Sign in

Hannah Rose Woods

@hannahrosewoods.bsky.social
2.9K followers 350 following 91 posts

Writer and historian. Author of Rule, Nostalgia: A Backwards History of Britain; currently writing a history of university students. Unlikely cathedral verger smarturl.it/rulenostalgia

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
SMD's pension @anothersmd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
if you ever wanted a buzzball autographed by kemi badenoch, now's your chance? go.rallyup.com/kemi-signed-...
White text on a blue background that says:

"Win a Kemi Badenoch Signed BuzzBall at CPC26! £2 a ticket, 3 for £5, 10 for £10, 20 for £15"

then on the left is an image of a buzzball from the front and next to it an image of the signed buzzball
3246
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026
This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.
Ä14
Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
ÄIO
Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…
17455932065
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Football’s icumen home
090
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
James Felton @jimmfelton.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I find the story of Hegelochus unreasonably funny. Imagine dying and the only trace of you millennia later is the time you accidentally said you saw a weasel in a tragic play in front of a packed audience, because people mocked you about it for centuries. (Thread for ease)
iflscience.com
Hegelochus: The Ancient Greek Actor We Only Know About Because He Really, Really Fluffed Up His Line
Around 400 BCE, Hegelochus really messed up his line. We only know about the actor because he was mocked about it for centuries.
361097388
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Atlas Shvitzed @therafischwartz.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Unfortunately, a stunned Paris is how they all got into this whole mess to begin with
360159463256
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Quick, the Bishop is in — assemble the narwhal tusk!
0120
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Does anyone remember my big fern
2300
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
I am a husk. A pleased husk
2280
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Not to be That Historian, but are we sure about that
1150
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
This feels excessive for May
070
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
You've probably been wondering: "How many eels is a cottage worth in 14th C. England?" This is a reasonable question. I get it. And happily, I'm here to help! I included a chart showing this kind of equivalence in an article I wrote for HistoryExtra , but here's an excerpt! 🗃️🧪
Table showing cost of items in the 14th C., and the equivalent value in eels. The table has 3 columns: "You want to buy", "It Costs", and "But in eels?" The table shows you that:

2 doz. eggs costs 1d, or 6 eels
A gallon of the best ale costs 1.25d or 8 eels
1 sheep costs 1s 5d, or 106 eels
1 cow costs 9s 5d, or 706 eels
A 2-story cottage costs £2, or 3,000 eels

The d. here means penny, from the latin "denarius." There were 12 d. to a shilling (s), and 20 shillings to a pound (£).

As far as I know, no one was buying cottages with eels. This is more to give you a sense of relative costs. But wouldn't it be interesting if you could buy a house with eels?

This chart leaves unanswered the question: "What about the next-best ale?" and suggests and entire spectrum of ale gradations. Which makes good sense, of course. But also, you certainly wouldn't want to spend your eels on inferior ale!
891309389
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
It has come to my attention that this was ten (10!!) years ago
3360
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Also asking for someone now writing a book about university students and trying to end with a little hopefulness
0100
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Just inordinately pleased by yellow daffodils in a brown jug
0180
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Lum @brokentoys.social · 13/04/2026
75180355901
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Euan Healey @euanhealey.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Quite something to think we are staring down the barrel of a crisis which will end high level research and teaching as something spread evenly across the country's cities and towns, accessible to all, and both UK and devolved governments just don't seem to particularly care?
515061
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
[Usual reminder that the main thing differentiating history from fiction as a narrative form is that history doesn't have to be plausible, it just has to happen]
2152
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
It's a good night to read this excellent piece, on the Orban regime's network of financial support for the nationalist right in Britain. For many on the radical right, the tills are about to stop ringing. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits
democracyforsale.substack.com
What happens to Britain's radical right if Orbán loses?
Inside the money, power and patronage connecting Hungary and the British right
6419174
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
I adored this book
060
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
It is almost, almost, impressive just how Labour have taken the massively dysfunctional and incompetent Home Office and managed by dint of policies and rhetoric to make it even more dysfunctional and incompetent. It is a true testament to how hostile they are to migrants. archive.today/07Hdr
Spurious Home Office decisions rejecting student visas are threatening universities' ability to enrol young people from abroad, it is claimed.

New rules come into effect in June that will punish universities if more than 4 per cent of study visas are rejected by the Home Office.

However, the changes coincide with a marked increase in the numbers of visas being refused by the Home Office on spurious and inaccurate grounds, according to research by universities that has been shared with The Times. Neither students nor universities are able to challenge the decisions, which are often taken months after a university has accepted the applicant and in some cases just days before they are due to start studying.UKVI carries out discretionary "credibility interviews" to ascertain that a student's intentions to study here are genuine.

In another interview, when asked why they had chosen to apply to their chosen institution, the applicant said they had considered several factors, including the university's ranking, employability support, student satisfaction while also noting that it was an ancient institution and cited the year it was founded.

