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Tim Hitchcock

@timhitchcock.bsky.social
4.8K followers 3.7K following 524 posts

Historian of 18th century London; Professor Emeritus of Digital History at the University of Sussex. Just coughing in the ink to the end of time.

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Reposted by Tim Hitchcock
Democrat Cats @democratcats.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
It’s Friday… And damn it, let’s dance! This is a Jack & Jill competition where they are matched randomly. The song is random. The dance is entirely improvised…
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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 20h
View of Leiden, c. 1650, oil on oak panel painted by Jan van Goyen, 1596-1656, versatile Dutch landscape artist, master of atmospheric, river scenes in silvery-grey tones, with low horizons & large skies. Amsterdam Museum
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
'The Westminster government’s contribution to funding domestic undergraduates studying in England fell in real terms from £8.9 billion in 2012-13 to just £3.3bn in 2024-25, a drop of more than 60 per cent, an analysis has found.'
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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Tulip Mania: Semper Augustus, watercolour drawing of rare flamed carmine & white tulip; most expensive tulip sold during tulip mania 1634-37. Six Collection, Tulip Book, p. 59. With note recording sale price of ƒ3000 (~€38.000 in 2024). Rijksmuseum
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scott b. weingart @scottbot.net · 22/09/2026
Join my team! Help us figure out how to be as careful stewards of today's born-digital archives of state as we've been for physical archives over the last 200 years. Seeking experience in digital archives/collections/preservation, or related cultural heritage work. Due 10/6. Up to $91k.
jobs.virginia.gov
Born-Digital Collections Coordinator #00220 - Richmond, Virginia, United States
Title: Born-Digital Collections Coordinator #00220 State Role Title: Library Specialist III Hiring Range: Commensurate with experience up to $91,080 Pay Band: 5 Agency: The Library of Virginia Locatio...
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It’s great that suicide rates fell significantly across the world. It’s still baffling just how much higher the rate is in high income countries compared to low income countries.
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Internet Archive @archive.org · 18/09/2026
Local news preservation takes ongoing collaboration. 📰 The Internet Archive’s National Summit on Local News Preservation brought journalists, librarians, archivists, and researchers together to develop recommendations for preserving local news. Learn more 👉 blog.archive.org/2026/09/01/l... 🧵
Logo graphic on a pale blue-white background. Bold black text reads "TODAY'S NEWS" on the first line and "NEWS" on the second, with three yellow chevron arrows pointing right beside the text. Below, in a thin black monospace font, is the tagline "for tomorrow."
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Erin L. Thompson @artcrimeprof.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Where did the sacred artifacts smuggled out of Nepal by Mary Slusser end up? One answer is... a flea market. I explain in this video.
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Tim Sherratt @wragge.hcommons.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026
So Internet Archive, Open Street Map, and Zenodo all currently getting hammered by fucking AI bots. Core pieces of research infrastructure under threat. And those of us trying to keep resources online for the public become the unpaid servants of the mega-rich AI shysters.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
'Reading for pleasure – from tucking into a Jane Austen classic to devouring a Heartstopper graphic novel – is linked to better mental health, greater empathy and a lower risk of dementia, say researchers.' Just make sure it's not reading English (instead of science) at university, say ministers.
eurekalert.org
Reading for pleasure has benefits at all ages – from improving health and wellbeing to staving off dementia – say scientists
Reading for pleasure – from tucking into a Jane Austen classic to devouring a Heartstopper graphic novel – is linked to better mental health, greater empathy and a lower risk of dementia, ...
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🧵Early subscription libraries in Yorkshire emerged in the 18th century. These libraries allowed middle-class members to pool money to buy and preserve books. The most important example is The Leeds Library, founded in 1768 and the oldest surviving proprietary subscription
The Leeds Library, founded in 1768 and the oldest surviving proprietary subscription library in the country. Image: Michael D Beckwith, Public Domain.
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Nicolas Robert @robertsnickc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
From ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ by James Joyce (1916) #Photography, Grave of Joyce & his family in Fluntern, Zurich, #sculpture by Milton Hebald,
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Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM) @sshmedicine.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Centre for the Global Histories Medicine, Disease and Health at Durham University is launching the History of Medicine Lab To facilitate discussion about new publications, films and documentaries relevant to #histmed open to anyone (incl. students) in the university & wider northeast #histSTM
durham.ac.uk
History of Medicine Lab - Durham University
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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
After reading some of the recent pubs and discourse around US higher ed.… I should just stop right here. But here are the three major fallacies of much of what’s out there, three contexts that are missing, and the one big thing that is driving me around the bend (actually already there, but). 1/
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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
What’s missing: 1/ Any framing about what higher is or has been that misses the big public investment post-WW2 and then massive disinvestment starting in the 1980s which spirals into rising costs and student debt is disingenuous at best. 5/
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Toby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
so the exact scenario all of us opposing this have warned about for the last 2 years
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Brodie Waddell @brodiewaddell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Nov 12th - PhD Lighting Talks at @ihrscb.bsky.social! A chance to introduce your PhD project in 3-5 minutes on any aspect of society, culture or belief, 1500-1800. Organised by @teaphaine.bsky.social and @annajpravdica.bsky.social. Email abstract to tmt29@cam.ac.uk by Oct 12th. #EarlyModern 🗃️
If you would like to attend the seminar, do keep an eye out on our webpage (very soon to be updated with our events for this term) or you can always follow us on Bluesky @ihrscb.bsky.social. We tend to meet on Thursdays during term time at 5.30 pm — all are welcome!

