I cannot rest from discourse. I will see that film again tomorrow. I will drink life to the lees. Again I will enjoy greatly, will suffer greatly, both with those that love me, and in Pleasantville NY. I am become a meme. Film showing: burnsfilmcenter.org/booking/the-...

The Odyssey : Jacob Burns Film Center

The Odyssey, Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Christopher Nolan, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Odysseus, Greek, Classic, Antiquity

burnsfilmcenter.org

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)

Film you’ve watched more than six times with a gif, hard mode.

Loyd's Angry Move in Military Uniform

Alt: Marshal Zhukov (played by Jason Isaacs) flings off his greatcoat, revealing his chest of medals.

static.klipy.com

Matt Stickland@landofsticks.bsky.social · 6d ago

Film you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, Marvel, Disney, or Ghibli.

had a moment of realisation as I go through transcriptions and PAR notes: so much historical methodology is just “what if I paid attention to this thing that everyone else thinks doesn’t need questioning?” which I like.

youve heard of failing upwards. well academic careers in 2026 encapsulate the reverse: succeeding downwards. so many talented, highly qualified people, being punished for their achievements

hello hivemind. I’ve a wild plan to stage an apprentice riot from the 1590s, as part of a public practice-as-research event. unfortunately the original location, Tower Hill, is a no go. can anyone suggest venues with outdoor spaces (preferably London) that might be open to this sort of thing?

Good grief, this hits home.

Live from Philly, where both LeBron & I took our talents this week (although I'm headed back to Boston later today), here’s my 286th #ScholarSunday thread of great writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ +

#ScholarSunday Thread 286 (7/26/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

Live from Philly, where both LeBron & I took our talents this week, here’s my 286th #ScholarSunday thread of great writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add mor...

blackwhiteandread.com

PSA on the Victoria Line tube in London. Phillipson and every other GC weirdo needs to take note.

'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

This is a companion piece to Lucy's longer article 'Arrests as Performance: Opening the Practice of Early Modern English State Authority to Scrutiny with Practice-as-Research', recently published Open Access in History Workshop Journal 101. academic.oup.com/hwj...

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

Now do universities

Josiah Mortimer@josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 3w ago

GMB union says the Steel Industry Nationalisation Bill, due to get Royal Assent today, is the "latest decisive intervention by the Govt to save the sector" Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB Nat. Sec: “The Govt has taken timely, decisive intervention on British Steel, as it has throughout this process"

A new resource from @britishacademy.bsky.social, out today, maps changes in UK academic staff numbers and contract types between 2012/13 & 2024/25 for the arts, humanities & social sciences bit.ly/4w47SmP You can search by subject (incl history), provider, region & forms of employment #Skystorians

The Society will write up a summary for History for next week. Key points at this stage include: > 11% decline (-440 FPE) across all History staff between 2018/19 and 2024/25, compared with a 7% decline across all humanities > loss of 140 FPE History roles 2022/23 to 2024/25 #Skystorians 1/3

Why I’m a fan of the Oxford comma.

Your June reminder that if you're a UK-based holder of an Arts, Humanities or Social Science (SHAPE) degree, or equivalent, within 10 years (excluding career breaks) of your PhD, you are warmly invited to join the British Academy's Early Career Researcher Network. 1/2

Early Career Researcher Network

An inclusive, researcher-led network for UK-based early career researchers working in the humanities and social sciences

thebritishacademy.ac.uk

It was as I shoved the baby bottle’s nipple repeatedly into the grinning, soapy mouth of the Piglet “Scrub Mommy” that I couldn’t help but wonder: is this what A.A. Milne would have wanted?

May I remind #UKHE of the Cost Allocation Death Spiral.

The Cost Allocation Death Spiral and the University

The Cost Allocation Death Spiral and the University Accountants, as people whose business it chiefly is to bring hard news to powerful people, generally avoid emotional terms. They prefer softer, nuan...

linkedin.com

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last mo.

'What is perhaps remarkable about the Exeter cuts is that they are targeted at some of the university’s most successful departments, many of which turn over a profit even after they have made enormous and increasing contributions to the central university budget.' Read, rage and weep.

Perhaps politics should be somewhat less insulting to the public’s intelligence

ive got it. so sun cream brands say “reapply every two hours” mattress manufacturers say “replace every 2 years” well we should be pushing hard for “you need ANOTHER degree every five years”

This is good on the complexities of doing family history (or just history history) with online open access sources. Riffing off and paraphrasing the AHA's campaign: We need historians because evidence neither finds nor explains itself. (With a sharing link for 3 non-subscribers).

The Nazi files shedding new light on family secrets

Party membership records are now searchable online. But, as many Germans are finding out, the archive poses more questions than it answers

giftarticle.ft.com

'What is perhaps remarkable about the Exeter cuts is that they are targeted at some of the university’s most successful departments, many of which turn over a profit even after they have made enormous and increasing contributions to the central university budget.' Read, rage and weep.

The Crisis in Britain’s Universities

The cuts that have been proposed at the University of Exeter demonstrates the crisis of purpose in Britain’s universities. Should not universities also be places to prepare for "eternal dwellings"?

johnheathershaw.substack.com

Being at Chalke History Festival reminds me yet again how interconnected university-based history and other forms of history-making are. The thing we do in one place explicitly supports the thing we do in another. University cuts, closures and job losses harm the entire history eco-system.

Advocating for History by Doing History - On History

This blog was written by Claire Langhamer, Director of the IHR Historians are very good at crafting arguments and in recent times very many people have advanced very many arguments about why history m...

blog.history.ac.uk

A briefing that starts "higher education is facing an existential crisis". All too true!

Because it’s not about the money. It’s ideological. The prevailing managerial opinion is that the humanities are not worth it, even when institutions like Exeter *trade* on their brilliance in humanities.

becimay@becimay.bsky.social · last mo.

In case you didn’t know, Exeter uni, where I work, has announced a plan to make 25% of staff in my English department redundant. Left-over staff will do double the teaching while their research time will be shrunk to 1%. Meanwhile admissions for English at Exeter are HIGH, and on the rise this year

@governor.ny.gov

A funny way of spelling “The country is in the grip of an extreme rightwing offensive against the very concept of toleration”, but you do you, Guardian.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · last mo.

People in Britain used to agree to disagree. Since Brexit, they no longer dare to talk about difficult things | Elif Shafak

devastating moment of realising the audiobook I bought bc the worldbuilding seemed cool is actually just a Harry Potter Dramione fic with the serial numbers filed off. day ruined

I've been organising the @kingshistory.bsky.social annual History Teacher's Network conference, which will be next week! Excited to hear talks from teachers, academics and assessment specialists on how we enthuse students to continue studying history.