Happy #BHM25 🎉🎈🎈 A reason to smile this morning. This photo is taken from a short video. A teenager approached me via social media. She said they were few in her school who were passionate about Black History. She wanted me to help with a message to the their school.

"This book brings vital attention to the incredible women that have pushed boundaries and improved humanity whether through political, creative, intellectual or societal contributions." – Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health, University of Edinburgh

"A compelling, inspirational (and occasionally heart-rending) read that makes a resounding case for bringing a more inclusive perspective on the past into our present moment." Leith Davis, Simon Fraser University

"An impressive and important corrective to historical accounts which have forgotten, silenced, or purposefully sideline so many women for being too 'dangerous'..." - Peggy Levitt, author of Artifacts and Allegiances: How Museums Put the Nation and the World on Display

"This is a book we all need to read. Though few of them are household names, each and every one of the nearly fifty women portrayed here... is at the heart of an exceptional story." – Catriona Seth, Professor of French Literature, University of Oxford

"...Intensely readable, extremely moving... fascinating glimpses into the lives of courageous and remarkable women who, often in the face of adversity, have fought for justice and a whole lot of other important values." – Sir Alexander McCall Smith, novelist

Out now! Our latest book, "Women Who Dared", is released today from Edinburgh University Press. You can purchase direct from @edinburghup.bsky.social via their website or at all good bookshops: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-women-w...

This is a very welcome development indeed IF the recurrent costs of funding school librarians is fully budgeted. ‘A pile of books is no more a library than a crowd of soldiers is an army’ to quote Gabriel Naudé who figured this out … 400 years ago… www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

'Mākereti Papakura has been a legend in our family for over a hundred years' On Saturday 27 September, descendants of Mākereti Papakura proudly accepted her MPhil in Anthropology, honouring her legacy as a pioneering Māori scholar nearly a century after she began her journey. Read more ⬇️

Interested in letter-writing in early medieval Britain? A three-year postdoc on @francescatinti.bsky.social’s and my project is now available. Apps close on 17th Oct. Let me know if you have any questions and please circulate! 🙂 jobs.kent.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Call for applications! 📣 The German Historical Institute London is seeking a Research Associate with a particular research interest in medieval history (with a focus on late medieval English history) for a part-time project position to start on 1 February 2026. 🤝 1/3

'Concert Hall', Queen's Hall, Langham Place (1929) by Sybil Andrews (Glenbow Museum)

This new Humanities Centre looks like a wonderful new arrival in Oxford. But I wish William Hague had found room, in a long interview, to pay tribute to the former Chancellor Chris Patten, whose fundraising achievement this was. www.thetimes.com/culture/art/...

‘Research carried out last year found that if net migration increased by 31,000 a year as a result of a youth mobility scheme, it could increase GDP by 0.45% in ten years. The House of Commons library has suggested it could be worth as much as £5 billion a year’ www.thetimes.com/article/ea32...

Max Weber Fellowships European University Institute #skysstorians 🗃️www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOM363/m...

I’m personally glad the Chancellor has discovered the benefits of an EU youth experience scheme. A pity that it wasn’t in the manifesto, that the Govt rebuffed EU proposals, and were lukewarm about it at the 19 May summit. We c’d have been much closer to a deal now if it had been made a UK priority.

Last week, staff at Oxford Botanic Garden collected a whopping 29 crates of apples 🍎 The harvest will be donated to Oxford Food Hub, who will share them with 200 charities and community groups. 📷 | Oxford Botanic Garden

Seems like a good time to remind people that Canada Post will deliver any piece of mail to federal elected officials for FREE. No stamp necessary! Just a reminder in case you, oh I dunno, wanna send your elected officials a sternly worded letter a day for a year or something.

There's a great Researcher Developer role (0.6fte, grade 6) available at White Rose University Consortium, supporting ECRs and PGRs across Yorkshire and Humber whiterose.ac.uk/news/job-opp...

Are you a grad student, untenured faculty member, or an independent scholar doing research in Romantic-era literature and culture? There's still time to apply for a Pforzheimer Award! Apply by Nov. 1 to be considered. Find more information here: www.k-saa.org/pforzheimera...

21 November ILCS event on thinking strategically about the challenges faced by language educators. Don't miss it, sign up now! university-council-for-languages.org/2025/09/24/t...

