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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc

@emilywebz.bsky.social
1K followers 735 following 98 posts

Assistant Professor in the History and Philosophy of Health and Medicine at Durham University. #Epidemics #Environment #Health past and present.

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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
@drrobertchapman.bsky.social, @benbowsher.bsky.social and I have been working on something (alongside our wonderful Newcastle community) for the last little while, and I’m quite excited about it… It’s a new radical bookshop!
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Would anyone fancy joining @robertsuits.bsky.social and I for a quantitative data in environmental history panel for #ESEH2027?
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Today is the first day I saw my own book in the wild!!!
Me, pointing to a copy of The Hobo on a shelf. Hey, while you're here, why not buy a copy? I did the alt text for the images in the book myself, too!!! https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691284668/the-hobo
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
If you are in the UK, you can get my book, The Hobo: A History of America's First Climate Migrants, TOMORROW! This one snuck up on me during a busy summer, but very excited to potentially bump into it in the wild. Order it to your local bookstore or library! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu
The Hobo
A panoramic history of America’s first climate migrants
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Fancy spending some time with a wide range of rare documents in a lovely cathedral city? Check out Durham’s collections fellowships! durhamcollections.org.uk
durhamcollections.org.uk
Durham Collections Fellowships
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Waiting for a late night flight out of Johannesburg after a couple of wonderful weeks in Lusaka and Joburg! I’m so humbled that so many people gave us their time and insight, and it felt so great to be in research mode again - and bursting with ideas. Hoping I’ll be back soon!
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Doing some research at the Wits Adler Medical Museum on gut microbiome research in SA, I can’t help but feel that what I am actually accidentally going to write is a history of diarrhea
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Exploring some of Johannesburg and the Cradle of Humankind - an excellent way to spend the weekend.
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Early start this morning as I head off to Johannesburg and Lusaka for a couple of weeks! I can’t wait to get stuck in at the archive and explore two totally new cities. Moments where I get to flex my historian muscles like this are the best.
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AAHPSSS @aahpsss.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
PHD Scholarship, University of Sydney Project title: Symbiotic Synergies Project abstract: This project aims to investigate how developments in today’s microbiology arose from earlier microbiology. Start: August 2026 to January 2027. Further Information at www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships...
sydney.edu.au
ARC Postgraduate Research Scholarship
A $40,109 per annum stipend scholarship for research students within the Faculty of Science.
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Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 05/06/2026
As demand for cobalt, gold and other minerals grows, mining is accelerating deforestation in the Congo basin – and increasing the risk of deadly Ebola outbreaks
theguardian.com
A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Today is the US launch of my book, The Hobo: A History of America's First Climate Migrants! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu
The Hobo
A panoramic history of America’s first climate migrants
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Coinciding with this, I've just given an interview about the book with the New Books Network host Miranda Melcher. Give it a listen if that's your jam! newbooksnetwork.com/the-hobo
newbooksnetwork.com
Robert Suits, "The Hobo: A History of America's First Climate Migrants" (Princeton UP, 2026) - New Books Network
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Shimanti | Human Consequences @humanconsequences.com · 14/06/2026
When you see the story about how the world now has its first trillionaire, and when you see the story about how laboratories in Congo have run out of supplies to test for Ebola, it is important to understand that in many ways these are the same story.
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American Historical Association @historians.org · 12/06/2026
From materials on race and health, to primary sources, teaching tools, and more, the AHA’s Bibliography of Historians' Responses to COVID-19 features vetted commentary and publications relevant to the COVID-19 crisis.
historians.org
A Bibliography of Historians' Responses to COVID-19 | American Historical Association
The AHA compiled a professionally vetted bibliography of historians’ responses to COVID-19 as a resource for the public, teachers, and scholars.
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Coming to the end of year four as faculty, I have concluded that the biggest daily challenge I face is consistently under-estimating what I can do in an hour, and over-estimating what I can do in fifteen minutes.
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
I think it says a lot about the US these days that there are like three different “protein latte” options at Starbucks but zero vegan breakfast options
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Grudgie the Wail @grudgie.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
We quite literally have a whites only refugee program and somehow the media won’t call the Administration white supremacists.
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Let's talk about hobo radicalism. Day 19/31 of convincing you to buy my book.
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Back in the Rust Belt for #AAHM2026!! Luckily Buffalo is bringing its best weather 🙂
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
A thought-provoking piece in the guardian today - www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
The dinosaurs of international aid must adapt or die – their expensive era is over | Halima Begum
Shiny HQs, layers of management and pricey overheads are hard to defend when funds are far better spent at local level, says charity executive Halima Begum
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Day 9/31 of convincing you to buy my book: Let's talk about vagrancy laws!
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Convincing you to buy my book, day 5/31: Let me tell you, briefly, about our terms for the homeless. Because, while *we* use them more or less interchangeably, if you were in any such communities around the turn of the twentieth century, "hobo," "tramp," and "bum" all meant pretty different things.
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Convincing you to buy my book, day 6/31. Continuing on a theme from my last post, let me talk briefly about how people's perceptions of homelessness have existed historically, and how they have changed over time.
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
I guess what I'm trying to say is I have it on good authority that the book smells good?
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Convincing you to buy my book, day 3/31. Let's talk about climate disasters -- how are they experienced by people in their work or everyday lives? Hobos -- American migrant workers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries -- show us one possible answer.
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Convincing you to buy my book, day 4/31: it's Tuesday, which means it's time for a FUN HOBO FACT Where does the term "hobo" come from? For such a modern word, the etymology is extremely unclear!
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Convincing you to buy my book, day 2/31! What can the past tell us about energy transitions? If you read some current historians, it gets quite dismal. In fact, they might tell you energy transitions never actually happen. Energy has been added to our economies. But no fuel has ever been replaced.
Two charts, stacked on top of each other, showing American energy use over time. Total energy consumption goes from an almost illegibly small amount in 1800 (2.4 Gigawatts) to a much, much higher level by 2020 (3.5 Terawatts, i.e. a more-than 1000 fold increase).

