Join us at this IAS Book Launch

'Written Worlds: Non-Elite Writers in Early Modern England' Sue Wiseman, Michael Powell-Davies and I will be introducing our five-year collaborative project at the @ihr.bsky.social on Thursday, March 5th. Hope to see you there! Register here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

Hello Bluesky! My new book, THE FIREARM REVOLUTION, is out on 14 April. It’s about how a new technology changed society, and how hard it was to control. Here’s a little thread of what’s inside:

It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that the UCL Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences and Arts & Humanities have decided to close the IAS. We will close our doors forever on 31 July 2026. Follow the link to leave thoughts, comments, memories 💗 www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

⛔ Second statement in one week #saveleicesterml #saveleicesterlanguages Following last week’s formal letter to the University of Nottingham, AHGBI has now issued a second statement—this time to the University of Leicester—regarding the proposed closure of its Department of Modern Languages.

Evident Tongues, Evident Bodies: Language, Sense & Proof 12 Nov 2:30-4pm This new @ucl-ias.bsky.social reading group explores how early-modern writers connected linguistic encounters with sensory encounters in the production of evidence. www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Goodbye to the history department at Lancaster University, where the @socialhistsoc.bsky.social was founded 49 years ago. From tomorrow we are part of a School of Global Affairs. Next year, who knows what will be - please sign our petition against mass redundancies chng.it/PZfTFDjNcr

🎭 From lost comedias to lucid dreams, each year students from around the world reimagine Spanish Golden Age Theatre for the Our New Gold Festival. Watch '24-'25's prize winners and read @samsonaws.bsky.social's (@uclselcs.bsky.social) reflections on the Festival in our latest blog: bit.ly/4kQwid4

For anyone interested who couldn’t make it to my inaugural ‘Time Frames: Marking the Early Modern’ here’s a recording: mediacentral.ucl.ac.uk/Play/124439

The UK is a relatively low tax economy This means the revenue raised by Government as a proportion of GDP has been low historically Less funding raised for infrastructure/healthcare/education etc A thread 🧵

Barnstormingly brilliant inaugural! Amazing reflections on the importance of recognising different conceptions of time, and capping it off with a call, in the midst of universities & humanities in crisis, to imagine other futures, inspired not just by present or immediate past.

Verrrrrrrry excited about @samsonaws.bsky.social’s inaugural on marking the #EarlyModern

LOL. Yes, UCL Events Team, I too am excited about @samsonaws.bsky.social's inaugural tomorrow! UCLUCL!

Really looking forward to delivering my inaugural lecture, do sign up, be lovely to see you there fellow early modernists! www.ucl.ac.uk/early-modern...

Female street performers in early modern Europe still a few slots left, do come along... www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Do pop along tomorrow for our event at 5 on Muslim ambassadors: www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Delighted to announce my professorial inaugural at UCL on 28th May, do sign up be great to see you all there! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/time-frame...

And here's @samsonaws.bsky.social with his book MARY AND PHILIP: The marriage of Tudor England and Habsburg Spain. Also available for 30% off on our Renaissance Literature and History Reading List: manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2025/02... 👈

Fabulous night yesterday at @edincollegeofart.bsky.social who threw me an inaugural party, talking digital/arts/hums/creativity. Packed house and packed zoom! Thanks to all who were there. And don’t let the dystopian nightmare bullshit dim your sparkle.

For anyone interested in the early Bodleian Library or early modern book owners, the Shaping Scholarship project at CELL, UCL has made the project data available: ebdo.org.uk/data/ It details every officially recorded donation made c. 1600-1620, plus some extras, which is around 10,000 items.

At long last: committees.parliament.uk/committee/20...

Five of the billionaires who attended Donald Trump's inauguration have lost a combined $210 billion in wealth since then, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index Oh dear www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Delighted to announce my professorial inaugural at UCL on 28th May, do sign up be great to see you all there! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/time-frame...

Date and Time: Tuesday 25 February 2025, 6-8pm Location: IAS Common Ground, G11 Ground Floor, South Wing Register: IAS Book Launch: Political Culture in the Early Modern Iberian Worlds | Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) - UCL www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ias-book-l... All welcome!

