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Benjamin Thomas White

@btwhite.bsky.social
1.6K followers 435 following 149 posts

Researching and teaching refugee history. No DMs, I'm afraid, please email me (easy to find).

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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
(Though personally I don't think that the adoption of AI in this and other settings 'may influence decisions far more than policymakers intend'. The whole point is to influence the decisions in exactly the wrong and racist way that policymakers intend, while allowing them plausible deniability.)
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This is a good piece. odi.org/en/insights/...
odi.org
AI age assessment: why it puts child asylum-seekers at risk
Age assessment of unaccompanied young asylum-seekers is one of the most controversial aspects of the asylum system. Adding AI assessments to the mix only puts children at further risk.
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Humanitarian Policy Group @hpg-odiglobal.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
📣 We're hiring! An exciting opportunity has arisen to join us as a Senior Research Fellow. If you have a substantial background in protection policy, we'd be keen to hear from you. Deadline is 12 October – find out more about the role and apply here → buff.ly/7gaZjL8
Senior Research Fellow role at Humanitarian Policy Group (ODI Global) to lead and fundraise for influential research, policy engagement and public affairs on protection, principles and politics in and beyond the humanitarian sector - application deadline 12 October 2026.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Come to this if you're in Glasgow this evening!
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
One of those articles where my eyebrow is raised so hard and so frequently as I read that it gives me a headache. doi.org/10.1093/wber...
doi.org
A New Expanded Dataset to Study Refugee Camps in Sub-Saharan Africa 1999–2024
Abstract. One in five refugees live in camps or camp-like settings, and three-quarters of encamped refugees are in sub-Saharan Africa. No reliable public d
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Katherine Mackinnon @kamack.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This piece provides a really good bit of sociological and historical context on violence and parts of Glasgow city centre recently sensationalised on tv www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci...
gla.ac.uk
Welcome to Glasgow’s four corners: making a ‘problem’ place.
Susan Batchelor considers the way in which certain urban spaces - and those who frequent them - come to be constructed as problematic.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This means that I will definitely not be taking my six-year-old, and therefore not going myself either. £26 to take him to a park we often visit for free, for something that he might not like? Nope.
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ERC Project Atlantic Exiles @atlanticexiles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
📢 We are thrilled to announce the #CfP for the Seventh International Seminar in Historical #Refugee Studies, which will be held at the University of Tübingen, June 28-July 1, 2027! Deadline is November 15, 2026. For more information, see rhs.hypotheses.org and CfP below:
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Refugee Studies Centre @refugeestudies.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
How migration law disadvantages and discriminates against women: On our blog, @catbriddick.bsky.social outlines the key themes of her book Violence against Women and Regimes of Exception. Read more: f.mtr.cool/mupz7hfau6
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“I think it’s a shame that students are the only bargaining chip they really have. But I understand it. I would obviously rather it didn’t happen but I do get it." (Final year Geography student, University of Edinburgh, displaying a good understanding of how institutional systems work)
theguardian.com
Edinburgh joins UK universities heading for strikes as cuts spread through entire sector
Students at Edinburgh, Dundee and Nottingham face a term without any teaching as sector struggles with rising financial uncertainty
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The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We're thrilled to be able to support six new early-career research Fellowships thanks to funding from the Wolfson Foundation. Applications open 21 October. Find out more: bit.ly/47fu2b0
bit.ly
The British Academy and Wolfson Foundation launch new search for exceptional early-career researchers as funding confirmed for new Fellowships
The British Academy is delighted to announce another round of funding from the Wolfson Foundation for early career research fellowships in the humanities and social sciences.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"So much of AI research now is simply using the products of a handful of companies to claim they can do something. [...] The research is investigating the applications of capital, not expanding our understanding of the world."
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Julia Laite @julialaite.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Old ladies immediately arrested and imprisoned for holding up signs to protest the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Far right thug uses what looks like an illegal knife to slash a boat, endangering a life. And here I am many hours later waiting for any kind of police action.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
'Published on 22 September in the journal Research Policy, the study explores public attitudes to AI-assisted research, based on a nationally representative survey of nearly 1,500 UK citizens. The government has made a strong push to expand the use of AI in the research process.'
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Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
they are increasingly connecting the dots on who benefits when their cognitive capacities are stolen and the history of cultural production enclosed
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
You photographed the Black Rabbit of Inlé!
Drawing of a black rabbit, mid-leap.
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Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
21,627 applications for the Marie Curie early career fellowships.
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 20/09/2026
i hate it @wileyonlinelibrary.bsky.social, please kill this
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Dr. Divya (🔔 logged out) @divyampersaud.com · 20/09/2026
Hi folks, we are helping a PhD student in Gaza with his thesis. He has designed a survey for folks ANYWHERE in the disaster/crisis management, urban planning, engineering, & humanitarian sectors to fill out. English: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Arabic: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 🙏🏾
docs.google.com
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Does this form look suspicious? Report
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Celtic (UG), Chinese & Russian (UG), Contemporary History, Economics & Statistics (joint degree), Inclusive Education (MSc), Intellectual History, Italian & Classics (joint), Law & Social Policy (joint), Medieval History, Persian Studies (UG), Portuguese (UG), Psychology & Economics (joint)....
