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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Another academic dress mystery solved! Now, what kinds of cars are they? One person identified at Gilburn GT.

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Thomas Kula @kula.tproa.net · 25/09/2026

The car appears to be a Gilburn GT. Please take with a heap of salt, for I am not a car person.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

From Oxford Brookes University comes the new hood of the month. The Ph.D. hood is in the Cambridge shape [f1], of the same maroon cloth as that of the gown. A distinguishing addition is an inch-wide cream-coloured edging throughout. Read more at burgon.org.uk/hood-of-month

The Ph.D. hood of Oxford Brookes University is in the Cambridge shape [f1], of the same maroon cloth as that of the gown. A distinguishing addition is an inch-wide cream-coloured edging throughout. The hood is fully lined with blue Oxford Brookes dark blue silk brocade and edged throughout with one-inch cream silk. The M.Phil. and higher doctors’ hoods are the same, but with edging of different widths.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Anyone care to take a crack at it? Bonus points for identifying the make and model of the racing car.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Find out more about the Burgon Society at our annual Congregation on 11 October, when we induct new Fellows and hear reports on recent research. The latest Transactions will be available too. Join us at St Mary’s University, in Twickenham. burgon.org.uk/events

Schedule for the day’s Congregation of the Burgon Society.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Some US univs welcome students to the autumn term with convocation. Here, the president of @columbiauniversity.bsky.social, Jennifer Mnookin, walks with faculty whose degrees are from @harvard.edu (crimson), @mit.edu (grey), and perhaps @colorado.edu (yellow). president.columbia.edu/news/preside...

president.columbia.edu

President Mnookin Welcomes New Undergraduates in Her First Convocation Remarks | Office of the President

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Jane Tynan @janeym.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

For more on uniform see our 2019 book, edited with @lisagdub.bsky.social

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

We’re honoured to be included among the Starter Pack of Societies & Groups for Historians, UK and Ireland. Created by @royalhistsoc.org, the list includes numerous research groups. bsky.app/starter-pack...

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Library of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Ever wonder how maps are made accessible to the blind? A Library A250 project set out to do just that with some of our Revolution-era holdings, including this map made by George Washington! More accessible A250 materials: www.loc.gov/nls/services-and-resour…

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

What does academic dress mean to the people who wear it? Join a talk that continues last week’s by exploring a.d.’s sociology through the experiences of graduates, academics, and institutions. Thursday, 27th August, at 19.00 British time. Free: burgon.org.uk/events @columbiajournalism.bsky.social

Jelani Cobb, Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, takes a selfie with graduates of the Master of Science degree in New York on 15 August 2026. The graduates are wearing light blue Columbia master’s gowns without hoods, as is US tradition. Only a few wear trenchers. Photo by ByK Photography.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

We’re live now with our talk on how the study of academic has dress evolved, and why it matters today. If you signed up (it’s free!) and forgot to Zoom in, here’s your reminder. burgon.org.uk/events

A humorous drawing of a distinguished scholar in black cap and gown with a scarlet hood. The caption reads, ‘Academic Dress Needs You! (And funding.) Support the Burgon Society Scholarship.’

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

How has the study of academic dress evolved, and why does it matter today? Join us for a talk that traces the development of the field over. You’ll see how the cap and gown can reveal rich personal, social, and cultural stories. Free! Thursday at 19.00 British time. Sign up at: burgon.org.uk/events

Lace on undress gowns of the University of Birmingham.

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Institute of Historical Research @ihr.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Are you studying, researching or teaching a history topic and not sure where to start? Try a search using the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) buff.ly/yD11954 @brepols.net

buff.ly

Using BBIH online: a help pack for students and lecturers

For the academic year, we've a help pack offering guides to BBIH in undergraduate and graduate teaching and research. With embeddable content for VLEs.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Just over a year ago we held our third North American Colloquium, at Yale. We have two online talks soon, Expanding the Scope of Academic Dress Studies (August 20th) and Academic Evolution and the Sociology of Academic Dress (August 27th). Both are free. Details at burgon.org.uk/events

Displaying doctoral gowns from Columbia and Tulane on the Yale campus in 2025.

The back of a black gown of a student at The University of the South, which has embroidered on the yoke the initials of the wearer and his year of graduation, ‘M.P.L. II ’25’. Below it is the phrase ‘Avdiens sapiens sapientior erit et intelligens gvbernacvla possidebit,’ which roughly translates as The wise listener will be wiser and the intelligent will possess the rudder.

