s my understand that, as relations between Charles I and Parliament disintegrated, he turned more and more to masques as what I’d term almost an alternate reality in which he reigned supreme and brought order to his kingdom. Obviously...
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Karen James made a comment
How do we find out about fashion today? Television, the internet, and fashion magazines come to mind. There are all kinds of blogs on the internet following the latest trends and a number focused particularly on female Royal fashion. I’d say the focus is still on the elite and the masses can copy their styles as best they can on a limited budget.
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Karen James replied to Karen James
But how are they sewn on? Are they in a setting like an earring and that can be sewn or pinned on? Maybe my problem is that I’ve always thought of the jewels as loose stones and they weren’t. I’d still love to see a video of the process.
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Karen James made a comment
It’s funny but I’ve always thought of the Stuart dynasty as one of flamboyant excess (with the exception of the whole thing with Cromwell) in comparison with the Tudors but I think that was silly of me. A different kind of flamboyant excess might be more accurate. I love Van Dyke’s paintings of this period.
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Karen James made a comment
The videos are awesome. I didn’t realize that so much of the clothing was recycled or reused. The story of the altar cloth is exciting, almost like the actual discovery of Richard III’s body. Like finding a needle in an historical haystack.
One thing I’m still curious about is exactly how jewels were affixed to clothing. I know it was mentioned in the hat...
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Karen James made a comment
I’d be interested to see Elizabeth’s coronation clothes. I’ve read in a number of places that some of her actual outfit survived but don’t think this is true, is it? I’d also love to see examples of embroidery as my mother taught me to embroider when I was a girl. And I’d love to see examples of those lovely open ruffs.
Also, am I correct that a couple of...
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Karen James made a comment
Ok, so I admit that I can’t get my head around this one...
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Karen James made a comment
Seeing this clothing recreated really does help get a feel for the real historical wearers. I love seeing the dress and noting the stylistic license of the painting. I’ve always been curious about these delicate open ruffs one seees Elizabeth wearing.
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Karen James replied to Karen James
One would have to squat very carefully...!
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Karen James made a comment
I love Elizabeth I’s coronation portrait. She looks so young, almost hidden by all the clothing and other objects, and yet she very much appears as a young woman stepping out to rule. Fascinating to see the differences between this portrait and the one of her as a princess.
I also love the Rainbow portrait illustrated above. This was painted in 1600? And...
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Karen James replied to Abby Taylor
This is one of my favorites, too.
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Karen James replied to Karen James
That’s true, the clothing was handed down and repurposed but it’s pointed out in the module on the Bristowe hat that eventually the clothing wasn’t fit for clothing anymore and was repurposed into upholstery and smaller items such as cushions. Hence my comment on the DoC’s clothing.
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Karen James made a comment
There was more lacing with this female outfit than there was for Henry’s but perhaps that’s down to the need to adjust for pregnancies. I was also surprised that there were no separate stays to create the desired period shape. I hadn’t realized that.
It’s interesting, hearing the interpreters discussing the restrictions imposed by the clothing. I used to...
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Karen James made a comment
So, the question asks if “I” would want the clothes and jewels from someone’s ex-wife and I’m going to take the position that it’s referring to me in my current time. My short answer is no, I wouldn’t want the ex-wife’s stuff. Definitely not her clothes. If there were jewelry with any decent stones I might have them set in new jewelry (as I did with some of...
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Karen James made a comment
A wreath of wild roses and wildflowers with a bird’s nest tucked in to represent my love of nature and artistic focus on my garden. In the center, my initials. “J” in the middle, “K” and “O” on either side and some version of “God is in the details” encircling the wreath. Latin, perhaps, as botanical names are in Latin, but, alas, I don’t speak Latin.
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Karen James replied to Karen James
When Queen Elizabeth and King George VI visited the East London neighborhoods bombed by the Germans in WW II, there was criticism of that Queen for dressing in fine clothes and wearing pearls. Her response was to say that, were the people who had suffered the bombing to visit her, they would wear their best clothes and that she owed them the same courtesy....
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Karen James made a comment
Amazing how this State uniform has retained so much of its original Tudor design over the centuries. How many Yeoman Warders are there at any one time and what happens to their uniforms when they retire?
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Karen James replied to Casper Burton
Ha, yes. Or girdles. Guess it’s Spanx now.
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Karen James made a comment
I think of money, or the lack thereof, as being a fashion restriction. I follow a number of blogs about royal fashion and I’ve been interested in the frenzy to identify the brands and the cost of outfits and jewelry worn by people like the Duchess of Cambridge and now Meghan Markle. There follows a further discussion of ways that you can get “the look” for...
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Karen James made a comment
I think that there is a constant social dialogue around judging fashion that might be perceived as “fashion police” in a way. It’s interesting, considering what might considered appropriate fashion for the more modern Royals. I think of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and her ropes of pearls and dresses and hats. Her attire wasn’t as jewel-encrusted as Queen...
