Spycops Undercover Policing of the Left 1968-1982: Subversives Under the Lens Chris Brian from the Undercover Research Group talks about his chapter in their new book 6.00pm, 15 October, London WC1E 7JL Book here UndercoverPolicingLeft.eventbrite.co.uk @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmul.bsky.social

Who was Shanawdithit, the last of an indigenous Canadian tribe? 👉 gres.hm/shanawdithit Prof @julialaite.bsky.social explores the life of the last Beothuk woman, and the violent history of #Newfoundland, England’s first transatlantic colony... @isrfoundation.bsky.social @bbkhistorical.bsky.social

Intellectual nomadism: Back at work after the summer break, I am delighted to welcome Frank Trentmann @bbkhistorical.bsky.social as visiting fellow @caslmu.bsky.social www.cas.lmu.de/de/personen-...

We warmly welcome Frank Trentmann @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @helsinki.fi as #CASFellow, working together with CAS researcher in residence @sinasteglich.bsky.social.

Massive congrats to Juliet, of @bbkhistorical.bsky.social, on her first publication, documenting the important corpus of bone dolls from Dura-Europos. Juliet's PhD is exploring the archaeology of childhood from the archives of the site. 🥳

Join us in Aarhus for RAC/TRAC 2026! Rubina Raja and I have organised a session on "Archival Fieldwork" in archaeology and welcome submissions Details on how to apply and attend here: www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk/ractrac-2026... (Deadline October 10)

Thanks to an incredibly generous former student, we have some wonderful news for archaeology at Birkbeck: a new institute. The Carena Institute of Sustainable Archaeologies will enable research projects, support global collaborations, and fund studentships as well. www.bbk.ac.uk/research/cen...

I have been reflecting on the university in crisis bec invited to talk at the the 109th Rectors’ Assembly of Greek Universities. My thoughts: www.joannabourke.com/post/defendi... @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @openlibhums.bsky.social @bisa-bkk.bsky.social @royalhistsoc.org @britishacademy.bsky.social

Delighted to announce my new short film made in partnership with Lily Ford, Richard Uttley and the David Parr House! @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @birkbecklibrary.bsky.social @luisacale.bsky.social www.bbk.ac.uk/news/birkbec...

So pleased that we have MA funding available this year for our MA Archaeology & Heritage Programme. Please spread the word (or get in touch if you have questions)! www.bbk.ac.uk/student-serv...

📍 Traces of Belsen is free and open to the public Monday to Friday, 10am - 5pm. Open until 10 July! Visit our Russell Square exhibition gallery to see this ground-breaking new display buff.ly/V5c6XfZ

📢 Just announced! The programme & booking is now live for our Annual Conference 2025. 🗓️ Join us online & free on 4–5 Sept for Hidden in Plain Sight: Women in Archives, Libraries, Museums & Personal Collections. 🔗 womenshistorynetwork.org/the-womens-h... #WHN2025 #WomensHistory #Archives #Heritage

*Master's funding claxon* Did you know that we have a range of scholarships for our MA programmes, including funding specifically for Archaeology, Heritage, and History of Art? Links below!

Great talks: 'RESISTING THE RISE OF THE RADICAL RIGHT'. How can we understand & respond to the rise of the Far Right? Tomorrow (2 July) 17:30, Birkbeck Clore Management Centre: FREE: www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event... @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @bisa-bkk.bsky.social @birkbeckpsychology.bsky.social

Amidst the doom, I'm so excited to be welcoming people to the first annual Medieval and Early Modern Research Day at @bbkhistorical.bsky.social! More than 20 of Birkbeck's staff, students and research fellows will be giving micro-talks about a primary source. www.bbk.ac.uk/research/cen...

So pleased to have my chapter on detachment as an emotional practice in this excellent volume edited by Martina Cucchiara and Lisa Fetheringill Zwicker! @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @cushwa.bsky.social @achahistory.bsky.social @catholicrs.bsky.social

Special lecture for Thames through Time - Tarpaulins and Sail Cloth by MA Archaeology & Heritage student Christopher Snary @bbkhistorical.bsky.social, complete with every model he has built!

