iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Christine Grandy

Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Great short piece by Prof Christine Grandy on the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia -- for me, it's one of the great human achievements of the 21st century, despite its flaws Published in the always-excellent @historytoday.com www.historytoday.com/archive/behi...

historytoday.com

25 Years of Wikipedia

Wikipedia turns 25 this year. Its success was not a given and reveals much about our changing relationship with information online.

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Jane Winters @jfwinters.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Registration for this year’s Annual Digital Lecture, a partnership between The National Archives, UK and @sas-news.bsky.social, is now open. Join us in London on 26 Nov to hear Prof Jennifer Edmond talk about ‘From collection to collective: what is an archive now?’ Free to attend! #DigitalHumanities

eventbrite.co.uk

From Collection to Collective: what is an archive now?

Explore how digital platforms are reshaping cultural memory at this year’s Annual Digital Lecture.

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I wrote a bit about the early use of Wikipedia in the UK for @historytoday.com Guess who was cranky about it? Spoiler: It was the historians.

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

What a fantastic collection of works. Congrats to everyone!

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History Today @historytoday.com · 04/09/2026

#ChopSuey arrived with the Gold Rush, spread with the railway and endured Prohibition. Although Chinese in origin, it was claimed by America. ⌛️ Last chance to read this article for free buff.ly/we4Vvb5

buff.ly

A History of Chop Suey

Chop suey arrived with the Gold Rush, spread with the railway and endured prohibition. Although Chinese by origin, it was claimed by America.

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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Culture wars are not a natural phenomenon. And there will be another Arday. It’s not if but when. It’s not an aberration, it’s the business model. We have to get wiser about not just who’s behind them but how we fight back

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Worth reposting for the am crowd, especially for its pragmatic advice on how to support yourself or a colleague in a pile-on. So, essential reading for (among others) academic staff, deans, PVCs and VCs to have on hand.

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Thiago Krause @thiagokrause.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Worth reading the follow-up thread:

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Olivia Wyatt @oliviawyatt1999.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

My article — “Black is Beautiful”: Gender, Pigmentation, and Political Blackness in Modern Britain — is now available to read! It reinserts the politics of complexion into our narratives of the Black Power and Black Women’s movements. #BlackBritishHistory academic.oup.com/histres/adva...

academic.oup.com

‘Black is beautiful’: gender, pigmentation and political blackness in modern Britain*

Abstract. By examining political literature, ephemera and oral histories, this article investigates the politics of pigmentation within the Black Power and

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Yearning for trousers weather. Just yearning.

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

An excellent piece on how the language of empire does not easily apply to the current moment of big tech/digital capitalism.

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Catherine Fletcher @catherinefletcher.info · 12/07/2026

not so much throwing museums a lifeline as massively exaggerating the biases in the sources, if the cited case at Leighton House is anything to go by

ft.com

AI companies are throwing museums a lifeline. What do they want in return?

Touted as a way to engage visitors and boost funding, new tools are triggering concerns around trust and ethics

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Of interest to UK university #Skystorians: Royal Historical Society open online meeting on 'The crisis in UK higher education: The future for History'. 4 August 2-4 pm.

eventbrite.co.uk

The Crisis in UK HE: the Future for History

An open meeting for historians in UK higher education on what is needed to best support and protect the profession and discipline.

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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 06/07/2026

A reminder: this Friday (10 July) is the closing date for applications for the Society's Funded Book Workshop Grants, 2026-27 bit.ly/4vfL6av Grants fund a day workshop for historians writing a 2nd or 3rd monograph, to discuss their project and manuscript with up to 6 specialist readers #Skystorians

Image of book with accompanying text: "The Society's Funded Book Workshop Grants support historians, currently working on a second or third major research project, and which will lead to publication of a monograph. The Book Workshops enable an author to bring together fellow scholars to discuss and develop the manuscript of a scholarly monograph."

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

'The new TPS valuation is expected to reduce post-92 universities’ costs by around £900 million by 2030, according to the Universities and Colleges Employers Association.' (Research Professional News 8 am Playbook)

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Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

There’s a permanent modern British history post going at Manchester 🎉Come and join a great department and please share with anyone who might be interested. (Don’t let the short deadline put you off). #skystorians 🗃️

jobs.ac.uk

Lecturer in Modern British History (post-1800) at The University of Manchester

Apply now for the Lecturer in Modern British History (post-1800) role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

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Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

This is a serious issue. Data is infrastructure - essential for modern life, largely behind the scenes, and very visible if it fails (like clean water, electricity, etc). It's generation and use involve lots of trade offs and require someone with expertise and accountability to make them.

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Luke McKernan @lukemckernan.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

A sad tale of disappearing databases lukemckernan.com/2026/06/28/l...

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Jim Clifford @jimclifford.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

After creating a visualization of mobility between Canada and the empire, I decided to visualize all of the career mobility recorded in the biographies in the Colonial Office List. (I need to do the same work with the Indian Office List to complete the network.)

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Jim Clifford @jimclifford.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

One question I started with when I found the Colonial Office list was how integrated Canada was in the British World System when it came to career colonial officals. #digitalhistory

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Some excellent work here with Colonial Office Lists 🔥🔥

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I'm really grateful to @enghistrev.bsky.social for getting this out in time for the anniversary. Why not relax ahead of the England game by reading about "Brexit as Democratic Crisis"? It asks why Brexit was so hard for our democratic institutions to handle - & what that tells us about democracy.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

A grim day in a grim week in a grim month for UK higher education, with Dundee, Exeter and Hertfordshire all making major announcements of planned redundancies. Shrinkage of the research & teaching base by the invisible hand's visible fist is not an 'us' or 'them', SHAPE or STEM phenomenon. 1/2

Photo of an open hand, with part of 4 fingers showing.

