Tessera

Rebecca Wynter

@rebeccawynter.bsky.social

Historian of Medicine & Mental Health. Golestan Fellow NIAS-KNAW https://nias.knaw.nl/fellow/rebecca-wynter/ Policy Officer @sshmedicine.bsky.social. Co-convenor Mental Health Humanities Researcher Network https://mhhrn.bham.ac.uk/ She/her 🌈🏳️‍⚧️ #Skystorian

6934 Posts3258 Follower 884 Folgt

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 7h ago

Burnham scraps restrictions on disabled people’s bus passes in England

Move means holders will be able to travel free on local services at any time of day or night from April next year Disabled people across England will be able to use their free bus passes at any time of day from next April, as Andy Burnham expands a policy he introduced as mayor of Greater Manchester. The prime minister has said the current weekday restrictions on when disabled people can use their bus passes will be removed from 1 April 2027. Their passes are valid only between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays, although some councils pay to allow people free travel outside those hours. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Sophie Molly @sophiemolly.co.uk · 8h ago

"international human rights law requires that such measures are inclusive of all women and girls, including transgender and intersex women, and respect the rights of all persons without discrimination.” www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

UK: Revised Code of Practice risks institutionalising discrimination against transgender and gender-diverse persons, warn UN experts

GENEVA – UN human rights experts* today warned that the UK’s revised Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations, in force as of 5 August, may place transgender and gender-divers...

ohchr.org

Dr Kathryn Mannix @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social · 16h ago

My first thought as the UK fire risk alert rang out was for those (mainly) women suffering domestic abuse who keep a hidden phone. You can opt out: remember to renew after any update. Helpful opt-out info ⬇️ Tell your friends. You can't guess who's hiding a phone. GOV.UK share.google/VhnlflzNe2Ip...

Opting out of emergency alerts

share.google

Tom Hulme @tomhulme.bsky.social · 20h ago

This article is the latest in a series emerging from our AHRC project (@leannemccormick.bsky.social @charlielynch.bsky.social @mauricejcasey.com) on 'Queer Northern Ireland: Sexuality before Liberation'. Other pieces to look out for... 🧵

Tom Hulme@tomhulme.bsky.social · 21h ago

This is a brilliant (open access!) article by @mauricejcasey.com; it doesn’t just recover a pioneering yet forgotten lesbian activist but uses her story to critique the blind spots of Irish queer historiography more broadly. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 3d ago

We are writing to the Prime Minister, and the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, calling for an immediate public inquiry into the British press, following the tragic death of Jason Arday. Sign here 👇

Jason Arday Letter | Good Law Project

Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.

goodlaw.social

Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 3d ago

VIGIL FOR
JASON ARDAY
STAND AGAINST
RACIST WITCH HUNTS
MONDAY 17 AUG 6PM
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
STAND UP TO RACISM

Ewan Gibbs @ewangibbs.bsky.social · 4d ago

Just remember this message is aimed at your children not theirs.

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 4d ago

Thomson Reuters, which owns news agency Reuters, has signed a $125M deal giving ICE access to its databases of personal data. USA Today has partnered with Palantir to gain "actionable intelligence" on its audiences. The media should be opponents of Trump's police state — not collaborators.

Social Market Foundation @smfthinktank.bsky.social · 5d ago

The chances of going to university still depend far too much on where you grew up. Our analysis of UCAS #ResultsDay data shows 43% of 18-year-olds in London have been accepted into university, compared with just 25% in the North East

Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · 5d ago

My uni have just withdrawn Geography, History & Geography and Politics & Geography undergrad courses run from our Penryn campus. Terrible for Cornwall. How did the staff find out? When UCAS clearing opened at 8am 😡

David Veevers @davidveevers.bsky.social · 5d ago

Most Universities are being just ghastly with their cuts, but Exeter seem to be particularly despicable at the moment. For executives who only care about the ‘product’, they seem to be weirdly immune to worrying about reputational damage.

