iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kathleen Commons

Safe Passage International @safepassageintl.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Family should never be out of reach. Our Young Leaders share what family means to them, and why this issue is deeply personal. Hear their message, then stand with refugee families and call on the Government to restore this vital safe route: act.safepassage.org.uk/sign-petitio...

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A great lineup for the @ihr.bsky.social Migration and Mobility Seminar this term! 🧵 Sign up to our mailing list: forms.gle/iAeiGQT1w7rt... 06/10/26: PhD Research showcase 20/10/26: Jonah Miller: Race and the Rent Collector: Housing, Migration, and Sociology in Modern Britain

forms.gle

IHR Migration and Mobility Seminar mailing list

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Really thrilled to be a 2026 LHub Visitor @ials.bsky.social. Delighted and a little (justifiably) overwhelmed to be spending the next year working with this amazing group of scholars: ials.sas.ac.uk/research/lhu...

ials.sas.ac.uk

LHub People and Partners

Explore the diverse community of scholars and partners connected to the Law and Humanities Hub, including legal historians, writers, and interdisciplinary researchers.

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Just 2 wks till @ihr.bsky.social @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social & Migration & Mobility Seminar New Research showcase w/papers on 19thC prison ships, Muslims in 19thC London, migrants lodgers in late 19thC Antwerp & working class Anglo-Chinese families in 20thC Liverpool. Sign up: tinyurl.com/mr22jn5e

tinyurl.com

History Lab/Migration and Mobility Seminar

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Incredibly powerful testimony from RNLI volunteers (now being abused by Patriot Platform among others) about their rescues of people seeking asylum www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

theguardian.com

‘Their boat was sinking’: RNLI vows to keep rescuing asylum seekers despite attacks

Charity emphasises small boat rescues are tiny part of its work and speaks out after volunteers abused by far right

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

Lucas Haasis @lhaasis.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

“I am conscious I have deserv’d all I suffer.” What did remorse, hope and survival mean aboard HMS Calcutta in 1803? Join me at the Migration & Mobility Seminar & @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social, Senate House London/online, 6 Oct, on convict letters & Britain’s transportation system #earlymodern #history

Blue waves, dark sky, light from above. No one paints waves like him. Painting: Ivan Aivazovsky, “Among the Waves”, 1898, Feodosia National Art Gallery of I. K. Aivazovsky.

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Just 10 days to submit to this amazing ECR roundtable @ihr.bsky.social Migration and Mobility Seminar, convened by MC Loureiro, which aims to open space for new ways of understanding & challenging practices and theories of belonging, rights & protections. Details here: le.ac.uk/law/news/law...

Poster outlining the key points of the call for papers - available online at the website address linked in the post

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

@julietatkinson.bsky.social's work is *so good* - on mobility, and paperwork, and the ways that mobility was governed and surveilled

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

Thomas C Jones @thomas-c-jones.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The @ihr.bsky.social Migration and Mobility seminar is starting with a bang this year, with 4 pieces of new postgraduate research on 6 October - sign up to attend at forms.gle/tUCt9uWatCYK...

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I'm so proud to be a trustee @afrilcharity.bsky.social - an incredible charity, supporting refugees and migrants in some really innovative ways (incredible & growing advice service, Saturday school, destitution service). This is a great opportunity to get involved & develop skills (& feel great!)

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Migration & Mobility x HistoryLab new research showcase 06/10/25 5.30pm (hybrid). Papers: Indian Muslims in Victorian London; migrant lodgers in Antwerp 1850-1900; convict letters from HMS Calcutta, 1803; experiences of working-class Anglo-Chinese couples, 1906-39. Sign up: forms.gle/tUCt9uWatCYK...

forms.gle

History Lab/Migration and Mobility Seminar

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 20/08/2026

‘According to Deportation Alarm, a charter flight has been scheduled at 1 a.m. from Leipzig to Kabul between 25 and 27 August. Tofan didn’t know if he would be forced to get on it.’ Caitlin L. Chandler on a German deportation case, new on the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/au...

lrb.co.uk

Caitlin L. Chandler | Deported for Leaving the Country

Faridoon Tofan wanted to see Rome. The 46-year-old Afghan national had been living in Germany since 2022 without leaving...

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The @ihr.bsky.social Migration and Mobility Seminar has an open CFP for what will be a brilliant ECR roundtable: Historical and Theoretical Approaches to Mobility, Migration and Citizenship Deadline 10/09 - pls apply, share etc! le.ac.uk/law/news/law...

le.ac.uk

Law news | Leicester Law School | University of Leicester

Read news stories from Leicester Law School and keep up to date.

