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Duncan Bell

@duncanbell.bsky.social
14K followers 1.9K following 490 posts

Teaches politics & history at Cambridge. Interests include empire, war, technology, architecture, science fiction, utopia. Currently writing a book on transhumanism

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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Thanks, Jan!
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Kim A. Wagner @kimatiwagner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The performative logic of a public execution is the same as the images of boat-strikes in the Caribbean - state violence as pure spectacle. It is the strategy of a government that rules through coercion rather than consent. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Fort Hood shooter’s execution will be live-streamed, Defense Dept. says
“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday about the firing squad execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan.
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
🙏
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
For those interested in a deeper dive, my book on the history of transhumanism will be published next year....
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Indeed! (He's mentioned in my forthcoming book on the subject...)
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Richard @ashcroftethics.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is excellent.
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Thanks!
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I enjoyed talking to David about the history of transhumanism (the first of four episodes)
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I enjoyed talking to David about the history of transhumanism (the first of four episodes)
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Thanks!
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Cambridge University History Faculty @camhistory.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Professor Alvin Jackson joins Cambridge as inaugural Childers Professor of Irish History and a Fellow @christscollegecam.bsky.social. He brings extensive expertise in modern Irish and British history, particularly the history of home rule, union and unionism in Ireland, the UK & beyond. News link⬇
Alvin Jackson joins Cambridge as inaugural Childers Professor of Irish History
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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
1. So this touches indirectly on something that is poorly understood. Rees-Mogg pere and Davidson's book, The Sovereign Individual, is held by some to be a blueprint for the reactionary politics that is unfolding today. In fact the book is drenched in disgust and scorn for nationalist populism ...
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
ARTICLE: Duncan Bell, "John Stuart Mill on Federation, Civilization and Empire," History of Political Thought (2024) go.shr.lc/3EFfrLf
go.shr.lc
John Stuart Mill on Federation, Civilization and Empire: Ingenta Connect
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Samuel Butler imagined a war fought between humans over whether to halt the development of intelligent machines, not a desperate "Butlerian Jihad" pitting humans against their machinic progeny. The former seems more plausible than the latter
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#HigherEducationPostcard @hepostcard.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Here's a #HigherEducationPostcard of the Senate House, @cam.ac.uk Here's a jigsaw of the postcard: www.jigsawplanet.com?rc=play&pid=... If you like this image, I’d really appreciate a repost – it helps to spread the word!
An old picture postcard showing a monochrome photograph of the inside of the Senate House at Cambridge, all parquet and panelling and ornate ceilings; and an embossed colour image of the university's arms
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
JOB: Directorship of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology / Professorship of Material Culture University of Cambridge www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/directo...
cam.ac.uk
Directorship of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Professorship of Material Culture
The Board of Electors invite applications for the Directorship of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Professorship of Material Culture from persons whose work falls within the general ...
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
JOB: Directorship of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology / Professorship of Material Culture University of Cambridge www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/directo...
cam.ac.uk
Directorship of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Professorship of Material Culture
The Board of Electors invite applications for the Directorship of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Professorship of Material Culture from persons whose work falls within the general ...
11115
Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
👇👇👇
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New Effective Altruism HQ just dropped
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Epochal tweet from the best to ever do it
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David Ornstein @david-ornstein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City found guilty on virtually all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations. #MCFC expected to appeal against verdict issued by independent commission. Sanctions undecided, process ongoing @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
nytimes.com
Manchester City found guilty on almost all Premier League charges relating to financial breaches
City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023.
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Indeed!
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New Effective Altruism HQ just dropped
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Bart⚓️ @bartgonnissen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Facial Expressions of Tethys by artist Julius von Bismarck. A suspended high-sea buoy that moves in real time. Sensors on a twin buoy out in the Atlantic Ocean send live satellite data to motors inside the museum. This makes the indoor buoy copy the exact, real-time movements of the ocean waves.
