I spent quite a few years reading Leeds dissenter and antiquarian Ralph Thoresby's diaries a few years back, and got to know him quite well. I honestly don't think there could be a more Thoresby Anecdote than this one related by Mark Jenner: 🦠🪦

Jacques Callot, 1622-23 Two poor women, the younger one feeding the older with a spoon. A tender 17th century moment caught on the page. (British Museum)

January is often a month of fatigue and stress countered by resolutions aimed at improving physical and/or mental health. But what were the various historical meanings of 'well-being', and how are they relevant today? 'Well-being: Past & Present' has some answers! www.bloomsbury.com/uk/wellbeing...

Well-being Past and Present

In this exciting interdisciplinary volume, researchers, archivists, curators and social scientists offer a fresh exploration of the concept of well-being in Bri…

bloomsbury.com

For anyone working in literacy engagement in schools or community organisations, @literacy-trust.bsky.social and @unibirmingham.bsky.social have published a useful (and fun!) pamphlet on 'Place-themed literacy': nlt.hacdn.org/media/docume... (1/3)

I was honoured to give a keynote paper (on medical care on 17th-century English estates) at 'Servants, Labourers and the Manorial World', a conference of the European Network for Country House & Estate Research, at beautiful Ledreborg in Denmark. A wonderful few days of discussion and exploration!

A fantastic day - we had 110 participants and 122 submissions at our Transcribathon! These letters will be hugely useful for researchers and members of the public alike. Check out the Social Bodies website to browse or contribute your own transcription 👇📝 socialbodies.bham.ac.uk

Professor Karen Harvey@kharveyhistory.bsky.social · last yr.

Our transcribathon generated 122 submissions. Thank you! Your transcriptions will be used by researchers and school children, adults learners, older people and archive users who we work with in our engagement projects. Special thanks to @earlymodernemma.bsky.social for such a superb day!

"In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox..I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of the parents who omit that operation [...]." Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography

Karin Wulf@kawulf.bsky.social · last yr.

Smallpox inoculation certificates for the Brown family, 1776. The long history of inoculation and vaccination and the clear understanding of why/ how this innovation in healthcare was so important. @jcblibrary.bsky.social ofc.

Posset pot, made in #Southwark, 1657 with intials ' B. E. D.' (British Museum)

Hello! This is 'Material Identities, Social Bodies', a Leverhulme Trust-funded research project at the University of Birmingham. Led by @kharveyhistory.bsky.social and supported by @helenesfandiary.bsky.social, it explores embodiment & social identity in C18th British letters socialbodies.bham.ac.uk

📣The programme for our 2025 conference is out now! 👉Read it here (scroll down to 'Conference Programme'): socialhistory.org.uk/events/confe... ✨Take a look at the amazing array of social & cultural history on show!🗃️

Conference

Visit the post for more.

socialhistory.org.uk

Also in 2022, we awarded the @crems-york.bsky.social Teaching Early Modern Recipes & Manuscript Cultures project by @mazinggrace.bsky.social and @earlymodernemma.bsky.social 🏆 They presented a poster about their work at our 'Open Research at York: Two Years On' event, available in our wiki 👇

Open Research at York@uoyopenres.bsky.social · last yr.

Need some inspiration before submitting to our Open Research Awards? Here are some great projects and initiatives we have awarded in previous years 👇

Today's most adorable research find: A child's message scrawled at the bottom of this c1700 letter from Madras, asking their dad to come home #earlymodern

📢 My article on parents' letters to/about ill children is out in an exciting special issue, 'Mothers and Fathers in Medieval and Early Modern Europe', ed. @erhodes.bsky.social & Alice Whitehead. It's full of fantastic contributions to the history of parenting! 👇 www.tandfonline.com/toc/rhof20/3...

The History of the Family

Mothers and Fathers in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Volume 30, Issue 1 of The History of the Family

tandfonline.com

CFP for the 'Sleeping Well' @sleepingwelluom.bsky.social end-of-project conference, 'Bodies and Environments in the Early Modern World'. Taking place 9-10 June 2025 at JRRI, Manchester. Details on our website here: sites.manchester.ac.uk/sleeping-wel... Deadline 3 Feb. Please share widely!

Hi all! From January, I'm running an 8-week, learning-for-pleasure evening course via the University of York's Centre for Lifelong Learning. It's on Zoom, open to the public and taking bookings now - please share with any friends or family who might be interested! 👇 www.york.ac.uk/lifelonglear...

One down, nine to go 💪 Our team at Roseberry Topping are doing great work restoring paths to the top of one of the North York Moors' most popular landmarks. See their work in detail here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

First of Roseberry Topping's damaged paths restored

Walkers are asked to stick to the paths on Roseberry Topping to allow the plants to grow back.

bbc.co.uk

In summer 1644, teenaged Alice was saved from drowning in a river by her brother’s horse: ‘the poor mare drew up her fore feet and perceived she did swim ... and ... brought me over that river in safety.’ #EYAAnimals #EarlyModern 🗃️ 📜 More in @hagenilda.bsky.social's blog: https://buff.ly/45H8ilD

Passionflower, Nicolas Robert, 1625-84 (British Museum)

With Leeds Trinity and Loughborough we're now actually at 83, or exactly half of the 166 universities @timeshighered.bsky.social counts. HALF OF OUR UNIVERSITIES ARE SHEDDING STAFF. In a normal timeline, politicians would care about this and try to do *something*, *anything*, right?

UK HE shrinking

This is a live page of all the redundancies, restructures, reorganisations, and closures taking place across the sector at the moment. Solidarity to all. This sector is vital to the country’s…

qmucu.org

I adore this, what a fun way to show how much fabric is involved!

Mean Maria@drmariamitchell.bsky.social · 2y ago

I kind of love this:

Our Small Grants Programme is now live! If you have a project that supports the study, enjoyment and dissemination of local history we'd love to hear from you. Find out more: ow.ly/cVKf50TUhP2 #WeAreLocalHistory #LocalHistoryForAll

Hello #EarlyModern where would I read about public charges paid to landholders by tenants in mid C17 Yorkshire/England?

📢The call for papers for our 2025 conference is now ✨LIVE✨ We are the biggest gathering of social and cultural historians in the UK and will be at the @bclivingmuseum.bsky.social from 7-9 July 2025! Call is open until 17 January 2025🌟🗃️ Please share widely! socialhistory.org.uk/conference/s...

SHS Annual Conference 2025

Our next annual conference will be held in person at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. Our call for papers is open now. What to Expect Our next annual conference will take place at the Bla…

socialhistory.org.uk