Tessera
Folgen

Andrew WM Smith

@smidbob.bsky.social

Historian of Modern France at QMUL

1418 Posts3104 Follower1500 Folgt
David Klemperer@dmk1793.bsky.social · 2d ago

I enormously enjoyed recording this PPF episode on Major Douglas’s Social Credit - a crank economic theory of the interwar period that caused immense frustration to mainstream intellectuals (including Keynes, Cole, Hobson and Gaitskell) but whose followers ended up taking power in Western Canada.

Past Present Future Podcast@ppfideas.bsky.social · 2d ago

BONUS EPISODE OUT NOW! In this PPF+ bonus David talks to political historian @dmk1793.bsky.social about an idea of the 1920s & 30s: social credit, meant to usher in an age of abundance & freedom, producing conspiracy theories & crypto-fascism instead. Join PPF+ now: www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

Colm Murphy@colmpm.bsky.social · yesterday

It's nice to see P&P promoting my article as we approach the anniversary of the 1976 IMF Crisis, when unilateral protectionism was furiously debated within the bowels of the British state. It's open access and free to read via the link below.

'The Political Crisis of British Keynesianism', by Colm Murphy. Abstract: 'In histories of Western political economy in the 1970s–1980s, Keynesianism is conventionally depicted as a victim of neoliberal ascendancy. Building on revisionist scholarship, this article looks beyond neoliberalism to explain the fate of Keynesianism in the transforming political economy of the United Kingdom in its global contexts. It explores a neglected case study: the intense controversies sparked by the Keynesian policy makers Wynne Godley and Francis Cripps. Responding to stagflation and strikes, Godley and Cripps demanded sweeping import controls to forestall mass unemployment and reverse Britain’s ‘decline’. They became celebrity economists, attracting admiration and opprobrium from government ministers and officials, political parties, journalists, and the City. Their arguments raised thorny questions, not just over economic policy, but also over Britain’s domestic statecraft and geopolitical relations after empire, during the Cold War, and inside the European Community. Revisiting these debates underscores the destabilizing impact of de-industrialization. It also reveals that (geo)political calculation determined the fate of Keynesian policy making more directly than neoliberal ideology. Godley and Cripps’s failure therefore illuminates a deeper political dilemma for fin-de-siècle Keynesians across Europe: upon which territorial order could they, and should they, exercise demand management as globalization accelerated? This question continues to shape Western politics in the twenty-first century.'
Past and Present@pastpresentsoc.bsky.social · yesterday

On advance access "The Political Crisis of British Keynesianism, 1973–1983" by @colmpm.bsky.social (‪@qmpoliticsir.bsky.social‬) #OpenAccess doi.org/10.1093/past...

will pooley@willpooley.bsky.social · 2d ago

“a detail is itself a kind of argument” cracking piece from @joemoransblog.bsky.social on detail in history writing 🗃️

...... a 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. Through the selection and arrangement of detail, you can redirect the reader's attention, which is naturally drawn to the eye-catching or the obviously consequential. You can make something that seemed peripheral seem suddenly important.
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."
Dr Dave Hitchcock@davehitchcock.bsky.social · 3d ago

We are conditioned so hard as academics to believe that excellence and performance matter, that our productivity, contributions, and ways with students and colleagues all accumulate into a profile which makes us valuable. That can be true and it *still* doesn't matter when the axe comes down.

Dr Dave Hitchcock@davehitchcock.bsky.social · 3d ago

The sheer scale of the closures and job losses in UK HE are plain today. Departure posts and lifeboats visible across all of HE Linkedin, lots here too. In what is now an annual exercise, I tap the sign, which reads: "This has nothing to do with how 'good' these depts or staff are, or were."

will pooley@willpooley.bsky.social · 5d ago

youve heard of failing upwards. well academic careers in 2026 encapsulate the reverse: succeeding downwards. so many talented, highly qualified people, being punished for their achievements

Dr Laura Sangha@lsangha.bsky.social · 5d ago

🎉 🥳 🏅 🎵 📜 🗃️ Chris Hoban and I are absolutely delighted that our collaboration has received an Honorary Mention as 'Cultural Knowledge Exchange Project of the Year' in the inaugural National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE) Future Icons awards. 1/

A LinkedIn post that celebrates the winners of the National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange 'Futures Icons' awards, 2026.
Matthew Cobb@matthewcobb.bsky.social · last wk.

