📢PROJECT UPDATE📢 You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy. The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/

#BookHistory

John Gallagher@earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 4w ago

Really delighted to have an essay on Multilingual Books and Multilingual Readers in the marvellous new volume Multilingual Print in Early Modern Europe, just recently published by Brill and edited by Chloe Akers-Brewer, Arthur der Weduwen, and Andrew Pettegree. brill.com/edcollchap/b...

Back at the desk this week after nearly four months of parental leave*, so if you've been looking for me, keep an eye on your inbox! *It turns out the two weeks of paid parental leave I get through work isn't quite enough to fully rear a child. Someone should look into this!

Really delighted to have an essay on Multilingual Books and Multilingual Readers in the marvellous new volume Multilingual Print in Early Modern Europe, just recently published by Brill and edited by Chloe Akers-Brewer, Arthur der Weduwen, and Andrew Pettegree. brill.com/edcollchap/b...

This is simply wonderful news for the Migration Museum and its ongoing project to create the UK's first permanent museum exploring migration to and from the UK. The new Museum will be in the City of London, but is already working with collaborators outside London and outside England. 1/3

The Wolfson Foundation commits £600,000 to the UK’s ‘Missing Museum’

The Migration Museum is delighted to announce that The Wolfson Foundation has become a Founding Partner of the UK’s first permanent museum dedicated to exploring how the movement of people to and from...

migrationmuseum.org

Some very REQciting news. My Court of Requests pleadings (REQ 2/16-424) project is now complete. Over 28,000 items dating from c.1547-c.1625 (Edw VI to Jas I) now searchable online. Happy researching everyone 🙂 discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C...

Such a waste. Thinking of my friends & colleagues in History & across Hums. UH History is where I really learned *how* to teach & how to drive my teaching with my research. A dept that really cared about their students. So many brilliant & talented people in my old dept.

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 3d ago

So it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)

Exciting news! A new, detailed grammar of Gəʕəz, close to 600 pages. Contents here: www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/ddo/artikel/...

Nicole Oesterreich@noester.bsky.social · 2w ago

Finally, the new #Ge'ez grammar from Stefan Weninger is out! This should replace the old Dillmann grammar.

Several interviews mention "union interpreters," because organized workers often had no/little English. Can anyone point me to a social history of this practice? #langsky #laborhistory

Michael Erard@michaelerard.bsky.social · last wk.

@beltpublishing.bsky.social @atrubek.bsky.social

Does anyone have direct and recent experience of getting epubs of old books from archive dot org onto a Kobo ereader? Some sweet 19th-century editions I'd give anything not to have to read on a laptop screen.

JOBS! We’re currently looking for two people to join us in the School of English @universityofleeds.bsky.social: Lecturer in Creative Writing jobs.leeds.ac.uk/AHCEN1086; Lecturer in English Language (with interests in DH) jobs.leeds.ac.uk/AHCEN1087 Both are FT ongoing appointments

One of the most fun things that has happened to me: @edcaesar.bsky.social, one of my favourite writers, wrote for the @newyorker.com about my long-running quest to find a hidden meaning in Jonathan Swift’s epitaph. Thanks to Ed’s narrative skills, it’s a great read! www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Jonathan Swift Wrote His Own Epitaph. Was It a Joke?

A college professor spent seven years decoding the inscription on the grave of the writer Jonathan Swift. He thinks he’s finally cracked it.

newyorker.com

'Strip away the grandiose language and a pattern emerges – some combination of fewer, larger modules, almost always wedges of 30 credits, an all-core or heavily prescribed first year, reduced optionality in later years, curated pathways instead of individual module choice... [cont.] 1/4

Curriculum reform is a wedge issue

With curriculum reform converging on fewer, larger modules across the sector, Jim Dickinson argues that consolidation solves institutional problems while reallocating regret onto students least able t...

wonkhe.com

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Wonderfully enjoyable and illuminating Pick of the Week from John Gallagher. @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social Do give it a listen!

Pick of the Week - John Gallagher - BBC Sounds

John Gallagher presents a weekly selection of the best bits of audio across the BBC.

bbc.co.uk

Something that never feels less surprising to say out loud: I am currently being broadcast on Radio 4.

John Gallagher@earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 2w ago

This evening I've got the best job in radio — presenting the best of the week's programmes on Pick of th Week. BBC Radio 4 at 6.15pm! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

I'm going to be Lecturer in Global Medieval History at the University of Leeds for the foreseeable, which is both a surprising and delightful thing to announce!