Dr Susan Greaney@suegreaney.bsky.social · 5d ago

K Biswas @bizk.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I’m hosting a weekly ten-part radio series on English Culture through the mind of Professor Stuart Hall, featuring never-before-heard recordings from lectures delivered in the mid-80s - the height of Thatcherism. Starts on Wednesday 11am-midday on @resonancefm.bsky.social www.resonancefm.com

Helen Barrett @helenbarrett.bsky.social · 5d ago

A good time to revisit this wonderful series.

K Biswas@bizk.bsky.social · 4mo ago

David Veevers @davidveevers.bsky.social · 5d ago

We’re all gonna die.

Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 5d ago

Downing Street's press release for Burnham's "emergency" Cobra meeting on the drought didn't even mention climate, with the Prime Minister blaming the growing numbers of wildfires on disposable barbecues. He's since appeared on GB News this afternoon to talk about migrant camps

Jennifer Wallis-Bernard @harbottlestores.bsky.social · 6d ago

We now have a Medical Humanities at Imperial blog 🎊🎊 Please take a look - I'll be adding to this regularly with posts from both staff and students. #medhums #meded blogs.imperial.ac.uk/medical-huma...

Medical Humanities at Imperial – Humanities, Philosophy & Law student art exhibition

Humanities, Philosophy & Law student art exhibition

blogs.imperial.ac.uk

The Quietus @thequietus.com · 7mo ago

Bandcamp has formally introduced a new policy banning music and audio generated wholly or largely by AI from purchase on its platform. Bandcamp said: “With this policy, we’re putting human creativity first." buff.ly/mnjpUZA

AAUP @aaup.org · 4w ago

OUT TODAY, the AAUP just released the first comprehensive account of how the Trump administration has taken the same playbook it's used on law firms & foreign governments & turned it on American universities. US higher ed has, in effect, become a target of a massive extortion racket. 🧵

New Report on Extorted Compliance Charges “Massive Extortion Racket” Against Higher Ed

A new AAUP report, "Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance," exposes how the Trump administration has extended its pay-to-play approach to gov...

aaup.org

The London Journal @thelondonjournal.bsky.social · 7d ago

Call for chapters: Made Municipal: the LCC through its everyday objects. All reposts much appreciated. x

Made Municipal: the LCC through its everyday objects
Background
Following on from the Sixty Years on from the London County Council: Legacy, Impact, Learning film screening and conference in spring 2025, we are keen to capture and build on some of the histories and research that were represented, which highlighted the need for further and increasingly diverse scholarship about the London County Council.
The Council is often held in a certain degree of reverence regarding the achievements delivered across - and beyond - the boundaries of London from the time of its conception in 1889, and as being emblematic of a type of governance which may no longer be possible in a contemporary context. Since the publication of Andrew Saint’s edited book, Politics and People of London: London County Council, 1889-1965 in 1989, more research has emerged on the LCC, with the increasing availability of unofficial archives and the release of previously closed records revealing more nuanced narratives that have the potential to open up more diverse, representative histories.
We appreciate that talking comprehensively about the Council’s broad and interconnected operations is a monumental task, and thus we’re keen to find innovative ways to throw light on the panorama of its work, rather than focus on discrete, dislocated entities. To do so, we were inspired by Professor Andrew Saint, whose unusual contribution to the film screening night at The London Archives was a foot-long bar of LCC-branded soap. This sparked a wide-ranging discussion spanning issues of care, industry, and education in parentis, as undertaken by the LCC, and prompted us to consider that the operation of the LCC could perhaps be best understood through its material culture and its presence in residents’ day-to-day lives.

