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Jeff McNairn

@jlmcnairn.bsky.social
225 followers 400 following 74 posts

Canadian Historian dividing his time between Toronto, Kingston, and Ottawa and between good food, dry gin, and amazing friends.

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Reposted by Jeff McNairn
Krista Kesselring @kjkesselring.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Pleased to see this volume on married women & the law now out - the product of a great conference on coverture organized by Danaya Wright. (Rather pricey, but good for the library-wishlist!) #earlymodern #history www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-...
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Anna O. Law @unlawfulentries.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Painting at the Guggenheim aka my department meeting
Painting of four men sitting looking completely forlorn and depressed
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My latest blog post about Cree geographic knowledge in 17th-century cartography is now live with the British Library’s blog, focusing on some research that I completed this summer at the library as a 2026 Eccles Fellow. www.bl.uk/stories/blog...
bl.uk
Charting Indigenous lands and waterways
Cree geographical knowledge at the British Library and the early cartography of the Hudson Bay watershed.
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Mairi Cowan @historianmairi.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
18-month Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Toronto Digital Histories Initiative Join us to work on the University of Toronto Digital Histories Initiative, part of the University’s Bicentennial programming. More information here: www.utm.utoronto.ca/historical-s...
utm.utoronto.ca
Postdoctoral Positions | Department of Historical Studies
18-month Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Toronto Digital Histories InitiativeDepartment of Historical Studies, University of Toronto MississaugaApplication deadline: October 6, 2026Fellowship s...
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Matthew Hayday @mhayday.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Very excited to see my forthcoming book on page one of the Winter 2027 @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social catalogue. Joe Clark: Progressive, Conservative, Canadian will be released in early 2027!
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Shannon Proudfoot @sproudfoot.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Petition to legally require a "FUCK OFF" button on every AI tool that asks if you'd like it to summarize an email or blow your nose for you. People went nuts when U2 shoved an album onto their phones against their will, and now this crap is rammed down our throats everywhere. Rise up, people!
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James McLeod @jamespmcleod.ca · 30/08/2026
The Lake Ontario/Lake America thing is exactly the sort of thing where Canada could be subsumed by American "digital trade alignment" which we know they were asking for before talks broke down. It's not cultural imperialism. It's just "aligning" on database entries for the name of a lake.
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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
2025-26: the first year Canadian universities employed more tenured/TT professors over the age of 70 than under the age of 35.
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Toronto’s newest park
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Tina Adcock @tinaadcock.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Shout-out to Zachary M. Schrag's *Princeton Guide to Historical Research* (2021), which I am actually finding quite useful as a mid-career researcher trying to set up a better workflow for a second big project from the get-go. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
press.princeton.edu
The Princeton Guide to Historical Research
The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century
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The Hill Times @hilltimes.com · 21/07/2026
‘A disaster’ for access, expert says as cuts push Library and Archives to end proactive declassification work www.hilltimes.com/2026/07/21/a...
hilltimes.com
‘A disaster’ for access, expert says as cuts push Library and Archives to end proactive declassification work - The Hill Times
'It's just another tragedy in the access story,' says historian Timothy Sayle of the decision to axe the three-year-old program, and part of a 'broader pattern of underfunding access to information…
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
In "In Praise of Dogs," Michael Borsk argues that dogs performed vital labor in the Hudson's Bay fur trade, using their cooperation and choices to shape human colonial relations. niche-canada.org/2026/07/16/i... #envhist #cdnhist #animalhistory
niche-canada.org
In Praise of Dogs
Dogs performed vital labor in the Hudson's Bay fur trade, using their cooperation and choices to shape human colonial relations.
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Stephen Hopkins @phil-lol-ogist.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
The very last place I want to see my book
Book store section with messed up sign: new & not worthy
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Thanks to @unlawfulentries.bsky.social for putting Made with Lau into my feed. Made this last night and while I'll increase the heat next time, it was a hit. Videos to up your stir-fry game. www.madewithlau.com/recipes/mong...
madewithlau.com
The Mongolian Beef My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Check out why millions of people love my dad's recipes! Learn from a 2x James Beard Award Winning Chinese Chef with 50+ years of experience
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Joyce Chaplin @joycechaplin.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
250 years ago today, Thomas Jefferson…bought a thermometer. And he recorded Philadelphia’s highest temperature that day: 76 degrees. Today’s heat-dome, climate-change high is 99.
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
"New Brunswick was the first British province to actively police its coastal waters when the assembly passed legislation in 1822 to fund an armed cutter to cruise the Bay of Fundy." - @richrray.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2020/09/24/f... #envhist #cdnhist #coastalhistory
niche-canada.org
From Olive Branch to Policing Stick: The Fishery and the Constitutional Transformation of the 1778 Taxation of the Colonies Act
The regulation of British North America's pre-Confederation fishery showcased the Maritime colonies' use of polycentric governance to address overfishing, assert jurisdiction over inshore waters, and ...
