DON'T WASTE A WASH: Hygiene and History with Valerie Krips

The TV advertisement ‘Don’t waste a wash’ assumed that everyone could be nice, clean and hygienic. But a daily shower and the use of deodorant are neither universal nor age-old, so how did people manage in earlier times? When did hygiene become a matter of serious concern in illness? These and other matters concerning hygiene, personal and public, are the topics for this talk about dirt, death, hygiene and the use of soap.

Valerie Krips retired from the English Department, University of Pittsburgh, in 2006. She now lives in Melbourne, where she is a Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne and a co-editor of Arena Magazine. Her research interests lie in cultural studies, and in particular heritage and memory.

Children washing in a tub