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Alex White

@alexjwhite.bsky.social
6.7K followers 1.9K following 133 posts

Historian-in-public focusing on African anti-colonialism and the global media. Editorial fellow at @historyworkshop.org.uk, freelance everywhere else!

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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 17h
This is such a fascinating article, especially in the wake of the catastrophic cuts to aid across the world. It's always helpful to consider historical agents outside the global North, rather than dismissing them as puppets and passive recipients of development funds!
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Dr Beckie Rutherford (she/her) @beckierutherford.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The landscape of historical research is increasingly bleak but this has been a source of total joy and radical hope! Huge thanks to all my authors and History Workshop colleagues past and present for making this job so rewarding ❤️
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New Lines Magazine @newlinesmag.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
NEW: The new war does not feel like the last for Tigrayans — freedom fighters have become corrupt autocrats, and former enemies are now suddenly allies. The people are being asked to make more sacrifices, but no longer believe in the cause, writes Zeywegih Leyti for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com
The Betrayal of Tigray
Former enemies are now suddenly allies, freedom fighters have become corrupt autocrats, and the people they claim to lead do not want this war
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 09/10/2026
We're also celebrating the work of marral, who has helped to steer History Workshop as both an editorial fellow and a managing editor. Marral's work is rooted in global activist histories, and particularly the ties between Arab and Iranian revolutionaries.
historyworkshop.org.uk
"Britain's Vietnam": Remembering Dhufar
The 9th of June 1965 was declared as the first day of the Dhufar Revolution. What role did a small group of British solidarity activists play in the revolution's fate?
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 09/10/2026
After three brilliant years, @beckierutherford.bsky.social's fellowship is coming to an end. A historian of health, gender, and activism in modern Britain, Beckie has edited a selection of incredible articles focused on the experiences and ideas of disabled people.
historyworkshop.org.uk
Radical Object: The Radar Key
The Radar Key is a small but crucial part of the history of disabled people demanding rights and independence in modern Britain. Kirstie Stage explores the little-known history of this radical object.
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Phantas McGoria @pamcg.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Guy who showed up expecting Irish modernism because the top billed other speakers are named Joyce and Beckett
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Such a fascinating piece on labour, capital, and the edges of empire during the Great Depression. I really feel like it's unpacking the roots of a form of inequality we take for granted today.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
And here's Chatterji's fantastic article on immobility if you want to read it! www.jstor.org/stable/26358...
jstor.org
Client Challenge
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Global historians are fascinated by mobility and exchange, with good reason - but as Joya Chatterji points out, we also need a history of the people who didn't move. I loved editing this article, which sheds fascinating light on the farmers who made botanical exchange possible.
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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If you’ll be in Durham on 18/11, I’m giving a talk at @durhamhistory.bsky.social seminar “Murder, Magic… Spreadsheets?” about writing my new book on witchcraft in France(1790-1940) due out with Cornell next year. The highs, the lows… the stupid stupid spreadsheets. www.durham.ac.uk/departments/... 🗃️
Black and white photo  of a woman manipulating an ox heart with various other magical paraphernalia History Department Research
Seminars
Wednesday 21 October 2026
Catherine Fletcher (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Wednesday 18 November 2026
Will Pooley (University of Bristol)
Wednesday 2 December 2026
Jane Whittle (University of Exeter)
Wednesday 27 January 2027
Emma Hunter (University of Edinburgh)
Wednesday 10 February 2027
Shamara Wettimuny (The Queen's College, Oxford University)
Wednesday 24 February 2027
Holly Stephens (University of Edinburgh)
Wednesday 10 March 2027
Olesya Khromeychuk (Ukrainian Institute London)
Wednesday 12 May 2027
Mark Bailey (University of East Anglia)
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Mercedes Crisóstomo @mercrisostomo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I am so grateful to Marral Shamshiri for inviting me to write this piece for @historyworkshop.org.uk and its Radical Horizons series. The piece forms part of my broader research on women in radical politics in twentieth-century Latin America.
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 24/09/2026
Can the ideas of a controversial trans Marxist be recovered? Rebecca Jane Morgan on Rachael Webb's (1940-2009) class-based coalition politics.
historyworkshop.org.uk
Rachael Webb: The Forgotten Trans Marxist
Can the ideas of a controversial trans Marxist be recovered? Rebecca Jane Morgan on Rachael Webb's (1940-2009) class-based coalition politics.
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IHR African History Seminar @ihrafricanhistory.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Biography can help recover history from colonial dispossession and silencing - join us next Wednesday September 30 for the first IHR African History Seminar in 26/27 with Ben Lawrance and Vusumuzi Kumalo to explore how, focusing on South African writer Dugmore Boetie, apartheid, and decolonization!
