Peter Gatrell
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Peter Gatrell
@pwgatrell.bsky.social
340 followers 600 following 17 posts

Historian - mainly researching refugee history in the 20c. … but it’s not just about refugees… oh, and still learning about what’s at stake then and now. Funded generously in the past by AHRC and Leverhulme Trust and enabled by UNHCR Records and Archives .. more

Videos
Political science 67%
History 17%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Steve Peers, Peter Gatrell

susiedent.com
Susie Dent @susiedent.com · 4d
Word of the day is ‘quockerwodger’ (19th century): a puppet politician whose strings are pulled entirely by someone else.

Reposted by Axel Bruns, Steve Peers, Peter Gatrell , and 1 more

garybrannan.bsky.social
Gary Brannan @garybrannan.bsky.social · 5d
Just realised this is referring to a church in North Carolina and not the Welsh singer

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Catherine Baker

historyworkshop.org.uk
History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 5d
"Palestinians experience the displacement of the 2020s genocide not as a singular event, but as part of a repeated cycle."

Anne Irfan on the importance of writing Gaza's history.
Writing history in a time of genocide
Anne Irfan asks, what does it mean to write the history of a place as it is being destroyed before our very eyes?
www.historyworkshop.org.uk

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

joolia.bsky.social
Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 7d
"It was scandalous to me that [the NYT] was resurrecting this dividing line between the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous, that could only be crossed through miscegenation. The Times was so narrowly preoccupied with marginalizing one candidate that it seemed to have forgotten everything else."
Mahmood Mamdani on Zohran, Uganda and forced expulsion: ‘Who is part of the nation and who is not?’
After being expelled from his homeland in 1972, the academic has grappled with questions of political belonging – a major theme of his son’s mayoral campaign
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Christopher Smith, Peter Gatrell, Adrian Vickers , and 3 more

richove.bsky.social
Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social · 7d
Good to see the problems facing our colleagues @britishlibrary.bsky.social being raised here by @hetanshah.bsky.social (of @britishacademy.bsky.social). If this had happened in France it would be considered a national problem to be urgently addressed! www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com

Reposted by Maarten Vink, Peter Gatrell, Lyndsey Stonebridge , and 1 more

nandosigona.bsky.social
Nando Sigona @nandosigona.bsky.social · 9d
Among the many things wrong with Labour’s immigration strategy, this stands out: to “fight” a few thousand so-called illegal migrants, Shabana Mahmood is willing to make life hell for hundreds of thousands of people who are legally in the UK.
🔗 theconversation.com/labours-plan...
Labour’s plan for migrants to ‘earn’ permanent residency turns belonging into an endless exam
In this hierarchical system, migrants are kept on extended probation and judged by standards never applied to British nationals.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Stephan Lewandowsky, Steven French , and 9 more

goodlawproject.org
Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 10d
No, I'd say it's racists and those pandering to them.
Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · 14d
Spread the word - I’m biased but this is such a great initiative with a friendly and supportive atmosphere!

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

atlanticexiles.bsky.social
ERC Project Atlantic Exiles @atlanticexiles.bsky.social · 14d
@pwgatrell.bsky.social @delphinediaz.bsky.social @btwhite.bsky.social

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

atlanticexiles.bsky.social
ERC Project Atlantic Exiles @atlanticexiles.bsky.social · 14d
📢 We are thrilled to announce the #CfP for the Sixth International Seminar in Historical #Refugee Studies, which will be held at the University of Vienna, Sept 28-Oct 1, 2026! Deadline is December 20, 2026. For more information, see rhs.hypotheses.org and CfP below:

Reposted by Steve Peers, Peter Gatrell, Mary Corcoran , and 2 more

eddavey.libdems.org.uk
Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 15d
I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC.

The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · 16d
Hi Cath - I missed this first time round and I’m so pleased you reposted it. I have a friend who will also want to read it but who doesn’t do social media! Among your own striking way with words I also love the quote from Alison Light. Take care. Peter
cathfeely.bsky.social Dr Cath Feely @cathfeely.bsky.social · 16d
For Remembrance Sunday, a short reflection on the life and death of my great grandfather in the twenty years after his return. botheringmiancestors.substack.com/p/the-trench...
The Trenches, the Tram and the Trolley Bus
A twentieth-century story
botheringmiancestors.substack.com

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Lesley A. Hall

cathfeely.bsky.social
Dr Cath Feely @cathfeely.bsky.social · 16d
For Remembrance Sunday, a short reflection on the life and death of my great grandfather in the twenty years after his return. botheringmiancestors.substack.com/p/the-trench...
The Trenches, the Tram and the Trolley Bus
A twentieth-century story
botheringmiancestors.substack.com

Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · 20d
I can relate to this!
evansmithhist.bsky.social Evan @evansmithhist.bsky.social · 20d
Trying a new mantra as I edit down another 14000 word draft article:

Every article doesn’t need to include every archival nugget you have discovered on the topic

Every article doesn’t need to include every archival nugget you have discovered on the topic

Every article doesn’t need to include…

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

evansmithhist.bsky.social
Evan @evansmithhist.bsky.social · 20d
Trying a new mantra as I edit down another 14000 word draft article:

Every article doesn’t need to include every archival nugget you have discovered on the topic

Every article doesn’t need to include every archival nugget you have discovered on the topic

Every article doesn’t need to include…

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

giulianofleri.bsky.social
Giuliano Fleri @giulianofleri.bsky.social · 26d
Some of my reflections on and from Lampedusa
Lampedusa's ghosts: A political choice, not a crisis of numbers
Europe's decades-old policies have transformed the Italian island's irregular migration role into an invisible haunting.
www.aretenews.com

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell , and 20 more

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 26d
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The value of public R&D
www.gov.uk

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Steve Peers, Peter Gatrell , and 1 more

catherinedevries.bsky.social
Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 26d
Anand Menon has a rare gift: making the hardest political questions feel answerable.