Out today, my review of a recent two volume work on Sculptures from Roman Syria. TL; DR -- Important, but frustrating, work. The words that will stick with me are "current location unknown".

Herzliche Einladung zum Abschluss unserer Reihe: Nikolaus Wachsmann @bbkhistorical.bsky.social spricht am 3.7. über "Auschwitz und das Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs" 📍Uni #Hamburg, 18.30 Uhr, Philturm, Hörsaal D mit @igdjhh.bsky.social & @uni-hamburg.de 👉 zeitgeschichte-hamburg.de/veranstaltun...

Dr Esther Breithoff has won this year's Tress Prize, for excellence in research. Congrats, Esther! 🥳 www.bbk.ac.uk/news/dr-esth...

Adnan Almohamad and Jen Baird ✨ Digital Justice!

Huzzah! Next year I get to teach 'Reading and Writing Microhistories' at @bbkhistorical.bsky.social, likely with contributions from @julialaite.bsky.social and others! If this sounds like your sort of thing, consider applying for one of our history MAs in 2025-26: search.bbk.ac.uk/search/cours...

Just returned from an immersive time in Japan: zen gardens, sculpture parks, onsens & shokudos. Mesmerised by photographer Ishiuchi. Here are my reflections on her 'hiroshima' art: www.joannabourke.com/blog @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @bisa-bkk.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social @reaktionbooks.bsky.social

I have just seen the (proposed) cover for my new book on 'Evil Women': Myra Hindley, Rosemary West, Aileen Wuornos, Karla Homolka, & Karla Faye Tucker. Here it is: www.joannabourke.com/blog @reaktionbooks.bsky.social @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @birkbeckpsychology.bsky.social @bisa-bkk.bsky.social

Red and Black in Harlem and Jamaica: a book launch 19 June 6pm London WC1E Join us to discuss West Indian anti-colonialist Wilfred Adolphus Domingo Speakers: Catherine Hall, Peter Hulme, Leslie James, Kesewa John Book here RedBlackHarlemJamaica.eventbrite.co.uk @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk

Wrote about recent museum closures for the Mapping Museums blog: mapping-museums.bbk.ac.uk/2025/05/29/m...

TOMORROW: Teaching Migration History in an Age of Border Restriction 5/6/25, 6pm, London WC1E An international panel of migration historians discuss the future of this rich and growing field in a highly volatile political context. teachmighist.eventbrite.co.uk @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk

This week in Magic and Witchcraft at @bbkhistorical.bsky.social we were looking at the most famous witchhunt of all: Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. So naturally we spent much of the time discussing this image from 1624.

Did the British republican tradition endure through the Cold War? 'Reassessing E. P. Thompson’s Political Thought: The Case for Radical Republicanism' 6 June, 3.00pm, London WC1E EPThompson.eventbrite.co.uk @mileendinstitute.bsky.social @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk @qmpoliticsir.bsky

This week in Magic and Witchcraft at @bbkhistorical.bsky.social, we're talking about Matthew Hopkins and the East Anglian witch-hunts of the 1640s, so the question arises: who wore it better?

How should we teach migration history in an era of ever-increasing global border restrictions? Join us on 5 June at 6pm, London WC1E, followed by a wine reception Free to book here TeachMigHist.eventbrite.co.uk @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk @qmpoliticsir.bsky

Some of our lucky archaeology students @bbkhistorical.bsky.social spent last summer excavating in Greece with the Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica of Tarragona. It's a lovely community-oriented project in an exciting Roman landscape and they're looking for support. vkm.is/arsalia

Thames through Time is back in Birkbeck for the 2nd week, and the MA Archaeology & Heritage student Christopher Snary @bbkhistorical.bsky.social has brought in a new model! This one is a scaled model of The Admiralty Dockyard. Archaeology and model-making, it’s important!!

TWO WEEKS LEFT! Please consider joining us for our Spring Showcase on the 30th of May. This excellent online day-conference is bringing together scholars from around the world to celebrate the diverse research being done in the MEMRN community. Register here: memrnchase.wordpress.com/memrn-spring...