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The files from New York Times v OpenAI are insane. I'm no big city lawyer but seems like it's a bunch of open bragging about theft?
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 15/09/2026
What does the archive of a former activist reveal about solidarity practices in the 1970s? James_AL_Downs explores the networks and activities of the Solidarity Committees supporting liberation movements in the Gulf.
historyworkshop.org.uk
An Archive of Solidarity
What does the archive of a former activist reveal about solidarity practices in the 1970s? James Downs explores the networks and activities of the Solidarity Committees supporting liberation movements in the Gulf.
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 08/09/2026
How did global connections shape the sounds of the 1950s and 1960s in the decolonising world? Su Lin Lewis and Ben GJ Thomas explore the relationship between music and internationalism in post-colonial Southeast Asia.
historyworkshop.org.uk
Afro-Asian Rhythms
How did global connections shape the sounds of the 1950s and 1960s in the decolonising world? Su Lin Lewis and Ben GJ Thomas explore the relationship between music and internationalism in post-colonial Southeast Asia.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Fantastic article on a piece of history I'd never considered before - the final years of slavery in the Caribbean, when the colonial state became the arbiter of 'reform' and enslaved people used legal processes to express their humanity.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
It's the anniversary of the March on Washington today - and also of Maya Angelou's lesser-known solidarity protest at the US Embassy in Ghana. It's a fascinating story of solidarity across the boundaries of the Cold War, and I wrote about it a few years ago. theconversation.com/maya-angelou...
theconversation.com
Maya Angelou’s newly uncovered writing from Egypt and Ghana reveals a more radical side to her career
Angelou’s 1960s political journalism in Africa demonstrates her desire to link the struggle for civil rights in the US to global campaigns against racism.
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Dr Beckie Rutherford (she/her) @beckierutherford.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"The aim is to help us understand the challenges that may lie ahead, the roads once travelled or missed, and the ones we might carve out and take, in trying to overcome the many obstacles we face." Very excited to see this new series launched by my brilliant colleague @marralsham.bsky.social 💫
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Also depressingly true!
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Absolutely - from what I know, postcolonial Kenya used some of the same techniques in its conflicts along the Somali border.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I'd read that. What an awful (and telling) situation!
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Loved editing this piece on publicity in the Kenya Emergency. It makes a very timely point about how states circulate violent imagery to suppress dissent and depict some uses of force as more legitimate than others, and it's already giving me lots of ideas for my work on colonial broadcasting...
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
That's so funny. When I did my PhD, I wasn't even the only Alex J White at my university - as a specialist in colonial history, I did get a suspicious number of invitations to review papers in fluid dynamics...
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The Journal of African History @thejah.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Read Siyabonga Njica’s new #OA article on Bloke Modisane, the #MajiMajiWar, #Historiography, and #Postcolonial #NationBuilding. #Tanzania #SouthAfrica cup.org/4ghGLjq
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Loved editing this piece on diaspora and community - and special thanks to Lloyd Gee, Four Corners and the Bengali Photo Archive for the stunning images!
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Kim A. Wagner @kimatiwagner.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
If only there was a historical precedent for the punitive logic of this kind of warfare...🤔 On a completely unrelated note, have you seen this excellent new book?
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I will just say that it is an...unfortunate editorial decision to put W.E.B DuBois' picture in a thumbnail above this headline
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Tionne Alliyah Parris @tionneaparris.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I’m excited to share that my debut book is on the way! 'Long Distance Runners: Black Women Radicals and the Struggle for Liberation' coming 2027! Bloomsbury UK/US is running a 10% discount right now, so please consider ordering directly to save some coins bloomsbury.com/uk/long-dist...
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is a stunning article by @faisalahali.bsky.social, covering the radical history of Radio Mogadishu and ongoing efforts to protect its extraordinary archive. There's also embedded audio, if you're curious about how its broadcasts sounded! www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/...
aljazeera.com
Somalia races to save Radio Mogadishu’s fading archive
A small team is working to digitise decades of Somali history in the country's main public radio station.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is a stunning article by @faisalahali.bsky.social, covering the radical history of Radio Mogadishu and ongoing efforts to protect its extraordinary archive. There's also embedded audio, if you're curious about how its broadcasts sounded! www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/...
aljazeera.com
Somalia races to save Radio Mogadishu’s fading archive
A small team is working to digitise decades of Somali history in the country's main public radio station.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
And on the subject of how great it is to work here - we're hiring a new editorial fellow this year! If you specialise in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the world, we'd love to hear from you. The deadline is August 7. www.historyworkshop.org.uk/article/call...
historyworkshop.org.uk
Call for Applications: Editorial Fellowship at History Workshop, 2026
History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
One of the pleasures of working at History Workshop is getting to work on times and places far outside your original field. I'd never considered the history of the arrest before, so it was fascinating to help edit this piece!
