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Kathleen Commons

@kabcommons.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.4K following 224 posts

Researching immigration control in 17C England, and what it tells us about citizenship now and then. Co-convenor @ihr.bsky.social Migration and Mobility Seminar kabcommons [at] gmail [dot] com

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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 9h
The lives of these men intersected with wider socio-political contexts: the 1857 uprising in India, developing concepts of empire, the possibilities and limits of entering elite spaces (specifically Oxbridge) as a Muslim. How did these men utilise networks to accrue privilege in this context?
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10h
Final paper is from Abdul Sabur Kidwai on Indian Muslims in 1860s London: Syed Abdullah, professor of Hindustani at UCL, and Masihuddin Alvi, an envoy of the deposed Nawab of Lucknow. What did processes of self-fashioning look like for these men?
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10h
@lhaasis.bsky.social is aiming to construct a multi-perspective account of life aboard the ship: how did convicts feel about their (enforced) mobility, how did they interact with sailors employed to transport them, how did they use social capital to make their experiences bearable?
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10h
3rd paper is from @lhaasis.bsky.social on convict letters sent from a prison ship in 1803. Another interesting view of mobility: forced migration in service of colonialism
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10h
Fascinating insights into how ethnically mixed neighbourhoods in early 20thC England negotiated difference and points of similarity
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10h
2nd paper from Gioia Rosetti @sheffielduni.bsky.social on 'mixedness' in working class Anglo-Chinese families. Gioia uses oral history & newspapers to understand the (ordinary) lived realities against racist newspaper discourses.
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10h
Great first paper @ihr.bsky.social Migration & Mobility x @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social seminar from Jasper Segerink @uantwerpen.be: intensive quantitative work shedding important light on the experiences of migrants lodgers in late 19thC Antwerp. What can this tell us about 'mobility' v. 'migration'
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Liminal Waterway Countercultures @liminalwater.bsky.social · 11h
From our PI at London’s @ihr.bsky.social for a @ihrhistorylab.bsky.social event organised by @kabcommons.bsky.social with a strong maritime/port city angle. Here’s a display from @layersoflondon.bsky.social, a #DigitalHumanities project that inspired the mapping element of our #LiminalWater project.
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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
At our first seminar, we will be hearing exciting and innovative new research about Indian Muslims in Victorian London; 19thC prison ships; lodgers in 19th/20thC Antwerp & working class Anglo-Chinese couples in early 20thC Liverpool. Join us!
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
01/12/26: ECR roundtable: Historical and Theoretical Approaches to Mobility, Migration and Citizenship: an ECR roundtable 15/12/26 Anna O Law: Migration Federalism in the U.S
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
03/11/26: Becky Taylor: How do you displace a Gypsy? Belvedere Marshes and the dangers of a progressive state 17/11/26: Technologies and Arts of Crossing Imperial Borders: A roundtable
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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
Sign up here to be kept informed about the IHR Migration and Mobility Seminar
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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
Sign up form
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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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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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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
Sign up form
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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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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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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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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Thank you!
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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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Krista Kesselring @kjkesselring.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
My new post: 'Grand Juries and Star Chamber’s Haunting Spectre' legalhistorymiscellany.com/2026/07/17/g...
legalhistorymiscellany.com
Grand Juries and Star Chamber’s Haunting Spectre
With curbs on trial juries now proposed in the UK, this post looks back to the part played by their now defunct counterpart, the grand jury.
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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
Ah, thank you so much!
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Joining some pretty hallowed company here
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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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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Modesty means I should demur, but as am currently without an academic post will hang on to 'great mind' with all I have (thank you @roperlou.bsky.social and @dsmyth.bsky.social)
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Yes! Very much so not manorial court business.
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Thank you so much!
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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 · 02/07/2026
Congratulations! 🎉 @stephaniewanga.bsky.social @gianamar97.bsky.social
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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 · 16/06/2026
An absolute peach of a paper
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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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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Dream find
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
How?! (Sorry. Slight overuse of punctuation but my mind is v blown)
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Kathleen Commons @kabcommons.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
!!!
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