The top chart shows energy use by fuel, showing how we started out with biomass, and then successively added coal and oil and gas -- no fuel has been replaced, there have only been additions.

The bottom chart shows fuel use by economic sector -- mostly residential use at first, and gradually adding industrial and transportation uses over time.
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
It's real!!!!! (Pre order at press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...)
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
My first author copy arrived!
Image of a hardcover volume. Robert Suits, The Hobo: A History of America's First Climate Migrants.The first page of the introduction. (The text is pretty small in the image, but it begins: "They found the boys standing in a stream, starving, trying to catch catfish with their bare hands.")
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
And if you're following me, my deepest apologies, because I'm going to be promoting this book every day for the next month, until its US release on June 16th! I'll try to drop a new interesting tidbit about hobo lore or the book more generally to keep it interesting!
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
If really you want to know more, pre-order my book, The Hobo: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco..., or better yet, order it from your local bookstore. Audiobook also available for pre-order on Audible!
press.princeton.edu
The Hobo
A panoramic history of America’s first climate migrants
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Convincing you to buy my book, day 1/31: How to sneak onto a train? There are options. You can try when it's stopped, but there will be security. More reliable is to catch it "on the fly." You wait for the train somewhere you know it will being going slow -- a hill, a crossing. Then, you run.
A black and white photograph of a person leaping on board a train; another person catches his hand.
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
I never imagined that this beautiful of a view might be part of my commute to work - photo snapped while waiting on my bike under a tree for a spring shower to pass
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Reminder that this is tonight! :)
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Hey @durham.ac.uk people and Durham residents! If you like a pub quiz and a good cause, come along to the Station House’s medical mysteries pub quiz on April 19! all proceeds go to the Institute for Cancer Research!!
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Caleb Ward @calebw.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
We talk about the recent disinformation crisis, but even the legacy information ecosystem has been falling for these bad faith campaigns for decades
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Two postdoc positions on a really cool project with @julesskotnesbrown.bsky.social! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRD198/p... www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRD410/p...
jobs.ac.uk
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
So honored that the #ICR featured my London Marathon story this week! As many of you know, I was diagnosed with a (luckily early stage) rare cancer in 2021. A few years later, we lost my wonderful father-in-law to his cancer. www.icr.ac.uk/research-and...
icr.ac.uk
“Cancer research is one of the most important fundraising causes out there” – Emily’s London Marathon story
“Cancer research is one of the most important fundraising causes out there” – Emily’s London Marathon story
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Greenhouse Center for Environmental Humanities @greenhouseuis.net · 23/03/2026
We're hiring! 🌿 The Greenhouse Center for Environmental Humanities at the University of Stavanger invites applications for a 3-year postdoc in Environmental History. See thread for more details. #envhist #envhum
jobbnorge.no
Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History (297163) | University of Stavanger
Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History (297163), Employer: University of Stavanger, Deadline: Monday, April 20, 2026
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The Interest in Cattle workshop had a morning outing to Beamish, where we had a lovely time walking around with the Keeper of Animals discussing their current herds (including their shorthorn cattle and Teeswater sheep)!
A group walking on a gravel path on a sunny and cold dayThree sheep grazing on a green field
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Hannah Brown @mamatommy.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Coming your way next week! With @emilywebz.bsky.social @durham.ac.uk @durhamimh.bsky.social
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Interested in multispecies health? Why not come work with my excellent colleague Hannah Brown at Durham? durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
durham.taleo.net
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Job opening at the Royal Observatory Greenwich (3 year fixed term): Heritage Operations Officer, responsible for coordinating public engagement and events for the Heritage Fund programme associated with the First Light redevelopment of the site #scicomm 📜
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
I'm very excited to be taking on a new role as Book Reviews Editor for the British Journal for the History of Science alongside the wonderful @coreenanne.bsky.social! We receive a wide range of excellent books for review, so please do reach out if you are interested in writing a review for us!
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of a boy reading a book in front of a stack of books .
ALT: a cartoon of a boy reading a book in front of a stack of books .
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Stages of article revision: “I have written trash, the reviewer has seen through me, how can I possibly make anything of this…oh wait, that wasn’t so hard, cool!”
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Justine Pick @justinepick.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
One week left to enter @sshmedicine.bsky.social Roy Porter Essay Prize 2025/6 Deadline: Sunday 1 February #histmed #histSTM #medhumanities
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
This term, Durham’s IAS is sponsoring myself, Hannah Brown, Francis Massé, and Justin Willis to run a project, “Interest in Cattle: Value, Risk, and Security in Eastern and Southern Africa,” alongside a great group of fellows from the Universities of Zambia, Cape Town, and Reading.
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Emily Webster, PhD, MSc @emilywebz.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Life in Durham improved substantially when I realized I could get a really solid cup of vegan chai at basically any time of day
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Daniel Benneworth-Gray @danielgray.com · 19/01/2026
COW TOOLS COW TOOLS COW TOOLS
theguardian.com
Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows
Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in multiple ways – something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees
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