Using a lens of material culture to explore the work of the LCC allows us to break out from the thematic silos which might otherwise be imposed upon its history, crossing between departments and people - whether LCC employees or those that used its services - that will result in some fascinating and revelatory perspectives.
We are particularly interested in how this might better contextualise some of the under-represented histories of the Council, to reveal their importance within the wider spectrum of its work. Unlike histories that focus on particular departments or typologies, this enables us to shift towards traversing siloed narratives to provide a richer, more rounded perspective on the LCC, which we feel is more authentic to its operation, whilst also challenging how objects are often documented in museums and archives.

Call for chapters
Using a material culture approach, the collected volume will present a history of the LCC through a significant physical manifestation of objects that denote its municipal authority across the County of London. Each chapter will start with an image of the everyday LCC object, setting the scene for a more diverse re-telling of its history. It will be edited by the organisers of the Sixty Years on from the London County Council: Legacy, Impact, Learning film screening and conference held in March 2025, Dr Ruth Lang, Dr Dawn Pereira and Dr Rosamund Lily West.
We invite 4,000-5,000-word chapters which use an everyday LCC object as a starting point. We encourage a range of methodologies for approaching how the objects will be used as catalysts for storytelling. We are particularly interested in including those covering the early LCC period (1889-1914) and the interwar period, which is often underrepresented in LCC histories. Suggestions of types of objects include:
Objects; heraldry, uniforms, school awards, furniture, cutlery
Ephemera; pamphlets, tickets, brochures, phonebooks
Documents; official publications, maps, memoranda and minutes,
We see this approach as offering a more accessible way to delve into complex discussions on topics that may, at first glance, seem less engaging, such as regulation, commissioning, deindustrialisation plans, procurement, etc. We’re also keen to identify controversial objects that open untold/silenced stories and to consider whether there are global implications for the different themes and subjects discussed.

This publication would build upon Andrew Saint’s 1989 edited book, Politics and People of London: the London County Council, 1889-1965, which was the last book on the LCC to offer a broad history, so this would be a timely and much-needed re-examination of the LCC and its legacy. The book will be academic and rigorous and will include good-quality images to complement the visual, object-based approach. The aim of this book is to be an academic/trade crossover, with an audience of both specialist academics and an interested public.
Please email LCC60yearson@gmail.com with your name, a 50-word bio and a 250-word abstract by 31st October 2026.
Please include a clear indication of the object your chapter intends to focus upon (including images and potential sources/locations of the object itself where possible), along with a summary of its purpose and relevance, and the outline of your intended scope of investigation.

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 7d ago

Here are major UK funders that fund the humanities and social sciences: @ukri.org 's AHRC, ESRC & Research England; @britishacademy.bsky.social ; @leverhulme.ac.uk ; @wellcometrust.bsky.social and @wolfsonfdn.bsky.social . Click on their 'About' link and you can find out about them. Rightly. 1/3

Queer Heritage and Collections Network @queerhcn.org · 7d ago

The deadline to submit a proposal is this Friday! 🌈

Queer Heritage and Collections Network@queerhcn.org · 2mo ago

📣 Call for Papers: QHCN Symposium 2026 🗓️ 10-11 Nov 2026 We're inviting proposals from heritage professionals, researchers, artists & community organisers working with queer collections, stories & spaces. 📥 Deadline: 14 Aug 2026 📌 Full details & how to apply: queerhcn.org/symposiums/s...

Rebecca Wynter @rebeccawynter.bsky.social · 2w ago

📣Calling the lovely historians of Bluesky📢 Would anyone be super-generous and share with me an AHRC standard grant application that's been successful since the application format changed (four years ago, maybe)? I will owe you a cuppa and some cake. #Help #Skystorian #Skystorians 🗃️

Colorful Neon Thank You Sign

Alt: Pink, blue, red, yellow neon sign saying thank you pulses in the centre, reflects on the floor, and the same colours appear in strips alongside the walls, as if the thank you is moving past them.

static.klipy.com

Scarlett Stevens @scarlettstevens.bsky.social · last wk.