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Church Monuments Society @churchmonuments.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Really looking forward to this - shrouds, skulls, funerals, all Julian Litten's favourite things! More details at churchmonumentssociety.org/events/an-ev...

Poster for Julian Litten memorial event - text in linked web post

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The Burgon Society warmly congratulates Dr Graeme Brown on the Doctor of Laws by research, from the University of Aberdeen on 1 July. The LLD is a higher doctorate for a substantial body of original research, rather than as an honorary degree. @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social www.abdn.ac.uk/news/25855/

Dr Graeme Brown posing in the robes of an LLD of the University of Aberdeen: scarlet with light blue trim.

Dr Brown is understood to be only the second academic in the modern era to receive the Aberdeen LLD by research, with the previous award having been made in 2006. The University issued a press release to mark the occasion: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/25855/.

The accompanying photograph shows the University's current LLD gown. According to Shaw's Academical Dress of Great Britain and Ireland, Aberdeen's LLD gown was formerly purple, but the University has retained the long-standing tradition of scarlet gowns for its doctors, including holders of higher doctorates and PhDs, creating a striking and colourful spectacle at graduation ceremonies.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

A terrific read. We whole-heartedly agree. The judicious use of concrete details “read like the kind of random things only a true eyewitness would notice.”

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

An excellent reminder that the names of colours and how they appear to the eye are often very different.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

We agree with @fourredshoes.bsky.social! We also wish to see the dress use in its contemporary settings.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

If participating in ‘the official procession’ means a dept ‘lend[s] our intellectual authority’ to it, to what degree, if any, does wearing academic dress to an alternative celebration do the same thing? —> Submit your answer as a Fellowship dissertation! burgon.org.uk/research/fel... @exeter.ac.uk

burgon.org.uk

Fellowship - The Burgon Society

How to become a Fellow of the Burgon Society, the Society’s way of recognising those who make a contribution to the field of academic dress

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Last week, about a third of the History department were able to gather together on graduation day. Rather than lend our intellectual authority to the official procession and ceremony we invited our students to come and celebrate their achievements with us in a shady courtyard. They came. 1/

A group of world leading historians in their finery, some in gowns, stand together under a tree. Some carry signs saying 'Historian at risk', other raise a glass to the camera.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We have some exciting upcoming events, starting with free online talks. August 20: Expanding the Scope of Academical Dress Studies, on Zoom August 27: Academic Evolution and the Sociology of Academic Dress, on Zoom October 10: Congregation, at St Mary’s University, Twickenham burgon.org.uk/events

A group of Burgon Society members in black bachelor’s and master’s gowns, under a chandelier and in the shadows of an afternoon sun shining through window panes, surrounded by wood-panelled walls.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The BA hood of the University of Liverpool combines white fur or wool lined with pink silk shot with ivory, described as apple blossom, fashionable in the 1900s. The shape of Bachelors’ hoods was the Edinburgh simple shape. Read more about it at burgon.org.uk/hood-of-month @livunipress.bsky.social

A man, seen from the back, wearing a BA hood of the University of Liverpool. Its shell is black, the edging is white fuzzy wool, and it is lined with pink silk shot with ivory, He is also wearing a black bachelor’s gown.

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Yale University Press London 📖 @yalebooks.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Tonight on BBC Radio 4 Front Row at 7.15pm (UK time) John Bright, founder of Costume house Cosprop will be discussing the exhibition which is now at Dovecot Studios Edinburgh. Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Image of John Bright against backdrop of costumes on mannequins

Image of 'The Costume House: The Inside Story of Cosprop From a Room With a View to Game of Thrones' book

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

In honour of the new World Cup champions, here’s a Spanish sash for a first-degree graduate in law at the University of Salamanca. Red represents law. Find out more in this article from Transactions of the Burgon Society: journals.newprairiepress.org/burgonsociet... @usaloficial.bsky.social

Red sash for the Salamanca 1st Degree in Law, draped over a tailor’s mannequin. The sash has the university’s seal in white and in black the words ’Vniversidad D Salamanca‘. The photo shows item WBS-370 in the Archive of the Burgon Society, at https://burgon.org.uk/archive/salamanca

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Every time we pick up Oresteia, it’s that dry table of contents that keeps us from getting started. @aeschylus.bsky.social

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

At our Spring Conference we had a variety of University of Wales hoods on display. It was a great opportunity to see and handle shot silks in real life. Look at that shimmer! @uniwalespress.bsky.social

A University of Wales academic hood, seen from the back. Its blue edging in shot silk shimmers in the two shades it was woven with.

