Hooray! The British Library has just released a beta version of its rebuilt Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue: searcharchives.bl.uk 2,619 hits for 'petition' in Western Manuscripts, texts in English, in case you're curious. 🗃️

I am very excited for this workshop: please do submit an EOI or get in touch if you have any queries. Publishing a journal article doesn’t have to be a daunting experience, and we are very proud of our support for ECRs.

Our third and final issue of 2025 has now been published! A 🧵 on its contents...

We are running a free workshop at @tandfresearch.bsky.social's office in South London on 30 January 2026 to support early career scholars in developing their work into a publishable journal article. Expressions of interest due by 16 January. See here for more details (and please share widely!)

The Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure invites applications for a two-week Summer School on ‘Micro-Census Insights into Historical Households, Mortality and Fertility’, held at University of Cambridge from July 6-17th, 2026. Application deadline February 2 2026.

Call for papers for our new special issue on 'Nocturnal London', edited by Maurizio Cinquegrani, Yihong Zhu, and @mcmccluskey.bsky.social. Abstracts due in by 31 March 2026. All submissions and reposts much appreciated.

The Curriers' Prize is now open! Submit your best unpublished essay on any aspect of London's history, and you could get a £1,000 award! Full details: 👇 w ww.history.ac.uk/funding/awards-bursaries-prizes/curriers-prize

‘The CBI and Universities UK… said universities already subsidised research by £5.4 billion a year, largely through international student income. A levy would "accelerate contraction" in research and innovation, they warned.’ www.thetimes.com/article/95f2...

Pleased to see my ‘viewpoint’ looking at the historiography of London’s crafts and guilds now available @thelondonjournal.bsky.social as part of the journal’s 50th birthday celebrations!

Our latest Viewpoint article is out: 'Guilds and Companies in London, 1200–1700: Contexts and Comparisons' by @mpdavies.bsky.social. A 🧵 on the insights provided by this article into the history and historiography of these key metropolitan institutions in the medieval and early modern periods.

I'm so proud of what we're building! www.bbk.ac.uk/news/meet-th...

Antisemitism: how to measure it, how to confront it. Read BISA’s David Feldman @dmf101.bsky.social, @bengidley.bsky.social and @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social in www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/religi...

Some more detailed analysis on the maintenance grants policy here from @wonkhe.bsky.social wonkhe.com/blogs/grants...

Happy #TrailsTuesday! Take a step back in time and explore #Clerkenwell's history of #radical politics on @layersoflondon.bsky.social www.layersoflondon.org/map/... #Islington #DirectAction #RadicalClerkenwell #London #History #Maps

Very sad news. I was fortunate to know Barbara when a graduate student and then when starting to work on medieval London. She was always insightful, with a prodigious memory for both documents and people! One of our finest medieval historians.

As we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary this year, we've gotten our board members to nominate an article from the Journal's archives that was particularly important to and influential on then. @tandfresearch.bsky.social have kindly agreed to make these all freely available for a period of time. 🧵

This is fantastic news for archaeology at Birkbeck, and for all of us in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences! www.bbk.ac.uk/news/birkbec...

Come and work with us, and an amazing national network of volunteers, early career researchers, experts in a huge range of fields, and the amazing @ihr.bsky.social.

We are delighted to announce the publication this month of the ninth digital edition in the REED series, the collection of the Newington Butts Playhouse records, edited by Sally-Beth MacLean. Check it out here: ereed.org/collections/...

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...

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...

Delighted and honoured to be taking over as chair of the Executive Board of @reedproject.bsky.social over the summer. Fabulous project, reaching far and wide via its print and digital collections.

We're delighted to announce the publication of our historical map of Bradford — UK City of Culture 2025. This multi-layered map shows the development of an industrial city which was constantly rebuilding. Grab a copy of the map from our online shop: shop.historictownstrust.uk/product/hist...

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

My biography of Derek Keene, former colleague and founding director of the Centre for Metropolitan History, now available on the ODNB website (behind paywall). www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1...

Our @geographicalassoc.bsky.social statement on the crisis impacting UK Higher Education Geography. We urge universities to maintain their current capacity for geography and to capitalise on its growth in schools and relevance to the workplace and wider economy. geography.org.uk/ga-higher-ed...

Cut-price Magna Carta 'copy' now believed genuine www.bbc.com/news/article...

