Trying to work out whether it's a good idea to go and see an Arthur Miller play when you're more than a little on the depressed side already ....

My fellow writers might not want to hear this, but AI is a useful tool for certain aspects of the craft, like for instance when you’re engaged in the process of being a talentless shitbag hack who is too lazy to do any fucking writing.

Dyspraxia often gets underdiscussed in the media (perhaps less common?) than things like dyslexia/ADHD, but because it's manifestation is more 'physical' I would find it so funny if anyone would suggest that it was some invented concept. No one who has watched me load a dishwasher would think that

The Society is an international organisation of 7000 historians with representatives in more than 60 countries worldwide: bit.ly/4dHQI8g Applications to join the Society are welcome at anytime from researchers of any subject area / any country 2/2

Yesterday I was in York, and popped into Minster Gate bookshop. Scanning the British History shelves, I slowly realised that there were many books on the same themes - radicalism, Chartism, trade unionism, 19th century economy and society, clearly part of a curated collection 1/n

Not that I'm sure that anyone would notice but I'm taking a short break from bluesky. I'm having a holiday (without going anywhere) and don't want to spend half the day doom-scrolling. See you in a bit.

Reinstituting the cap would be the single most basic and probably most equitable decision Government could make that would almost instantly rescue dozens and dozens of Universities facing extinction-level drops in numbers and by extension almost complete collapse in the next 2 - 3 years.

The removal of the cap has by contrast heavily impacted universities like mine and other ones not able to pay I to the Russell Group brand identity, and so we are facing extinction by spreadsheet logic

Colleagues at the University of York tell me of increased mass recruitment in the hundreds to their programmes this year, with lecture halls unable to accommodate the number of students. Not sure that's the best "student experience".

'Essex is a cautionary tale of how a vision which began in the 1960s became turbocharged in the 2010s, only to burn out so disastrously in the 2020s. It’s a story that will feel uncomfortably familiar to anyone who knows the other universities wrestling with the same contradictions.' 1/2

On 16 April, we are in Sheffield to co-host this year's 'History and Archives in Practice' (#HAP26), with The National Archives, @ihr.bsky.social and @unisheffieldlib.bsky.social. This year's theme is: ‘Shaping Societies, Improving Lives'. Full programme now available: bit.ly/4s5UMCS #Skystorians

I’ve said it before and I’ll no doubt say it again. Universities are roughly 1000 years old. They predate most operating models including capitalism and have lasted for a reason. Installing insecure, helpless managers who ape business methods results in bad businesses, not good universities.

Okay I will say it. Counterfactual history isn't history in any way, shape or form.

Last week we launched a new programme to help historians, resident outside the UK and Ireland, to undertake research in the UK. Closing date: Friday 8 May #Skystorians

Heavy heart this morning. There are so many great things about our little city.

Did a taster session today with applicants on the British Empire Exhibition of 1924. Whether they come to us or not, I'd like to say the kids are most definitely alright. Some really nuanced source analysis and really thoughtful on imperial legacies. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did!

Ah, it's another example of the Very Smart Scientist explaining a thing that historians have always known to us. I really hate this genre which is deeply arrogant as well on the part of the scientists. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-bi....

📢 Fully-funded PhD scholarship: Living with Print in the Eighteenth Century Based at the University of Sydney (supervised by me) and the University of Glasgow (supervised by Matthew Sangster), with time at both institutions. Applications due 21 April More details: www.gla.ac.uk/scholarships...

Just scrolled down my feed and I have now seen the screenshot of the Pope discovering that you don't wear gloves in special collections exactly 20 times, well done staying on brand everybody.

Pop Leo asked if he should put on gloves to turn pages in the gorgeous Renaissance Bible and the librarian explained why it’s better to do so with bare hands. Glorious reaction. Every rare books librarian & archivist feeling very seen, I gather. www.instagram.com/reel/DUcpEBY... #BookHistory

Join us, and expert historians, tomorrow at 12.30pm online for 'Historical Context: Modern Iran' bit.ly/4uVosp6 In this 60-minute lunchtime session, 3 specialists offer perspectives on the Middle East conflict: with Maziyar Ghiabi, Louise Kettle and Johan Franzén. Booking available #Skystorians

Derbyshire’s countryside is full of wildlife wonders. This recording from 2013 features Steve Furness describing the unique flowers and animals along the River Derwent in Calver. Can you hear any in the background? #EYAWildlife #LocalHistory #OralHistory

Wind & solar are currently producing 65% of Britain's electricity. Meanwhile, renewables now offer 30,000 more UK jobs than oil and gas. Meanwhile, we're in a climate emergency. Meanwhile, we're in a fossil fuel supply crisis. Meanwhile, the Tories and Reform want to scrap Net Zero. grid.iamkate.com

With the HP trailer dropping tomorrow, here's the whole deal: If you watch the show, hell even just the trailer, I will think less of you. I will dislike you. I will think you don't care about trans people. That's it. It's been years. There's no wiggle room. No qualifiers. You care or you don't.