Join us for Red and Black in Harlem and Jamaica: a book launch 19 June 6pm, London WC1E 7JL Book here (RedBlackHarlemJamaica.eventbrite.co.uk) Hear about the life and work of West Indian anti-colonialist Wilfred Adolphus Domingo @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmpoliticsir.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk

A date for your diaries! 8 July 2025, 18:30 — 20:30, for the launch of Ruth Beecher’s new book, Community Health Practitioners and Child Sexual Abuse in the Family, 1970s-2010s. Free but must register: www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event... @ruthbeecher.bsky.social @bbkhistorical.bsky.social

Fitting end to a trip to look at the Tower of London setting, history and the Thames with @bbkhistorical.bsky.social Archaeological Landscapes students, led by me and @drclaireharris.bsky.social

This week in my Magic and Witchcraft module at @bbkhistorical.bsky.social we looked at criminal prosecutions, which produced depositions like this one. 🗃️ Beware the witch of Newcastle who appeared in the form of 'a thing' which began 'to cry like a henn among the people's feet' in 1667. 🐔

The Centre for Internationalism has new dates for your diaries! 1. Tuesday, 27 May, 6-8pm (Birkbeck Central Building, G08) Roundtable discussion of @dacretu.bsky.social's Foreign Aid & State Building in Interwar Romania - with the IHR's Rethinking Modern Europe series www.sup.org/books/histor...

Had a rare moment of energy and clarity so finally pulled some career reflections into a blog that I shared with @bbkhistorical.bsky.social students recently

Only a week to go! Changing The Record, 19 May, London Book here www.ChangingTheRecord.eventbrite.co.uk @sameen-mohsin.bsky.social @kabcommons.bsky.social @mrcwarwick.bsky.social @worsted.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk @onslies.bsky.social @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk

Thames through Time is back in Birkbeck, but the MA Archaeology & Heritage student Christopher Snary @bbkhistorical.bsky.social only brought in a scaled model of the Thames historical dockyards that he has made! Archaeology and model-making, it’s important!!

'Teaching migration history in an age of border restriction' Join us to discuss the future of this rich and growing field in a highly volatile political context TeachMigHist.eventbrite.co.uk Thursday 5 June, 6pm, London WC1E @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @qmpoliticsir.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk

Today marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe. Earlier this year at the GHIL, Lucy Noakes (@universityofessex.bsky.social / @royalhistsoc.org) and Frank Trentmann (@bbkhistorical.bsky.social) reflected on how the war has fundamentally shaped Germany and Britain after 1945. 1/3

A key part of the @bbkhistorical.bsky.social MOLA/TDP field school Thames through Time is the Archival work with Helen Chittock and Archaeological reporting with Louise Fowler!

We finished our field school Thames through Time today with photogrammetry and a talk on archaeology of social value! Field schools are created through team work!! Thank yoh to the amazing @drclaireharris.bsky.social, Helen Chittock, Cat Gibbs, Kate Peacham @laraband.bsky.social, Louise Fowler..

I'm teaching a session on medieval magic and witchcraft today at @bbkhistorical.bsky.social, which means I get to show my favorite medieval image! 'Vaudoises' in Martin Le Franc's Le Champion des dames, 1451. Beautifully linking heresy (Waldensians), gender, witchcraft and broomstick riding. 🗃️

Our roundtable brings together scholars, activists and archivists to think about the way people navigate bureaucracies and paperwork to shape their world. 19 May, Changing the Record, London WC1 www.ChangingTheRecord.eventbrite.co.uk @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @migrationmuseum.org @sslh.bsky.social

Take History Seriously! A recent article by our Sarah Marks and colleagues, has mapped aversion therapy practices used to ‘treat’ LGBTQ+ people in the past, and called on universities to take this history seriously in effort to address past and ongoing harms journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

📣 New event with JW3! Join award-winning writer Jack Fairweather for the launch of his latest book. The Prosecutor tells the gripping true story of Fritz Bauer, a gay Jewish lawyer who returned to Germany to seek justice —only to find himself battling a nation eager to forget