I graduated from @uniofnottingham.bsky.social in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese back in 2005. How many working class Brits can say that they became fluent to university level in five languages? This TRANSFORMED my life and world view. Shambolic. Short-sighted. Devastating.

I am hearing that @uniofnottingham.bsky.social is suspending (i.e shutting down) *all modern language courses* in 2026-27. One of the largest departments in the UK. A shocking short sighted move that damages regional and national prospects @britishacademy.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social

I got my BA in modern languages from the University of Nottingham 20 years ago. This news is bloody depressing albeit not surprising.

Our next CLACS Caribbean Seminar will be hosted by the fantastic Renée Landell & @deannalyncook.bsky.social The Youth Ambassadors of our Country: Little League Baseball & Postcolonial Nation Building on Curaçao w/Jan Bant @ilcs.bsky.social @soccaribbeanuk.bsky.social ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

What’s the difference between a Standard Premium and a First Class Avanti train ticket? Apparently about £114 and a piece of cloth. Standard anytime return: £197 First class return: £311 Train prices are out of control.

Lovely to be back in beautiful Aberdeen tonight where my PhD journey began.

¡Buen viernes! Hoy 🌤️🌤️🌤️ 30° de máx. El domingo vamos a votar. No nos olvidemos de esto 👇🇦🇷Este 26 de octubre defendamos la ciencia, la tecnología, la salud y la educación en las urnas🇦🇷

📢Join us for the first seminar of the 2025-26 Caribbean Seminar Series! "Bound Journeys, Freedom Places: Slavery, Movement, Place, and Gender in Nineteenth-Century Cuba" by Dr Camillia Cowling 🗓️22 Oct 2025 | ⏰17:30–19:00 | 🌐Online More info🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...

Delighted to be giving the keynote address at the upcoming Privacy Symposium Africa in Nigeria talking about the exclusionary risks of digital identity systems #PSA2025 📍Topic: Digital Identity & Biometric Data in Africa: Striking the Balance Between Inclusion, Security, and Privacy bit.ly/uwpsa

Excellent Guardian piece on Aadhar, India's digital ID system, that captures the dilemma extremely well. Digital-by-default methods create huge convenience for some, double-down on social exclusion for others, and it is easy for their scope to rapidly expand www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Local Historians come and make your own short film! One day free course at the @heritagewshc.bsky.social on Monday 10th November. Fun collaborative day learning new skills to share local history and heritage. For more information and to book visit: www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it

We're delighted to announce that Sir Hilary Beckles will be delivering an important lecture on reparatory justice next month: The Coming Enlightenment: Reparations Now for Tomorrow 17 November, 6pm-8:30pm, Senate House commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/... #ReparatoryJustice #Commonwealth

A fantastic welcome to new PhD researchers in history and related disciplines today hosted by the Institute of Historical Research @ihr.bsky.social with contributions from @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social & @royalhistsoc.org colleagues.

Digital IDs 💸 Will cost billions ⚠️ Will be riddled with errors ❌ Won’t reduce irregular migration at all. Tell Starmer to scrap his scheme ⬇️ https://goodlaw.social/j2ld

📢 Sign up now for our training sessions this term! Our first session is on 22 Oct: 🎙️'Podcasts to Engage Audiences in Languages, Cultures and Societies Research and Practice': ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/... ilcs.sas.ac.uk/research-pol...

First seminar of the academic year for the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies on Tuesday 28th October sees YPCCS alumni, Professor Alison Donnell taking about her internationally acclaimed 2025 publication 'Lost and Found' (Papillote Press). Please share. All welcome.

The annual Walter Rodney Lecture (hosted by the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies, University of Warwick) will be given this year by Professor David Scott (Columbia University) on the 25th November 2025. Please share. All welcome.

It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the new IHR fellows today alongside @ihr.bsky.social colleagues, led by Jade Chesterton. Such fascinating, rich and necessary research in history and beyond. Find out more: www.history.ac.uk/fellowships

My daughter’s birthdays are joyous yet always tainted with a hint of sadness. 5 years ago today we were both close to leaving this world. The trauma, in the midst of the pandemic shortly after escaping my violent abuser, transformed our lives. Together, we have built a beautiful life & a happy home.

A video I recorded w/Women in Identity underlining the dangers of universal #digitalidentity, the significant impact of these rapidly evolving technologies & the (un)intended consequences they will have in challenging people's right to exist & citizenship. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBV1...

What can you expect to find at #HistDay25 our celebration of history collections with @senatehouselib.bsky.social? Come along and find out on 4 Nov. Book your free space here www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Sign up for our next CLACS Caribbean Studies Seminar, 21 Oct: Jamaica’s “Bitter Medicine”: Education and Women Teachers in Debt and Austerity w/ Shari-Lee Carter, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, & Human Development @ilcs.bsky.social / @soccaribbeanuk.bsky.social shorturl.at/BLplw

Digital identity is integral to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It began with providing the income poor with a legal identity (i.e. birth certificate) and has morphed into an international effort to identify every living person on the planet. This is not just about the UK - it’s GLOBAL.

