Alex White
@alexjwhite.bsky.social
Historian-in-public focusing on African anti-colonialism and the global media. Editorial fellow at @historyworkshop.org.uk, freelance everywhere else!
'When images like [Lloyd] Gee’s are put in conversation with local community members, they help to weave a social-historical tapestry that celebrates individual stories and collective identities.' Julian Ehsan explores the Bengali Photo Archive.
Activism, Identity, and the Bengali Photo Archive
What can photographs tell us about anti-racist activism in twentieth-century London? Julian Ehsan on the Bengali Photo Archive.
historyworkshop.org.uk
Loved editing this piece on diaspora and community - and special thanks to Lloyd Gee, Four Corners and the Bengali Photo Archive for the stunning images!
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · 2d agoWhat can photographs tell us about anti-racist activism in twentieth-century London? Julian Ehsan on recording community histories through the Bengali Photo Archive and the extraordinary work of Lloyd Gee.
If only there was a historical precedent for the punitive logic of this kind of warfare...🤔 On a completely unrelated note, have you seen this excellent new book?
'By attending to how medieval people are thinking about sex, gender, and desire in ways that are different from our own today, that can be a radical act'. The creators of a new @metmuseum.org exhibition discuss the curatorial challenges that they navigated. 🎤
Queering the Medieval Past
What can we learn by turning a queer lens onto the study of medieval art? Three art historians discuss Spectrum of Desire, an exhibition at New York's Cloisters.
historyworkshop.org.uk
I will just say that it is an...unfortunate editorial decision to put W.E.B DuBois' picture in a thumbnail above this headline
Nils Gilman@nilsgilman.bsky.social · 2w ago"As inequality has surged in the United States, with a minuscule coterie of rich people holding vast amounts of wealth and political power, anti-egalitarian doctrines are surging, too." A long and disgusting political lineage: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/b...
I’m excited to share that my debut book is on the way! 'Long Distance Runners: Black Women Radicals and the Struggle for Liberation' coming 2027! Bloomsbury UK/US is running a 10% discount right now, so please consider ordering directly to save some coins bloomsbury.com/uk/long-dist...
We are hiring a new Editorial Fellow who specialises in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe 🌍 👉 this 2-year fellowship runs from October 2026 - September 2028 👉 this role is paid and part-time (3 hours per week) 👉 the application deadline is Friday 7 August Please share widely!
Call for Applications: Editorial Fellowship at History Workshop, 2026
History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe.
historyworkshop.org.uk
'[...] intellectual history is made not only in libraries, political meetings and lecture halls, but in drawing rooms and private correspondence'. Ophélie Siméon dives into the letters exchanged between nineteenth-century radical thinkers, Anna Wheeler and Charles Fourier.
Radical Friendship and Early Feminism: Anna Doyle Wheeler and Charles Fourier
Ophélie Siméon dives into the letters exchanged between nineteenth-century radical thinkers, Anna Wheeler and Charles Fourier.
historyworkshop.org.uk
This is a stunning article by @faisalahali.bsky.social, covering the radical history of Radio Mogadishu and ongoing efforts to protect its extraordinary archive. There's also embedded audio, if you're curious about how its broadcasts sounded! www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/...
Somalia races to save Radio Mogadishu’s fading archive
A small team is working to digitise decades of Somali history in the country's main public radio station.
aljazeera.com
This is a stunning article by @faisalahali.bsky.social, covering the radical history of Radio Mogadishu and ongoing efforts to protect its extraordinary archive. There's also embedded audio, if you're curious about how its broadcasts sounded! www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/...
Somalia races to save Radio Mogadishu’s fading archive
A small team is working to digitise decades of Somali history in the country's main public radio station.
aljazeera.com
One of the pleasures of working at History Workshop is getting to work on times and places far outside your original field. I'd never considered the history of the arrest before, so it was fascinating to help edit this piece!
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · 3w agoWho held the power during an arrest in early modern England? @lucyjsclarke.bsky.social explores how bystanders could uphold or undermine the power of the state.
OTD in 1930, the first FIFA World Cup began in Uruguay. In this article from the archives, Richard Mills explores how football fixtures created meaningful ties between Yugoslavia and its African and Asian allies.
Scoring for the Non-Aligned Movement: Yugoslavia, Football and the Third World
Continuing our History Workshop World Cup series, Richard Mills explores the role football played in establishing diplomatic ties between Tito’s […]
historyworkshop.org.uk
Such a pleasure to work on this fascinating article!
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · 4w agoWhat can architecture tell us about the nature of colonial rule? As the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad reopens its doors to the public, Abdullah explores how imperialism shaped Kuala Lumpur's civic space.
Born today: American civil rights activist and educator Anna Arnold Hedgeman was born 5 July 1899. She was the first African American woman to serve in the cabinet of a New York mayor (1954-58) and helped plan the 1963 March on Washington. infinite-women.com/women/anna-arnold-hedgeman
Anna Arnold Hedgeman - Infinite Women
Through her work with various local and national organizations, Anna Arnold Hedgeman always fought for equal opportunity and respect, particularly for African American women. Throughout her long…
infinite-women.com
I enjoyed writing this piece reflecting on American identities as we near the 250th anniversary of US independence. Many thanks to the team at @zocalopublicsquare.bsky.social for their support and encouragement!
Zócalo Public Square@zocalopublicsquare.bsky.social · last mo.What identities, communities, and cultures comprise the category of “America”? @arturochang.bsky.social explains why the U.S. semiquincentennial offers people throughout the Americas a chance to reflect and rethink. zps.la/3SU8kp6
What can institutions do to support wellbeing in engaged research? This collaborative conversation between Lorna French, Ellie Harrison, and Kevin Lu, facilitated by Kate Dossett and Simon Popple, reflects on the role of emotions in archives.
