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Tom Cutterham

@tomcutterham.bsky.social
2.4K followers 486 following 300 posts

Historian of class and capital in the American Revolution. *Empire Ablaze* out in summer 2026 www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3…. Previously, *Gentlemen Revolutionaries* (Princeton, 2017).

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 17h
PPE has always been above the law.
A marbled pillar in the Arts Building at the University of Birmingham. Above, a printed notice saying,"Please do not put notices on these walls." Below, a more recent notice directing students to a "PPE (Politics, Philosophy, and Economics) induction."
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Alexander Kasprzyk @amkasprzyk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The ability to end these disruptive strikes lies in the hands of @uniofnottingham.bsky.social managers. The staff on strike are trying to save the university and the education of current and future students. #UCU #UKHE www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Student: University of Nottingham strikes 'not what we signed up for'
The University of Nottingham said it was "disappointed" by the timing of industrial action.
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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Oh my goodness, it CAN be done!
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Why isn't one of the broken mugs here (in this Guardian cartoon) the famous "Controls on Immigration" one? Or is that not a slogan Burnham fans are prepared to say was bad?
A political cartoon from The Guardian showing a pile of broken mugs, with slogans on them saying "NI rise," "Doom & Gloom," "Two-child cap" and "Winter fuel cut" (all references to bad Starmer policies), and on top an intact mug with steam rising from it, an image of Andy Burnham and the word "Hope".
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King Algamemnon @adamrothman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Bleak
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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
But, needless to say, that is not a university: that’s a taxpayer-subsidized engine for private capital accumulation that retains the external form of a university —a beloved brand, taken over by private equity, that’s now different & worse, but keeps the old name—which is of course the whole point.
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Kings Heath United Against Racism @khuar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Love this city 🫶 #birmingham
Five women stand, with arms, in front of Claire Elizabeth and Sam Shipman’s ‘Re-union Jack’ in Birmingham’s Council House 
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Dr Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Bombshell
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
If you live in Birmingham and don't already subscribe to The Dispatch--you really should!
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In my part of the university they cut the support staff, then cut the joint honours programmes "because they're creating too much work for the support staff." We no longer offer History & Philosophy (among many other things).
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Some people in my city think it's ok to park like this, not just on the pavement but entirely blocking it, and not just anywhere but on the road to a primary school. #waronwalking
A car parked right over the entire pavement, blocking all safe pedestrian travel.A second car doing the same thing on the other side of the same road.
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Laurent Dubois @soccerpolitics.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"Scholars have groped for what even to call this dire diminishment of intellectual capacity. 'Human enfeeblement' has been proposed, and alike 'cognitive surrender' and even 'cognitive extinction.' (You could also call it, 'losing your mind.')"
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I endorse the anti-AI pedagogy, obviously, but also: imagine having this kind of democratic, department-level control over our policies and practices. Not in UKHE!
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Paul Johnson's turn as a radio journalist is giving me renewed respect for Alan Partridge.
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
What a cover! @uvapress.bsky.social are killing it lately.
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Good scrolling effect at the top of this: www.propublica.org/article/dona...
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Brian DeLay @briandelay.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Berkeley is hiring in Modern European Intellectual History - please help us spread the word 🙏
aprecruit.berkeley.edu
Assistant Professor – Modern European Intellectual History - Department of History
University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!
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Benjamin Franklin House @benfranklinhouse.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Join us for a lunchtime conversation featuring historians Tom Cutterham and Leanne O’Boyle! In-person tickets include a self-guided tour of Benjamin Franklin House! Thursday 17th September 2026, 12pm-1:30pm Benjamin Franklin House & online Link in bio for more details!
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Stealing Cars, Part II: Fordism and Flexible Enclosure
urbancyclinginstitute.substack.com
Stealing Cars: Fordism and Flexible Enclosure
Long Ride | Historian John Munro explains how the colonial logic that fueled the automotive industry led to a new concept of streets
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
One week to go! booksontherise.com/event/empire...
booksontherise.com
Empire Ablaze: The American Revolution with Dr Tom Cutterham
Join us at Books on the Rise as we are joined by Dr Tom Cutterham to talk about Empire Ablaze part of the How We Lost America Project About Empire…
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Solve the School Run @solveschoolrun.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Sadly such a common sight. And absolutely not acceptable. #schoolstreets #streetsforkids #carspreading
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Joseph M. Adelman @jmadelman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
When it comes to any new technology, the burden should be on its proponents to explain and show that it's (1) ethical and (2) pedagogically sound before it's introduced in the classroom. Most of the AI debate is flipped, as if objecting on ethical or environmental grounds is a personality quirk.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 06/09/2026
We know how to teach books in the age of AI: small classes, close reading, research-engaged learning (which is how you ’let students see you struggle’). The issue is nobody will hire and pay the requisite # of faculty to offer this.
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Londoners! Two weeks from now I will be in your neck of the woods, talking about at @benfranklinhouse.bsky.social with the wonderful Leanne O'Boyle about our two books, *Empire Ablaze* and *Patriots, Radicals, and Revolutionaries* | 17 September 12-1.30pm www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/historians...
eventbrite.co.uk
Historians in Conversation with Tom Cutterham & Leanne O'Boyle
Join us in-person OR online for a chat between two leading historians exploring Britain and the American Revolution!
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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
We have to reform our governance structures to avoid this being sprung on us again. We are not a corporation. VCs don't deserve that pay. Universities are a non-profit, educational instituons. We need to prioritse academic freedom to pursue curiosity-led research and world leading education.
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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