‘Law is not the only element in determining citizenship: the actions of those who interpret or challenge the law are just as important.’ @kabcommons.bsky.social on England’s birthright citizenship. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Kathleen Commons · Short Cuts: England’s Birthright Citizenship

lrb.co.uk

This evening I've got the best job in radio — presenting the best of the week's programmes on Pick of th Week. BBC Radio 4 at 6.15pm! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Pick of the Week, John Gallagher

John Gallagher presents a weekly selection of the best bits of audio across the BBC.

bbc.co.uk

This, in particular. Increasingly of the view that government policy towards universities is the test case of whether it really has a wider economic policy.

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social · 3w ago

"A closed country will be poorer. A country that underinvests will not grow. A state that refuses to reform tax will ration ambition. And a Labour government afraid to say these things will discover once again that caution, too, has costs." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Look on the bright side, England, it's only 3.5 prime ministers until the next world cup!

Really delighted to have an essay on Multilingual Books and Multilingual Readers in the marvellous new volume Multilingual Print in Early Modern Europe, just recently published by Brill and edited by Chloe Akers-Brewer, Arthur der Weduwen, and Andrew Pettegree. brill.com/edcollchap/b...

'Gemma Derrick...said the decision not to take account of maternity and paternity leave in the REF’s volume measure takes the UK’s four higher education funding bodies “out of [step] with every serious funding agency in the world when it comes to reasonable adjustments”.' 1/3

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · last mo.

Lack of adjustments for parental leave in REF draws criticism. Funding bodies say move will “significantly” reduce the burden of the 2029 Research Excellence Framework. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

✨Lovely to be among great company @sarakbarker.bsky.social @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social @shantigraheli.bsky.social Arthur der Weduven, Chloe-Akers Brewer (of @universalstc.bsky.social) 📖The volume is entitled Multilingual Print in Early Modern Europe @dgb-mem.bsky.social #bookhistory

Natasha Constantinidou@nconstantinidou.bsky.social · last mo.

🙂Publication day! My co-authored essay is now available #OA 'Moral Precepts, Rhetorical Skills, and Learning Greek: Printing Greek-Latin Sententiae in Cities of the Holy Roman Empire in the Sixteenth Century' brill.com/edcollchap-o... #skystorians #earlymodern #classicalreception

So this was a nice surprise to wake up to, thanks to all Cambridge University Press & Assessment and series editor @woolf-atthedoor.bsky.social Delighted that it is Open Access doi.org/10.1017/9781... @researchireland.ie @ucc.ie

Absence in the Archives

Cambridge Core - Global History - Absence in the Archives

doi.org

The great shift to vernacular writing during the 16th/17th century www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-histor...

The latest issue of "Renaissance Studies" is out! Read some perspicacious, exciting and generally magnificent #EarlyModern scholarship assembled into one shiny issue by our erudite editor, @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social 💫 📖 💫 rensoc.org.uk/renaissance-...

I think that if you're from England — including Hot England (Australia) and Gun England (America) — you should generally take a moment before posting your little joke about Ireland just to check if it's actually funny.

We lost Rosamond McKitterick, a great scholar, a great teacher, and a great human being, far too early. This has been hard to write, but thinking about her, who she was and the person she chose to be can never bring me anything but joy. #medievalsky salutemmundo.wordpress.com/2026/06/15/a...

A Scholarly and a Moral Education: Remembering Rosamond McKitterick

Photo of Rosamond McKitterick, taken by the author on 1 February 2020 overlooking the Forum at Rome. Rosamond McKitterick died on Saturday 13th June 2026. As a sentence, that’s easy to write and im…

salutemmundo.wordpress.com

If you need an aperitif snack, Lidl and the other places often have very cheap jarred artichokes. Drain the oil and blitz them with a can of drained beans & a bunch of basil. Lemon, salt, pepper, a touch of the reserved oil. Toast some baguette slices, rub with garlic, and put this on top. Cin cin!

Looking ahead to what promises to be a landmark gathering next year. It's the *60th anniversary* of @srsrensoc.bsky.social , the conference is taking place at the @warburginstitute.bsky.social, and the theme is explicitly inviting us to move beyond limits... Cannot wait - spread widely!!!!!

The Warburg Institute@warburginstitute.bsky.social · 3mo ago

*Call for Papers* @srsrensoc.bsky.social has announced its next #conference. 'The Renaissance beyond Borders' frames the #Renaissance as a dynamic, interconnected process that transcends the chrono-geographical limitations of a fixed European moment. Share your paper ➡️ rensoc.org.uk/cfp/12th-bie...