20 days to go! The countdown is on to the 14th ESPRit Conference, ‘Periodicals & the World’, 9–11 Sept, Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels. 3 days of how periodicals travel across regions, connect local & global cultures, & shape ideas of what constitutes the ‘world’: events.vub.be/periodicals-...

Periodicals and the World

Since their inception, periodicals have travelled across regions, reporting on local and global events and developments, and shaping public discourse on wh...

events.vub.be

Thanks to the whole @rs4vp.org community for their support and considerate feedback over the years.

Research Society for Victorian Periodicals@rs4vp.org · 3w ago

@miladaskalova.bsky.social writes to share that her open-access book, The Nineteenth-Century Asylum Periodical: Britain, America and Beyond, has physical copies now available from Cambridge UP. Congrats, Mila, and thanks for #SharingYourNews! We're so excited to read it! tinyurl.com/2nwyr3w6

Many thanks to everyone involved in last month's conference. It was inspiring, it was fun, it was more than we wished it to be!

The Polyphony @the-polyphony.bsky.social · 4w ago

@miladaskalova.bsky.social, @juliamacintosh.bsky.social, Cheryl McGeachan, and Azra Khan reflect on how the conference unfolded, examining how delving into the history of madness fosters connection, belonging, and continuity for the mad present. thepolyphony.org/2026/07/31/f...

My book on nineteenth-century asylum periodicals is out now with open access! A massive 'thank you' to everyone involved in this project. 'Places are nothing in themselves; it is what we feel in them that makes them beautiful or the reverse.' – St Ann’s Magazine, 1896

The Nineteenth-Century Asylum Periodical | Cambridge University Press & Assessment

cambridge.org

Excited to announce that registration for the 'Figments: Madness, Health and Creativity' conference (University of Glasgow, 15 June) is now open. See the draft programme and book a space here: figments2026.eventbrite.co.uk/ #medhums #madstudies

Figments: Madness, Health and Creativity

A one-day conference exploring the relationship between creativity and madness.

figments2026.eventbrite.co.uk

'What's the point? Medicine needs the Humanities' - fantastic new podcast episode from @bmj.com Medical Humanities. #medhums #medicaleducation www.podbean.com/ew/pb-hbcfs-...

Last chance to update our interactive Global Medical Humanities Map! 🌍 To update your organisation's info or to add a new medical or health humanities institute, centre or network, please complete this short survey by tomorrow (31st March). medhumsplatform.org/updating-the...

Updating the Global Medical Humanities Map

We're updating our interactive Global Medical Humanities map! Complete our survey to update your entry or add a new medical or health humanities research organisation by 31 March 2026.

medhumsplatform.org

Today the British Newspaer Archive reached 100 million pages! What an epic achievement! So many interesting pages to explore. And we’re not stopping there the BL & FMP will continue to digitise, so here’s to the next 100 million! blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2026/02/16/c...

Celebrating 100 Million Newspaper Pages on The Archive

In this special blog, we celebrate reaching the landmark of 100 million pages on The Archive, with insights from our users and tips for searching our papers.

blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

The British Library’s PhD placement scheme for 26/27 is now open. My team are offering an exciting placement aiming to raise the profile of our illustrated newspaper collection: www.bl.uk/services/res...

Back in August, I ran a poetry workshop for psychiatrists at St Nicholas Hospital in Newcastle. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my academic career, and I hope more will follow. A special thanks to the History of Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the @rcpsych.bsky.social!

The Polyphony @the-polyphony.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Mila Daskalova reflects on the importance of poetry to psychiatry, both in the nineteenth-century and the present day. thepolyphony.org/2025/12/15/p...

The deadline for the 'Figments' conference has been extended! Send us your proposals by 9 January 2026

Mila Daskalova@miladaskalova.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Gathering proposals for the 'Figments: Madness, Health and Creativity' Conference (University of Glasgow, 15 June 2026). Deadline: 12 December. More information and submission form here: www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/... #cfp #medhums #healthhums #madstudies #histmed #histpsych

Applications for @uofglasgow.bsky.social Special Collections research fellowships are now open. Come work with our collections! Closes Jan 5th. www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...

A few more tickets remain for the poetry reading at the @byleaveswelive.bsky.social on Wednesday, Nov 19, 1.30-3.30pm. We'll talk about the ways in which poets represented their experiences as patients and doctors throughout history.

Gathering proposals for the 'Figments: Madness, Health and Creativity' Conference (University of Glasgow, 15 June 2026). Deadline: 12 December. More information and submission form here: www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/... #cfp #medhums #healthhums #madstudies #histmed #histpsych

Great news! JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month www.jstor.org/action/showL...

Obviously a lie, since the definition of PhD-level expertise, standard across universities worldwide, is that you can produce original knowledge.

