History Workshop
@historyworkshop.org.uk
// Radical History in a Digital Era // https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/ // || enriching the work of History Workshop Journal || https://academic.oup.com/hwj/ || \\ continuing the democratising spirit of the History Workshop movement \\
'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 · yesterdayWhat 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.
What 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.
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
'I found this a moving aspect of the exhibition - that the kinds of questions I've asked myself about my own identity and desire were being interrogated in an exhibition in a major museum in a city like New York which has an incredibly rich queer history'. 🎤 @metmuseum.org
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
'Bringing these stories, these complicated notions of gender and sexuality that defy the nostalgia-ridden ones we're faced with today about how gender has always been simple and binary - I saw that this could be quite important' Melanie Holcomb, Nancy Thebaut & Bob Mills 🎤
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
'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
Through the POW experience of her grandfather, Alina Schartner reflects on letter-writing as an everyday affective practice in families.
POW Letters and ‘Doing Family’
Through the POW experience of her grandfather, Alina Schartner reflects on letter-writing as an everyday affective practice in families.
historyworkshop.org.uk
"The letters exchanged between Josef and his family are [...] as revealing for what they omit as for what they articulate."
POW Letters and ‘Doing Family’
Through the POW experience of her grandfather, Alina Schartner reflects on letter-writing as an everyday affective practice in families.
historyworkshop.org.uk
IHR Women's History Seminar Lightning Talks! Please post to your lists! @womenknowhistory.bsky.social @jwomenshistory.bsky.social @workingclasshistory.com @historyworkshop.org.uk @wsguk.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social @ihrlibrary.bsky.social @womenshistscot.bsky.social @ifrwh.bsky.social
IHR Women@ihrwomen.bsky.social · last wk.Call for Participants for IHR Women's History Seminar Lightning Talks to be held Friday, 20th of November 2026.
Through the POW experience of her grandfather, Alina Schartner reflects on letter-writing as an everyday affective practice in families.
POW Letters and ‘Doing Family’
Through the POW experience of her grandfather, Alina Schartner reflects on letter-writing as an everyday affective practice in families.
historyworkshop.org.uk
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
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
OTD in 1981, the Philippines became the first Asian state to ratify the UN Refugee Convention and Protocol. In this piece from the archive, Ria Sunga explains how, in the 1950s, the state used its own definitions as an act of nation-building.
The Limits of Refugee Policy
The Philippine government was confronted with refugee movements in the early years of the Cold War. Ria Sunga explores how the state applied the refugee label selectively and what implications this ha...
historyworkshop.org.uk
How did the epistolary friendship between a French socialist and an Irish feminist generate some of the most advanced ideas about gender and human emancipation in mid-nineteenth-century Europe? Ophélie Siméon explores the radical politics of 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
How did the epistolary friendship between a French socialist and an Irish feminist generate some of the most advanced ideas about gender and human emancipation in mid-nineteenth-century Europe? Ophélie Siméon explores the radical politics of 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
'[...] 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
I love it so much — students did too when I taught with it for the first time this year (shameless plug for this write-up I did for @historyworkshop.org.uk www.historyworkshop.org.uk/teaching-lea...)
HWJ in the Classroom
From histories of the French Revolution, to policing in Early Modern England, to LGBTQ+ histories, these reflections highlight HWJ as a valuable resource across many different classrooms.
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
OTD in 2008, the New Economics Foundation published a report on 'A Green New Deal'. But how should we understand the Green New Deal in relation to the legacy of its predecessor, the New Deal? Will Rees explores in this piece from our archive.
The Roots of the Green New Deal
How should we understand the Green Deal in relation to the legacy of its predecessor, the New Deal? William Rees argues that much can be learnt from the environment of disorganisation, contradiction a...
historyworkshop.org.uk
OTD in 1936, the Spanish Civil War began. In this piece from the archives, Jessica Thorne writes about how football provided a rare lifeline for the political prisoners of the Franco regime.
"Gathered for Special Training": Football and Politicisation in Franco’s Prisons
What role did football play in Francoist prisons? Jessica Thorne on the importance of culture and sport as a vehicle for politicisation.
historyworkshop.org.uk
In medieval England it was…everyone! In fact you could get in big trouble if you saw a crime and DIDN’T arrest them!
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.
'Staging early modern arrests raises questions that otherwise don’t come out of approaching records on the page, and [...] forces me to consider the risk involved with all performances of authority.' @lucyjsclarke.bsky.social on reconstructing the early modern arrest.
Being an Audience to Arrest
Lucy Clarke examines the arrest in early modern England, reconstructing how bystanders could legitimise or challenge the power of the state.
historyworkshop.org.uk
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.
Who 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.
Being an Audience to Arrest
Lucy Clarke examines the arrest in early modern England, reconstructing how bystanders could legitimise or challenge the power of the state.
historyworkshop.org.uk
🚨We’re seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe. Deadline for applications: 7 August 2026. Please share in your networks!👇
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!
These pills were largely spurious - as found by analyses conducted under the auspices of The Lancet following the Chrimes cases, and later by the British Medical Association in their More Secret Remedies. They were cheap to make, main cost was advertising. A horrible scam even without the blackmail.
History Workshop@historyworkshop.org.uk · 3w agoWhat can pills advertised to women in nineteenth century London tell us about the history of at-home abortion? Julia Porter Burke reveals the story of Lady Montrose.
'The scam’s logistics speak to how urbanisation and industrial capitalism had changed both the practice and the crime of abortion by the end of the nineteenth century.' Julia Porter Burke on how criminals exploited anti-abortion laws to target vulnerable women.
Lady Montrose and the At-Home Abortion
What can an advertisement in a nineteenth century newspaper tell us about the history of at-home abortion?
historyworkshop.org.uk