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Submitted a book manuscript! Is it good? I genuinely have stared at it so much I have no idea

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 23/07/2026

‘The trend in recent years has been for countries to do away with, rather than affirm, 𝘫𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪. Ireland abolished the practice in 2005 after a referendum; Australia, New Zealand and India have all revoked it.’ @kabcommons.bsky.social on birthright citizenship. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Kathleen Commons · Short Cuts: England’s Birthright Citizenship

It was relatively straightforward for the British government to end birthright subjecthood: statute overrides common law...

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 20/07/2026

‘Just as the judges in 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦 made legal contortions to interpret the law in a way consistent with existing legal principles and the desires of the new monarch, so have supporters of Trump’s effort to abolish birthright citizenship.’ @kabcommons.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Kathleen Commons · Short Cuts: England’s Birthright Citizenship

It was relatively straightforward for the British government to end birthright subjecthood: statute overrides common law...

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 18/07/2026

‘It was relatively straightforward for the British government to end birthright subjecthood: statute overrides common law. It is less easy for those seeking to end birthright citizenship in the US.’ @kabcommons.bsky.social on birthright citizenship in England. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Kathleen Commons · Short Cuts: England’s Birthright Citizenship

It was relatively straightforward for the British government to end birthright subjecthood: statute overrides common law...

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 16/07/2026

‘Law is not the only element in determining citizenship: the actions of those who interpret or challenge the law are just as important.’ @kabcommons.bsky.social on England’s birthright citizenship. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Kathleen Commons · Short Cuts: England’s Birthright Citizenship

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I wrote about US efforts to strip birthright citizenship from migrants' children using a 17thC English court case @lrb.co.uk. Calvin's Case (1608) is comically clear that the basis of citizenship is birthright: the rest of the judgement tho was much more controversial... tinyurl.com/mv5m8ady

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Joining some pretty hallowed company here

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

Cameron @cameronboyle95.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Burnham's first act should be to reinstate family reunion. At present, more than 16,000 people are trapped. The big question is: will he? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

theguardian.com

More than 16,000 refugees unable to reunite with families in UK, says Refugee Council

Suspension of family reunion route has left many stuck in conflict zones or using people smugglers to reach safety

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

The Historical Journal @historicaljnl.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

📘From our latest issue! Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social on 'Discovering ‘Immigration Control’ in England, c. 1540 – c. 1640' #Migration #History #EarlyModern #England #Immigration 📜 16thc 17thc 👉Read open access here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Migration history is a growing field – yet the legal status of migrants in early modern England has not yet been investigated in detail. Reconstructing the legal system that governed migrants in early modern England does not just add significant depth and nuance to histories of migration and migrants, but also provides fresh insight into the status of English subjects. Furthermore, it enables historians to trace longer histories of the exclusion of migrants from rights in England and Britain. This article reconstructs the common law governance of migrants between c. 1540 and c. 1640, showing how common law principles and practices excluded migrants from the rights-bearing status of English subjects. Rather than being governed by the law, migrants were substantively governed under prerogative, a form of governance repeatedly resisted by English subjects. Although some migrants could access (unstable) liberties granted under prerogative, for the most part migrants were also subject to discriminatory local byelaws and licences and commissions granted by the crown for their exploitation. The repeated ‘molestation’ of migrants by informers for working contrary to statute, and petitions against this harassment from migrants suggest this early modern system of immigration control was relatively well understood by both subjects and migrants.

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

It should also be noted that a key "safe route" was suspended by the govt in September, causing untold distress to refugees in the UK, and placing their families overseas in often imaginable danger. Family reunion was already hugely restricted - now no refugee can access it.

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Just one week to sign up for our last @ihr.bsky.social Migration & Mobility Seminar with Daniel Renshaw presenting on 'Catholic Refugees and Protestant Churches in Britain during the First World War'. 30th June online and in-person - sign up here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

history.ac.uk

Institute of Historical Research

The Institute of Historical Research is the UK's national centre for history

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Our next (last of the year!) @ihr.bsky.social Migration & Mobility Seminar will be Daniel Renshaw presenting on 'Catholic Refugees and Protestant Churches in Britain during the First World War'. 30th June online and in-person - sign up here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

history.ac.uk

Catholic Refugees and Protestant Churches in Britain during the First World War

Migration and Mobility Seminar

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Last chance to sign up for this fascinating paper!

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The next @ihr.bsky.social Migration & Mobility Seminar will be a fascinating paper by @conniethomas.bsky.social: Performing Citizenship: Public activism and the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts. 16 June, 5.30, online & in person - sign up here! www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

history.ac.uk

Performing Citizenship: Public activism and the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts

Migration and Mobility Seminar

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Bumping this seminar paper for American friends (but also British friends, as it's likely to be brilliant!)