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Karen James replied to Rhianna Blackthorn
Exactly! The instructions made my head hurt and I’m more of a visual person.
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Karen James made a comment
I think that both men and women worked within the parameters of gendered fashion to make statements and exercise agency. Men’s fashions had elements of what we would consider restriction and of the ridiculous just as wonen’s fashions did. Imagine being a 98lb weakling in the Tudor court and having to deal with those fashions. And before we ridicule the...
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Karen James replied to Casper Burton
Indeed. High heels, anyone?!
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Karen James replied to John Hoatson
I wonder, too, if a lot of layers actually spoke to wealth and status?
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Karen James replied to Lisa Adams
Buttons came later but I was also surprised by the hooks and eyes!
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Karen James replied to Melinda Redlinger
Yes, exactly what I thought!
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Karen James made a comment
All the layers and the way the clothing of different layers were cut to reveal a total statement of royal status. The codpiece...hmmmm. I know I’m projecting my own sensibilities onto the period but really? A codpiece? I know that there have been many fashion trends over the centuries intended to display the body in ways that accentuated desirable gendered...
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Karen James made a comment
I think that fashion was a way to legitimize a monarch and his/her reign. I think this module speaks to that. Henry VIII felt he had to dress the part in order to be taken seriously. I suppose that Elizabeth, the first woman to rule England on her own, felt that, too. I also think it’s interesting that, given the enormous wardrobes of Henry VIII and Elizabeth,...
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Karen James made a comment
When I think of Tudor fashion I think of clothing worn by the monarch and courtiers although I suppose that the term “Tudor clothing” might also refer generally to the period.
I’m interested in understanding how clothing, jewels, fabrics, even colors (fashion) proclaimed certain things about social status. It seems that fashion could send messages from the...
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Karen James replied to Catherine Schaus
And interesting, though perhaps not surprising, that women feature for the first time in the sumptuary laws.
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Karen James replied to Linda MacKenna Ikuta
Thanks for the link!
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Karen James made a comment
Loved the glossary! Informative and something I’ll be referring to a lot I’m sure.
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@MargaretLavender Yes, exactly.
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@MargaretLavender, I’ve been fascinated by the story of Mycenae and Troy for years. That must have been an amazing experience to visit such a place!
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@MargaretLavender, yes. The American Cuvil War still scars our country and England had decades of such strife. I can’t even imagine. This is one reason I feel it’s so important to maintain heritage sites, battlefields, etc., even though the urge to forget might be strong. We need these tangible reminders of the cost of such strife.
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@MargaretLavender, I envy you your proximity to such things!
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Karen James made a comment
I thought the material on printing could have been extended as it was so complex and significant. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the course and the interactions with my fellow learners.
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Karen James made a comment
You definitely saved the best for last. Amazing final week. Thank you.
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Karen James replied to Christine S
So did I...
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Karen James made a comment
What an amazing story. Such a weaving together of past and present. The current Duke of Gloucester reuniting of the Book of Hours with Richard’s body was such a poignant act. I know there is a lot of controversy about so much of this but I’m impressed with the thought and care that went into this service.
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Karen James made a comment
I’m really glad that the council went to so much effort to construct this visitor’s center.
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Karen James made a comment
Interesting that burials were often placed where people would walk over them and that this location increased reverence for them. The practices I’m familiar with are just the opposite. There are all kinds of superstitions about walking on a grave.
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Karen James replied to Mara Jimenez
Thanks for the link!
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Karen James replied to Simone P
My thoughts, exactly!
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Karen James made a comment
It must have been such an amazing, surprising thing to have actually witnessed or participated in the discovery process of Richard’s body.
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Karen James replied to Moira Bolt
@MoiraBolt Agreed. When I read your comment I thought of the way that “boxed” wine is looked down on. Also the debates I’ve heard about the traditional wine cork vs. screw on metal lids. I tend to think of all these things as wrangling over status.
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Karen James made a comment
Another fascinating overview on the ways in which the separation of social classes was both maintained and challenged through the medium of consumption.
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Karen James made a comment
I appreciate the time and labor it took to create this course. I also appreciated the ways in which the various tasks challenged me to think about Austen’s work, and my relationship with it, more deeply. I also enjoyed interacting with the other learners.
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Karen James made a comment
Thanks to the creative team and to my fellow learners for such a stimulating and lively learning experience!
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@AlisonDaniell, I’d choose Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth after his failed first proposal. This was a pivotal point, not only in terms of their relationship with each other but in their understanding of their own and each other’s characters.
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Karen James made a comment
I would like to look at Jane through the lens of just one story, P&P, from its early iteration in manuscript form to something 21st century. I think we would see not only the story of Jane evolve, we’d also be able to observe the social and cultural evolution of her readership. I’d choose a manuscript form of P&P, one with her edits visible to show how the...