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Cambridge University History Faculty @camhistory.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Major milestone for the Stirling Building project 💥 The newly fabricated steel frame for the Grade II* listed building's reading room roof is safely installed. Two cranes carefully hoisted the four gigantic steel structures over the treetops to install the building's iconic centrepiece... ⬇️
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Modernism in Metro-Land @modinmetro.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
---- Faculty of History Library, Cambridge 1968 James Stirling and Partners buff.ly/oR8ax8t
A colour photograph of the Faculty of History Library in Cambridge, built in red brick and glass
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Peter FitzGerald @diddorol.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Eric Schliesser on Spinoza Use of Rhetorical Tropes in Political Theory as Modeling, pt. 2. Spinoza: "They conceive men not as they are, but as they want them to be". ES: evokes Machiavelli's Prince and by contrast Bacon's Advancement of Learning. digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/on-spinoza...
digressionsimpressions.substack.com
On Spinoza Use of Rhetorical Tropes in Political Theory as Modeling, pt. 2
The present post presumes familiarity with the concept of a ‘recursive tradition,’ which I learned from Duncan Bell.
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"UK's 'dismal' Eurovision song choices to be examined by MPs". Surely the solution is obvious...
Andy Burnham tearing up the stage with an acoustic guitar.
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Adam Roberts @adamroberts.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Rich Horton recommends three SF short stories, online & free: richhorton314252.substack.com/p/smart-sffa...
richhorton314252.substack.com
Smart SF/Fantasy here on Substack
Short stories by Selonick, Kanakia, and Roberts
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Very sorry to hear this. Vandalism
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Patricia Owens @whitproject.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I'm really biased but I think this is a brilliant article by @politicsoxford.bsky.social DPhil candidate Isabelle Napier academic.oup.com/isq/article/...
academic.oup.com
Friendship in World Politics: George Padmore, Nancy Cunard, and Dorothy Pizer at the End of Empire
Abstracts. This article develops an historical account of friendship as a political relation central to the twentieth-century project of decolonization thr
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Evan @evansmithhist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Five years since I wrote this piece on the archival finds that made historians got ‘wut?’. I asked on Twitter and got hundreds of replies. Still one of my most read pieces. theconversation.com/i-asked-hist...
theconversation.com
I asked historians what find made them go ‘wait, wut?’ Here’s a taste of the hundreds of replies
Historians, archivists and other researchers got in touch with tales of their archival finds and bizarre research moments. These ranged from the quirky to the disturbing to the profound.
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
JOB Founding Dean of the Rokos School of Government / Rokos Professor of Government, University of Cambridge www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/foundin...
cam.ac.uk
Founding Dean of the Rokos School of Government and Rokos Professorship of Government
The University of Cambridge is seeking an exceptional academic leader to become the founding Dean of the Rokos School of Government, alongside appointment to the Rokos Professorship of Government. Thi...
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Prof. Dr Beth Singler @bvlsingler.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
imho there is an increasing tendency over time for fictional AI to be seen as more sentient as more and more layers of narrative accrue. So 1984's Skynet can be seen as less sentient than 2019's because the latter sits on our experiences of the former. I agree, though it doesn't NEED to be sentient.
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Past Present Future Podcast @ppfideas.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! In today’s episode about 20th century philosophy and biography David talks to the historian and literary critic @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social about the life and thought of Hannah Arendt. What did it all mean for the human condition? Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
NEW PAPER Duncan Bell, "Psychic Socialism: Telepathy, Freedom, and Individuality in Interwar Britain" (2026) Forthcoming in Duncan Bell & Eileen Hunt (eds.), Political Theory and Speculative Literature papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Psychic Socialism: Telepathy, Freedom, and Individuality in Interwar Britain
Draft chapter - a version of this essay is forthcoming in Duncan Bell and Eileen Hunt (eds.), Political Theory and Speculative Literature. <div> <br> </div> <
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
But the backstory to the Dune novels includes the bloody but successful “jihad” waged by humans against intelligent machines. (I’m not a fan of the later books). That’s the difference from Samuel Butler I was pointing to
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Woodo @woodo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
BREAKING: Ed Sheeran Tour latest
Partridge: I might as well say this now, Sue Cook has pulled out.