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

history.ac.uk

Performing Citizenship: Public activism and the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts

Migration and Mobility Seminar

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Having been privileged to see this as a work in progress, I'm extremely excited to see it out. Some of the conversations around Calvin's Case have been deeply depressing. This is a corrective: a thoughtful & careful piece of work with much to say about citizenship & law & history

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Today! There's still time to sign up online or in-person for this excellent seminar on refugees in Ancient Greece

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Really delighted that my article '‘Duplex and reciprocal’ obligation: Calvin’s Case (1608) and the development of early modern English citizenship' has been shortlisted for this prize! (Also thank you, I guess, to Donald Trump for making it super relevant): tinyurl.com/5235jvy6

academic.oup.com

‘Duplex and reciprocal’ obligation: Calvin’s Case (1608) and the development of early modern English citizenship*

Abstract. Whether or not people in early modern England were citizens has often been analysed in terms of individuals’ participation in self-rule, neglecti

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Our next Migration and Mobility Seminar @ihr.bsky.social on 2nd June: Integrating ancient Greece in refugee history: inscriptions, (in)visibility and refugee agency with Benjamin Gray and James Hua. It's sure to be fascinating, and is in-person and hybrid - sign up here! tinyurl.com/zfwf799w

history.ac.uk

Integrating ancient Greece in refugee history: inscriptions, (in)visibility and refugee agency

Migration and Mobility Seminar

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

The second @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social x @ihr.bsky.social Migration and Mobility showcase is approaching fast! We have another round of fascinating papers from brilliant young scholars - sign up here! www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

history.ac.uk

History Lab x Migration and Mobility Seminar: New Research Showcase

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Reposted by Kathleen Commons

Women for Refugee Women @4refugeewomen.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

These tragic deaths come just over a week after two people died in the Channel. Each death is a tragedy and completely avoidable. Our thoughts are with their loved ones and all who were on the boat. We urgently need safe routes. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Four people die in Channel small-boat sinking

At least 42 others rescued after incident in strong currents off coast of Boulogne

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Pls stop mangling 17thC English law (& legal practice) to support stripping citizenship. Allegiance conferred protection - access to (rightslike) liberties in the common law *and* prerogative protection. It was not merely subjection! There are articles about this, but never mind, I guess.

Except from an article by Philip Hamburger reading "Justice Kagan said that the common law’s territorial rule was “very generous” in that it “extended citizenship to those born there who may not have been born of parent citizens.” Again, however, the common law rule was not about citizenship, and was not so much generous as merely sensible in saying that almost all persons in the king’s territory were his subjects and thus subject to his laws"

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Call me a bizarre anthropomorphic rabbit, because I’ve got so many Easter Eggs in my 270th #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy the hunt, all! 🗃️ + blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

blackwhiteandread.com

#ScholarSunday Thread 270 (4/5/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

A little thread on early modern immigration control. Feat. a 'commission for strangers' among other experiments... In 16thC and 17thC common law, subjects had access to both 'legal' protection and 'natural' protection by virtue of birth in the monarch's dominions ("in allegiance").

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Really pleased to share my (open access!) article on immigration control in early modern England, feat. rights-bearing subjects, rightsless migrants, and experiments in immigration control

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Very pleased to share my review of @endeeekay.bsky.social, Subha Mukherji and Rowan Williams' collection, Crossings, an attempt to reorient migration studies through the lens of migrant knowledge(s) & migrant forms: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/RXI2X...

tandfonline.com

Crossings: migrant knowledges, migrant forms

Published in Immigrants & Minorities: Historical Studies in Ethnicity, Migration and Diaspora (Ahead of Print, 2026)

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Our programme for summer seminars @ihr.bsky.social is up now! Featuring a v timely paper on American citizenship + immigration at the founding; ancient Greek refugeedom; gypsy and Roma mobility; & cross-confessional solidarity with refugees in early 20thC Britain tinyurl.com/3bxsdy32

tinyurl.com

Migration and Mobility History

The IHR Migration and Mobility seminar provides a space for historians and scholars from other disciplines to come together to discuss migration and mobility in history.

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John Gallagher @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Please do spread the word about the @srsrensoc.bsky.social Scholars of Colour MA Scholarship Awards -- two pots of £4,000 each, and an optional mentoring opportunity. I've very much enjoyed being a mentor to a fantastic scholar through this scheme!

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Performative cruelty (again); refugee status is already temporary. Shortening it causes massive distress to refugees, many of whom have been waiting for leave for years. Given the HO already has a huge backlog, how will they resource reviews for every refugee at 30 months? tinyurl.com/ycx5ewty

tinyurl.com

Refugee status to be temporary as Shabana Mahmood rips up rules on UK asylum

Home secretary announces 30-month protection limit, with refugees required to leave if their home countries are later judged safe

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