It's my thesis that the Habsburg/Hapsburg lip/jaw was noticed as a family trait only in the mid-C19 (so sez ngram viewer), but I can't find any decent historiography of the issue, despite it being so notorious. There's loads of medical speculation, but that's not what I'm after. Any ideas? Pls RT

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last wk.

Very important, and a call for evidence to which UK SHAPE (Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences) researchers are very well placed to contribute. Some good guidance on how to do so effectively here: www.ucl.ac.uk/public-polic...

ucl.ac.uk

David Anderson@bricksilk.bsky.social · last wk.

The House of Lords Constitution Committee is starting a wide-ranging inquiry into strengthening our constitutional safeguards - as proposed by (Lord) Peter Hennessy. Look East, look West, and see the urgency. Written evidence requested by 28th of September. committees.parliament.uk/committee/17...

Andrew WM Smith@smidbob.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is an excellent graduation address which sadly had to take place outside the hall, giving good insight into where inspiration comes from in universities. UKHE is in a bad place which it cannot fix itself, constrained as it is by poor governance & perverse incentives

Dr Laura Sangha@lsangha.bsky.social · 2w ago

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/

A group of world leading historians in their finery, some in gowns, stand together under a tree. Some carry signs saying 'Historian at risk', other raise a glass to the camera.
Dr Dave Hitchcock@davehitchcock.bsky.social · 2w ago

I want to highlight one thing the FT article says near the end: GBS model is currently being subsidised, A LOT, by the british taxpayer. This is because of the expected student loan default rate and how the 'you don't pay it back' structure works over time. They are bilking the state AND students.

Dr Nazlin Bhimani@nazlinbhimani.bsky.social · 2w ago

This: "...if universities educate the next generation of defence specialists while weakening subjects that teach conflict resolution, ethics, diplomacy, history, languages and cooperation, then something has gone wrong. National security ... also requires knowledge of humanities." #HEd

Higher Education Policy Institute@hepi-news.bsky.social · 2w ago

New Post: What universities count – and what they cannot afford to ignore www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/07/21/w...

C🅰️S Ⓜ️UDDE@casmudde.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is a very rich and thought-provoking piece and is relevant far beyond France. Can be great start for a discussion about the future of democracy and, particularly, what we can and should do ourselves.

France’s Democratic Malaise: Stop Blaming Citizens, Start Reforming Institutions

When eight in ten French citizens feel unrepresented, the problem lies not with democratic fatigue but with a political system that has forgotten how to listen.

socialeurope.eu

Andrew WM Smith@smidbob.bsky.social · 3w ago

Research for the same piece has me watching the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, when Scotland beat France 2-0 (double for Mo Johnston, a disallowed goal from McCoist and a heroic performance in goals from Leighton) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XsJ...

France World Cup 1990 Qualification All Matches Highlights | Road to Italy

YouTube video by World Football Archive

youtube.com

Andrew WM Smith@smidbob.bsky.social · 3w ago

Currently reading 'The Providential Man' by Didier Fischer for something I'm writing. Delighted to see that he has dedicated it to... the providential hamster 🐹 🗃

Cover of the Providential man book
Robert Saunders@robertsaunders.bsky.social · 3w ago

This was a really moving interview. We're enormously proud of Peter at Queen Mary. He's been a lone voice for a particular kind of virtue in public life: not as something we admire in ourselves, but as something we practice towards others - and especially our opponents. And he really embodies that.

Rory Cellan-Jones @rorycj.bsky.social · 3w ago

What a moving interview on R4 BH with Peter Hennessey - says he’s retiring because his Parkinson’s means he can longer think clearly, but he sounded far clearer and made more sense than most people you hear on the radio