The UKVI rejected the application, explaining that they were not satisfied the applicant was genuine given they had quoted the wrong founding year. The university subsequently confirmed that the applicant had provided the correct year and the UKVI caseworker was incorrect, but the decision could not be reconsidered.In another case a foreign student was rejected from obtaining a visa to study at the University of East Anglia due to a dispute over whether the university was in Norfolk. The applicant asserted correctly that it was, but the UKVI caseworker appeared to confuse Norfolk with Norwich, which is the capital of the county, and rejected the application - believing the applicant was wrong.In another credibility interview the applicant was asked to describe some of the taught modules they would be studying as part of their degree. The applicant explained that they had been offered a place to study a PhD in biomedical engineering which was fully research-based so did not have any taught modules.

Despite this, the UKVI refusal letter stated that they were not satisfied on the basis that their answers were "vague and generic" and had failed to explain the taught modules they would be studying.
20511219
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Will "scifantasy" Frank @scifantasy.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Aaron Swartz was hounded and persecuted by overzealous prosecutors for a mass JSTOR download until he committed suicide. Sam Altman says that he deserves to violate copyright law in perpetuity because otherwise he can't make a fortune from a large language model. We are in the wrong timeline.
7933382
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
For context that’s roughly equivalent to Iran’s oil revenue
081
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Obviously everyone is completely right for continuing to say the ways in which things are very bad indeed, but I can’t remember having less to say about the extent of things being bad. I am shocked by how little I have to say out loud. I am mute with bad.
2282
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Sam Bergman @violanorth.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Sorry, but this is not a dilemma
theguardian.com
Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes
Legal experts say attacking Iran’s infrastructure would constitute a war crime – but would military officers be held responsible?
12654176
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
John Gallagher @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Probably going to have to flesh out the traditional dismissal of Great Man Theory in first-year historiography lectures now it turns out that two to three deranged geriatrics actually can slingshot the entire planet into the sun
620838
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
The Jer Witch Project @neveronbrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
How it feels doing literally any task right now.
Viral photo from some years back of a man nonchalantly mowing his yard with a tornado on the horizon .
72145423319
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Kaz Cooke @kazcooke.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Secret tricks to get much better results out of the very dreadful 'Google search' these days, plus other search engines for specific things. Statospherically useful for researchers. open.substack.com/pub/cardcata...
open.substack.com
Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It.
40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it.
381447609
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Just cannot overstate how much love I have for the ALCS for paying my rent this month with change to spare. If you’re not signed up already, it is imo the easiest great thing you can do for yourself as a writer
1359
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
History is written by the victors and then upcycled by the victors after that
0100
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
In "Soft: A Brief History of Sentimentality", Ferdinand Mount draws on literature and history to reclaim the power of emotion in an age of irony, writes Hannah Rose Woods. bit.ly/4qMqhTb
bit.ly
In defence of sentimentality | The Observer
043
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Using my free will on Monday night dinner for one and a glass of 1990 Rivesaltes for pudding
0100
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Would like him to have to personally explain this deranged nostalgia for good old-fashioned British football hooliganism to a group of elderly Conservative voters
5707
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Andrej @tepid.meme · 17/10/2025
I genuinely don’t know how to deal with the constant drip drip effect of feeling like the world has gone stark raving mad. It’s like water torture.
612632
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
“Copyright growing pains” is one hell of a euphemism for the biggest IP theft in history
241062260
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Prof. Bethan Evans @drbevans.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
This is dreadful news
083
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Oh this looks so good
071
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 23/09/2025
when the interview goes well: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Screenshot from New Yorker interview by Isaac Chotiner with Cass Sunstein
171040180
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
The idea of inheriting tremendous wealth
0201
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Zoe Drayson @zoedrayson.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
When a typo in your Google search leads to new and exciting philosophical positions
AI Overview: "Dental realism"refers to the philosophical debate about whether teeth exist independently of human perception, a concept rooted in metaphysical realism. While realism asserts an objective reality for teeth, idealist philosophies contend that teeth's existence is tied to our consciousness and perception. Philosophers use this idea, for example, to discuss the ethics of tooth extraction, examining whether a procedure impacts a real entity or merely a subjective experience.
551421394
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Transcend your enslavement to the passions and live according to the dictate of reason alone with this one simple trick
3111
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Wikipedia is what the internet was meant to be and one of the few online places that hasn’t got worse. It’s a miracle
1258779
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 21/09/2025
for all people mock it wikipedia is genuinely one of the wonders of the modern world
14890081005
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
In Swedish, a word for what you eat to bridge the gap between meals (or while waiting for the main course to cook) is stödmacka. It means "support sandwich." A similar word in Norwegian is ventepølse, or "waiting sausage."
602147435
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
IDF sniper from Chicago who says he killed Gazan teenager just for trying to retrieve his brother's corpse: “They’re thinking, ‘Oh I don’t think [I’ll get shot] because I’m wearing civilian clothes and I am not carrying a weapon' and all that, but they were wrong. That’s what you have snipers for.”
theguardian.com
The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich
Five-month investigation reveals how four members of one family were shot and killed in a single day and highlights a pattern in which Israeli troops target unarmed civilians
11217151006
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Morning coffee
1190
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Watering my parents’ greenhouse while they’re on holiday, and it’s just disproportionately nice that their tomato plant has grown a sleeping cat
1110
Hannah Rose Woods @hannahrosewoods.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
O to meet a nice man in a jumper eating a teacake in a National Trust cafe
4211
Reposted by Hannah Rose Woods
Jonathan Healey @jonathanhealey.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
I hate this so much
1514517