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Karen James made a comment
What came to mind for me was an exhibit in the Saint Louis Art Museum several years ago that featured figures of “Atua” which, as I understood it, were originally sacred pieces animated with the spirit or essence of Polynesian gods. I actually used the exhibit as a focal point for my undergrad anthropology thesis. What I found interesting were the stories...
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Karen James made a comment
I think getting a feel for the life Jane lived- her social status in general (and within the village of Chawton where she wrote), of the life she observed and the life she lived, her personal surroundings, her clothing and jewelry (oh, that ring!)- all gives us a perspective of Jane’s positionality. This helps to contextualize both her and her writing. Write...
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Karen James made a comment
I haven’t seen Clueless so don’t feel I don’t think I can intelligently comment except to say that Austen deals with pretty timeless themes. They should be translatable into more “modern” contexts.
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@SimonHenderson, thanks for this. I’ll have to try to find the other adaptions besides P&P.
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Karen James made a comment
Just quickly, because I’ve talked about it at length in other modules, I loved the A&E miniseries adaptation of P&P with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. I really appreciated the way the series used so much dialogue from the book; it was like visually reading the book in many ways. I found the casting to be very believable and the performances, particularly...
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@SigridKohler, that’s an interesting perspective!
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Karen James replied to Laura Hawthorn
Yes, I can see that. Some would have used the new printed material to reinforce their belief structure and validate what they were being told but others would have engaged with it in a more analylitical fashion. I know that, for me, there’s a difference in my ability to (or the way that I) engage with the spoken word and the written word. Printed material, in...
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@HeatherJ, you have a good point. I haven’t watched movies like Clueless or Brigit Jones’ Diary. Of course I wouldn’t expect this kind of adaptation to be period in the same sense that the ‘95 P&P was but it should have the same storyline. Hmmm, not sure that expresses what I mean. Similar plot elements maybe? As you say, Austen wrote about things that do...
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Karen James made a comment
Confession: I tried to read Mansfield Psrk and quit because I hated the character of Fanny. Ugh. Perhaps it was because I’d read Pride and Prejudice and Emma and Sense and Sensibility and Fanny threw me for a loop. But I also just didn’t get into the whole story much.
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I guess it’s always easier to look back and critique others than too look in our own mirror and recognize it in ourselves. I do think time would be better spent saying, ok, I see these problems from Austen’s time period with imperialism and colonialism. So what have we done to actually change the dynamic- not just the outward appearance?
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I think you make an excellent point about Shakespeare and Austen’s work.
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I love the 1995 version as well. So much of the dialogue is there and I get a sense of the story having come alive. The casting was quite good and the length of the production gave time to be respectful to the whole narrative. I can’t imagine trying to cram the story into a couple of hours.
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Karen James made a comment
I have two copies of Pride & Prejudice. My most read paperback is packed away . The other copy is a 2003 edition of Barnes & Noble Classics series. The cover has s watercolor illustration of a period dining room. There is a bio of Austen in the front (no credit given) followed by a timeline of historical events that occurred during Austen’s life. This might...
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Karen James replied to Harvey C
@SaraF, Yes! This is the way I was taught and couldn’t wrap my head around explaining it concisely. Thanks!
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Karen James replied to Ruth C. Hoffman
There ya go!
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Karen James replied to Lorna Green
Yes, they could have stopped before they got to that little item.
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Yeah, raised eyebrows on that list for sure!
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Karen James replied to Lyn Parker
@LynParker, the cabbage pottage actually sounds good!
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Karen James replied to susan white
One of the instruction items in the first part said to transfer your soup from one pot to a second if it tried to boil over and I wondered at what socio-economic level poeople would start acquiring a second pot?
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Karen James replied to Marie Prentis
Wouldn’t that sort of be pottage? The booze would certainly help...
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Karen James replied to Deanna Cumpston
Also thought it was interesting that that one was written as an elderly man instructing his young wife. You’d think women would write for women but I know that’s often not been the case.
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@JaneCranthorne, I’ve seen them and they’re beautiful!
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Karen James made a comment
I picked oats because I like oatmeal for breakfast. I’m thinking that it came to Britain with the Romans. The Romans used it to feed their horses but by the medieval period people in Britain and Scotland were growing them and using them and their byproducts in various ways. The Little Ice Age, beginning around 1300, but the damper (literally) on oat...
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Karen James made a comment
I think that there is a lot of background information missing in this section and that it’s impossible to do anything but speculate about the whys and wherefore here.
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I was also struck by the likenesses of Henry and Elizabeth. She looks a lot like her mother’s painting.
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Karen James made a comment
It’s a terrible shame that so much was lost at the hands of the Reformists.
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Karen James replied to susan white
I wonder if it was similar to or a part of the sumptuary laws that placed restrictions on the colors and types of clothing that could be worn by the various classes.
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Karen James replied to Natasha S
Same for me, Natasha.
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Karen James replied to susan white
@DeannaCumpston, nor I but it doesn’t really surprise me.
