iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kate McAllister

Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#JobFairy alert for #histSTM and modern british historians - 60 month post-doc at Newcastle Uni on the Wellcome Trust funded "The Night Shift 1850-present: Reimagining Sleep, Work and Wellbeing for Healthcare Professionals in English and Scottish Hospitals" 🗃️ www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTD047/r...

jobs.ac.uk

Research Assistant/Associate (Modern British History) at Newcastle University

Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Assistant/Associate (Modern British History). Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.

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Rebecca Wynter @rebeccawynter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

New issue of @sshmedicine.bsky.social just dropped - plenty of #HistSTM #HisMed, including #HistPsych 🗃️

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Is anyone aware of histories of ‘photophobia’, e.g. sensitivity or pain in the eyes due to bright light. I’ve thought about Foxhall’s work on migraines already. Trying to figure out the origins of that diagnosis, potentially through late 19c ophthalmology(?) in the British context

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Whoever gets this would be very lucky to work on this important project AND with @eleanorshaw.bsky.social

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This feels like a fitting street sign, close to the archives, where I am sat trying to get my head around geographies of persisting pain in a nineteenth-century industrial city

A street sign, which reads ‘Grinders Hill’, on a brick wall. Around it, you can see graffiti and posters

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

First day back at work after some sick leave, I’m in the archives, have managed to lose my card on my lunch break and am just a bit scatter brained. But the archivists keep asking if I’m okay, encouraging me to take breaks, and also said the lost card is okay because they “know me” 😭

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Last week was World Suicide Prevention Day. I saw lots of well meaning posts elsewhere on social media, about how ‘asking someone if they are okay’, or ‘sending them a song because it reminded you of them’, is suicide prevention. But it’s really not and it’s dangerous to pretend it is

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Grateful as ever to have an NHS and staff that can provide out of hours care, but also shocked to learn that (in Sheffield at least) 24 hour pharmacies are just… no longer a thing?!

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

After the last few days, it’s very clear to me that despite countless public campaigns about the need to ‘be kind’, a lot of people really don’t understand suicide or what it means to be suicidal.

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

A reminder that there is a family out there today, who have faced all of this alongside their father, partner, brother, uncle and son, and who now have to navigate what is to many people unimaginable grief. Think of them, and Jason Arday, before you speak.

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

Sadiah Qureshi 🦈 @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

For anyone who might need this: Contact details for the Samaritans. Options include calling, texting, and online help. Back to being offline. www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-h...

samaritans.org

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

No direct view of the eclipse for us but I did sit in the garden as the birds (and what felt like the world) fell silent

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Lesley A Hall @erinacean.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I have been muttering for literal decades that the sexy narrative on vibratory devices was not taking into account the development of physiotherapy + massage and technical aids thereunto (or electrotherapy) www.lesleyahall.net/factoids.htm... and article herein has done the necessary work

lesleyahall.net

Victorian sex factoids

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I love this framing of #histpsych: “The history of psychiatry is, above all, a history of stories, often told by patient’s families and friends to rationalize committal to hospital. Stories related by patients to doctors, then reinterpreted in casebooks, journal articles, and conference papers.”

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

All this talk of social construction brought me back here. I’ve read it so many times but always find something new

The first page of a book chapter by Karl Figlio, on miners nystagmus, workmen’s compensation and social relations.

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Today l learnt that Regent Court, a block of flats in Hillsborough, Sheffield, is thought to be the first example of workers’ housing of the modern movement in the UK (ahead of Kensal House in London)

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I started Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza last night. Finding the passages on grief, memory and institutional archives particularly moving

Passage from the first chapter of Liliana’s Invincible Summer. Here, Rivera Garza is talking about her desire to seek justice for her sister, through countering her erasure within and from institutional archives.

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Why is Julian Casablancas now obsessed with autotune

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Annual leave is almost up, and it’s been in many ways not at all restful… But all the while, the apples on the tree we planted for my brother, Dan, have continued to grow. Despite constant heatwaves and with regular water. Life goes on

Three apples growing on separate tree branches. I am holding the branch upwards, towards the camera. In the background you can see a wooden fence.

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 15/07/2026

The @britishacademy.bsky.social resource also shows significant and v. concerning trends in recruitment of academic historians. The period 2018/19 to 2024/25 has seen a 25% fall (435 FPE) of staff with the contract type 'early career'. This compares to a 4% rise for senior staff #Skystorians 3/3

Screen shot of British Academy mapping staff in SHAPE showing decline in History staff (contract type 'early career' for 2018-19 to 2024-25 in all institutions: 25% decline (435 FPE).

Screen shot of British Academy mapping staff in SHAPE showing rise in History staff (contract type 'Professors' and 'Senior Career' for 2018-19 to 2024-25 in all institutions: 4% increase (30 FPE).

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Combination of close, humid, hot conditions and the last day before I go off on my holidays (yay!) means that I am not capable of much coherent thought today

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Where are we publishing conference papers/short think pieces/vague thoughts that are too long for Bluesky these days? Are personal websites still worth it or a waste of time?? Thoughts please!

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

Elly Robson Dezateux @ellydezateux.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Come join our friendly team to do radical history online. History Workshop is recruiting one editorial fellowship this year, with specialism in pre-1800 history in any part of the globe.

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Sitting and looking at my tagless suitcase, reminded now of when just over a year ago, I accidentally swapped with someone and ended up having to go across the country to get it back… just before my holiday… I haven’t learnt but now you can

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

If anyone will be at #SSHM next week and would like this, let me know and I will pop it in my bag!

