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Christine Grandy

@christinegrandy.bsky.social
3.3K followers 3.8K following 85 posts

Historian of Britain and its media (film, television, and the web); book with CUP on Audience Racism in 20th C Britain; now into the history of online experiences in Britain; Canadian tolerating the UK (she/her).

PostsRepliesMedia
Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
That is useful and thank you!
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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Oh that looks great, thank you! Although generating a fair few error messages on my end too...
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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Daft question for other historians (from a very post-war history type): Is there a source/app out there that gives you a sense of how long it took to cross parts of the UK by horse and carriage?
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Thanks so much Greg!
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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.
Photo of text in a magazine.
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Huge congratulations Sadiah! Wonderful!
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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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Jim Clifford @jimclifford.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thanks Christine. Here is the new interactive version: jimclifford.ca/col_matching...
jimclifford.ca
An Atlas of Imperial Careers · Colonial Office & India Office, 1820–1966
An interactive atlas of the career mobility of ~50,000 British colonial and Indian administrative officials, 1820–1966, reconstructed from the printed Office Lists.
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I had no idea about News on Screen! What a loss.
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Yeah although to be fair this could pop up anywhere in the country at the moment and i wouldn't be surprised. Sad days.
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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Good lord.
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Worth the read, if only for the names of the beavers introduced in 2022 www.cbc.ca/news/world/l...
cbc.ca
A family of beavers is living their best life in London — and preventing flooding | CBC News
A family of beavers that came to London in 2023 is thriving in west London, and preventing flooding by doing what they do best — building dams.
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I so clearly remember reading the Cheese and the Worms in grad school.
apnews.com
Microhistory pioneer Carlo Ginzburg, who gave voice to the marginalized, dies at 87
Carlo Ginzburg, a renowned Italian historian, has died at 87. The Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa announced his passing in Bologna on Wednesday.
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Lola Dickinson @loladickinson.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
New article (open access!!) online now with Contemporary British History www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
‘In the eyes of the law I might be a man but what do I look like?’: trans women and sex work in 1980s and 1990s England
This article considers the precarious position of trans sex workers in 1980 s and early 1990 s England by examining the ambiguities of medico-legal interpretations of their identities and labour. D...
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Colm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
More useful work by the SMF on the dangers that an underregulated social media sector is creating for *adult* users. www.smf.co.uk/commentary_p...
smf.co.uk
Deep Fakerfield? – misinformation in Makerfield - Social Market Foundation.
SMF's Jamie Gollings analyses the extent of misinformation in Makerfield before and during the "most consequential" by-election campaign.
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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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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Weirdly satisfying!
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I have written a slightly unhinged newsletter about forms buttondown.com/justenoughin...
buttondown.com
Forms don't love you back
Some days, you just don't want to have to fill in another form. An essay (sorry) about AI and the coming formification of everything.
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Christine Grandy @christinegrandy.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
This is great! (and I felt seen as a library/first job nerd too).
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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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