Nice piece from @blackhistorymonth.org.uk about Phil Martin and Champs Camp boxing gym. I’m working with Maurice Coore (far right) on a digital archiving project. If you’re in Manchester today drop in to see the place where it all happened: Phil Martin Centre, 139 Princess Rd M14 4RE

This is a good one: why companies should hire a few historians for exec and marketing jobs, rather than “consult an AI tool”. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

All Souls College, Oxford, is seeking 5 Postdoctoral Research Fellows in - Asian and Middle Eastern Studies - History of Art/History of Music - Law - Life Science - Theoretical Computer Science These are 5-year appointments starting autumn 2027. Deadline: 4 Sep 2026 www.asc.ox.ac.uk/post-doctora...

Also Argos

Local businesses joining in with the Arsenal celebrations

“I write with dismay, grief and sorrow for the permanent closure of MIT Libraries Barker, Dewey and Rotch, and termination of library staff in those libraries. For MIT to be closing three of its four major libraries..." fnl.mit.edu/may-june-202...

This morning the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have published a refreshed and updated list of Areas of Research Interest. These are an important way for researchers to engage with policy, so please do read them! www.gov.uk/government/p...

Discussions on preventing water shortages in Kent delayed until July as Reform-led council prioritises debate on introducing reciting the Lord's Prayer at Council meetings: bylinetimes.com/2026/05/26/r...

It is with deep sorrow and profound love that we announce the passing of Sonny Rollins. The Saxophone Colossus died this afternoon at his home in Woodstock, NY at the age of 95. 1/2

Wow

Dr Elizabeth breaks down what it is like to work on an Ebola emergency response. She emphasizes that the bulldozing of USAID is now hurting people and leaving Americans feeling unprotected. #ebola #emergencyresponse #outbreak

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

What is history for? Join talks and workshops considering the ways in which Manchester’s past has been used to create stories about what Manchester is, who Mancunians are, and what a future Manchester might look like. Saturday 6 June, 10am-4pm. Booking required: https://ow.ly/TmtP50Z1wzQ

It is no exaggeration to say York's Centre for Lifelong Learning changed my life. A creative writing course led by @sophiecoulombeau.bsky.social has resulted in novels published, new friends, and later this year, I very much hope, a PhD. It's such a loss.

Has anyone in the press picked up what happened in 2019. As @bylinetimes.bsky.social reported, Farage and Johnson colluding with US based Bannon to topple May. According to Ben Habib, Thailand based Harborne paying Johnson and Farage to stitch up 2019 elections bylinetimes.com/2026/02/16/b...

New Associate Professor role in modern British History, just advertised here at Oxford. @lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk @kelloggoxford.bsky.social my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

It was a total pleasure to have @ctemenos.bsky.social on #UrbanRadar to talk about her work on #crisis #policymaking, public health and the city with me and @itsbethperry.bsky.social. From social infrastructures to the politics of expertise, listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2451716/epis...

Early modernists working at the intersection of specialized humanities scholarship and applied public research: check out this CFP for a conference at The Huntington in April 2027-abstracts due 6/1/26🗃️ files.constantcontact.com/6a30e5a9101/...

UKRI are recruiting for a new Exec Chair for Research England (£160k-£170k). It is a crucial role including QR funding and the REF. I hope they get a great field. But I worry a bit. It's hard to find on their website (see link below) fa-evzn-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

The Society's President and Council have released the following statement on the proposed closure of undergraduate degrees at the University of Hertfordshire, in #History and the wider humanities bit.ly/4dmV5oO This comes at a time of further bad news from Essex and Nottingham #Skystorians

£6 Billion Was Wasted on Failed and Abandoned Conservative Government Schemes MPs slam the "egregious waste" of billions of pounds being wasted on projects that failed to deliver the promised results

East Asian Studies is being gutted at Sheffield - all staff at risk with 8.6 FTE proposed to go (a third of us). Biggest cuts in Chinese and Japanese Studies. We’ll be taking a few days to process. Solidarity to Materials and Chemistry colleagues who are also dealing with similarly bad news.

Actually, SHAPE subjects cross-subsidise STEM subjects in most comprehensive UK universities annually through differential central charge or 'contribution' models. It's another reason we're all in the current HE crisis together, whether our own particular discipline is 'at risk' at present or not.