My 3rd thread on the dispute at Exeter Uni. What are we fighting for? Is it just to save jobs? No. We need a workplace that is run by the expert professionals that make up the staff body. This 🧵 explains the governance reform proposals we have put to Council, Senate and the Uni Exec #DefendExeterUni
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"When I am in my study and among my books, and have nothing to encumber me I am happy. But so weak are my spirits that the the smallest hurry and even the consciousness of having any thing to do which *must* be done, will sometimes distress and overpower me." Richard Price, 1779
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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“If you want research led teaching then at a minimum you have to allow teaching staff time to *read* and incorporate new research” I say every year as I object, again, to a workload model that allows 50mins prep per 1 hour teaching.
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Karen Racine @klracine.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
There are few things wrong with the world today that simply being funded and staffed at full and appropriate levels would not fix.
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Phil McDuff @mcduff.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Honestly "we called a COBRA meeting to discuss the impact of climate change on the UK and have decided to ban disposable barbecues" is probably gonna turn out to be a hallmark Burnhamite policy.
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Suspect I'm not the only trade union rep reading this very sad story who finds the employer's abuse of "informal meetings" and failure to follow their own HR policies extremely familiar. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Treasury ‘materially contributed’ to suicide of personal assistant, coroner finds
Chloe Moffat, 26, killed herself after disciplinary proceedings which coroner found be to be flawed
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The Cambridge School @thecambridgeschool.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
JOB! (and not a bad one, either) "The Department of History at Stanford University invites applications for a senior faculty appointment (with tenure) at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor in the history of political thought and institutions, broadly construed."
higheredjobs.com
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Join me and @mykaabramson.bsky.social on 20 August for a conversation about the connections between climate justice and Palestine solidarity. All welcome to come along!
Poster for Deepening the Connections: Climate Justice and Palestine Solidarity
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
For the @jbritishstudies.bsky.social forum, "1776: Views from the British World," I wrote a short piece about the surprising significance of Church of Scotland ministers in the transatlantic American Revolution.
cambridge.org
FORUM: 1776. Views from the British World: Ambivalent Independence: Scottish Dissent, Parliamentary Reform, and Britain's American Revolution | Journal of British Studies | Cambridge Core
FORUM: 1776. Views from the British World: Ambivalent Independence: Scottish Dissent, Parliamentary Reform, and Britain's American Revolution - Volume 65
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Yes, great, wonderful, thanks. Another refreshing draught of continuity Starmerism!
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
It's official publication day for *Empire Ablaze: The American Revolution and the Atlantic Working Class*! 🔥 You can find it right on the front page of the @versobooks.bsky.social website, and yes, it is part of the summer sale. www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
Three beautiful books on a table, one of them is Empire Ablaze. The text says you can save 30% on related books when you buy one of them!
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I've lost count of the times I've benefitted from public seminars, activist meetings, literary events, food and socializing, and, of course, @vocebooks.bsky.social at the @friends-earth.bsky.social Warehouse. Now, this progressive institution is under threat. Please reply to the consultation below.
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Paul Seaward @pseaward.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Gladstone's 1880 description of 'The common practice' in considering applications for the Chiltern Hundreds etc: is to consider especially … whether the gentleman who asks for the office can by any possibility be escaping from any duty he owes to Parliament, ...
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
The new academic year starts in 2 months. The modules to run are set in stone even if the all-new first year ones haven’t yet been designed. All that remains is to decide which 3 of the 23 of us will still be here to teach them. The redundancy selection criteria has not yet been announced…
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
#AnyCityCanDoThis
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
An American Revolution book that is distinctly NOT about the founding of the USA? *Empire Ablaze* is 30% off for pre-order right now (£11.89) www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...
versobooks.com
Empire Ablaze
As revolution raged in North America, James Aitken – house painter, highwayman, and escaped indentured servant – wandered the colonies formulating a dramatic plan to cripple the British navy by destro...
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Colored Conventions Project @ccp-org.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
“In that declaration of fundamental principles, set forth by the fathers of '76, we fail to discover anything like a system of exclusion. No! there is not an expression, nor an implied sentiment to be found making a distinction in the rights and privileges of any class of American citizens.” +
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
"Pocket-Sized Power: A Feminist History of Portrait Miniatures." Love this student-led online exhibition from Birmingham's Barber Institute and the V&A! power.barber.org.uk
power.barber.org.uk
Pocket-Sized Power
A Feminist History of Portrait Miniatures Power is often understood as something imposed from above. This exhibition explores it instead as something that moves
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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
would universities run by democratic will of students and all staff be chaotic and make bad decisions? well it’s hard to see how they could be worse than what we have.
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
If you happen to subscribe to History Extra magazine, here's another preview of Empire Ablaze! www.historyextra.com/membership/h...
historyextra.com
Fire and freedom: how the American Revolution inflamed passions in Britain
The US celebrates the American Revolution as an uprising by downtrodden colonists on the west side of the Atlantic. But as Tom Cutterham reveals, Britain’s high-handed government also sparked people i...
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Ben Mechen @benmechen.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Leaving aside that many teaching contracts are fixed-term and ppl aren’t around long enough for promotion, these are impossible metrics. What employers actually want is the ability to carry a heavy teaching load and to teach things outside your field without fuss. Hard to innovate in that context!
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Gregory Claeys @gclaeyshistory.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Tomorrow is the official publication day for Thomas Paine: Collected Writings, in 6 volumes, from Princeton University Press. Just in time for the 250th...
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Laleh Khalili @lalehkhalili.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
As our union indicates "If just the 16 highest-paid execs capped their salary at £120k, we’d save more money than all the cuts to Archeology & History!"
EUCU: Our Six Key Messages