As professor at King’s & director of UK in a Changing Europe, he’s done more than almost anyone to make British-EU relations intelligible.

👉🏽 catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/etched-in-...

🧵
Etched in Marble: Anand Menon on Clear Thinking, Public Writing, and the Joy of Being Useful
Writers on the Forces That Shape Us and the Writing That Endures
catherineeunicedevries.substack.com

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Felicity Callard, Kate Bradley

historyworkshop.org.uk
History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · Oct 17
📣 Call for participants 📣

Have you ever used any History Workshop Journal articles in your teaching practice?

We’d love to hear from you for the 100th issue of HWJ!

Please let us know by sending an email or feel free to DM.
Green and red poster with History Workshop Journal printed in the corner, black and white illustrations in the corner, and the title ‘Can you help us?’. The main text reads: This year our partner History Workshop Journal is celebrating the publication of its 100th issue. If you have ever used any HWJ articles in your teaching practice we would love to hear from you! Please let us know by emailing hwoeditors@historyworkshop.org.

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Neil Gregor

glasmanjo.bsky.social
Joël Glasman @glasmanjo.bsky.social · Oct 17
Call for Application: Full Professor of Modern and Contemporary History @unibayreuth.bsky.social

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Karin Wulf

iandonnis.bsky.social
Ian Donnis @iandonnis.bsky.social · Oct 15
Brown University rejects invite to join federal compact

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Lesley A. Hall, Justin Lewis , and 3 more

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · Oct 14
For reasons, it would be v. helpful to have information from a broad range of academic and non-academic (incl. GLAM) users of the BBC Written Archives OTHER THAN historians, briefly on: 1) What you've used it for and 2) How the proposed changes would impact on your research.

Reposts welcomed.
Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to...
Critics say new limit to trove of information sounds knell for independent research
observer.co.uk

Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · Sep 21
Great stuff but how about some history? Just for starters … Becky Taylor, Louise London, Tony Kushner and Katharine Knox, etc. etc.
nicolakellywrites.bsky.social Nicola Kelly @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social · Sep 21
Books I read while writing mine. If you're interested in small boats, migration, refugees, UK immigration and asylum, I'd recommend all of these. Anything to add?

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

nicolakellywrites.bsky.social
Nicola Kelly @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social · Sep 21
Books I read while writing mine. If you're interested in small boats, migration, refugees, UK immigration and asylum, I'd recommend all of these. Anything to add?

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

gwendalpiegais.bsky.social
Gwendal Piégais @gwendalpiegais.bsky.social · Sep 16
We bring together contributions on the European civil wars by Kimberly A. Lowe, @nathan-rousselot.bsky.social, Lia Brazil, Anna Lively, Alba Martínez, Mercedes Yusta, @panoskaragkounis.bsky.social, @elisabeth-piller.bsky.social @pwgatrell.bsky.social and John Horne. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Humanitarianism in an Age of Civil Wars: Europe, 1917-1949
Welcome to Cambridge Core
www.cambridge.org

Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · Sep 15
Just catching up with his reminiscences from March 2024 on YouTube - then still going strong at the age of 92. A scholar of enormous range. I’ll always be indebted to Al for his advice and support.
jcaf.bsky.social Juliane Fürst @jcaf.bsky.social · Sep 15
RIP Al Rieber, professor and teacher extraordinaire at many places but latest at CEU. His biography is worthy of a book. His reputation as an Mensch is legendary among students and colleagues. He will be missed, not least because he represented a time when Russian history was a happier place.

Reposted by Peter Gatrell

jcaf.bsky.social
Juliane Fürst @jcaf.bsky.social · Sep 15
RIP Al Rieber, professor and teacher extraordinaire at many places but latest at CEU. His biography is worthy of a book. His reputation as an Mensch is legendary among students and colleagues. He will be missed, not least because he represented a time when Russian history was a happier place.
Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · Sep 14
Joan Wallach Scott saying what needs to be said
sandipto.bsky.social Sandipto Dasgupta @sandipto.bsky.social · Sep 13
Over the last year, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Joan Scott. It was clear how much the experience of her father -- victim of McCarthyism -- shaped her as a scholar and person. This essay is a powerful testament to that.

www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-g...
A General Air of Anxiety - Boston Review
The Red Scare targeted my father. He taught me the meaning of resistance.
www.bostonreview.net

Reposted by Peter Gatrell, Catherine Baker, Jacob T. Levy

sandipto.bsky.social
Sandipto Dasgupta @sandipto.bsky.social · Sep 13
Over the last year, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Joan Scott. It was clear how much the experience of her father -- victim of McCarthyism -- shaped her as a scholar and person. This essay is a powerful testament to that.

www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-g...
A General Air of Anxiety - Boston Review
The Red Scare targeted my father. He taught me the meaning of resistance.
www.bostonreview.net

Peter Gatrell @pwgatrell.bsky.social · Sep 12
Great topic, great scholar too!
hcrinstitute.bsky.social HCRInstitute @hcrinstitute.bsky.social · Sep 12
📢New ESRC project

HCRI's Dr Antoine Burgard will lead “Who is a child? Determining age in British & French border policing, 1918–present” (2025–28).

The project explores how age shapes migration laws, policies & experiences.
Who is a child? Determining age in British and French border policing, 1918 to the present | Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute | The University of Manchester
www.hcri.manchester.ac.uk