iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Does anyone else get this feeling that you could write multiple new articles after a conference and should research a million new topics?

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Another week, another great conference!

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I'm back after quite some time! Lots of conferences and wonderful discussions, lots of work done. One of that includes a book review of 'Mediating the Decline of Industrial Cities'. A pleasure to read and review. Here's the link (in German): www.sehepunkte.de/2026/07/4100...

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Library of Anglo-American Culture & History @libraryaac.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Today starts the joint #conference "Concepts of Freedom and the Development in Democracy in Great Britain in Historical Comparison" by the German Association for #BritishStudies #AGF & the Institute for Social Movements in Bochum - w rep.s N. Fabian, S. Berger & M. Guderjan welcoming us #History

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

I am immensely grateful for such an amazing review from such an esteemed scholar in the field! It is wonderful to see how well the book has been received so far: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

Deutsche Minderheiten in Frankreich und Großbritannien: Im Niemandsland der Identität zwischen 1914 und 1924

Published in First World War Studies (Ahead of Print, 2026)

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Really looking forward to performing stand-up on the French Revolution at this event!

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

It's crazy that I had to wait 32 years and go to a tiny Pizza place in rural France to have someone ask for my first name and immediately write it down correctly without asking or trying to tell me that I'm not indeed named Matthias

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Happy holidays to all my followers! May these holidays be calm and meeting/e-mail-free

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Proud former PhD supervisor moment: I've just read the first review of @mjgronau.bsky.social's book 'Deutsche Minderheiten in Frankreich und Großbritannien: Im Niemandsland der Identität zwischen 1914 und 1924'! Found here: B.Braber (2025). Immigrants & Minorities 43(3): 568–570. (Link not working)

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Rory Hanna @roryhanna.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Thanks to Stefan Berger for writing for our blog! Please take a look 😊

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

If you'd like to see an amateur comedy routine vaguely on the subject of peer review involving lots of puns and me forgetting a line, look no further! Credit and thanks to @drstevex.bsky.social for the video and, as always, being a very funny, supportive compere! youtube.com/watch?v=D4ll...

youtube.com

James Connolly - peer review - LOLs in Translation

YouTube video by JEPC123

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

One thing I learned from studying history: No matter how horrible something is or was, there will always be people that defend it as necessary or tradition

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

I'll be performing at this - really looking forward to it! It'll be my sixth time doing stand-up, almost a year exactly since I first tried it. Also my fifth different set, which is admittedly a slightly abnormal way of approaching things.

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Institut für die Geschichte der deutschen Juden @igdjhh.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Der Bericht von @mjgronau.bsky.social zur rechtsgeschichtlichen Sektion auf dem @historikertag.bsky.social in Bonn mit @dinalog.bsky.social @sebastiangehrig.bsky.social und unserer Direktorin Kim Wünschmann ist erschienen 👇 t1p.de/eroa7

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Immigrants & Minorities @imm-min-journal.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

On Monday we launched our latest special issue. Thanks to @wienerlibrary.bsky.social, Barbara Warnock, and to our panel contributors Professor Heather Jones, Dr Andre Keil, and Dr Rachel Pistol.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

#writing problems: When Word marks your first name as an error, but then turns a blind eye on this (I even checked and I did not add it to my custom word list either).

This is a screenshot from a Word document showing the words "Landesverreit, folgte". Landesverreit does not exist, it is supposed to be Landesverrat.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

I received a newsletter from thesciencematters(.org) asking me to submit a shortened version of one of my articles. I hadn't heard of them before and could not find much about them outside of their own website. Does anyone in this bubble have more information about them?

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

I was just scolded for standing on a freshly mopped floor. Said floor? The pavement outside of a pub. I don't think that has happened to me before.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

My colleague Raphaël Pernoud just published a report of two wonderful conferences (one of which I was lucky enough to attend) about #deindustrialisation. If you were there, enjoy the nostalgia. If you weren't there, get a glimpse into the events! dessine.hypotheses.org/500

dessine.hypotheses.org

Des membres de DesinEE aux conférences des projets jumeaux DePOT et CONDE

Au mois de juin 2025, deux conférences sur l’histoire de la désindustrialisation ont été organisées par nos confrères des projets de recherche DePOT (Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time) ...