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Caitríona Beaumont @caitbeaumont.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

📣 Come join us at @ihr.bsky.social for last @cont-brit-hist.bsky.social seminar of 2025/26. A great paper to end the term with @ruthdav.bsky.social speaking about her forthcoming book. Book via link below: Weds 24 June: 5.30pm, in-person only. See you there @womenshistnet.bsky.social #skystorians

history.ac.uk

Women's welfare activism: Everyday power and politics in twentieth-century Britain

Contemporary British History Seminar

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

'Union members at the University of Lincoln have declared “no confidence” in their senior leadership team while further strikes have been threatened at Northumbria University as concerns mount over job cuts in the English sector.' 1/3

timeshighereducation.com

Job cuts fuel staff discontent at Lincoln and Northumbria

UCU declares ‘no confidence’ in Lincoln management while redundancy plans prompt fresh dispute in north-east

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Catherine Baker @richmondbridge.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

More public bodies backing down on supporting Pride events due to ‘recent legal developments’: Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service this time www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/mer...

liverpoolecho.co.uk

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service withdraws support from Pride

The organisation said it was 'seeking independent legal advice'

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Journal of British Studies @jbritishstudies.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

📢Introducing 1776: Views from the British World! Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that launched a revolution that created the USA, this series complicates traditional narratives of this event by situating it in a larger British world context.

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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

NEW from me: I'll be speaking at Loughborough University's GLOW-Ready Workshop on 'user needs, trust, and responsible use of AI in government archives'. I'll be talking about the 'deluge of data' in contemporary history. It's online, sign up here! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/glow-ready...

eventbrite.co.uk

GLOW-Ready (Getting Government Archives GenAI-Ready) Workshop 2

Join GLOW-Ready workshops on user needs, trust and responsible GenAI-assisted discovery for government archives.

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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

having been subjected to r4 this a.m., i note that reporting on the horrors in belfast implicitly endorses the legitimacy of racist concerns. i heard that they have targeted “immigrants” +a “hotel housing asylum seekers” but surely they targeted people they *assume* are immigrants/sanctuary seekers

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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 11/06/2026

Over the next three weeks, we feature the 8 monographs and 8 articles shortlisted for the Society's 2026 First Book & Early Career Article Prizes. Today: 'The Bonds of Freedom. Liberated Africans & the End of the Slave Trade', by Jake Subryan Richards (Yale UP, 2025) bit.ly/4onv2BK 1/2 #Skystorians

Cover image of 'The Bonds of Freedom. Liberated Africans & the End of the Slave Trade', by Jake Subryan Richards (Yale University Press)

with text: The Bonds of Freedom. Liberated Africans & the End of the Slave Trade

Jake Subryan Richards
(Yale University Press)

SHORTLISTED

Royal Historical Society
First Book Prize, 2026

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Eloise Moss @ladyburglar.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

We're hiring a permanent Lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Manchester: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

jobs.manchester.ac.uk

Lecturer in Modern British History (post-1800):Oxford Road

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Alice Bennett @aliceponderland.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Enough with James Bond. Let me introduce Jane Bond, also a 007 spy but she’s an exhausted middle aged woman who is done with your shit (a thread)🧵

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Modern British Studies Association @modbritstud.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Born digital sources panel #mbs2026 is quite pessimistic in tone, despite riches of 'digital heap' of two decades of uk state digital sources held by the National Archives. Digital records management broadly means deletion. Rot or obsolescence affects sources. And ethical parameters unclear.

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Modern British Studies Association @modbritstud.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Yet terrific papers on email spam and school memories from @christinegrandy.bsky.social and Laura Carter show how email and social media can be historicised, despite 'dark archives' dilemmas

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Yesterday was such a great start to #MBS2026. Looking forward to what's on tap today and our panel on digital sources at 3:30. I'll be talking about spam and email!

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Why yes, I will read a shed load of screen-capped Whatsapp messages amongst government officials and call that British history people.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

You've heard about (or read) the titanic clash between Blair and Starmer over the future of the nation. Now we have the Hillman/Collini clash over the future of higher education. (The Collini LRB piece is: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4... ).

hepi.ac.uk

Missing the target? A response to Stefan Collini’s latest onslaught on the state of universities - HEPI

Nick Hillman OBE, HEPI’s CEO, offers a personal take on Stefan Collini’s long scream about the direction of higher education policy, which is in the current edition of the London Review of Books. The ...

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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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Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Everyone read the end of it: "Governments in Scotland and Wales have finally realised that a viable, meaningful higher education sector needs greater oversight and control, and cannot be left wholly to the market. Now Westminster needs to wake up to this need for joined-up thinking"

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Labour's processes for changing leader are hopelessly, catastrophically unsuited to government. More than half of all prime ministers since 1945 have taken over between general elections. This is not an unusual procedure. So it really matters when parties screw this system up... 🧵

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Ronald Hartz @ronaldhartz.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Ideas for episode titles for a new six-part drama series about the modern university: 1. The ‘business case’ 2. ‘No decision has been made’ 3. The 'listening exercise' 4. The counter-proposal 5. ‘We’re not doing this lightly’ 6. Your email account will be deleted at midnight.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

One of the hidden disasters of UK politics over recent decades was the growing pool of "non-voters", who largely disengaged from democratic politics. The challenge for progressive parties is to match the success of Reform/the Leave campaign in drawing those people back into the electoral process.

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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

An excellent examination of AI on campuses: 'What Does AI Do? University management and technologies of crisis'

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

“It’s the third round of restructuring since 2019, and....each restructure brings with it not only loss of staff, but also loss of functionality. This is the same template that’s being used across the sector, and it doesn’t work anywhere.” (Catherine Rottenberg, Goldsmith's academic) 2/2

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