PhD funding for early career historians completing a doctorate. Applications are invited for the Society's Centenary PhD Fellowships for the academic year 2026-27 bit.ly/49MzqmT. Two awards of £8500 per student, held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians

🤩 This is how it's done, folks! 'A lesbian couple at the centre of their community and a pair of brothers said to have been among the first people to medically transition are among the people whose stories are told in the Queer Norfolk archive.' 🏳️‍🌈📚🏳️‍⚧️📜🗃️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #queerhistory

The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery (CSLBS) is excited to announce 3 new roles on our groundbreaking Valuable Lives project! 🔍 Open roles: • 2 x Research Assistant (Digital Humanities) • 1 x Research Fellow (Digital Humanities) 🗓 Closing date: 23 Jan 2026 shorturl.at/OCpLP

Hurrah!!! The brilliant Sumita Mukherjee has a new book out about the lives of South Asian children in Modern Britain in just a few weeks. I love the cover photo! A must read so now would be a great time to preorder and commission reviews. www.hurstpublishers.com/book/imperia...

Putting together a module reading list on the history of the family in Modern Britain. Anyone got any recommendations of good scholarship on impact of immigration controls on family life in late 20th / early 21st century Britain?

In light of the Levy Review potentially giving transphobes oversight of medical research on trans healthcare, Trans Safety Network recommend English trans people OPT OUT of their healthcare data being used in research. Information on how to do this can be found in the quoted post and thread.

In the wake of Wes Streeting’s announcement of a review of mental health ‘over-diagnosis’ we have published this new policy paper by Prof Lucy Delap arguing that the government’s priority should be to address the historic stigma against sick & disabled people. historyandpolicy.org/policy-paper...

I'm really delighted to have been reviewed so thoughtfully by David Kynaston this week, who paints an excellent picture of the stories and nuances of high-rise Britain www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

I’m contributing to Inherent Vice, a new queer heritage & arts zine launching in January 2026! It’s an independent, non-profit project exploring queer stories, objects, creativity, and community across the heritage and arts sectors. www.inherentvice.co.uk

TransLuscent doing their thing: diligent, meticulous information gathering to find the evidence we never doubted. Nobody’s complaining about trans people taking a pee except GC activists who complain daily into the ether. But even they can’t complain about actual incidents, since there aren’t any.

🎉 All stipendiary IHR Fellowships, Bursaries, & Prizes are now LIVE! 🎉 universityoflondon.smapply.io/prog/lst/ (All of our open competitions start with "IHR" in the title.) Got a question? Please check the application page & our website for more information. www.history.ac.uk/fellowships-...

It's a lifeline, not a comprehensive solution to the crisis, but if you're a UK-based PhD (or equivalent) in a SHAPE subject within 10 years of your viva, do join the British Academy's ECRN. It's free, has resources & you don't need to be employed in research or academia to be a member. 3/3

Current reading

My book UP IN THE AIR: A HISTORY OF HIGH-RISE BRITAIN is out today!

We tried to place this story - very expensive polling, the first of its kind, strong quantitative data about what trans people feel about Britain: bluntly there is no better way to tell the story - with the BBC but it said it was "too weak". But it will pick up any old piece of transhating garbage.

Really enjoyed this fascinating podcast from @themerl.bsky.social about how archival and curatorial practice impacts on what queer histories we can tell. Very excited for part 2, where @timjerrome.bsky.social is going to discuss his research on queer rural history merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

A reminder that if you're in the area it is not too late to join us at the Glasgow Lab for Intersex, Non-Binary and Trans Studies launch event tomorrow afternoon! Register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/glints-lau...

Very excited to see our new book: A Queer Scrapbook: Britain and Ireland Since 1945 (with FAB co-editors Matt Cook, Rebecca Jennings, and E-J Scott) now available for pre-order. www.waterstones.com/book/a-queer...

We are delighted to announce that MBS2026 will be held at the University of Birmingham, 3-5 June 2026! Papers may consider the opening day's theme of 'Polycrisis', but we also welcome all submissions related to modern British studies. For any questions please contact [email protected]

More information and how to book www.london.ac.uk/senate-house...

📣 Only 1 month to go until the first event in our upcoming GHIL Autumn/Winter Series! Join us for a lecture by Benno Gammerl (@eui-eu.bsky.social) on 'Queering German History: Still a Vital and Viable Endeavour?' on 21 October at 5:30 pm (BST), either in person at Swedenborg House or via Zoom. 1/6

Hi everyone! I'm currently looking for participants for interviews for my PhD research. I'm working on the history of the LGBT+ community in rural Ireland, the way being in rural Ireland impacted the community and how the community impacted rural Ireland, 1970-2000.

I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset. In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia. In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)

What I'm reading here is that if you want your concerns addressed you shouldn't throw paint on planes or march peacefully, you should set fire to things and riot.

