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Islay Shelbourne

@islayshelbourne.bsky.social

Historian. Currently researching Californian understandings of the 1918-19 Flu. Strolling in St Andrews and finding my future in the past.

Posts Replies Media

Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Congratulations!! This sounds like a fascinating project and I can't wait to see where you take it. So well deserved and such an exciting next step!

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Congratulations! That sounds fascinating!

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Already so excited to read this when it comes out!

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Come along next Tuesday to hear all about Californian health myths and their impact on perceptions of TB and the 1918-19 Flu. I'm excited to share my findings and delve into all the details that didn't fit into my recently submitted PhD thesis, reincarnating zephrys and mammoth oranges included!

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Reposted by Islay Shelbourne

Media and Epidemics @mediaandepidemics.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Our research into historical #pandemics and literature has just been published on the medical humanities platform @the-polyphony.bsky.social - find it here ⬇️ #medhums #hstm #histsci #litsi

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Reposted by Islay Shelbourne

Alex Hibberts @hibbertsalex.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

I'm delighted that @royalhistsoc.org has published our roundtable article on 'The Future of (Environmental) History'. This came out of a workshop in April 2023 with @northernenvhistory.bsky.social I've summarised our paper (link to OA article) in a blog 👇 blog.royalhistsoc.org/2025/07/27/f...

blog.royalhistsoc.org

Four Suggestions for the Future of (Environmental) History | Historical Transactions

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Reposted by Islay Shelbourne

Megan Kate Nelson 📚 @mkn.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

"THE WESTERNERS" COVER REVEAL, including the spine! Both show how my new history of the 19th-c American West puts readers on the ground in this vast region with several fascinating individuals (four of them pictured here), all of whom put the lie to the frontier myth. Pub date: April 21, 2026!

The spine and cover of a book. The spine (left) has four images of people: Jim Beckwourth, Sacajawea, Ovando Hollister, and Polly Bemis, separated by colored lines. With the title and author in white. The cover includes the title in white (The Westerners: Myth-Making and Belonging on the American Frontier) above and the author name (Megan Kate Nelson) below. The image is in mossy greens, with mountains in the background and a river or lake in the foreground, with a group of women navigating it on a raft.

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

The Inaugural St Andrews Medical Humanities Network Symposium was a fascinating event to attend and was just as interesting to write about for this review!

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

More about me can be found here, including links to some of my recent publications and conference papers: research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/persons/i... I'm looking forward to posting more about flu, TB and early 20th century medicine soon!

research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk

Islay Grace Shelbourne

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Outside of the PhD, I teach in both the Schools of History and Medicine at St Andrews, and you may have heard me on the Miniatures podcast, which I have produced and presented on from January 2023. You can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

podcasts.apple.com

Miniatures: Small Stories - Big Histories

History Podcast · Welcome to Miniatures, the Podcast for the History of Everyday Life. We show how the big picture in history is best seen through the assemblage of individual and local stories, what...

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

More broadly, I am interested in the history of influenza, tuberculosis, osteopathy, debates around medical authority and expertise, and patent medical advertising in a Western US context. I will be exploring some of these in a short term fellowship following my PhD submission in the fall!

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

My thesis explores how pre-pandemic experiences of tuberculosis, the continued prevalence of pre-germ theory understandings of contagion, and the legacy of Southern California's 19th century health rush shaped understandings of disease during the influenza pandemic 🚑🦠📚

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Islay Shelbourne @islayshelbourne.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Hey Bluesky! My name is Islay and I am a final year Environmental History PhD Candidate @standrewshist.bsky.social where my research explores understandings of contagion in Southern California during the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic.

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