A University of Wales academic hood, seen from the back. Its crimson edging in shot silk shimmers in the two shades it was woven with.

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stevewolgast.bsky.social @stevewolgast.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

One potential up-side of using Velcro to attach a hood to your gown: You won’t need instructions to keep from putting it on backwards and inside-out. genius.com/Alanis-moris...

genius.com

Alanis Morissette – All I Really Want

On one of the grungiest cuts off Jagged Little Pill, Alanis confrontationally vents about the dissonant, frustrating, and often constrictive nature of a relationship. Touchstone

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

This makes Cambridge's detachable scarlet facings (for converting doctoral gowns from festal to undress for the busy academic on the go) look positively nineteenth-century by comparison

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

The change from fur-lined to silk-lined hoods for MAs at Oxford in 1432 is looking like a pretty good move in the current weather. BAs still have to wrap up nice and warm in their fur-lined hoods though.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Colourful academic dress on display when the University of East Anglia celebrated Festal Evensong at Norwich Cathedral on Sunday. Not to mention elegant civic costume and fine clerical wear. And a dragon. @norwichcathedral.bsky.social cathedral.org.uk/news/city-se...

Three academics in their robes at Norwich Cathedral on Sunday, 21 June 2026.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

At Princeton’s commencement, an usher wears a bachelor’s gown with the yoke edged in orange, the university’s colour. @princeton.edu In the background you can just make out a marshal in the Princeton orange gown.

At Princeton’s commencement, an usher in a bachelor’s gown with the yoke edged in orange hands a programme to a degree candidate.

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Suzanne Bonamici @repbonamici.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

It was an honor to speak at the Portland Community College 2026 commencement! As a community college grad, it meant a lot to be part of this special day. Congratulations to all the 2026 graduates at PCC and across NW Oregon! 🎓🎊

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Tighten those laces so you don’t trip in the procession. Art by Perry Barlow from the June 10, 1967, issue of The New Yorker. @newyorker.com

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Festooned and garlanded are many US graduates. Here, an MBA at the University of California–Davis. @ucpress.bsky.social

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100 years ago news @100yearsagonews.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

June 7, 1926: Graduates of Vassar College in New York form a daisy chain, a commencement tradition at the all-female school.

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100 years ago news @100yearsagonews.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

June 8, 1926: Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover receives an honorary degree from Georgetown University President Charles Lyons during the school’s commencement ceremonies.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Have you been postponing your post-graduate study? It’s never too late to earn your right to a new outfit. This splendid kit is from the University of Galway. We tip our bonnet to Dr Harney! @uniofgalway.bsky.social

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

With all the commencement ceremonies, we’re a bit behind. Here’s our Hood of the Month, the DLitt for Richmond American University London. An American-style hood approved for a degree awarded in the UK. Read more here burgon.org.uk/hood-of-month

The DLitt hood for Richmond American University London. It’s an American-style hood approved for a degree awarded in the UK. In the US full shape, it’s black with the cowl’s lining split horizontally with bottle green on the left (as seen by the viewer) and blue on the right.

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

More Spanish academic dress: The philosopher Elisabeth Anscombe in a doctoral kit.

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stevewolgast.bsky.social @stevewolgast.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I scored 4

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

How many gowns can you name before hearing the answers? You’ll have to surf over to FB, but here’s a fun reel showing faculty at the Univ. of Kansas identifying their academic dress. www.facebook.com/reel/4426363... @notredame.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social @columbiauniversity.bsky.social

A nuclear physicist at the University of Kansas explaining the source of the gown for his Ph.D. Answer below …

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4426363274287507

(It’s the University of Birmingham!)

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The Burgon Society @burgonsociety.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Spring brings new graduates and their celebratory photos. We’ll be posting some of our favourites. We start with Columbia University’s Shudufhadzo Musida, from Ha-Masia, South Africa, a Master in International Affairs candidate who poses in the library in her gown and shades. Full link in Alt Text.

Columbia University student Shudufhadzo Musida, who is completing her Master in International Affairs, poses in the university library while wearing her master’s gown.
https://news.columbia.edu/news/we-asked-you-shared-columbia-class-2026-memories-photos-and-advice

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