Rather puts the outrage about free speech and 'self-censorship' in UK universities into perspective. Sections 1, 2 and 5 of the 2023 Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act will come into force on 1 August 2025. Apparently, it will protect our free speech.

Really excited about our upcoming interdisciplinary conference on the 'Legacies of Section 28' in contemporary history, education and activism, which will be held at UCL on 6th and 7th June. For more details and to register for this free event: www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

This letter from Tony Vaughan KC, the MP for Folkestone, is the clearest articulation I’ve seen on the flaws of the interim update from the EHRC. The section titled ‘Legal Incoherence’ hits the nail on the head.

"Almost all the UK attacks reported in my study centred on LGBTQ+ materials." Meanwhile editors commission dozens more articles about the silencing of, perhaps, Britain's most published academic, Kathleen Stock. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Some 'minorities' are pretty big these days and deserve more history-walks. Recemt walkers were moved to stand where their grandparents took to the streets in the 1980s. Thanks to @londonist.com for listing this unusual walk with optional great pub at the end. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/black-whit...

The Department of History at Trinity College Dublin @historytcd.bsky.social is seeking a historian specializing in the 19th-century Europe. Come and join us! Please see below for details.

Who wants to be official historian of UK policy in Northern Ireland during the Troubles? (Don’t all shout at once) www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMQ310/e...

I have a fully-funded, 4 yr AHRC collaborative PhD studentship 'Soundscapes of domesticity: music and lived experiences in non-elite English homes, 1780–1870' supervised by myself and Matt Ingleby with colleagues at The Museum of the Home. Deadline 23 May See: www.qmul.ac.uk/geog/postgra...

I watched Love Actually this week, and while I do really like it, it's 20 years old and the only time LGBTQ+ people are mentioned, they're jokes. So I figured this year I'd watch all the queer(ish) Xmas films and post a list. Here's where we are so far:

Only a month to go until the CfP deadline for the 'Legacies of Section 28' conference, which will bring together historians, educators and activists to explore the context and impact of the legislation. Send in your abstracts and please share with your networks! royalhistsoc.org/calendar/leg...

Hiya, just a quick shoutout for this brilliant debut history book, HOTEL LUX by Dr Maurice Casey - I was lucky to read an early copy, and it’s both an enthralling narrative and a fascinating detective story as we follow Maurice into the archives and attics to track down lost letters and photographs

I made a Starter Pack for Women's and Gender History because when I looked yesterday I couldn't seen one - sorry if it's now been superseded. You know the drill by now: please just let me know if you'd like to be added, and equally if you'd prefer not to be listed, just shout. go.bsky.app/KR9qXhj

As part new of the Senate House Library exhibition #SeizedBooks  IALS Foreign and International Librarian Hester Swift  has written an accompanying blog post exploring the legal case behind #OperationTiger. Links to exhibition and post here at: ials.sas.ac.uk/blog/prosecu...

As headlines explode all over about the Cass Review, here's what you need to know: it contains not a shred of original data. It is a badly done systematic review that excluded the overwhelming majority of available evidence in favor of smaller studies chosen for specious reasons. That's it.

Postgraduate conference alert! Gender & Sexuality in Modern British History & Beyond, at the University of Birmingham, 3 July 2024. Organised by some really excellent doctoral researchers. Please share widely. #queerhistory

Rather than foregrounding a certain British author of popular children’s books and interminable crime novels whose knowledge of trans history consists of whatever fever dream she’s had today, perhaps let’s focus on the work being done by people who actually know what they’re talking about.

Really pleased to see that this edited collection on Men and Masculinities in C20 Britain is now available Open Access. I love the format which combines research chapters with more discursive reflections. Huge props to Matt, Ben and Katie for their work bringing it together!

I've just published this article on the historical overlaps between trans and cis feminism in Britain. The article argues for a move beyond narratives of inclusion and exclusion and highlights how trans feminists were part of women's liberation. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

'Restoring our services – an update' from the British Library Main catalogue searchable from Jan 15 Special collections accessible on-site Acknowledgement of the impact on researchers Accelerated investment in our core technology infrastructure blogs.bl.uk/living-knowl...

Interesting Guardian Long Read. Historians can supplement it with this open access article in TCBH by Grace Redhead, 'A British Problem Affecting British People’: Sickle Cell Anaemia, Medical Activism and Race in the National Health Service, 1975–1993' too: academic.oup.com/tcbh/article...

Just spotted UCL's Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery setting up on Bluesky (cslbs.bsky.social ). If you're not familiar with their database, maps, estates ownership browser etc, you can find them open access here: www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/

Very excited to receive a box of shiny new books in the post this morning. My new monograph, 'Lesbian Intimacies and Family Life: Desire, Domesticity and Kinship in Britain and Australia, 1945-2000' has finally made it's way out into the world!