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Colin Wrafter @wraftercolin.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Any chance your article might be made freely available? Thank you .
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Loubna El Amine لبنى الأمين @loubnaelamine.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Our Critical Exchange on "What is Political Theory Today" is now out in Contemporary Political Theory. It features a lead article by Peter Steinberger and responses by Jeffrey Church, Shterna Friedman, Simone Chambers, and me. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
What is political theory today? - Contemporary Political Theory
Contemporary Political Theory -
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#HigherEducationPostcard @hepostcard.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Here's a #HigherEducationPostcard of @theul.bsky.social - Cambridge University Library It'll be all Cambridge for a few weeks now because that's where the alphabet has taken me If you like this image, I’d really appreciate a repost – it helps to spread the word!
An old monochrome picture postcard showing a magnificent 1930s monumental building, in brick and stone, with a central tower and lovely high windows. Printed at the foot of the card is University Library, Cambridge
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
NEW BOOK! I'm very happy to say that my new book, Utopia, co-written with Douglas Mao, has been published on-line academic.oup.com/book/62279
academic.oup.com
Utopia
Abstract. Ideal societies, better worlds, more just and peaceful ways of living: these have long been the stuff of human beings’ social dreaming. In this c
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Digressionsimpressions @nescio13.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
On Spinoza Use of Rhetorical Tropes in Political Theory as Modeling, pt. 2 with shout out to @duncanbell.bsky.social digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/on-spinoza...
digressionsimpressions.substack.com
On Spinoza Use of Rhetorical Tropes in Political Theory as Modeling, pt. 1
The present post presumes familiarity with the concept of a ‘recursive tradition,’ which I learned from Duncan Bell.
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William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I’ve now lived so much longer than I would ever have expected to that I feel I’m living in the future. This is when I imagined Neuromancer happening. And now the creators of today’s AI warn us that it threatens humanity.
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
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David Klemperer @dmk1793.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Really fascinating, this - I was particularly struck by Wells's idea of telepathy as enabling the harmonious resolution of complex problems of social coordination
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
If you send me an email (my address is on my Dept website), I can give you a copy
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Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
ARTICLE: Duncan Bell, "John Stuart Mill on Federation, Civilization and Empire," History of Political Thought (2024) go.shr.lc/3EFfrLf
go.shr.lc
John Stuart Mill on Federation, Civilization and Empire: Ingenta Connect
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Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought @handle.invalid · 11/09/2026
We are delighted to announce that Dr Paul Sagar of Kings College London is the winner of our Mid-career prize! Heartiest of congratulations to him. Our full statement is below. 👇 www.associationforpoliticalthought.ac.uk/biapt-mid-ca...
associationforpoliticalthought.ac.uk
BIAPT Mid-career prize winner 2026 - Paul Sagar - BIAPT
We are delighted to award the BIAPT Mid-Career Prize to Dr Paul Sagar, who is Reader in Political Theory at Kings College London. Sagar has made a seismic contribution to our field over the last decad...
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Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought @handle.invalid · 11/09/2026
We are thrilled to announce that @shukyingchan.bsky.social is the winner of our Early-career prize for 2026! Our warmest congratulations to her. The competition was fierce this year. Full announcement below 👇 www.associationforpoliticalthought.ac.uk/biapt-early-...
associationforpoliticalthought.ac.uk
BIAPT Early-career prize winner 2026 - Shuk Ying Chan - BIAPT
Dr Shuk Ying Chan is a Lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Political Science at University College London. She was awarded a PhD in Politics by the University of Princeton in 2021 and si...
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