Tyson Retz
@tysonretz.bsky.social
Historian of historical and political thought, FRHistS. Australian living in Norway, currently working on Catholic liberals in Restoration France
Pinned
Franklin Rudolf Ankersmit. Representation: The Birth of Historical Reality from the Death of the Past.
Historians should have no more trustworthy a philosophical companion than Frank Ankersmit. For the past five decades, he has been the historicist’s philo
academic.oup.com
I reviewed Frank Ankersmit's new book for the AHR academic.oup.com/ahr/article-... @historians.org
+ brilliant defence of historicism and how individual representations of historical reality contribute to the growth of historical knowledge
- bogged down in the mysteries of the Leibnizian system
+ brilliant defence of historicism and how individual representations of historical reality contribute to the growth of historical knowledge
- bogged down in the mysteries of the Leibnizian system
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”—yet what of criticising the state when academics are state employees/civil servants? Perhaps the biggest difference coming to Norway from Australia, where universities are publicly funded but academics are autonomous professionals at independent institutions.
November 9, 2025 at 10:17 AM
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”—yet what of criticising the state when academics are state employees/civil servants? Perhaps the biggest difference coming to Norway from Australia, where universities are publicly funded but academics are autonomous professionals at independent institutions.
Blimey
Social justice and also, for sure, democratic socialism, are just new names for communism www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Anti-Communism Week, 2025
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION This week, our Nation observes Anti-Communism Week, a solemn remembrance of the
www.whitehouse.gov
November 9, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Blimey
Multiculturalism implies a pluralism that makes possible talk of integration, but talk of integration in states that believe their values to be universal is conceptually confused. Best be honest and frame the discussion in terms of the most appropriate means to assimilate.
November 7, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Multiculturalism implies a pluralism that makes possible talk of integration, but talk of integration in states that believe their values to be universal is conceptually confused. Best be honest and frame the discussion in terms of the most appropriate means to assimilate.
Scandinavia with Simon Reeve illustrates well that multiculturalism is not the aim here. Assimilation is. The show’s talk of ‘integration’ is thus off the mark because integration belongs to a multiculturalist policy of integrating a heterogenous whole, not assimilating a homogeneous one.
BBC Two - Scandinavia with Simon Reeve
Simon Reeve journeys across a land of Arctic tundra, vast forests and stunning fjords.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Scandinavia with Simon Reeve illustrates well that multiculturalism is not the aim here. Assimilation is. The show’s talk of ‘integration’ is thus off the mark because integration belongs to a multiculturalist policy of integrating a heterogenous whole, not assimilating a homogeneous one.
In search of 'relevance' in your history degree program? Recall that nothing is more 'relevant' than bringing historical knowledge to bear on the problems of the present.
November 6, 2025 at 8:50 AM
In search of 'relevance' in your history degree program? Recall that nothing is more 'relevant' than bringing historical knowledge to bear on the problems of the present.
Reposted by Tyson Retz
I had a wonderful conversation with Scott Stephens and Walled Aly on Radio Nationa's "The Minefield." Episode -
on Beauty in the age of speed, frictionlessness and AI slop
- now online:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
on Beauty in the age of speed, frictionlessness and AI slop
- now online:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Is the experience of beauty slipping away in an age of frictionlessness, speed and AI slop? - ABC listen
The availability of increasingly powerful generative AI tools has radically altered the creative process. Anything that we can imagine can be turned into an image, a video, a text, a song — the proces...
www.abc.net.au
November 6, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I had a wonderful conversation with Scott Stephens and Walled Aly on Radio Nationa's "The Minefield." Episode -
on Beauty in the age of speed, frictionlessness and AI slop
- now online:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
on Beauty in the age of speed, frictionlessness and AI slop
- now online:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
My talk ‘From Liberalism to Illiberalism' will highlight four turning points. Moral phil translated into politics (1810s), 'socialism in disguise' (late-C19), primacy of economics (1940s), perversion of founding emphasis on indiv. protections (recent) @historicalculture.bsky.social 12.30-13.30EOJ376
November 5, 2025 at 12:47 PM
My talk ‘From Liberalism to Illiberalism' will highlight four turning points. Moral phil translated into politics (1810s), 'socialism in disguise' (late-C19), primacy of economics (1940s), perversion of founding emphasis on indiv. protections (recent) @historicalculture.bsky.social 12.30-13.30EOJ376
Reposted by Tyson Retz
Cannot recommend this book highly enough: it takes history education seriously and is a history of ideas about it - it’s also a powerful philosophical enquiry.