PhD Lightning Talks
Deadline: 12 October, Event: 12 November

The Society, Culture, and Belief Seminar is inviting applications for lightning talks from PhD students on their research. We ask that these talks be 3-5 minutes. This is a fantastic opportunity to talk through your research with a broader audience of fellow students and more seasoned academics, as well as test out some ideas in a comfortable and welcoming environment. The talks will be followed by a brief Q&A session.The event will take place on Thursday, 12 November, 2026, from 5.30 pm onwards. For those presenting in person, we typically continue the conversation after the seminar over drinks or dinner. We’re open to applications from students working on any geographical region between 1500-1800.If you would like to participate, please email: tmt29@cam.ac.uk by 12 October 2026 with a 300-word thesis summary and a brief bio.

Society, Culture & Belief, 1500 – 1800
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's that time of year again: annual elections of Council Members for the magnificent National Trust. Should you wish to vote for the Nomination Committee's recommended candidates, they are on page 18 of your booklet. 'Restore' and 'Reclaim' are again in the fray. Votes are due in by 30 October.
The front of Osterley House, a red brick National Trust property in Hounslow. Their are 6 pillars at the top of the steps at the entrance, and green lawns to the fore.
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Shameful and saddening from Simon Schama. What is happening in Gaza is not the Holocaust. But it *is* genocidal, perpetrated by an explicitly and openly genocidal government, and he knows that. This denialism demeans him and his record as a great historian. www.jewishnews.co.uk/simon-schama...
jewishnews.co.uk
Simon Schama: Anybody accusing Israel of committing genocide should be ashamed - Jewish News
In speech at HET appeal dinner, the historian and professor says 'We, the victims of the greatest genocide the world has ever seen, are being called perpetrators of genocide'
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Ziedrich Pengels @thebigzeo.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This message is even more urgent than when Butler published it half a decade ago. Yet the “sensible moderate centrists” are still humming with their fingers in their ears!
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Jen , the MT liberal bird lady @liberal-jen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
A murmuration of starlings above Sardinia, Italy. One of my favorite natural phenomena.
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g.j.hilton @hltn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
There’s a Rocque London map (1746) for sale. WITH THE 8 SHEET DETAIL VIEW - first to come to market this century. With Forum Auctions on 24/11 at an estimate of £30-50k which is comic lowballing if ever I saw it. www.forumauctions.co.uk/bidding/1200... Once again, I am regretting my life choices.
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Mikko Tolonen @tolonen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We are hiring! Permanent position for a University Lecturer in Digital Humanities at the University of Helsinki. The application period is open and closes on 3 October 2026: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki... Please read the job description carefully and feel free to spread the word widely.
jobs.helsinki.fi
University Lecturer in Digital Humanities
University Lecturer in Digital Humanities
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Dan Waterfield @danwaterfield.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Good for them!
Hayden Donnell at the spinoff:
Good news: it’s kakapo fuck season!
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This year’s drought has been unprecedented in the 200-year historical record in England and Wales in terms of its rapid onset, dryness & heat. While it has drawn comparisons with the long, hot summer of 1976 – seen as the UK’s ‘benchmark’ drought – there are marked differences. Swipe ➡️ 1/
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Amy Probably @socklessinseattle.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Today’s salmon hype is about Billy Frank Jr. since the statues of him will be installed at National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C and at Washington State’s Capitol Building in Olympia soon.
Full scale clay model of the Billy Frank Jr statue by Haiying Wu. Photo from arts.wa.gov
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Daniel Álvarez @dalvarez-01.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
An extraordinary Chancay cuchimilco, a pre-Inca funerary guardian with raised arms symbolizing protection and spiritual welcome. Seen at the Lima Municipal Museum. #Chancay #Archaeology #Peru
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Josh Catalano @jcatalano.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I am really disappointed to see the original The Valley of the Shadow project is gone and the original site is no longer available. What a loss for the digital humanities. This was a great teaching tool to discuss early digital history work.
Image of the original Valley of the Shadow webpage
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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Man with blue quilted sleeve c 1510, masterpiece by Titian, greatest Renaissance artist of Venetian school, pupil of Bellini; died #OTD 1576. The subtle shadows, turning pose, projecting sleeve, stone parapet with artist’s monogram, inspired Rembrandt’s self-portrait of 1640. National Gallery London
The identity of the sitter remains problematic. Thought to be a self-portrait of Titian, other sitters have been proposed, such as Ariosto, or more recently, Gerolamo Barbarigo.
The identity of the artist has also been questioned, with Giorgione being the most common early attribution. 
Titian was thought to have been the pupil of Gentile Bellini, and then his brother Giovanni, but as with so many of the biographical details of the artist’s life, there is still uncertainty.
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Michael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Xinhua: "China's EV charging infrastructure has continued to expand swiftly, with the total number of charging points reaching 23.68 million by the end of July 2026, up 41.9 percent year on year." english.news.cn/20260825/215...
english.news.cn
China's EV charging infrastructure expands rapidly in first seven months
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Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM) @sshmedicine.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Travel Funding available for UK undergraduate medical students to research a #histmed topic from resources not available online Deadline for applications 30 November
