Last week, about a third of the History department were able to gather together on graduation day. Rather than lend our intellectual authority to the official procession and ceremony we invited our students to come and celebrate their achievements with us in a shady courtyard. They came. 1/

The fabulous 18th-century Abbey Library of Saint Gall in Switzerland 🇨🇭

I've signed and sent a letter - from authors, broadcasters, journalists, artists, scholars and performers - to express our deep concern at @exeter.ac.uk’s troubling plans to make mass redundancies within the Humanities Dept @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social. I would love it if you read and shared widely.

'Several of Exeter’s strongest improvements came in indicators that carry the greatest weighting in the rankings – with Academic Reputation, Citations per Faculty, and Employer Reputation all improved significantly.' 1/3

University of Exeter@exeter.ac.uk · 2mo ago

We’re delighted to be able to share some exciting news: We’ve climbed 19 places in the QS World University Rankings 2027, and we’re now ranked 136th globally. This achievement reflects the growing strength of our reputation as one of the world’s top universities. news.exeter.ac.uk/staff-news/e...

My 500 year history of disabled people's political activism is out now! Thanks to The Independent for making it their non-fiction book of the month! www.penguin.co.uk/books/455782... #disabilityhistory

Disability

A ground-breaking history of modern Britain that puts the experiences of disabled people to the fore for the first time. Despite there being more than 16 million disabled people in the UK today, disa...

penguin.co.uk

My 2nd article on the serfdom-like compulsory child labour schemes in C18th southwest England is now available (open access) doi.org/10.1017/S026... It was distinctive not merely as a type of unfree labour, but as a centralised method for allocating servants to farmers

James Fisher@jamdanfish.bsky.social · last yr.

My new article on pauper apprenticeship is online and open access! Bound to the soil (Part I): the origins of compulsory apprenticeship schemes in South-West rural England c.1670–1750 doi.org/10.1017/S026...

Less than a month to go (29 April, 5:30pm) until our annual Lightening Talks event for the British History in the Long 18th Century seminar, showcasing new PhD student work. Join us in person or online at the IHR in London. It's free and open to the public. #Skystorians

Lightning Talks

history.ac.uk

Excited to see Sonia Tycko's book rethinking early modern consent and contract labour is now available. This is an important intervention for histories of coerced labour. 'Captured Consent: Contract Labor in English Charity, Colonization, and War, 1600–1700'

Great to see @polly-lowe.bsky.social 's article on 'The body as property' available on open access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0144039X.2025.2570609#abstract A really smart analysis of Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies and 18th c. attitudes to commercial sex.

Have a read of my new article! It's part of a Forum: Human Commodification, so make sure to check out the other contributions too!

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Hot off the press and available open access. #Skystorians

I’ll be presenting a paper at the IHR British History in the Long 18th Century Seminar next Wednesday based on my (worryingly) soon to be completed PhD research!

IHR British History in the Long C18th Seminar@long18thsem.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Register to join us next week, either in person or online on 25 February to hear Warwick final year PhD @brendantam.bsky.social present his paper titled: ‘A Christ Church Set’: Exploring the Discourse of Political Friendship in Late Hanoverian Britain, 1780s-1830s www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

18TH CENTURY BRITISH HISTORY PHD LIGHTNING TALKS CFP Are you at the start of your PhD? Want to tell an eager and engaged audience about it in 5 mins? We want to hear the best PGR research about 18th Britain at our #LightningTalks event 29 April 2026. Please see the poster for further information!

Helen Esfandiary giving a great paper on elite maternal authority over the care of children in the context of the professional medical market place in the 18th c. @long18thsem.bsky.social @ihrlibrary.bsky.social

Really pleased to announce the launch of the all-new, all-dancing, London Lives website - www.londonlives.org It has been thoroughly re-engineered to facilitate more types of search, and redesigned for phones and tablets. The team very much hopes peope like it. 1/

I'm really looking forward to sharing my findings about debates surrounding the Scottish Coal miners. Make sure to come along!

IHR British History in the Long C18th Seminar@long18thsem.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Next Wednesday 22-10 starting at 5:30pm Dr Polly Lowe will present her paper ‘Bound Labour, Narratives of Nationhood, and the Rhetoric of Slavery: Liberty, Identity, and Scottish Coal-Miners in the Long Eighteenth Century’. Join us in person at the IHR or online! www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

History curious? You don't need to be in London (or the UK) to attend many Institute of Historical Research seminars, although if you're in Bloomsbury you'll enjoy doing so. Most are hybrid (online/in person). They're free, usually fortnightly and open to the public. Starting this week:

Events

Stay up to date with the upcoming events organised or hosted by the Institute of Historical Research

history.ac.uk

If you needed another excuse to spend an evening at the lovely London Archives and enjoy the delights of Exmouth Street:

The London Archives @thelondonarchives.bsky.social · 12mo ago

🚨 To Detain or To Punish: Magistrates and the Making of the London Prison System, 1750–1840 🚨 📅 Wednesday 3 September @ 5:30pm 📣 @kiranmehta.bsky.social discusses the diverse penal landscape of 18th century London. An incredible book using many TLA documents! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/to-detain-...