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University of Manitoba Press @umanitobapress.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Happy pub date to Sarah Carter's CROPPED. This long-awaited work exposes the stranglehold the DIA had on First Nations’ land, resources, and livelihoods and shows the deep roots of First Nations agricultural knowledge.
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Kristine Alexander @kalexand.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Looking for a change of scene, intellectual community, and a place to write? The Wilson Institute for Canadian History at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social has just launched a Visiting Scholars Program! More info here: wilson.humanities.mcmaster.ca/discover/our...
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Present & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Mid century sun trademarks. Happy Solstice! www.presentandcorrect.com/blogs/blog/m...
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Past and Present @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
On advance access: "Secrecy and sovereignty in the Age of Revolutions" by Katlyn Marie Carter (‪@notredame.bsky.social‬) doi.org/10.1093/past...
doi.org
Secrecy and sovereignty in the Age of Revolutions*
Abstract. Transparency, or publicity as it was then called, became a fundamental value linked to popular sovereignty in the late eighteenth century. Those
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Dr. Natasha Henry-Dixon @nhenrydixon.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Excited to share my latest collaboration with Dictionary of @dcb-dbc.bsky.social highlighting the lives and experiences of Black people enslaved in colonial Ontario! www.biographi.ca/en/bio/name_...
biographi.ca
NAME UNRECORDED (fl. 1802–3) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
During the colonial era of present-day Ontario, more than 600 Black men, women, and children were enslaved, many of them by white loyalists such as Matthew Elliott, one of Upper Canada’s largest slave...
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Present & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
For Ballpoint Pen Day, the original patent filed by László Bíró (Hungarian journalist) in 1943. It was the first commercially successful design, later purchased by Marcel Bich (aka BIC) in 1950.
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Jack Rakove @jrakove.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
It would have been a happier day had this festschrift to Gordon Wood been published a tad earlier, but fate intervened. I am one of the eleven contributors, along with Gordon's own response. The title of my essay is Being Schooled with Gordon Wood. yaleconnect.yale.edu/YJLH/yjlh-is...
yaleconnect.yale.edu
YJLH Issue 36.6 - Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities | Yale University
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
_Creation of the American Republic_ was one of the three foundational works of my UofT dissertation in the 1990s. I read it for my minor field in early national US and promptly changed my dissertation topic in Canadian history.
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Florian Louis @florianlouis.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Max Skjönsberg - The Spirit of the British Constitution Parliamentary Reform from the Civil War to the Great Reform Act À paraître en octobre aux Princeton UP
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Shifting Sovereignties @shiftingsovs.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Nre book by Charles W. A. Prior "Treaty Ground: Diplomacy and the Politics of Sovereignty, from Roanoke to the Republic" www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/978...
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Andrew Popp @andrewpopp.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Did you know that beaver used to function as a unit of account known as "made beaver"? Find out more.
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Enterprise and Society @entandsoc.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Michael Borsk's fascinating new article, "Accounting for Partridge: Food and Value in the Eighteenth-Century Hudson’s Bay Company," recounts the strange entanglement of partridge and accounting at the Hudson Bay Company. Only to be found in @entandsoc.bsky.social! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Accounting for Partridge: Food and Value in the Eighteenth-Century Hudson’s Bay Company | Enterprise & Society | Cambridge Core
Accounting for Partridge: Food and Value in the Eighteenth-Century Hudson’s Bay Company
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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
PUB. DAY! Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia is officially out today. Available Open Access: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501... #legalhistory Outfit: red for bloodstain testing+flowered shirt for botanical poisons+poisoner's ring (for show only)
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Nicole O’Byrne @nobyrne.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
I interviewed @cndhistassoc.bsky.social president Colin Coates about his wonderful book - Political Culture in Louis XIV's Canada for the Witness to Yesterday podcast. You can listen here: champlainsociety.utppublishing.com/digital-cont...
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Law & History Review @lawandhistrev.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Law & History Review is pleased to announce publication of our joint special issue with The William and Mary Quarterly: New Legal Histories of the American Revolution [vol. 44, no. 1, Feb., 2026] Here is our table of contents with links. ALL articles are open access ✅ and ready for download/view.
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Daniel Woolf 🇨🇦 @woolf-atthedoor.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The Global History Initiative at Queen's University is holding an upcoming online conference, "Critical Issues in Global Historiography" www.queensu.ca/ghi/critical....
queensu.ca
Online Conference: Critical Issues in Global Historiography | Global History Initiative
The Global History Initiative is happy to announce its upcoming online conference "Critical Issues in Global Historiography" from April 15-17, 2026. To receive a link to the conference, please RSVP to...