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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Me, a US-based academic: I don’t care what any scholar believes, we all need to stand up publicly whenever someone’s academic freedom is threatened Me, continuing: also, the first time this has happened, motivating me to sign my first ever open letter, is in late 2026, to a race scientist, in Ghent
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Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Some of you know my next move. A couple of dearest former colleagues told me, independently, "I wouldn't go there myself, but if there's anyone who could change it from within, it's you." Challenge accepted.
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Andrew @hoistthatrag.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Dropping some 100 year old economic theory. The #KindlebergerSpiral: why counter tariffs suck #Cdnpoli #CanadaSky #EconSky #SmootHawley tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2025/02/04/t...
tradebetablog.wordpress.com
Tariffs: Kindleberger spiral back from the dead, and who pays the tariffs?
Two talking points from Trump’s Great Tariff War. Or is it a bluff?
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Myriah Williams @myriahwilliams.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Optimist: The cup is half full Pessimist: The cup is half empty Palaeographer: The cup is a scribal error for tuþ
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Tim Hitchcock @timhitchcock.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
No More Muddling Through generativehistory.substack.com/p/no-more-mu...
generativehistory.substack.com
No More Muddling Through
Why the détente between students and professors over AI will end in 2026.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 18/08/2026
Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored
theguardian.com
Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored
The long read: Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in a utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen?
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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A very black cat on a branch, by Hishida Shunso in 1910. Because it's #BlackCatAppreciationDay
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I enjoyed this. ordinaryabundance.com
ordinaryabundance.com
Ordinary Abundance
A walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new.
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Nicolas Robert @robertsnickc.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
‘Rare & early chair from Conti Contini Bonaccossi, #Florence, Italy (1931). #Design #Photography by Gio Ponti.
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Johnathan Perkins @johnathanperk.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
“Intersex” is the “I” in LGBTQIA. Learned a lot, watching this.
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History & Policy @historyandpolicy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
It was only in June this year that the 1824 Vagrancy Act was finally repealed. But although attitudes to poverty have changed, Prof David Green argues that it remains one of our most pressing social challenges. historyandpolicy.org/opinion-arti...
historyandpolicy.org
Repeal of the 1824 Vagrancy Act – finally! - History & Policy
Professor David Green argues that the repeal of the 1824 Vagrancy Act in June 2026 was long overdue. Social attitudes to begging and rough sleeping have changed considerably in recent decades. But pov...
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Carceral Abolition @carceralabolition.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
The oldest mask in the world, found in the Judean Desert, made 9000 years ago www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPo...
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Henk Looijesteijn @henklooijesteijn.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
De Britten zijn helemaal de weg kwijt. Het begon natuurlijk al met Brexit, maar de bizarre bezuinigingen in de universitaire wereld daar zetten op dit ogenblik de bijl aan een bloeiende wetenschapsbeoefening. Ronduit verbijsterend.
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The Material Culture of Wills Project @materialwills.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
📢PROJECT UPDATE📢 You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy. The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/
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The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 04/08/2026
From Tudor welfare claims to modern PIP assessments, disabled people have long faced suspicion and bureaucracy.
theconversation.com
Today’s arguments about disability benefits have been raging for 500 years
From Tudor welfare claims to modern PIP assessments, disabled people have long faced suspicion and bureaucracy.
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Helen Esfandiary @helenesfandiary.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Delighted to be contributing to the brilliant work of the University of Hertfordshire Heritage Hub. #PublicHistory www.linkedin.com/posts/univer...
linkedin.com
Meet the Research Assistant 📖 Dr Helen Esfandiary is a Research Assistant on the AHRC-IAA funded Victorian Travellers project, led by Dr William Bainbridge and North Herts Museum. Helen is a… | Uni...
Meet the Research Assistant 📖 Dr Helen Esfandiary is a Research Assistant on the AHRC-IAA funded Victorian Travellers project, led by Dr William Bainbridge and North Herts Museum. Helen is a histor...
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Tim Hitchcock @timhitchcock.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
@katrinanavickas.bsky.social Saw this and thought of you.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
'On Tuesday the government published its response to the Education Committee’s report on higher education funding and the threat of insolvency. It’s 37 pages...read quickly, amount to a department competently batting away an inconvenient select committee.' 1/2
wonkhe.com
Ministers are throwing students to the wolves
On Tuesday the government published its response to the Education Committee’s report on higher education funding and the threat of insolvency.
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Carceral Abolition @carceralabolition.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Maya male figurine, 650 - 800 AD, Jaina Island, Yucatan, Mexico www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPo...
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