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Revisions are all fun and games until you can’t remember which of the documents named ‘final’, ‘FINAL final’ or ‘FINAL FINAL FINAL’ you actually ended up submitting all those months ago

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

What are the random sounds that make you think of summer? One of mine is the sound of a spoon clinking on the side of a bowl, as my neighbours eat their breakfast outside

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

#histpsych friends, anyone fancy a copy of this? I bought one (forgetting that my eager self had already done this two years ago, when planning my current project). Perhaps of particular interest to anyone working on #histpsych in Sheffield or Manchester, where I believe Lawton Tonge worked…

Cover page of The Mending of Minds by William Lawton Tonge

Spine of the book. It is coloured orange, and I am holding the book in my hand.

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

George Severs @georgesevers.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Incredible opportunity to work with Dr Hannah Elizabeth @sexhistorian.bsky.social on a funded PhD project exploring unorthodox forms of health activism in postwar Britain. Full details here, do share widely! www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/...

strath.ac.uk

Unorthodox health activism in Britain after 1948 | University of Strathclyde

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Thinking about what defines an academic career nowadays and keep coming back to one word… admin

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Claire Turner @claireturner.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

We're down to the last handful of tickets for my workshop on 'Medicine and the Senses' in Leeds on 10 July. Please share! www.eventbrite.com/e/medicine-a...

10:00-10:30: Welcome & Coffee
10:30-11:00: Activity ‘Medicine and the Senses’
Hosted by Mary Robson (Creative Facilitator, Durham University)
11:00-11:45: WORKSHOP 1: ‘Sensory experience and nature connection: from
evidence to hospital practice’
An interactive workshop hosted by Dr Duika Burges-Watson (Centre for Sustainable
Healthcare).
11:45-12:00: Coffee Break
12:00-13:00: PANEL 1
Dr Pam Lock (University of Bristol): New ideas on alcohol’s effects on the body and mind in
nineteenth century fiction and culture
Claire Sunho Lee (Artist, researcher, and writer): Tell Me What I’m Remembering
13:00-14:00: Lunch & Explore
14:00-15:00: PANEL 2
Professor Carolyn Oulton and Dr Philip Ulrich (Canterbury Christ Church University): From
Dr Brighton to Breezy Broadstairs: Social Prescribing and the Myth of Sea Air
Dr Kathy Davies (Northumbria University): ‘An evil-smelling and evil-tasting
nightmare’: Embodied experiences of air pollution in twentieth century Britain
15:00-15:15: Coffee Break
15:15-16:15: WORKSHOP 2: ‘Malodorous Maladies and Reeking Remedies:
Storytelling with Smells’
An interactive workshop by Liam R. Findlay (AromaPrime). This workshop forms part of
July’s International Themed Smell Day celebrations.
16:15-17:00: ‘Reflections’
Hosted by Mary Robson (Creative Facilitator, Durham University)

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Many years ago when I finished my GCSEs, I vowed to never have in my life a job where I have to do maths. Today I find myself trying to figure out how many platters of sandwiches I need for a workshop of c.15 people and wonder where it all went wrong

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

One of the really nice bits about going back time and again to the same relatively small archive is you get to know the staff and to some extent, the other regulars. It’s a nice bit of community in what can often be quite a solitary thing

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Favourite passage of the day, from the minutes of the welfare committee of a local steel manufacturer: “several complaints were made as to the food… the chips were abominable”

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Not saying that I’m tired, but I did just spend a good few minutes unable to understand the point being made in something I’m reading, all because I was reading the word ‘views’ as ‘wives’

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Today I face the enduring problem of what to wear to the archive on a day when it is 30 degrees outside

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Is this advert supposed to be funny?

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Anyone know of any histories of tabes dorsalis (specifically its evolution as a diagnostic category?). They don’t have to be specifically focused, even those which touch on that history would be super helpful!

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Spent the day reading the accident books for local collieries. One man got injured (and compensated) because he was pushing a tub *with his head*

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Last night, I spent a while trying to unfurl these screwed up bits of newspaper which we found stuffed between the bricks of our hallway wall… one is from August 1928(!)

A screwed up piece of newspaper with the date August 5 1928 at the top.

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Reposted by Kate McAllister

QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

30 QMUL PhD students have been left in the dark about their future for a full month since they received a letter from QMUL’s partner in Mexico that they would suspend all stipends unilaterally. QMUL ignored all the alarm bells rang about this partnership and how it was conducted for years. #UKHE

Queen Mary has since told students that, although it will pay stipends to cover living costs in May, it will be unable to provide them with additional payments after this date because of “the considerable debt owed to the university” by the foundation.

It further told students that owing outstanding debt to the university could have “serious implications and may make you ineligible to receive your award”.

In a letter dated 20 April, the university outlined that it is working with the Mexican government to reach a solution but said students should consider “interrupting their studies and returning to Mexico”, with the possibility of resuming studies once funding issues have been resolved.

However, the university noted that if students interrupt their studies for more than 60 days, “we are required to withdraw visa sponsorship and could require a new visa application for when you wish to return to your studies with us”.

It added that students who are already completing the write-up of their thesis “may wish to return to Mexico and continue their writing‑up remotely”, which would typically see their visas withdrawn, and could make them ineligible for the graduate-visa route.

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Truly depressing that, like every other current ECR/PhD, I’ve never known an academia that is any different

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Taking up the carpets in our hallway and found this! Our house was built c.1930 so I’m intrigued to know how old this might be…

A square of red tiled floor. You can also see someone’s feet standing on the tiles, as well as various other kinds of flooring.

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Kate McAllister @katemcal993.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I have a knack for finding library books that haven’t been taken out by anyone else for decades (so don’t register on the library system). Might start a thread. Today, it’s this…

Hand holding a slim green book. The spine is facing the camera.

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