heraldscotland.com
Full list of the 90 programmes earmarked for closure at leading Scottish university
Managers say the cuts are necessary “to protect our world-leading reputation and resilience in research and teaching” but staff members have hit…
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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
it's true, we love it, true love, hit us up for zoomchats and more!
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Our first post of the autumn semester on Refugee History is from the UNHCR Records & Archives Section, where they're making the best of a bad situation: refugeehistory.org/blog/2026/9/...
refugeehistory.org
UNHCR Archives: A History of Access - is Access Now History? — Refugee History.
UNHCR Archives has temporarily closed its reading room to external researchers. Here is what that means for access, research, and the future of digital delivery.
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Why are universities forcing this technology on us again
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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Three courses in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, are among the 90 programmes to be axed as Edinburgh University seeks to save £140m at the cost of as many as 1800 jobs. Edinburgh UCU has announced a five week programme of strike action in protest. #BonfireOfTheHumanities
scotsman.com
Edinburgh University to mothball 90 courses as five weeks of strikes to start
The university said mothballing 90 courses will not detract from the institutions standing on the world stage
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
No change, however, at the #WolfsonHistoryPrize. My annual thread returns ⬇️
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Sigh. www.thebookseller.com/news/wolfson...
thebookseller.com
Wolfson Prize CEO says award 'needs to change' following Oxbridge bias claim
The chief executive of the Wolfson History Prize has admitted things "need to change" to improve the breadth and diversity of historians it recognises following claims it favours Oxbridge graduates an...
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
As ever, this thread is no comment on these authors or their books. But as Dr Vanessa said, we draw from a tiny pool for talent and reward in this country. bsky.app/profile/hpsv...
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
And one is currently a professor at Oxford.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
At least two did postdocs/junior research fellowships at Oxbridge, and one holds an Oxbridge honorary fellowship.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Two did their PhDs at Cambridge, one at Oxford, one at Berkeley, and one at London. (One did not do a PhD.)
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Of these six authors, three did their undergraduate studies at Cambridge, one at Melbourne. (It's harder to find out where the other two studied.)
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
No change, however, at the #WolfsonHistoryPrize. My annual thread returns ⬇️
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
One more addition to this list (thanks to @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social for the tip):
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The Environmental Cultures Consortium (the Natural History Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew): www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/...
nhm.ac.uk
The Environmental Cultures Consortium | Natural History Museum
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Definitely! Thanks.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Four weeks later, I've found one more institution that has announced its award (the British Library, linked at end of thread). Still no announcement from AHRC itself about these large grants as far as I can tell.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The British Library: www.bl.uk/services/res...
bl.uk
Collaborative Doctoral Landscape Awards
Fully-funded and jointly supervised studentships across four developing research areas.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Our first post of the autumn semester on Refugee History is from the UNHCR Records & Archives Section, where they're making the best of a bad situation: refugeehistory.org/blog/2026/9/...
refugeehistory.org
UNHCR Archives: A History of Access - is Access Now History? — Refugee History.
UNHCR Archives has temporarily closed its reading room to external researchers. Here is what that means for access, research, and the future of digital delivery.
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Sadiah Qureshi 🦈 @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The sheer contempt for colleagues and people revealed by one institution after another is breathtaking. I have close friends have been through this, and it takes a profound toll that can take years to undo even after resolution or leaving the sector. Wishing everyone better ahead.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A good thread on a thought-provoking article, which offers questions rather than answers.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Like publicly announcing they are vulnerable to kryptonite, and also that they've been doing a lot of kryptonite recently.
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 08/09/2026
Accusing AI critics of not doing the reading is funny because usually it’s AI users are the most likely to have not done the reading So what now then
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Category Is: www.categoryisbooks.com
categoryisbooks.com
Category Is Books
Fiercely Independent Queer and LGBT Bookshop in Glasgow, Scotland. ALL WELCOME.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Radical Glasgow Tours: radicalglasgowtours.com
radicalglasgowtours.com
Radical Glasgow Tours
Walking through the radical histories and present-day struggles of the city of Glasgow
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Radical Glasgow Tours are doing a 'queer Glasgow x radical print' walking tour on Sun 27 Sept. It's a fundraiser for local bookshop Category Is, who need to get shutters fitted after someone panned in their window. Bookings below! ⬇️ www.eventbrite.com/e/queer-glas...
eventbrite.com
Queer Glasgow x Radical Print
Fundraiser for our pals at Category Is Books
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The media has insisted that it was in the public interest to run endless stories questioning the integrity of Jason Arday. So I await the endless stories about *this* guy.
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Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
⬆️
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Katherine Ibbett @eparpillee.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Historian-as-investigator: here's @arthurasseraf.bsky.social on the problem of couscous in London and, beautifully, on the toxic sauces of nostalgia. An essay that makes you want to eat, read, gather. www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-curiou...
vittlesmagazine.com
The curious case of the missing couscous
Why, in a city that has everything from tacos to tteokbokki, is it hard to find couscous? Arthur Asseraf investigates. Illustration by Sing Yun Lee.
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