"Should we go to the pub? Or should we go to the archive?"
This collaborative conversation, facilitated by Kate Dossett and Simon Popple, reflects on the role of emotions in archives and what institutions can do to support wellbeing in engaged research.
historyworkshop.org.uk
I've spent almost 3 years with this wonderful team and am happy to answer any questions about how it all works - if you're thinking of applying for this role please feel free to email or message me!
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · last mo.📣 Call for Applications 📣 History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe. This is a part-time, paid role. Application deadline: 7 August 2026. Please share widely!
We are dismayed to learn about further proposed HE cuts, this time at the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Exeter. In solidarity, please join us by signing and sharing the two urgent petitions below. 🚨🖊️ 1/3
How can academics write with compassion and ethical clarity about issues of sexual violence? How can they craft analysis that is sensitive to the fraught emotions this subject so often provokes? @ruthbeecher.bsky.social and Julie Wheelwright discuss the challenge of writing difficult subjects 🎙️
Writing Difficult Subjects
How can historians write with compassion and ethical clarity about issues of sexual violence?
historyworkshop.org.uk
In 1957, three months after Ghanaian independence, the world’s most celebrated footballer came to Accra to teach. What Stanley Matthews left behind changed Ghanaian football forever. africasacountry.com/2026/06/the-...
The king of soccer
In 1957, three months after Ghanaian independence, the world’s most celebrated footballer came to Accra to teach. What Stanley Matthews left behind changed Ghanaian football forever.
africasacountry.com
🚀🚨🚀 We are hiring: 3-year postdoc in African history! 🚀🚨🚀! The University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway is hiring a researcher with a PhD in History to conduct research on “European Languages in Post-Colonial Africa (1950-1990). The job listing can be found here: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Post-doctoral Research Fellow in European Languages in Post-Colonial Africa (303877) | University of Agder
Job title: Post-doctoral Research Fellow in European Languages in Post-Colonial Africa (303877), Employer: University of Agder, Deadline: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
jobbnorge.no
OTD in 2022 the US Supreme Court overturned abortion rights. Months beforehand, historians @kellyodonn.bsky.social and @lmacthompson1.bsky.social argued that if Roe was lost, we must go back to the beginning, turning to history to see what it can reveal about potential paths forward.
It Doesn’t Have to Be the End for US Abortion Rights
In the US, abortion rights are under threat. But, as Kelly O'Donnell and Lauren MacIvor Thompson explore, if Roe is lost, we must go back to the beginning, turning to history and what it can reveal ab...
historyworkshop.org.uk
The relationship between smells and sleep is gaining increasing attention but it is by no means a new topic of interest for those seeking to sleep well and stay healthy. @sashahandley.bsky.social and @drhollyfletcher.bsky.social discuss the importance of sleeping well in early modern England.
Sniff Your Way to a Good Night’s Sleep
Today's 'sleepmaxxers' are part of a long and rich historical tradition dating back hundreds of years. Sasha Handley and Holly Fletcher discuss the importance of sleeping well in early modern England.
historyworkshop.org.uk
🥹 my dad gave a sermon to his parish based on my sending him this piece, @drsamyoung.bsky.social. Does that count as REF impact, do we think, @historyworkshop.org.uk?
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · 2mo agoHow did the Catholic Church respond to the challenges of industrial life? Sam Young explores the complex history of the Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne, which used Christian values to advocate for a more humane economy.
What can an anti-nuclear movement led by Kazakh civil society reveal about forms of peace and internationalism forged from both above and below? Kamila Smagulova examines the Nevada-Semipalatinsk campaign to end nuclear testing in the final years of the Soviet Union.
Soviet Internationalism and Kazakh Grassroots Activism
What can an anti-nuclear movement led by Kazakh civil society reveal about forms of peace and internationalism forged from both above and below? Kamila Smagulova examines the Nevada-Semipalatinsk campaign to end nuclear testing in the final years of the Soviet Union.
historyworkshop.org.uk
'Digital history offers promising avenues into exploring and highlighting the incredible diversity of participants in peace internationalism.' Henrike Vellinga on the collaborative methods of The Peace Movements & Decolonisation Project at the University of Leiden.
Collaborative Digital Histories of Global Peace Movements
How are researchers using digital history methods to write new global histories of peace internationalism? Henrike Vellinge explores.
historyworkshop.org.uk
This looks absolutely fascinating - can't wait to read.
Journal of Southern African Studies@jsas-journal.bsky.social · 2mo ago📢 New Special Issue! How did southern Africa’s liberation armies imagine the future? Drawing on oral histories, memoirs & struggle archives, this SI explores how soldiers shaped ideas about freedom, gender, politics an&d solidarity from the 1960s to the 1980s. www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjss20/5...
OTD in 1965 the Dhufar revolution was launched. From the HW archives @marralsham.bsky.social examines the solidarity network that exposed Britain's "secret" counterinsurgent war against the revolutionaries in Dhufar. www.historyworkshop.org.uk/activism-sol...
"Britain's Vietnam": Remembering Dhufar
The 9th of June 1965 was declared as the first day of the Dhufar Revolution. What role did a small group of British solidarity activists play in the revolution's fate?
historyworkshop.org.uk
My dad wrote his MA dissertation about the Flemish version of this, and while —like a good daughter— I will keep nagging him that it is not really history but glorified journalism, that Catholic social teaching around the dignity of work remains so fascinating to me. Troubles all the binaries.
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · 2mo agoHow did the Catholic Church respond to the challenges of industrial life? Sam Young explores the complex history of the Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne, which used Christian values to advocate for a more humane economy.