OpenAI claims new GPT-5 model boosts ChatGPT to ‘PhD level’

GPT-5's release comes as tech firms continue to compete in an effort to claim the world's most advanced AI.

bbc.co.uk

Interrupting the madness of reality to share some exciting news: the first Centre for Mad Culture in the UK will be launched in Edinburgh on 17 October! Below I have listed all the other activities planned by the Centre (including my own poetry workshop). Book your free tickets and see you there!

Mad Pride, Mad Perspectives: Centre for Mad Culture UK launch night

Be part of the launch of Centre for Mad Culture UK — a night of bold art, powerful voices, and mad cabaret.

eventbrite.co.uk

Drawing on a transatlantic archive, @miladaskalova.bsky.social explores the experience of time in asylum #periodicals. Learn how these publications served as instruments of both recalibration and resistance in the latest issue of VPR: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl... @rs4vp.org

What can periodicals tell us about the experience of time in Victorian asylums? I reflect on that in my article 'Passing the Hours' in the new VPR. #histmed #MedHums #histpsych #Victorian #madstudies

Victorian Periodicals Review@vpreditors.bsky.social · 12mo ago

NEW ISSUE ALERT! It's a happy day when you find the latest VPR in your mailbox. This number includes the 2024 VanArsdel and Expanding the Field essays as well as articles on asylum periodicals and the bookselling trade. Treat yourself to some delightful reading: muse.jhu.edu/issue/55567 @rs4vp.org

💫New Workshop #CfP💫 'Object Stories in Health and Medicine, 1700-1900', 5 December, online, organised by the very fabulous @annafranjam.bsky.social & @rebeccawhiteley.bsky.social. #HistMed #HistSTM #HistPsych #DisHist #HistNursing #MatCult #MaterialCulture #MedHums #Skystorians🗃️

Object Stories in Health and Medicine, 1700-1900 - University of Birmingham

x9artsandlaw-event,x9history-event,x9historycultures-event,x9clemt-event

birmingham.ac.uk

Now on the BARS Blog: CfP: 'Sex in the Long Nineteenth Century' - Romance, Revolution and Reform Journal 2026 Conference See all the details here: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6071 Please share widely!!

Excited that my short story, 'The Holiday', will be published in New Writing Scotland. I'm grateful to the editors for offering it a home. And now I'm off to the same shores where I started writing it...

Association for Scottish Literature@asls.org.uk · last yr.

A CHAOS OF LIGHT New Writing Scotland 43 Ed. by Kirstin Innes, Chris Powici & Niall O’Gallagher “writing that unsettles and challenges, that questions assumptions… A rich, boisterous, tender, charming, angry, sorrowful, gleeful mix” Aug 2025 – available for preorder! 💙📚 asls.org.uk/publications...

Prize: The Hamilton Prize (Deadline: 7/1/25) bit.ly/43VtyWL

Reminder that this event is on Friday! Join us as we talk anonymity, ethics, and medical photography. For my part, I'll be exploring material and aesthetic anonymities. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The Ethics of Medical Photography Network Online Seminar

Join us for the next online seminar! Friday 20 June 2020, 2-3.30 pm UK time THE ETHICS OF ANONYMITY IN MEDICAL PHOTOGRAPHY Speakers: Dr Christine Slobogin (University of Rochester, NY) Dr Rebecca ...

docs.google.com

A few free tickets left for the 'Aesthetics of the Clinic' symposium in Cambridge next week! Proud to be part of such a great programme. I'll be talking about patients' 'rewriting' of mental institutions in asylum periodicals.

Thank you to everyone who has signed our petition, 6,000+! Authors deserve to have a livelihood and compensation from their work, if you haven't signed do so now 👇

Sign the Petition

Protect authors’ livelihoods from the unlicensed use of their work in AI training

change.org

The MHRA has transitioned from Twitter/X and will now use Bluesky to communicate our work. We are excited to contribute to establishing Bluesky as a dynamic, inclusive, and engaging platform for academic exchange and collaboration. To celebrate this new chapter, we are hosting a book giveaway! 👇

If you think your medical history monograph is worth a prize, why not enter it for the EAHMH book prize this year? Details in this link: eahmh.org/prizes/

Applications are open for the 2025-27 Past & Present Fellowships @ihr.bsky.social are open Applications close on 31st Jan 2025 Fellows appointed will commence on 1st Oct 2025 and be tenable for 24 months Please share with your network www.history.ac.uk/fellowships/...

Past & Present Fellowships

Past & Present Fellowships are available for two years, and open to researchers who have completed a doctorate in history.

history.ac.uk

Something to look forward to in the post-holiday lull of early January

@rosemarygolding.bsky.social · 2y ago

Booking link and abstracts for January's conference on Health, Wellbeing and the Arts in the Nineteenth Century are now available here: musichealthandhappiness.wordpress.com/hwa19c-confe...