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 13/07/2026
OTD in 1930, the first FIFA World Cup began in Uruguay. In this article from the archives, Richard Mills explores how football fixtures created meaningful ties between Yugoslavia and its African and Asian allies.
historyworkshop.org.uk
Scoring for the Non-Aligned Movement: Yugoslavia, Football and the Third World
Continuing our History Workshop World Cup series, Richard Mills explores the role football played in establishing diplomatic ties between Tito’s […]
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Such a pleasure to work on this fascinating article!
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Arturo Chang @arturochang.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I enjoyed writing this piece reflecting on American identities as we near the 250th anniversary of US independence. Many thanks to the team at @zocalopublicsquare.bsky.social for their support and encouragement!
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Money on the Left @moneyontheleft.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
What makes debt illegitimate?
moneyontheleft.org
Odious Debt with Edward Jones Corredera
Money on the Left speaks with Edward Jones Corredera, author of Odious Debt: Bankruptcy, International Law, and the Making of Latin America (Oxford University Press, 2024).  What are fallen ty…
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Africa Is a Country @africasacountry.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
In 1957, three months after Ghanaian independence, the world’s most celebrated footballer came to Accra to teach. What Stanley Matthews left behind changed Ghanaian football forever. africasacountry.com/2026/06/the-...
africasacountry.com
The king of soccer
In 1957, three months after Ghanaian independence, the world’s most celebrated footballer came to Accra to teach. What Stanley Matthews left behind changed Ghanaian football forever.
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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
🥹 my dad gave a sermon to his parish based on my sending him this piece, @drsamyoung.bsky.social. Does that count as REF impact, do we think, @historyworkshop.org.uk?
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
This looks absolutely fascinating - can't wait to read.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Really enjoyed editing this piece on Catholic labour in interwar France, which seems all the more relevant given the Pope's recent statements on the dignity of human work.
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Lovely to see Cat's research get the recognition it deserves! It's such a fascinating subject, and so relevant to the way we think about ecological practices today.
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 29/05/2026
We are stronger, and better historians, together. Historical societies abound in the UK, and we've listed 150 with BlueSky accounts in this updated Starter Pack. go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd Other societies appear on a new listing of subject societies on the RHS website bit.ly/4ebwP9r #Skystorians
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 18/05/2026
OTD in 2017, a multistory building collapsed into Colombo's Kirulapone Canal. In this post from the archives, Sujit Sivasundaram traces the canal's twisted histories, to show how it became a space of colonialism, industry, labour disputes, leisure, and pollution.
historyworkshop.org.uk
The Twisted Histories of a Colombo Canal
What can the twisted histories of one Sri Lankan canal tell us? Sujit Sivasundaram on how the coastal environment of Colombo has been colonised and marketised, but in turn creates its own paths, through winds, waves and waters as well as…
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
I loved working on this article. Recording myself speaking, not so much. I'm currently working on a new article on Black Americans in Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana, so more work along these lines is coming (relatively) soon!
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Abdullahi Tasiu @tasiu.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Pleased to join this platform and start by sharing my article on it, available to read here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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Sam Young @drsamyoung.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Kicking off a new account with an old post. Here's me back in March for @thetablet.bsky.social, talking about the Church's rather complex relationship with the Far Right in France... www.thetablet.co.uk/features/the...
thetablet.co.uk
French Catholics are still under the shadow of Vichy - The Tablet
Shortly before Christmas, the French MEP Marion Maréchal was part of a smallish group from the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the
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Alex White @alexjwhite.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Really enjoyed this piece on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and how it's forcing states to build the green infrastructure that they should have created years ago. benshreadhewitt.substack.com/p/you-can-ha...
benshreadhewitt.substack.com
You Can Have an Energy Sovereignty Renaissance, If You Want It
On how the Hormuz Crisis is forcing nations to build the energy systems they should have built a decade ago
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 09/05/2026
‘It’s about recognising our role in history’: Bradford exhibition to revisit live Somali display
theguardian.com
‘It’s about recognising our role in history’: Bradford exhibition to revisit live Somali display
At the city’s Great Exhibition of 1904, 57 Somali men, women and children cooked, weaved and danced for visitors
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
for, uh, world-historical reasons I am putting this back out there
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