Katie Barclay
Historian and one of the editors of The Routledge History of Happiness. She also wrote a feature on historical secrets of happiness for BBC History Magazine.
Top 3 podcasts with Katie Barclay
Ranked by the Snipd community
39 snips
Jan 24, 2025 • 29min
Happiness: history of an emotion
Katie Barclay, a historian and editor of The Routledge History of Happiness, dives into the fascinating evolution of happiness. She reveals that while 'happiness' gained popularity in the 17th century, its roots trace back much further. Barclay explores how cultural and societal values shape our understanding of joy, examining forgotten emotions like apatheia and how definitions have shifted over time. The conversation also highlights the historical journey from happiness as fortune to a fundamental human right, intertwining personal fulfillment with societal progress.
Mar 6, 2026 • 1h 4min
Eleanor Gordon et al., "Working-Class Courtship, Marriage, and Divorce in Scotland, 1855–1939" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Katie Barclay, historian of family and emotional life, and Eleanor Gordon, professor emerita of Scottish social history, discuss working-class courtship, marriage, and divorce in Scotland, 1855–1939. They explore courtship practices, changing leisure and intimacy, regional illegitimacy patterns, irregular marriage and cohabitation, the effects of war and regulation, and how emotions showed up in everyday care.
Mar 5, 2026 • 1h 4min
Eleanor Gordon et al., "Working-Class Courtship, Marriage, and Divorce in Scotland, 1855–1939" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Katie Barclay, historian of family practices, and Eleanor Gordon, scholar of Scottish social history, discuss working-class courtship, marriage, and divorce in Scotland from 1855–1939. They trace regional diversity, courtship rituals before and after WWI, patterns of illegitimacy and non-marital sex, household forms and cohabitation, and how marriages broke down amid war and social change.