1/ Exeter Uni’s finances are strong. We’ve large cash reserves (£200m in 24/25). Never had a budget deficit. This ‘crisis’ is manufactured.

2/ Executive pay at Exeter is out of control. If just the 16 highest-paid execs capped their salary at £120k, we’d save more money than all the cuts to Archeology & History!

3/ No meaningful consultation, but a confused mess: faulty and insufficient data, no real discussion, and an impossible, anxiety-inducing and unreasonable timetable to push this through over the summer.

4/ An all-staff meeting of 600 staff resoundingly voted no confidence in Vice Chancellor Lisa Roberts (whose pay and benefits are pushing £400k). We believe this is the biggest single vote by any uni staff in the history of UK HE.

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Redundancies are a management choice, not a financial necessity. They even have alternative costed plans with no cuts, but think it’s easier to go for job losses.

6/Exeter is a fantastic uni, with world-class research, creative and inspiring teaching, and a caring, thoughtful and imaginative community of staff and students. Let’s keep it that way.

#DefendExeterUni
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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Remembering some British supporters of the American Revolution, and noting recent scholarly advances from Mary Sarah Bilder and Gregory Claeys' Paine Collected Writings team.
theconversation.com
America at 250: the Britons who supported the War of Independence
America’s struggle for independence from Britain was supported by some highly influential thinkers in 18th-century Britain.
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The Dispatch @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
🚨 We are hiring a Staff Writer for our Birmingham team 🚨 We are seeking an exceptional writer capable of documenting the stories of Birmingham and the West Midlands through agenda-setting, high-quality reporting.
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