NEW: A project led by Oxford University aims to develop a novel breathing test to detect asthma and COPD earlier and more accurately – bringing diagnosis closer to home, easing pressure on the NHS, and improving patient outcomes. Read more ⬇️

"Every time there's an attack on books, librarians respond, they fight back, they risk their own lives and some even lose their lives for the sake of their communities of readers," says @richove.bsky.social as he accepts the Benson Medal at @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

FINAL CALL! ⏰ One week left to apply for our Nottebohm Fellowship! ☟ ☟ ☟

It took time for Senate House to identify, trace, and make contact with the rightful owner, but the affair has now been brought to a happy conclusion: Senate House has been allowed to keep the manuscript, so it will continue to be available for teaching and research: www.london.ac.uk/senate-house...

Can’t wait to get cracking on this new project with @mahoganyopera.bsky.social and @dunedinconsort.bsky.social next year 🤩 Any sopranos wanting to sing with me, have a look at the details below and apply if it fits! 🤗

Just think about the effect of having this many people in a country feel like their lives are under the hammer, either because of their migration status or their ethnicity or both; what effect that has on community, belonging, collective mental health. In this way, the damage is already being done.

Confessions of an Early Career Researcher. We've released a new 'warts and all' podcast, in collaboration with @leverhulme.ac.uk which might be of interest to anyone thinking of starting a career in research www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/confess...

That's very generous, Peter, thank you, but the compliments should really go to Sarah Grant who has curated such an impressive exhibition about Marie Antoinette! x.com/i/status/196...

St Oswald's Church Widford

Are you an good writer with a passion for explaining the world around you? We are looking for a science and technology correspondent based in our London office. Experience in journalism is not required. Apply here by September 28th:

The government managed to recruit only 43 per cent of its target number of modern foreign language teachers for initial teacher training in 2024-25. www.thetimes.com/article/df90...

On view at the Marie Antoinette exhibition in London, a famous Vigée Lebrun portrait of the queen.

Out of the box, but do read this. Nice illustration of the way the world is changing right now.

I am in contact with the Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal. I expressed full Latvian support to Estonia’s request to hold NATO Article 4 consultations. Important that NATO launched Eastern Sentry. NATO Air Policing Mission has responded decisively by protecting Alliance’s airspace.

Hello #academicsky! I'm sharing a cfp for an edited collection on "Naming & Classifying," pulled together by me, Kristin Girten, & @aaronrhanlon.com . We'd love to see your work! Please also circulate to anyone you think might be interested. Deadline 10/31. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

The UN stands with our female staff in #Afghanistan. Aid cannot reach the most vulnerable without them.

Sometimes I wonder why so much of the world's greatest fantasy was written in Oxford (Alice, LotR, Narnia, His Dark Materials...). Then I look out of the window.

The Geneva Museum of Art and History helped evacuate thousands of artefacts from Gaza’s main archaeological storage before an Israeli strike, though 30% of the collection was lost. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/09/17/h...

A reminder that the deadline for submissions for next year's SFS conference in Leicester is next Friday 19 September 👇🔔

I am very much hoping not to be out-bagged at the #MarieAntoinette exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Le 16 septembre 2022, mourait #MahsaAmini, victime de la « police des mœurs » du régime. Pour elle et pour toutes, restons aux côtés de ceux qui défendent les droits des femmes, en Iran et dans le monde entier. Et comment ne pas penser aussi aux femmes d’Afghanistan? 📷 AFP

V&A director Tristram Hunt has called for a tourist levy to support UK cultural infrastructure, while urging government to rethink inheritance tax policy and restore art in schools. buff.ly/Q8O52NM

- Can councils refuse to house asylum seekers in their area? - Are newly granted refugees eligible for social housing? Experts at Oxford's Migration Observatory have answered some common questions about housing asylum seekers and refugees ⬇️

***CFP DEADLINE EXTENSION TO 22 SEPTEMBER 2025*** Due to some members experiencing issues with our submission site, we have decided to extend the #BSECS2026 #CFP deadline by a whole week. Get scribbling #skystorians! #18thC 🗃️

A tragic piece of news. Conor Gearty FBA was a wonderful human being, as kind as he was brilliant, thoughtful, self-deprecating and witty; a man of dialogue and convictions, always ready to listen, and one who had much to give the world.

It has been deeply heartening to see Ukraine, a nation fighting for its very survival, to turn to art and literature for solace. It has also raised the profile of other Eastern European writers and artists from the 20th century - operating under similar circumstances: platformraam.nl/artikelen/28...

This is deeply troubling, especially for the arts and humanities which easily has the smallest funding pots. Why is funding not being spent on educating the public into why ALL disciplines are key to tackling issues? Why is everything based so much around the tangible?Do this and you solve little 1/

It's another beautiful day in Paradise (by paradise I definitely mean Oxford)