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Currently reading up on Joseph Goebbels' for a small project: "Oh, he was really active in a fraternity? I wonder if that still...yes, it exists. I wonder if they...no, they don't mention him on their website at all."

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Having the same last name as a city is usually just a novelty. When you research the area, however, you suddenly start to see you last name in most interesting contexts: "Gronau shows strength" "Gronau takes responsibility" Is it about me? No. Do I still feel addressed? Weirdly, yes.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

"We are living in a time of deeprooted changes in which a lot—in some cases too much—is expected from us." This quote from 1961 could be a statement about today. I think it can bring solace to know how people in the past also felt overwhelmed by the changes of their times.

There are two texts in this image, both originally in German. The first one is a screenshot that reads the quote from the tweet, the second one, below the first one, reads: Gerd Stork, Yearbook of the Landkreis Borken, 1961, as quoted in the Heimatbrief Borken March 1995, page 4.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Three articles from #DerSpiegel I came across in my research: 1. German military ships to help with the defense of #Taiwan 2. #Franco-German calls for a joint #European army 3. Local German politicians mobilize against refugee centres All taken from #DerSpiegel issue 43, 1991.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

One of the best things about working with #history is the connectedness of everything. I'm researching #deindustrialisation, and a text I am reading talks about witch trials in 17th century Germany. Yet, the text still fits my research somehow

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

That's what I love about academia: I am currently reading Andreas Reckwitz' book on loss ("Verlust") and the connections he makes between loss in its current form and modernity are so simple yet so genius. #mindblowfriday

media.tenor.com

a man with glasses is surrounded by a glowing circle and the website pmitf.com is displayed below him

ALT: a man with glasses is surrounded by a glowing circle and the website pmitf.com is displayed below him

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

The fact that the #Ruhr valley deals with "eternal costs" of mining will always be fascinating. One of the most populated regions in Europe needs pumps running FOR ETERNITY lest most of the Ruhr valley becomes a PCB-contaminated salt lake district. That's what I call a "Watt willse machen" scenario.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Is it just me or does this #google result make it look like the NRW State Institute for Schools #qualisnrw is arguing that "a woman is honourable when she is chaste, abstinent until marriage and her sexuality is confined to the marriage"?

This is a screenshot of a google search result. The link is from the official Quality and Support Agency – State Institute for Schools of Northrhine-Westphalia and entitled "What does honour even mean?". It is a link to a PDF, but the short text underneath the title only reads: "A woman is honourable when she is chaste, abstinent until marriage and her sexuality is confined only to her marraige. What is honour in the context of..."

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

That feeling when there is a domesday book to read and scrolls available, but doomscrolling hasn't been invented yet. (Source: Ute Frevert, Emotions in History - Lost and Found, 2011, p. 31)

Just a screenshot of a text that reads: "Closely related to tedium was a general laziness or refusal to work, a temptation that frequently befell the monastic at rest. Another characteristic of acedia was the lack of the desire to read or pray."

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

I came across this absolutely gorgeous illustration of "Old French Fairy Tales by Comtesse De Segur" painted by Virginia Frances Sterrett in 1920. An image both timeless and still very 20s. You can find this and other images on the Public Domain Image Archive (pdimagearchive.org/images/f330d...)

colourful, but sombre painting of a night in the forrest, with a blond women in light clothing sleeping at the bottom centre of the image, while a man slightly behind her is sitting next to a tree with his head in his hands. He is more in the shadows than her with his face obfuscated under his long dark hair while her sleeping face is clearly visible. Behind them, you can see trees and hills as well as a dark sky with only a few stars.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Talked to a friend of mine, who excitedly told me about an online platform her teacher told her about. It's about uploading personal documents to make them accessible to researchers: "So normal people can become part of history too!" Data privacy in mind, this is indeed important!

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

As a former international student (UK), I feel for all those students affected. I can only imagine the stress, uncertainty, fear, and frustration they must be dealing with right now.