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Cominsitu @cominsitu.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
end of an era
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Histories of Native American Treaties and Anti-Chinese Violence Win Bancroft Prize www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/a... Congratulations!
nytimes.com
Histories of Native American Treaties and Anti-Chinese Violence Win Bancroft Prize
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Daniel Woolf 🇨🇦 @woolf-atthedoor.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
The Department of History at Queen’s University is hiring for the Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellow in Canadian History. Please help us circulate this advertisement widely in your networks. www.queensu.ca/history/abou...
queensu.ca
Employment | Department of History, Queen's University
The Department of History is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful work environment.
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David Chan Smith @dasmith.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Who was smuggling in 18th century Britain? My refreshed database for prosecutions for smuggling in England and Wales c. 1721-1732 is live with over 4,000 entries. From naval officers to farmers, smuggling was big business. #twitterstorians #earlymod #history www.davidchansmith.net/smugglingdat...
davidchansmith.net
Smuggling Database | davidchansmith
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
www.queensu.ca/history/abou... Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellowship in Canadian History at Queen's. Please help circulate the ad. widely.
queensu.ca
Employment | Department of History, Queen's University
The Department of History is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful work environment.
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Today is the 250th anniversary of the publication of the Wealth of Nations! Liberty Fund is hosting a one-essay-per-week symposium with contributions from Eric Schliesser, Maria Pia Paganelli, Dennis C. Rasmussen, Brianne Wolf, me (at week 5, for book V), and Craig Smith.
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Law & History Review @lawandhistrev.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
👀 👀 👀 Out shortly ... our joint special forum with The William and Mary Quarterly: New Legal Histories of the American Revolution Contributions by Sarah Barringer Gordon, Mark Valeri, Jess Roney, Don Johnson, Matthew Crow, and William J. Novak All open access ✅ Links soon!
table of contents for Law and History Review's february 2026 special forum/issue, New Legal Histories of the American Revolution
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David Chan Smith @dasmith.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Excited about an article on the legal history of Britain or the British Empire published in 2025? Consider nominating the article for the #ASLH Sutherland Prize! Self-nominations also accepted - don't be shy! Due date: June 1. aslh.net/award/suther...
aslh.net
Sutherland Prize | American Society for Legal History
The Sutherland Prize, named in honor of the late Donald W. Sutherland, a distinguished historian of the law of medieval England and a mentor of many students, is awarded annually, on the recommendatio...
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Carol Atack @carolatack.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
A reassessment of Quentin Skinner's classic paper on its 50th anniversary, drawn from a @britishacademy.bsky.social conference - Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas and Beyond, edited by @adrianblau.bsky.social & open access at www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas and Beyond | Home
Adrian Blau is Professor of Politics at King’s College London. His research interests include the history of political thought and other issues in political theory/philosophy, including corruption, democracy and rationality.
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Let the Ottolenghi cooking show in Ottawa begin!
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Daniel Samson @ruralcolonialns.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Two - count 'em - two jobs at UPEI - one in History (specifically aimed at Atlantic Canada) and one in English (which could be Atlantic Canadian!). www.upei.ca/hr/competiti... www.upei.ca/hr/competiti...
upei.ca
Assistant Professor- Tenure Track Position- Department of History - Faculty of Arts | University of Prince Edward Island
The University of Prince Edward Island offers an amazing and affordable student experience in beautiful Charlottetown, PEI. Our interesting and unique programs bring out your best, lead you to realize...
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Richard Yeomans @richrray.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Great short essay. I’ve been working on a transcription project for the Port of Saint John customs house, so seeing many parallels with NS. In 1788, 55 of the 88 non-British ships that sold cargo in SJ were from the US - all carrying foodstuffs.
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Digressionsimpressions @nescio13.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
On Hume's counterintuitive theory of taxes open.substack.com/pub/digressi...
open.substack.com
On Hume's counterintuitive theory of taxes
[T]hat we have, with regard to taxes, an instance of what frequently happens in political institutions, that the consequences of things are diametrically opposite to what we should expect on the first...
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Jeff McNairn @jlmcnairn.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Great Jully Black concert last night at the NAC.
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Shirley Tillotson @stillots1.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I love that the dust jacket of The Collectors (a history of Canadian customs and excise) is illustrated with Cornelius Kriegoff's painting, Bilking the Toll Gate. Possibly the only Canadian painting about tax evasion
The painting shows three men, one of them brandishing a liquor bottle, racing on a horse-drawn sleigh past the barrier on a toll road circa 1860. The toll house is shown with a list of rates posted outside it and an angry toll collector and his dog and assistant run helplessly toward the laughing man on the sleigh. The toll rate to sign is bilingual in French and english. The scofflaws on the sled are wearing traditional garb of "habitant" men
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