Shamelessly boosting this CFP❗️ #earlymodern #historians #academicsky #earlymodernists #sixteenthcentury #seventeenthcentury #eighteenthcentury

Scarlett Stevens@scarlettstevens.bsky.social · 2mo ago

CALL FOR PAPERS 📣 Experiencing Relief in Early Modern Britain: 1500-1800 We welcome papers from ECRs, PGRs, and established scholars. For more info (e.g., how to submit a paper) please see our website: earlymodernreliefconference2027.wordpress.com #earlymodern #earlymodernists #AcademicSky

Rebecca Wynter @rebeccawynter.bsky.social · last wk.

Christine Borland obit #MedHums #MedicalHumanities

Christine Borland obituary

Turner prize nominee whose installations, sculptures and films returned repeatedly to the histories embedded within bodies

theguardian.com

Rachel Sylvester @rachelsylvester.bsky.social · last wk.

New Scandinavian wings at Wandsworth and Pentonville jails have seen a 45% fall in assaults, 57% drop in self harm and halving of staff absence rates - fascinating results from trial into a more rehabilitative approach to prisons observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

‘Scandi wings’ offering pianos, pool and tea parties coul...

A unit in London’s Wandsworth prison has been transformed using methods from Sweden and Norway that prioritise rehabilitation over retribution

observer.co.uk

Maia🏳️‍⚧️@doonethingforme.bsky.social · last wk.

This one is not widely known but please adjust your retro feel-good summer bops accordingly =/

Ace of Base's Secret Nazi Past

Before he founded Ace of Base, Ulf Ekberg was a neo-Nazi skinhead. Did Ekberg use Ace of Base's success as an opportunity to erase his neo-Nazi past and rise to a position of geopolitical influence?

vice.com

Maia🏳️‍⚧️@doonethingforme.bsky.social · last wk.

Stare not too deeply into the Ace of Base lyrics (they are unfortunately very literally Nazis, it was apparently a whole thing)

Victoria Nunn @viva-victoria.bsky.social · last wk.

I’m running the #GreatNorthRun2026 for @sane.org.uk I’m only £145 away from my fundraising target. Every small donation genuinely helps. Sponsor me: ajbellgreatnorthrun2026.enthuse.com/pf/victoria-... Read my latest progress update: ajbellgreatnorthrun2026.enthuse.com/pf/victoria-... #Running

59% of the way to my £350 Great North Run target for SANE

Thank you to all who have donated. The charity I’m running for is SANE, they support people affected by mental illness, and their families, friends and carers. This includes emotional support, informa

ajbellgreatnorthrun2026.enthuse.com

Jennifer Wallis-Bernard @harbottlestores.bsky.social · 2w ago

A new experiment in writing for me, which has been equal parts daunting and rewarding. Thank you so much to @the-polyphony.bsky.social for the invitation. thepolyphony.org/2026/08/07/t...

The Intersections Between Memoir Writing and Histories of Alcoholism

Jennifer Wallis reflects on her personal experience of an alcoholic parent and how her expertise as a historian has shaped her understanding of alcoholism.

thepolyphony.org

Rebecca Wynter @rebeccawynter.bsky.social · 2w ago

Colorful Neon Thank You Sign

static.klipy.com

Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 2w ago

We need the equivalent of “men will do anything to avoid going to therapy” but for government doing anything but actually creating jobs. Stop blaming everyone but yourself. Individual students and their teachers don’t have the means to solve the economy, you & your mates the employers lobbies do.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w ago

Primary schools to be told to identify children at risk of future unemployment

American Historical Association @historians.org · 2w ago

The National Library of Medicine is seeking input on the future of its G13 grants, a key source of support for historical research in medicine and health. Make your voice heard by Aug. 18. Submit comments:

Action Alert: Help Shape NLM’s Future Support for Historical Research - AHA

Your voice matters—take action now. The American Historical Association urges historians, researchers, and educators to help shape the future of the National Library of Medicine (NLM)’s support for hi...

historians.org