Ghost Baby Clifford is here to announce that it is officially spooky season. Let the festivities commence.

I'm a historian of medicine, and sewage systems are sexy livinglondonhistory.com/crossness-lo... (probably so was Sir Joseph Bazalgette, by Victorian standards)

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Excited that longtime Viral Texts collaborator Avery Blankenship’s *American Literature* article is out—stemming from a chapter of her diss, it outlines her research using infrared spectroscopy to analyze food stains in C19 cookbooks—interesting for DH, book history, bibliography, and foodies alike

Rob Lennox and I are hiring a PhD student based out of Dalhousie to study the movement ecology of imperilled Atlantic mackerel starting in January 2026! In collaboration with DFO and @oceantracking.bsky.social Please share widely!!!

📣 NEW BLOG POST In the sixteenth century, enormous man-eating monsters ruled the oceans. Nowhere else are these fear-inducing creatures better depicted than on the 1539 "Carta Marina" by Olaus Magnus.

Really looking forward to Richard Ansel's talk on servants during the Grand Tour next Wednesday @long18thsem.bsky.social Here is a quick taster: www.tiktok.com/@long18thcen...

12 Phd/ 17 Postdoc positions (fully funded) in the new Cross-Cultural Philology Cluster at LMU Munich: www.lmu.de/crosscultura... (apply by Oct 21).

Here's the second piece of amazingly good news today. From a survival of Earth's ecosystems point of view, this is one of the most important international treaties ever signed, and even though it will no doubt by ignore and abused by some, it's a big step in the right direction. 🌏🐟

The Mississippi Museum of Art now owns the only two known portraits of enslaved Mississippians that were painted before the Civil War. "Portrait of Frederick" joins "Portrait of Delia," both hanging in the same museum together for the first time in history.

This is an especially important blogpost, because ECRs know that senior scholars have far too much on their plate already, but the support of senior scholars (or lack thereof) makes a world of difference to the ECR experience. (My full response follows tomorrow!)

AN #EARLYMODERN POST!! They still exist! And a lovely one at that, for five years and with the brilliant people at KCL who have turned that place in quite the hub of exciting early modern research. Run, don’t walk.

Delighted to share that my first book The Experience of Work in Early Modern England (co-written with the fantastic @jwhittle.bsky.social, @markhailwood.bsky.social, and Hannah Robb) has been published and is available free and Open Access! doi.org/10.1017/9781... #earlymodern #economic #history

In this blog, Leonor Sierra, Project Lead for the Risk know-how initiative, shares how their new training and workshops are helping to support #risk communication, information, and resources across the world. Find out more: https://loom.ly/04DhHnA

Step into Sydney's sailing history! ⛵ Our Century-old Fleet brings a unique gathering of historic vessels to our Heritage Pontoon from 30 September to 11 October. Come see these incredible boats each over 100 years old and still sailing today. www.sea.museum/century-old-fleet

Launched today, our new Foresight review of Nature-Positive Engineering sets out the blueprint for the safely scaled application of nature-positive engineering (NPE) in ports, offshore renewable energy and in coastal protection and adaptation. Read the full report 👉 https://loom.ly/ii9lVF4

I’m having intro chats with dissertation students this fortnight, and one of them asked which historians I’d recommend for beautiful writing they could absorb to further develop their own writing style. So, gang, which are your favourite *writers* among historians, any time, any topic, any place. 🗃️

Well, here's some good news to start the weekend. Negotiating a treaty is one thing, but the work only starts once it's ratified and it looks as though the High Seas Treaty (aka BBNJ) will soon be up and running. This provides structure & standards & is a big step in protecting our ocean. 🎉🎉🌊

Has anyone got any book recommendations for someone looking to read more about medieval manuscripts? To be fair, anything to do with medieval period really, like a fun introduction!

Check out our most read articles as of 18th September journals.sagepub.com/action/showM... #Maritimehistory

A possible alternative for those ditching academiaDOTedu because of its appalling new ToS.

I've just interviewed amazing historians for a podcast for History Workshop Journal's 100th issue, on doing history in turbulent times. It's made me more sure than ever that history is one of the most powerful tools for understanding & changing the world. Coming Jan 2026 on @historyworkshop.org.uk .

the obvious explanation for this is that until at least 1260 BC, the people of the outer hebrides lived for several hundred years and that their heads were interchangeable, much like lego figurines. the real mysteries are when they lost these abilities and how we can help them get them back

New Academia[dot]edu Terms of Use: "ARBITRATION NOTICE: WHEN YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS YOU ARE AGREEING (WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION) TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND ACADEMIA.EDU THROUGH BINDING, INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION RATHER THAN IN COURT. PLEASE REVIEW CAREFULLY THE "DISPUTE RESOLUTION" SECTION."