"History has lied to you". No it hasn't, and it's really sad that a university is using this framing. Historians debate evidence - often, as here, quite fragmentary. They question received ideas, test new theories, correct mistakes. That's the joy of history. But it doesn't mean others "lied". /

Our #ArchiveOfTheWeek is this photo of ‘Old Alice’ of Little Eaton c.1900. She lived nearly 20 years outdoors with only a wooden bacon box for shelter before entering Shardlow Workhouse, where she died in 1927. A powerful reminder of the strength found in even the toughest lives. #WomensHistoryMonth

It's a widespread criminal enterprise.

from Fraser Nelson:

One of the (many) reasons LLMs are terrible for history is their sycophancy; it's foundational to good history that we learn not to seek evidence that confirms our prejudices, yet LLMs have a strong tendency to do exactly this - to find a way, if they can, to say 'yes' to any query

What is going to make university degrees worthless isn’t niche subjects like languages or the entire human past, it’s charging to teach people “content-creator” skills they can learn on the can

Another university getting rid of things you could only ever do at a university and replacing them with stuff a 13-year-old can do on a phone

Just to show how on the pulse I am, I've just started watching The Line of Duty.

Yep.

Is middle age realising that you actively enjoy Gardeners Question Time?

All history was mills. Only mills. (Manchester).

We can all complain about university library catalogues — why so many book reviews? why? — but when students regularly had to *search* a library catalogue they were developing important research skills and also finding more diverse and interesting resources to read. Which is, you know, the point.

Love this from @profmarylewis.bsky.social on the limitations (to say the least) of the AHA report on “AI” in history and the power of real, historical objects. Especially intrigued by the idea of doing actual printing!

I have a 'History Department in UKHE' joke but it's been reduced from 250 characters to 50 and is now merged with jokes from across ten other largely-unrelated disciplines while still being expected to be Just As Funny.

The bursary of £1,700 will be awarded to a mid-career historian working on 17th-century British history who wishes to make use of the IHR’s library collections. #Skystorians

2007: This'll be fun... 2008: Financial crisis 2009: I can see green shoots... 2010: Austerity 2015: Maybe the worst's over... 2016: Brexit 2019: Let's level up... 2020: Covid 2021: Build back better... 2022: Russia invades; PM Liz Truss 2022: Jesus wept 2024: Labour's got this... 2026: Iran War

On Thurs 26 March, we're hosting a lunchtime seminar providing historians' insights on Modern Iran. 'Historical Context' is a new RHS event series, with historians bringing their expertise to current events. Booking for this online Webinar now open #Skystorians 🎟️ Book here: bit.ly/40zrMbt

This is Oakley. He has an injury that requires physical therapy and at-home massages. Luckily, his cat sibling River has been training his whole life for this. 14/10 for both

The world is, apparently, far more full of people who find thinking actively unpleasant and a thing to be avoided at all costs than any of us suspected just five years ago.

Anyone else think it's highly inappropriate for the defense secretary to say "in the name of Jesus Christ" while he's doing a briefing about the U.S. killing people?

Interested in environmental history? The IHR is offering a summer 2026 internship with the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH). Apply by 15 April 2026, 11:59 pm BST. More details at: buff.ly/Vzpz6G3.

This is terrible news. My heart goes out to everyone affected, especially the families and friends of those who have tragically died Massive thank you to all the NHS, public health, Kent University staff and any volunteers helping right now

LLMs can automate writing, but they didn’t produce an ideology in which writing was something to be viewed as a mechanism to be judged in terms of speed and efficiency

Because humans are social beings? Because if you’re there you can ask questions in real time, thereby contributing to your own and fellow students’ learning and helping the lecturer gauge what is and is not being understood? Because many workplaces will expect you to show up?

Branching off here onto another related thought: one of the things I had to learn how to do from a very early age with a mother in criminal defense is to treat a person as a human while simultaneously being unflinching about the nature of the acts they have committed.

Time makes mugs of us all