#historyeducation
#historyeducation
Empathy and History @berghahnbooks.bsky.social—the principal arguments:
1) Empathy designates the attempt to grasp the 'context' in which people’s actions made sense
2) The methodological question raised by empathy concerns the way in which this 'context' enters a historical explanation 1/2
1) Empathy designates the attempt to grasp the 'context' in which people’s actions made sense
2) The methodological question raised by empathy concerns the way in which this 'context' enters a historical explanation 1/2
Empathy and History: Historical Understanding in Re-enactment, Hermeneutics and Education | Berghahn Books
Independent Publishing since 1994
www.berghahnbooks.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Cannot recommend this book highly enough: it takes history education seriously and is a history of ideas about it - it’s also a powerful philosophical enquiry.
#historyeducation
#historyeducation
Empathy and History @berghahnbooks.bsky.social—the principal arguments:
1) Empathy designates the attempt to grasp the 'context' in which people’s actions made sense
2) The methodological question raised by empathy concerns the way in which this 'context' enters a historical explanation 1/2
1) Empathy designates the attempt to grasp the 'context' in which people’s actions made sense
2) The methodological question raised by empathy concerns the way in which this 'context' enters a historical explanation 1/2
Empathy and History: Historical Understanding in Re-enactment, Hermeneutics and Education | Berghahn Books
Independent Publishing since 1994
www.berghahnbooks.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Empathy and History @berghahnbooks.bsky.social—the principal arguments:
1) Empathy designates the attempt to grasp the 'context' in which people’s actions made sense
2) The methodological question raised by empathy concerns the way in which this 'context' enters a historical explanation 1/2
1) Empathy designates the attempt to grasp the 'context' in which people’s actions made sense
2) The methodological question raised by empathy concerns the way in which this 'context' enters a historical explanation 1/2
Reposted by Tyson Retz
Spread the word about this brand new Masters in Public Environmental Humanities with me and The Greenhouse crew in Norway.
For those outside of EU, registration is in second half of November, so don’t miss it!
For those outside of EU, registration is in second half of November, so don’t miss it!
The Greenhouse @unistavanger.bsky.social is launching an international Masters Program in Public Environmental Humanities from fall 2026! Taught in English.
Please share with all your students, #envhist #envhum colleagues!
Learn more about the program here: www.uis.no/en/studies/t...
Please share with all your students, #envhist #envhum colleagues!
Learn more about the program here: www.uis.no/en/studies/t...
November 3, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Spread the word about this brand new Masters in Public Environmental Humanities with me and The Greenhouse crew in Norway.
For those outside of EU, registration is in second half of November, so don’t miss it!
For those outside of EU, registration is in second half of November, so don’t miss it!
Immensely excited that we will soon be offering this venerable programme. Huge thanks to the excellent @jonasgjerso.bsky.social for initiating PPE!
November 4, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Immensely excited that we will soon be offering this venerable programme. Huge thanks to the excellent @jonasgjerso.bsky.social for initiating PPE!
The appeal of the knowledgeable orator is timeless. And thus the academic lecture will live on.
November 4, 2025 at 6:21 AM
The appeal of the knowledgeable orator is timeless. And thus the academic lecture will live on.
Today 2026 booking opened for over 600 DNT cabins (hytte) dotted all over Norway. Looking forward to staying in the three that we have booked #lifeinnorway
November 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Today 2026 booking opened for over 600 DNT cabins (hytte) dotted all over Norway. Looking forward to staying in the three that we have booked #lifeinnorway
I am all for learned criticism, but save me from the killjoys, cynics and cul-de-sac sceptics. Life's too short and, besides, I've got work to do
November 3, 2025 at 8:16 AM
I am all for learned criticism, but save me from the killjoys, cynics and cul-de-sac sceptics. Life's too short and, besides, I've got work to do
Our underfunded universities are spending money renting office spaces for academics who are seldom there. I don't know the answer, but whatever it is, it will involve being mindful of the way knowledge is produced in the different academic disciplines.
November 2, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Our underfunded universities are spending money renting office spaces for academics who are seldom there. I don't know the answer, but whatever it is, it will involve being mindful of the way knowledge is produced in the different academic disciplines.
