Er, only one of my grandparents would have been alive 100 years ago, so does "school boy" count? Otherwise, going further back, it's miners, butchers and below stairs. And a fair bit of scandal on both sides, as i understand it.

Revan@revan.eurosky.social · 7d ago

Enough “what would you do on the commune questions” If you got sent back 100 years and were given your grandparent’s job, what are you doing?

Look, AI companies, i just got my chapter about digitisation and research & teaching planned, it's super inconvenient for you to be discovered chatting about "our effort to destructive scan all the books in the world". Also, what the actual? I try not to be too doom laden but you make it so hard.

Very excited to get my question read out on The Rest is Entertainment (even if Richard and Marina slightly mangled my name) and even more delighted that the answer involved mention of cinema vérité!

I say this with nothing but love in my heart for the fatherland but can you imagine any other country looking at wildfires and thinking "quick, get a philosopher on the line"

Things are so bad I joined WhatsApp (still don't have a smartphone though, no). In amongst the serious stuff in our 'at risk' chat are some Very Lovely Things. For instance, my colleague who works on the Italian Renaissance shared this photo of the Archivio di Stato di Roma, where she currently is:

Professor Whittle is one of four colleagues in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Faculty at the University of Exeter elected to Fellowship of the British Academy this year. 🗃️ ALL FOUR of these outstanding scholars were placed at risk of redundancy last month. Here's their statement:

🥳 Enormous congratulations to my outstanding colleague & friend Prof. Jane Whittle, on her election to the Fellowship of the British Academy. Jane is a world renowned scholar of the history of work & gender in preindustrial Europe. She currently leads The Material Culture of Wills project. 🗃️

If I read one more thing about how Erling Haarland bought an manuscript... No, it was an early printed book, PRINTED, printed in 1594 as per the BBC, manuscript is handwritten, although obvs print and manuscript co-exist as important forms for a long time... yup, I need a good lie down, don't I?

Enjoying the IMDB cast list for "The American Experiment" on Netflix. That's quite some archive footage there...

Going to see 1536 with friends I've had for three decades was the right call...

Carlo Ginzburg est mort, annonce la presse italienne. Immense historien, il a su construire une oeuvre originale entre micro-histoire et anthropologie historique qui a considérablement renouvelé la discipline. www.repubblica.it/cultura/2026...

Carlo Ginzburg è morto, addio al grande storico italiano

Aveva 87 anni. Era famoso in tutto il mondo per le sue ricerche sulla stregoneria e le credenze popolari

repubblica.it

UUK, VCs, etc need to be on the barricades here pointing out 1) they cannot control the labour market for grad jobs 2) most evidence suggests people do in fact benefit financially from degrees and 3) the universities did not want, did not introduce, and do not benefit from the current loan system.

Dave Andress@davidandress.bsky.social · 2mo ago

While we debate this absolute shitshow, we should also bear in mind that, because a decade of Tory governments refused to raise student fees, universities now have 25% less money per student, in real terms, than a decade ago. And that is one central reason why so many of them are sacking staff.

You have TWO MORE WEEKS to submit to the special edition @barrytorch.bsky.social and I are putting together!!

Hannah Sparwasser Soroka@hannah-historian.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Hello friends! Do you work on early modern letters and/or books? Do you sometimes find early modern letters *in* your books? Do you have interesting thoughts about this? Then you should ✨submit a proposal✨ to the 🌟🌈special journal edition🌟🌈 @barrytorch.bsky.social and I are putting together!

#CFP for #earlymodern folks! @hannah-historian.bsky.social and I are putting together a special edition of the Journal of Epistolary Studies on "Letters as Paratexts in the Early Modern World"!

Reminder. There's an early modern pub night for PhDs & ECRs (& others interested at any stage of their careers) held in London every month. To be added to the mailing list, send me a DM. It's an informal welcoming event. We meet at different historic pubs across central London. #earlymodern

"Manchester’s vice-chancellor, Duncan Ivison, said no student should graduate having done three years of just academic study." Mate, have you spoken to an undergraduate student recently? The chances of them having got through 3 years having only done academic work are slim to none

Manchester University to offer work placements to all undergraduates

Russell Group university promises students, from chemical engineering to classics, ‘meaningful real-world experience’

theguardian.com

I was meant to be at a conference today, with scholars whose work I admire and catching up with excellent people. Instead, I am at home with an injured cat who refuses all attempts to medicate her (and another furious one, because they're both house bound until the injured one is a bit better).

Details now available for something I am really looking forward to doing in September - I'm edging more and more into the seventeenth century and it turns out, I quite like it www.leedsphilandlit.org.uk/shop/wars-wi...

One of the nicest feelings in this line of work is when a student tells you that something you suggested they read has unlocked something, and they are now obsessed with a topic that they are loving exploring. Today - polemical woodcuts have a new fan in Leeds.

It's been a really rewarding few months working with Tracey Loughran and all our contributors - our Second Projects toolkit is now available at the History UK website. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and been so open about the challenges we face & sharing tips share.google/eoLfLI9EflK2...

History UK Second Projects Toolkit

In Spring 2026 History UK hosted two events where historians reflected on their experiences of second projects. This toolkit looks at the different stages of second projects and offers practical ti…

share.google

A good challenge these days is to look at how universities portray their humanities degrees to potential undergraduates. At the same time as core modules are being hollowed out and made identical to everywhere else, departments are barred from championing specific expertise and unique offerings.

Plashing Vole@plashingvole.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Whether I'm there or not next year, here are the things that have been replaced by a generic skills module including 3 weeks on Using AI: 1. My linguistics colleagues on accent and dialect change, and atittudes towards the local accent. Led by the accents in the room.

Across history, witchcraft has been understood in many different ways. 🧙 In this Journal of the British Academy conversation, leading academics explore the cultural history of witchcraft and how its meanings have shifted over time. Read if for free on Open Access 👇 https://bit.ly/4sjcuTv

Very excited to see the flyer for the talk I am giving at UGA next week - the brackets around "French" are there purely because I plan on talking about non-French books as well, but it's going to be 90% French books

Definitely going to be sharing this with my students! www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Skeleton of Three Musketeers hero d’Artagnan may have been found

Archaeologists believe remains found in Maastricht, Netherlands, may be of soldier who inspired novel character

theguardian.com

Final teaching session in Cultural Collections today, and it was a good one. The Nuremberg Chronicle was a big hit, as was the 1641 ed of Foxe with a pull out of different kinds of torture. My favourite was this Coutumier which had three owners' signatures in it. Definitely going back to look at it.

Not saying it has been a long term and that the early modern France marking has been getting to me, but I first wrote CDM and not SKB on my office milk this morning

Once again, I am torn between my love of a slogan jumper with some random French on it, and being irked that libraries don't get more clothing love (still sad about a T-shirt which i thought said Bibliothèque but which actually said Discothèque)

Interested in environmental history? The IHR is offering a summer 2026 internship with the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH). Apply by 15 April 2026, 11:59 pm BST. More details at: buff.ly/Vzpz6G3.

IHR Internships

IHR Internships support new researchers to develop their skills and broaden their experience within and beyond the historical research community.

history.ac.uk

Really enjoyed our second Second Projects event today in Leeds - really open and honest reflections from Lauras King, O'Brien and Tisdall, equal honesty from audience. Even more notes taken by me and Tracey - now to corral this into meaningful resources before our final event in May.

Still chuckling at the student who said they liked my sign last week and who also said they knew i had ADHD because "well, I listened to how you talked about pamphlets last class"