Very much looking forward to @patrickwallis.bsky.social talking about his new book this evening !

History & Policy will shortly be unveiling the first publicly-searchable database of historians with policy-relevant expertise. If you are a professional historian who would like to engage more with policymakers, there's still time to submit a profile. Register your interest here: bit.ly/3YMcsXu

Different route to work today, so a great view of the flowering gorse in the New Forest!

Fantastic to see this! Congratulations to all involved...

Today’s the day! The 50th anniversary special issue of @thelondonjournal.bsky.social, which I co-edited with Bob Shoemaker, is published! It concludes with my rather personal reflection on the future of the humanities: I’d be very grateful if you gave it a read www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

An exciting date for your diaries: the first Birkbeck-QMUL Historical Studies Graduate Symposium will take place on 18 June, on the theme of "methodologies in historical research". BBK PhD students @bbkhistorical.bsky.social & @qmul.ac.uk do send your proposals for 5 or 15 minute papers by 30 April!

The new issue of the 'Journal of the British Academy' offers a range of perspectives 'On recent closures and threats of closure in the Humanities and Social Sciences' bit.ly/3FGuPHE These include "Reflections on History closures' bit.ly/4iIJsc9 by @eicathomefinn.bsky.social #Skystorians

We've just published a thematic collection of essays in the Journal of the @britishacademy.bsky.social exploring the state of HE and of humanities and social sciences within it. I'll thread the pieces so you can find them all in one place. Intro here journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/...

This promises to be a brilliant event: Tanya Serisier’s Inaugural Lecture: Speaking Out About Sexual Violence: Researching Public Survivors Before and After #MeToo When: 10 April 2025, 18:00 – 21:00 Where: Birkbeck Clore Management Centre Book your free place now: www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event...

Really looking forward to the conference celebrating the work of Arthur Burns 'Intitutions and Communities in the Modern British World since c.1700'. There are still some spaces available. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/institutio...

My first report to #HRC58 as UN Special Rapporteur on #Iran. Listen to the dialogue with States & civil society. Watch: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k15... Report: www.ohchr.org/en/documents...

One of the most remarkable objects in #Pompeii is a marble table support with P. Casca Longus inscribed on it. Longus was the 1st assassin to stab Julius Caesar on the #IdesOfMarch (today in 44 BC). On his death Longus’ possessions were auctioned & this table was bought by a Pompeian

A massive team effort. We are happy and very tired after 3.5 years at work on this big beast of an edition, essentially 8 editions in one! Do please have a look. #WomensHistoryMonth @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social

#Annales English Edition 📕 'Lost #Letters. Epistolary Communities, War, and Familial Ties in the #Maritime Atlantic World of the Eighteenth Century' by Renaud Morieux (@renaudmorieux.bsky.social) 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Deadline 6 March! Innovative, fully-funded PhD scholarship supervised by me (cultural histories of gender & sexuality & human-animal relations) & Karen Hiestand (veterinary & animal ethics). Located at Birkbeck's School of Creative Arts, Culture & Communication & the Royal Veterinary College.

This week, @royalhistsoc.bsky.social, we also launched a new starter pack of 'Institutes and research centres for historians in the UK' bit.ly/3F3Eo2M. The list currently has 75+ centres, within and outside UK higher education. Recommendations for further additions are welcome #Skystorians

Our new maps launch today - now, crucially, with subject data from individual UK universities. This adds a new dimension to our cold spots mapping what students can study and where. The maps show a complex regional picture - let's get into it ⤵️ (1) www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/policy-and-r...

We're honoured to share a special collection of articles on Bob Morris' contributions to historical research 🧵 #UrbanHistory #Skystorians

Very excited amidst all this grim news that tonight we are launching the first annual National Humanities Lecture, delivered by the splendid @davidolusoga.bsky.social, speaking of the urgent importance of public humanities and public history.

Call for Sessions - EAUH 2026 Conference City Networks in Europe and Beyond 17th International Conference on Urban History Barcelona, 2-5 September 2026 Call closes on 15 April 2025 More information: www.uantwerpen.be/en/centres/e....

Work with me and Karen Hiestand! This Bloomsbury Colleges Doctoral Studentship is the 1st collaboration between Birkbeck humanities & the Royal Veterinary College. A great opportunity for candidates interested in innovative approaches to human-animal relations! bloomsbury.ac.uk/2025-project...