The launch of my new @manchesterup.bsky.social book Songs of Seven Dials will be at 6pm, Tues 21 Oct, at Waterstones Covent Garden. I'll be in conversation with the wonderful @julialaite.bsky.social. Please do come along. Free tickets, but register in advance www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/songs-of-s...

Now on the Long Run: 'The Barbados Census of 1679 and the Legacies of Slavery in Early Modern England'. In this post Michael Bennett (Sheffield) & Misha Ewen (Sussex) introduce their research, which was financially supported by a Carnevali Small Research Grant. ehs.org.uk/the-barbados...

See here for the full article ‘That Sounds to Me Like You Are Making This Too Complicated …’: Reflections on a Social Media Recruitment Effort for a Study on Masculinities and Contraception journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Action against the slave trade from 1807 enabled British colonisation, but Jane Lydon shows here how achieving the abolition of slavery in 1833 and expanding territory through conquest were also interrelated, not separate, processes. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Exciting early-career fellowships with UK cultural institutions, funded by #AHRC, www.ukri.org/opportunity/... (look for the spreadsheet with the list of institutions!) Deadline for EoI: 10 December.

Ghent University invites applications for a fully funded PhD scholarship in the environmental humanities. #envhum #ecocriticism www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOS381/p...

I know the world is on fire, but it’s pretty cool that yesterday Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican president, became the first woman ever to lead the Grito, the historic cry of Independence. Small steps forward still matter.

We are at risk of losing a generation of researchers. It’s worse than the 1980s. I’d say: only do a PhD for its own sake. The work you do s as an ECR is itself important work. But this period of contractions is going to be incredibly hard for all career stages, & impossible for ECRs.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT-POSSIBILITÉ D’EMPLOI #CPSA_ACSPJobs 🔴Assist Prof IR ⏰ Oct 15 2025 👉 conta.cc/4pbEYya @raulpachecovega.bsky.social #polisci @csnrec.bsky.social #cdnpoli #PoliSciTwitter @jonathanmalloy.bsky.social @emmettmacfarlane.com

Acadiensis - “one of the wickedest crimes ever committed in this part of the country”: The Execution of John Oliver, Saint John, New Brunswick, 1942 csn-rec.ca/news/80136-a... @acadiensis.bsky.social #cdnhist

Neat bit of history. #GhostShip #LakeMichigan #Shipwreck #MaritimeHistory #DoorCounty #FJKing #UnderwaterArchaeology #MysterySolved #HistoricDiscovery #SchoonerSunk apnews.com/article/lake...

Discover The Navy Records Society's annual volumes online: The Navy of the Lancastrian Kings: Accounts and Inventories of William Soper, Keeper of the King’s Ships, 1422-1427 – Vol 123 (1982), Dr S. Rose buff.ly/xvZsvay #NavyHistory #RoyalNavy #DutchWars #NavyRecords #Maritime #History

A pleasure to chat with Danny Bird at BBC History Magazine about my new book #Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth & Power. You can read the interview in print (October edition, out now) or listen to the podcast @historyextra.bsky.social: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h... #womenwealthpower

Wampum beads excavated this summer season at Ferryland, a very early 17thC settlement under an hour drive along coast west of St John’s. Amazing site for preservation of stone structures and evidence of wide Atlantic trade networks. #EarlyModern #Archaeology

Interesting thing about the end of the Atlantic slave trade is, which had the bigger impact, the British suppression of the trade (supply) or the end of demand at the source? Demand is overwhelmingly more important (as the authors also argue). Yet the British naval campaign gets far more attention!

@greenleejw.bsky.social has written a blog about the amazing maps he created for 'Deserted Wives'! With help from @bhamhistory.bsky.social, we recreated jurisdiction boundary lines & his final maps really underpin the book's thesis. Deserted Wives has 30% off: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/deserted-...

Looking forward to talking on The Greenhouse tomorrow about my book!

All I saw was cheesecake boat and ocean for at least 5 minutes

👩‍🏫 Seeking medieval teaching support this academic year? 🧑‍🏫Consider joining our friends at TEAMS, the Consortium for the Teaching of the Middle Ages! Membership is free, and the support is priceless 🤝 teams-medieval.org/membership/ #medievalsky

if you’re an isolated, angsty, strange young man, please know that you can become a Kierkegaard scholar instead of joining fringe online communities

CFP: The International Conference on Tourism, Archaeology, Heritage and History 1 - 2 February 2026 , Ahwaz , Iran tthh.ir

Highlights of Navy Records Online Magazine: The Narrative of William Owen, Part 3: Health and Victuals on HMS Tyger (1754) The narrative relies on the eyewitness account Owen gives of the British struggle in the years 1755 to 1761 against Indian rulers and the French. Read More: buff.ly/FwpWIMD

Brésil : un verdict exemplaire pour la démocratie