Digital infrastructures are complex, contradictory & problematic. They can work well but if weaponised, poorly conceived and/or driven by outsider interests they run the risk of becoming downright dangerous. An article I wrote years ago @uk.theconversation.com theconversation.com/how-some-cou...

Digital ID isn’t about inclusion, it’s about those left behind, invisibilised & excluded. There is ample evidence that digital infrastructures can have dire (un)intended consequences for documented people w/ VALID claims to citizenship. Think statelessness, children born to migrants, Windrush, etc.

I finally got my books to my office @ihr.bsky.social

My colleague @evehayes123.bsky.social is an internationally-regarded expert on #digitalidentity. Her thoughts are worth paying attention to...

Having studied #digitalID in depth for my PhD and written a book about this way before anyone had even flagged it as a problem - this a TERRIBLE idea. We have been warning the UK government about the dangers of digital ID for years. No one listened. #digitalidentity www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The IHR Black British History Seminar is now on Bluesky, thanks to @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social! Give a follow for updates:

Today! Our first CLACS Caribbean Studies Seminar Series 2025/26! “The Long Road from Bog Walk: Electricity and Electrification in Jamaica, 1890s–1970s” with Andrew Williams, University of the West Indies (Mona) @ilcs.bsky.social @soccaribbeanuk.bsky.social ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

I really cannot recommend this more highly - from my brilliant IHR colleague @cathamclarke.bsky.social Catch her on Start the Week today too! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Are you starting a research degree in history and/or history-related fields in 2025? If so, please join us on 8 October to learn about the wide range of resources we have on offer to support postgraduate students. Meet our staff and fellow PhD students too. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

At a time when leaders arguably aren't showing much evidence of leadership on the academic research front, it's important to recognise the staff and organisations that are championing, supporting and delivering innovative, high-quality research. Kudos to @uolpress.bsky.social .

I’ve just had a brilliant morning exploring Birmingham Library collections @theironroom.bsky.social as part of #BHeritageWeek learning all about the East Midlands Oral History Archive & the work of Friends of Birmingham Archives & Heritage.

Join us on 23 September for the start of our CLACS Caribbean Studies Seminar Series 2025/26 @ilcs.bsky.social / @soccaribbeanuk.bsky.social The Long Road from Bog Walk: Electricity and Electrification in Jamaica, 1890s–1970s w/ Andrew Williams (University of the West Indies, Mona) shorturl.at/euVXU

📣Calling all new research students in history & historical subjects. Do you want to learn how the IHR can help you during your studies? Join us on the 8 October to find out more. @royalhistsoc.org @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social @historyandpolicy.bsky.social @chppc.bsky.social bit.ly/41UPOyG

Look what I just picked up from my local Waterstones in Birmingham featured in the new non-fiction section! Very much looking forward to you signing for me later this week please! @cathamclarke.bsky.social 🥰

#BHeritageWeek Join #FoBAH birminghamheritageweek.co.uk/event/health... This workshop will introduce sources for the historical study of health and disease in Birmingham including a display of original documents held here in the archives. Ref - MS 4616/35 #LibraryofBham #FoBAH_Org

Really great afternoon celebrating the start of @drmirandakaufmann.bsky.social’s fantastic new book tour #Heiresses at Aston Hall in Birmingham today. Fascinated by the Lady Holte-Brummie-Barbados connections too. Catch the tour if you can! www.mirandakaufmann.com

I was invited to write a post for the @ihr.bsky.social blog about #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems. 'The book tells a story about how England has been shaped over the centuries - and, between the lines, I think it tells a story about my working life here at the IHR...' blog.history.ac.uk/2025/09/a-hi...

Very much looking forward to sharing stories from #Heiresses at Aston Hall in #Birmingham on Saturday- esp as it’s the home of Lady Sarah Holte nee Newton - the Barbados heiress in Chapter One! (Hence the Holte End stand of neighbouring Aston Villa football stadium!). Do come along if you can!

On #PublicationDay for A History of England in 25 Poems, @senatehouselib.bsky.social have published this blog post I wrote about how treasures in the collection inspired and informed the #book. A series of short films coming up, too! #library #rarebooks #archive www.london.ac.uk/senate-house...

🎉📣 Announcing the IHR Research Training Courses for October - December 2025. Visit the IHR website to register and find detailed information on each course: www.history.ac.uk/study-traini...

"digital ID systems lead to the increased surveillance of citizens w/ dire consequences for human rights especially legitimate claims to citizenship from migrant-descended persons" Dr Eve Hayes

Well said

Digital IDs to tackle the UK immigration crisis. What could possibly go wrong? As my book evidences: digital ID systems lead to the increased surveillance of citizens w/ dire consequences for human rights especially legitimate claims to citizenship from migrant-descended persons. shorturl.at/i2o65

Can’t wait to talk about #Heiresses at @bookhaus.bsky.social with @paulclammer.bsky.social in #Bristol on 17th September…

📣 I’ve been promoted to lecturer at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. It took a long time to get to this point but I did manage to produce a book and a small human along the way. Not bad going for five years of hard graft. Here’s to a brighter future for us both 🥂 #singlemammasrock

This is going to be great! Hope to see you at the Festival of #BlackHistory @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social on Saturday 6th September. Book your FREE ticket here: billetto.co.uk/e/festival-o...