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Maurice J. Casey

@mauricejcasey.com

Historian of intimacy and revolution in 1920s-40s Europe. New project: anti-Nazi vegetarians. Author of Irish Book Awards shortlisted HOTEL LUX — about a hotel in 1920s Moscow — and radical history newsletter Archive Rats: archiverats.substack.com

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Maurice J. Casey@mauricejcasey.com · 9h ago

This piece by @joemoransblog.bsky.social is essential. Perfect reading ahead of an upcoming archival trip, where I will enjoy spending time immersed in a world 'almost incomprehensibly full of people and incident.'

Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 5d ago

"Details, in their singularity and idiosyncrasy, point to the capaciousness of human experience." New today in the Society's journal 'Transactions': Joe Moran 'On Detail in Historical Writing': bit.ly/44UMi8C Now available OA @joemoransblog.bsky.social @massobsarchive.bsky.social #Skystorians 1/2

Opening page of the Transactions article 'On Detail in Historical Writing' by Joe Moran. Full abstract: "This Comment considers the role of detail in historical writing, inflected through my own experience of writing ‘trade’ books for a general rather than specialist readership. I argue for the value of the detail that is slightly recalcitrant, that is more than just flesh on the bones of an argument or evidence marshalled to make a point. Detail is itself a kind of argument and thus, since beauty and elegance in writing derive from economy, a way of making a point without belabouring it. The gratuitous fact can be seductive, suggesting that the world has a randomness and overabundance that can't easily be rounded up into a dataset. Details, in their singularity and idiosyncrasy, point to the capaciousness of human experience. They correct our tendency to fixate on one story, to focus on the eventful at the expense of the marginal, and to invent a false unity of experience that erases social differences. With their obdurate specificity, they can shatter our presumptions about the past. I explore these ideas with reference to modern literature (Flaubert, Chekhov), the Mass-Observation archive and examples from my own work in contemporary cultural history and family history."
Maurice J. Casey@mauricejcasey.com · last wk.

“The architect of the German V-2 rockets, Werner von Braun, entitled his autobiography ‘I Aim for the Stars’. Londoners, however, will remember that he usually hit London” Easily the most stone-cold zinger I’ve encountered all year.

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Maurice J. Casey@mauricejcasey.com · 2w ago

I'm reading debates between historians about whether the profession should use computers (from the early 1980s). So much of the writing, which must have seemed groundbreaking at the time, is now remarkably quaint.

Screenshot of PDF article with text: The exponential movement of postage rates will interest editors in the possible use of electronic mail delivery. This is now technically feasible. Nationwide common carrier services, such as CompuServe and The Source, can link together any two microcomputer users by telephone, regardless of the machine or operating system that they use. Not enough historians yet own microcomputers to make electronic mail feasible, but that may well change by the end of the decade as more and more homes are equipped with two-way video systems that can handle electronic mail.
Royal Irish Academy@ria.ie · last mo.

📚 The Royal Irish Academy, in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs, has revealed the six shortlisted titles for the 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction! www.ria.ie/2026/07/03/s...

Six books shortlisted for the €10,000 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction - Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs has today, 3 July, announced the six shortlisted titles for the 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction.

ria.ie

Kevin O'Sullivan@kevinkosullivan.bsky.social · last mo.

The launch of this on Wed was one of the best things I've attended in a while. It's a very - *very* - powerful exhibition; the personal testimonies are simultaneously heartbreaking, anger-inducing (at the institutions), and hopeful. If you're in Galway, I highly recommend you go and take a look.

Kevin O'Sullivan@kevinkosullivan.bsky.social · last mo.

"We all work together to keep on going for justice." Congrats to my @historyatgalway.bsky.social colleague @sarahannebuckley.bsky.social on this new exhibition, rooted in the Tuam Oral History Project. A prime example of why making room for histories like these is vital. www.rte.ie/news/connach...

Maurice J. Casey@mauricejcasey.com · 2mo ago

A while back I created my own note-taking application by using code + Obsidian. It's a way of organising research grounded in social networks/collective biography. I've since refined it and I'm working on an open source version I'll share more widely. Here is a quick preview:

brian-hanley.bsky.social@brian-hanley.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Schools closing early in south Belfast in anticipation of more trouble. Thing is, last night involved hundreds, not thousands, and some of the blockades involved dozens. Most working class protestants are not out rioting. They need leadership.

Robert Saunders@robertsaunders.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Why is The World At One reading out Rupert Lowe's posts on the Northern Ireland attack, at the start of the bulletin? He leads a party that is polling at about 3%. This is not about "censorship": it's about the choices media outlets make concerning which voices to amplify.

elia ayoub@ayoub.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Fascists in Belfast set fire to buildings with people inside them. People of colour left work early to stay indoors. This is being actively encouraged by the world’s richest man whose openly pro-white nationalist platform X is still used by the UK government www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

‘There’s wee girls inside’: panic as masked men storm house in Belfast

Protests across the city turned violent on Tuesday night – with some police officers acting as if it wasn’t safe to intervene

theguardian.com