I am endlessly amazed by how much good historical work remains to be done.
November 2, 2025 at 10:20 AM
I am endlessly amazed by how much good historical work remains to be done.
Proud to become dual Australian-Norwegian citizen! (Norway, I know you dearly protect your fishing industry but these salmon-coloured passports are too much 😘).
October 31, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Proud to become dual Australian-Norwegian citizen! (Norway, I know you dearly protect your fishing industry but these salmon-coloured passports are too much 😘).
Reposted by Tyson Retz
Congratulations to @kreskildsen.bsky.social on the publication of his @universitypress.cambridge.org THINGS OF THE PAST: a modern yearning, in the Elements in Historical Theory and Practice series. Free to download till 13 November at DOI: 10.1017/9781009342988. www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Things of the Past
Cambridge Core - Global History - Things of the Past
www.cambridge.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Congratulations to @kreskildsen.bsky.social on the publication of his @universitypress.cambridge.org THINGS OF THE PAST: a modern yearning, in the Elements in Historical Theory and Practice series. Free to download till 13 November at DOI: 10.1017/9781009342988. www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Reposted by Tyson Retz
The Department of History at Queen’s University seeks a postdoctoral fellow to start July 1, 2026. Applications are due on January 15, 2026 for the Marjorie McLean Oliver Post-Doctoral Fellowship. The full position description can be found here: www.queensu.ca/history/abou...
Employment | Department of History, Queen's University
The Department of History is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful work environment.
www.queensu.ca
October 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The Department of History at Queen’s University seeks a postdoctoral fellow to start July 1, 2026. Applications are due on January 15, 2026 for the Marjorie McLean Oliver Post-Doctoral Fellowship. The full position description can be found here: www.queensu.ca/history/abou...
My family have never quite grasped my interest in history and now that I've told them about my interest in the Bourbon Restoration they seem truly poised to stage an intervention.
October 29, 2025 at 4:27 PM
My family have never quite grasped my interest in history and now that I've told them about my interest in the Bourbon Restoration they seem truly poised to stage an intervention.
Dual biography, comparative biography, or two separate biographies of the figures concerned. That is the question today.
October 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Dual biography, comparative biography, or two separate biographies of the figures concerned. That is the question today.
Norwegians have created a simple solution to everything being shut on Sundays. Go for a walk #lifeinnorway #mosvatnet #stavanger
October 26, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Norwegians have created a simple solution to everything being shut on Sundays. Go for a walk #lifeinnorway #mosvatnet #stavanger
Reposted by Tyson Retz
In a week, I’ll be referencing Dilthey, Ranke, Burckhardt, Heidegger, Troeltsch and Benjamin, all in one talk! From historical contemplation as existential consolation to history as a source of existential Angst. Do join!
After Marilynn Johnson's talk this Thursday, our research seminar will already continue next week (30.10) with @hhenriikka.bsky.social's online talk "Existential Historicism: The Rise and Fall of a Sense-Making Framework". More info and the Zoom link: www.oulu.fi/en/events/ex....
All welcome!
All welcome!
Existential Historicism: The Rise and Fall of a Sense-Making Framework
Existential Historicism: The Rise and Fall of a Sense-Making Framework
www.oulu.fi
October 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
In a week, I’ll be referencing Dilthey, Ranke, Burckhardt, Heidegger, Troeltsch and Benjamin, all in one talk! From historical contemplation as existential consolation to history as a source of existential Angst. Do join!
Stuart Macintyre used say, ‘start the day by picking up a book that inspires you’. Presently, that book for me is Catholicism and Democracy by Emile Perreau-Saussine. It’s the most brilliant book on Catholic political thought with sharp comparative insights into liberal Protestantism.
October 24, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Stuart Macintyre used say, ‘start the day by picking up a book that inspires you’. Presently, that book for me is Catholicism and Democracy by Emile Perreau-Saussine. It’s the most brilliant book on Catholic political thought with sharp comparative insights into liberal Protestantism.
Well I guess that brings to an end the Long Reformation.
A rift that took 500 years to repair: King Charles prays with the pope
A rift that took 500 years to repair: King Charles prays with the pope
Joint prayer in Sistine Chapel is symbolic act of rapprochement between Catholic church and Church of England after centuries of division
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Well I guess that brings to an end the Long Reformation.