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Emily Herring @emilyherring.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Hi new followers. Don't forget to HYDRATE and REST so you can continue to EXPERIENCE existential DREAD

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

The more I read global news, the more I think of Martin Niemöllers famous quote. It's easy to dismiss oppression when you don't think it will apply to you until it does. And then it'll be too late.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

My good friend Stefan Manz is offering a fully funded PhD opportunity at Aston University on a topic that is very dear to my heart. Check it out, share it, and, if you're interested, feel free to contact him or his colleague Volker Prott: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

findaphd.com

Refugees and ‘Enemy Aliens’ in Britain, 1914-1923: Between Humanitarianism and Internal Security at Aston University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Refugees and ‘Enemy Aliens’ in Britain, 1914-1923: Between Humanitarianism and Internal Security at Aston University, listed on FindAPhD.com

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Can the #historians in my feed recommend a good book/article on the domestic service structures during the 19th century? Since it was an era of the 'great men', I am surprised how hard it is to find in-depth studies on the structures that enabled this status. #askhistorians

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Isn't it calming to know that even in ancient Egypt, they already had to make a miscellaneous section for books they couldn't fit into their section? (Vallejo, Papyrus, p. 133)

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Writing project proposals may be tedious at times, but I found it to be really good practice and inspiring. A big thanks goes out to all #open-access publications that make such endeavours without a university affiliation possible!

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Currently organising the presentation of my book at the @unidue.bsky.social colloquium later this term. I can't wait to present my research again, and I hope many more chance are to come. If you'd like me to talk about 'ethnic' Germans in the UK and France during WWI, feel free to contact me.

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Kristin Eichhorn @drkeichhorn.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Der PC in meinem Büro war früher bestimmt auch mal exzellent.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Every time I read about a "bottom-up" approach, I cannot help but think of that time I mistyped it as "bottoms-up" and become cheer(s)ful

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Listening to Simon Parkin's "The Island of extraordinary captives" and comparing it to internment during WWI is, sadly, an argument for "we learn nothing from history"

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

My book will come out sooner than anticipated! The new date is 27. Januar 2025. That means it's less than 3 weeks away! A big thanks goes out to #DeGruyter for the wonderful collaboration on this project. I hope you find it an interesting and informative read once it comes out! #history

Book cover of Mathis Gronau's book with the title "Deutsche Minderheiten in Frankreich und Großbritannien: Im Niemandsland der Identität zwischen 1914 und 1924". The cover features the image of Hellmuth Felle, an internee, depicting a man looking at a cow behind barbed-wire, asking "Who is the prisoner?"

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Another timeline point that always comes to mind: The GDR, often portrayed as a short-lived and failed experiment, existed for 41 years. The German Empire, often shrouded in nostalgia (especially on the right), lasted for 48 years.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Watching "Ein Herz und eine Seele - Sylvesterpunsch" is a tradition where I'm from. A comedy show from the seventies that was highly political and inspired from the UK show "Till Death do us Part". Watching Ekel-Alfred (on the right) is a nice reminder that people like this always existed.

A still from the show with four people standing around a table. A young man on the left in a suit, a young woman in a turquoise dress, an older woman in a turquoise evening dress and an older man with a shirt, stirring in a syphon to make his punch

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

History can become more relatable if we put it into perspective, so here is a thought before the year ends: - In 2024, the attacks on 9/11 were as far away as the revolution of 1848 was for people in 1871.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Happy Holidays to all historians and non-historians on BlueSky! May your days be comfy and dry

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The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

yes bsky.app/profile/itsm...

a close-up on a portrait of an absolutely massive hog

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

The majority of #Germans are in favour of #Syrian refugees staying as long as the situation there has not calmed. As good as those news are, the article switches between "migrant" and "refugees". They overlap, but they certainly aren't fully synoymous. www.zeit.de/gesellschaft...

zeit.de

ZDF-"Politbarometer": Mehrheit der Deutschen will Syrern für Rückkehr Zeit geben

In einer ZDF-Umfrage bezweifeln die meisten, dass in Syrien jetzt stabile Verhältnisse entstehen. Fast zwei Drittel sehen keine Eile bei der Rückkehr syrischer Migranten.

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

A quick shout out to the #Hamelin museum for including their history of #WW1 #POW camps in their exhibition. An important topic that's remembered too little in our conception of the war! museumhameln.de/02_exhibitio... #history #internment

museumhameln.de

02_exhibitions_english | museumhameln.de

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Mathis J Gronau @mjgronau.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Living abroad and moving back often means something will travel back with you. I am happy to have had some British christmas traditions in my suitcase. All I need now are some mince pies 🥲

A TV with a small Christmas tree at its side playing "Walking in the Air" from "The Snowman"

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