Natalie Zemon Davis, 1996: “I still find history full of wonders; I still find in the differences in past societies a way to take stock of the present—a source of sober realism, but also a source of hope." Read more about why history matters and the importance of historical thinking in public life.🗃️

Tonight’s huge climbdown is testament to the countless disabled people who have tirelessly fought these cuts. Yes, UC was a loss and there’s more to do on PIP, but let’s not underplay this: a government with a vast majority has been forced to u-turn. Because of the disabled community.

Tonight at the IHR Modern French History Seminar @juliekalman.bsky.social (Monash) will be talking on 'The Asterix Series as National Myth in Postwar France.' Join us in person (Senate House, room 243) or online at 17.30. Register through here for zoom codes: www.history.ac.uk/events/aster...

If you published your first book in French history in 2024 and have an affiliation with a UK or Irish university, then please consider submitting to next year's prize! Details will be updated here shortly: frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/ssfh-book-pr...

Very excited to (re)start the PGR-ECR spotlight on the SSFH Blog - here's Anthony Chapman-Joy's to kick it off! frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/6530/

And congratulations to the shortlisted authors for the SSFH First Book Prize: Benjamin Darnell, *Maritime Power and the Power of Money in Louis XIV’s France*; Alex Paulin-Booth, *Time and Radical Politics in France*; and Gemma Tidman, *The Emergence of Literature in Eighteenth-Century France* 🙌 👏 🙌

Congratulations to Lewis Wade (@wadehistory.bsky.social), winner of the Society for the Study of French History First Book Prize for *Privilege, Economy and State in Old Regime France* – announced at the SSFH (@frenchhistory.bsky.social) Douglas Johnson Lecture yesterday

Fully funded AHRC techne PhD studentship at Brunel (Uni of London) in History/Media Studies based on the archive of the Wapping Post and in collaboration with the Marx Memorial Library. Please feel free to get in touch with any questions. And please share widely! www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Res...

'We welcome applications from anyone with relevant lived or academic experience who can demonstrate a commitment and ability to undertake independent research.'

Upcoming SSFH & ASMCF Annual Douglas Johnson Memorial Lecture, 13 January 2025. Details are on the SSFH site, tickets to go live soon. Prof Hanna Diamond will be speaking on 'Discovering Josephine Baker's War' frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/douglas-john...

Applications now open for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship to study for the MSc Diplomacy and International Security at @unistrathclyde.bsky.social. Application details: cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships...

'When Notre-Dame reopened on 7 December, it was thanks, in part, to the efforts of 175 researchers with expertise across a range of disciplines: acoustics, art, data, history, archaeology, anthropology.' Example of why blue-skies research matters for 'real-life' problems we've not yet imagined. 1/2

For History Compass, I wrote about new directions in the study of the history of technology in modern South Asia. I explored the potential of these historiographic trends through poetic laments of an early 20th-century railway carpenter named ‘Abdul ‘Aziz in Lahore...

Next History on the Edge/Zgodovina na Špici series will take place on 11 December at 13:00 (at the INZ and online). The lecture "Understanding and Opposing Fascism: The Political and Intellectual Experience of the Interwar Exile" will be given by Marco Bresciani More info: www.inz.si/en/Events/Un...

Sixteenth-century Breton graffiti discovered in Tower of London! #earlymodern #france

Tonight I'll be at the IHR speaking on 'French, History, and Blogging: Reflections on the Tenth Anniversary of the French History Network' as part of a stellar line up with Daniel Gordon, @lrbobrien.bsky.social, @willpooley.bsky.social and Guillaume Yverneau. Online/in person at 17.30.

Foreign students shd be removed fr immigration stats. Most return home shortly post-degree & while here enrich educational & cultural experience for home students, contribute expertise & research power, & increase British soft power. Their fees underwrite domestic uni programmes too.

States are erecting walls at their borders at a pace unmatched in history, and the wall between the U.S. and Mexico stands as an icon among these dividing structures. Building Walls, Constructing Identities by Marie-Eve Loiselle offers a rich account of this legal history www.sup.org/books/law/bu...

With news of the historian and resistance fighter #MarcBloch being inducted into the Panthéon, we wanted to let our readers know they can explore his works in our collections and give thanks to the donations he made when the Institute's library was being established.

How long would your commute take in 1680? Mine would be about a day and a half. @camunicampop.bsky.social has a brilliant tool for calculating travel times in Roman, 1680, 1830, 1911 and 2024. 🗃️ www.travelintimes.org/journey/52.2...

At the end of a badly bruising week for UKHE, a reminder that even when measured in the narrowest economic terms, UK universities are stonkingly good value for money. 2021-22 for example saw a return on government investment in 1st degree students' teaching of £13 for every £1 spent. (page 3) #UKHE

Our starter pack now has a sequel! As ever, comment to be added to it! go.bsky.app/GX3v293

Fully funded AHRC techne PhD studentship at Brunel (Uni of London) in History/Media Studies based on the archive of the Wapping Post. Please share widely! And feel free to get in touch with any questions

"Sector leaders expected more than 100 of the UK’s 140-odd universities to be making redundancies by the start of 2025, in what has been described as a “cataclysmic” situation where “everything is on the table”." www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers...

Among a range of others, I spoke at length with the Times Higher journalist about student number controls for this piece, and I'd say it gives a balanced account. It comes on the same day news breaks that we anticipate as many as 10,000 jobs going in HE *this year* alone.

#OnThisDay in 1994 the first passenger train passed between London and Paris. What does the history of the #ChannelTunnel tell us about Britain’s relationship with its neighbours? 🔓 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐥’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟕 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 www.historytoday.com/archive/behi...

Tonight at the IHR Modern French History Seminar, Jennifer Sessions will talk on : 'Must the Duc d’Orléans Fall? The Mysterious Survival of French Imperial Monuments in the Age of Rhodes Must Fall.' It's on zoom tonight at 17.30 & there's still time to register: www.history.ac.uk/events/must-...

Yesterday marked 30 years since the first Eurostar trains. I don't remember the first time that I travelled on it (maybe 2021 as an erasmus student?)- but I've since become fascinated by it, and here is something I wrote for the anniversary: www.historytoday.com/archive/behi...