🤦‍♀️

Tommy Robinson is marching through London again today. He presents himself as a patriot, a journalist, and a victim of the establishment. But in reality he is a serial criminal with a rap sheet two decades long. Here’s the record he’d rather you didn’t read. 🧵

Historic England is looking for people who know and care about heritage as part of a recruitment of 7 new Commissioners to the Board. 12 days per annum. £4,133. Apply by 4th June apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9320

Just as interestingly reports trickle in of UK universities dropping CoPilot et al due to increased pricing even as they continue the mantra of embedding AI always already everywhere…..,

Finally, we offer a document outlining different ways that MH & PoW's correspondence has been read over time (1831-2024), which we hope will help students to think critically about secondary sources.

We also offer contextual slides & handouts offering information about MH and the PoW, plus: 1. The Georgian Era: A brief overview 2. Letters in Georgian England 3. Language in Georgian England 4. Class & Relationships in Georgian England 5. Women in Georgian England 6.Reputation in Georgian England

4. Accompanying notes to the letters between Hamilton and the Prince, designed to explain tricky terms 5. Two letters between Mary Hamilton and her pal Charlotte Gunning, which provide an interesting contrast to the way she writes to the Prince - also with accompanying notes

Here's a taste of what's on offer: 1. Overview of the resources with link to exam board specs 2. Accessible, beautifully illustrated Article in History Today telling the story of MH & PoW 3. Selection of 7 letters between Mary Hamilton and the Prince of Wales (full, or shortened / simplified)

These resources are designed to support teaching of Eng Lit, Eng Lang, and Eng Lit & Lang A-levels in all major exam boards. We hope they will enrich students’ understanding of Georgian writing through the letters - a window into a society that is both alien and, occasionally, shockingly familiar.

Now they want to bring Mary Hamilton’s story into the classroom. In partnership with an educational consultant they've produced a set of resources which introduce A-level students to the most extraordinary letters, place them in historical context, & stimulate discussion.

Academics from @maryhamiltonpapers.bsky.social have been piecing together the extraordinary correspondence between Mary Hamilton and the Prince of Wales, which offers unique insights into Georgian society, gendered relationships, power structures, language and letters.

In an age when reputation was everything for a young woman &she had no guardian or workplace support to protect her, the stakes couldn't be higher; shld Hamilton risk offending her current monarchs w/ too favourable a response to the Prince’s advances, or her future one by rejecting too forcefully?

Tldr; In the early summer of 1779, Mary Hamilton was in a sticky situation. The 23-year-old, working as governess to the daughters of George III & Queen Charlotte, found herself bombarded with dozens of secret love letters from their brother, the 17-year-old Prince of Wales & future George IV.

Over at @maryhamiltonpapers.bsky.social, we've produced exactly that! Head on over to www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/rese..., fill out a one-minute form, and get instant access to the full set of materials.

Calling A-level English teachers! Do you teach Austen, Brontë, or other 18thc stuff? Could you use a set of free research-informed teaching materials, which support students' historical, literary, & linguistic understanding, & foster debate about misogyny, consent, & healthy relationships? (1/?)

#skystorians Please sign and share. Petition to save the Humanities at University of Hertfordshire c.org/kK5v9MTdNr

Sign please folks c.org/pcXwsDxRM4

If anyone in government has a few minutes to run the country in between plotting leadership challenges, could they please cast their eye over the devastation of Higher Education in the UK. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Lecturer in Global Environmental History Lancaster University - School of Global Affairs ´skystorians 🗃️www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRL786/l...

Was a member of one of these workshops earlier in the year and HIGHLY recommend it. At a time when so many institutions have stepped away from supporting Humanities research, here's an ace opportunity to have your History monograph enhanced or to contribute to that enhancement.

Tea in the back garden with this noisy lot

'The analysis by the Office for Students...also uncovered hotspots of sexual harassment and sexual assault or violence against those studying courses requiring high entry grades, such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences or languages.' NB it's OfS: pinch the salt. 1/3

Meet the academics refusing to use generative AI www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Kind of surprised that this hasn't been bigger news. It's finals week for a whole lot of universities, and yet, Canvas (a learning/grading platform used by ~9,000 schools globally) is currently inaccessible because of a pay-or-have-your-data-leaked hack. www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

I’m not gonna lie: this was a sheer delight to work on & I’m excited to see it now has a cover. That I got to include Emma Goldman & Dawn Powell alongside W.D. Howells, Audre Lorde, Dorothy Parker, Paule Marshall, Djuna Barnes, Helen Keller & Margaret Fuller (among others) was a great bonus.

What's lost to the UK research base when we lose the academics who teach these subjects? Hertfordshire's case reminds us (yet again) of the breadth of what's at stake. We're sleepwalking into an erosion of the UK's first-rate research base. Or, are we eroding by design? @chionwurah.bsky.social