Abject failure by leaders in HE to take a stand is now bearing fruit… The Guardian view on campus cuts: academics pay a high price for Westminster’s mistakes www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

'In a series of consultancy studies about 20 years ago....A key conclusion was that QR was not just an important part of research funding but the critical element that incentivised staff, lubricated the research machine and geared up value.' 1/3

Who would have known www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

IAS Book Launch: Political Culture in the Early Modern Iberian Worlds 25 February 2025, 6pm-8pm Join authors Mario Graña Taborelli and Adrian Masters for the launch of their books, Jurisdictional Battlefields and We, the King. www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

'In the letter, made public on 10 February, Julia Black...says the “range of cutbacks we are seeing across universities is leading to a severe loss in UK capability".' Nearly 100 HEIs are “contracting or closing” social sciences, humanities & the arts disciplines “in the face of a financial crisis”.

Woke up feeling a bit teary about all this tbh

The number of Britons saying the UK was right to vote to leave the EU has hit its lowest level since the referendum, ahead of the fifth anniversary of Brexit on Friday Right to vote to leave: 30%

'“When the Lancet commission on self-harm does an evidence review...when academic researchers do their meta scientific research, these things don’t come out in line with this tech panic,” he says. “That’s because this tech panic is not based on evidence. It’s based on vibes.”'

£20 Million in savings proposed over 2 years: 200 FTE professional services staff this year (£10M) and £10M savings next year split equally between PS and academic staff (no estimate of staff numbers). Thus the headline below is an underestimate, if the content of the article itself is accurate.

‘He’s one of the best’: the economist shaping Rachel Reeves’s growth plans Unequivocal, productivity malaise result of specific policy mistakes of Brexit and austerity…

Economic growth could fall 50% over 20 years from climate shocks, say actuaries Terrifying, apocalyptic, and this is from the actuaries…

🔴'2024 Was the First Year Above 1.5C of Global Warming – Here’s How We Should Respond' Extinction Rebellion activist Marijn van de Geer reflects on the meaning of this historic moment bylinetimes.com/2025/01/10/g...

As horrific fires rage in LA, news comes that world has breached 1.5 degree limit on global heating. When will political leaders join the dots & take urgent far-reaching action? Leave all new fossil fuels in the ground & prioritise building resilience - home retrofits, flood defences & much more

… and now @samsonaws.bsky.social is getting in on the act! Marvellous 👍🏻👍🏻

As a relatively small economy, outside the EU, with limited powers to regulate global tech, we are very badly placed to resist this stuff. Weakening our sovereignty was the real purpose of Brexit. on.ft.com/4gRM46E

Rebecca’s radical rural protests consumed early #Victorian South Wales. Who – or what – was she? 🔓 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 buff.ly/4a5b2Nf

🔴President Zelensky Exposed Lex Fridman’s Own Bias on Ukraine Elon Musk’s favourite podcaster was ill-prepared for the Ukrainian President’s demolition of Russian propaganda claims about the war, reports Paul Niland bylinetimes.com/2025/01/08/p...

Co-director of EME @samsonaws.bsky.social features in most recent series of #lucyworsleyinvestigates alongside @melitat.bsky.social and @gvb1554.bsky.social in an episode reconsidering Mary I thanks @lucyworsley.bsky.social for this fresh vision of our first queen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Huge pleasure to be a talking head (from 30') on #lucyworsleyinvestigates rethink of Mary I thanks ⁦@lucyworsley.bsky.social for having me on...

Pity Farage wasn’t asked about this - he should be forced to own it @bbclaurak.bsky.social @theneweuropean.bsky.social

New study shows majority of people who voted to leave EU would now accept return to free movement in exchange for access to the single market & similar support for a reciprocal youth mobility scheme. So when will the government catch up? @europeanmovement.co.uk www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🚨Tudorism alert🚨 Call for contributions to a two volume work 'Adapting the Tudors: from Novels to Film to Public History'. #EarlyModern 🗃️ royalhistsoc.org/calendar/ada...