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willpooley.bsky.social
will pooley
@willpooley.bsky.social
8.4K followers 3K following 6.4K posts
historian of witchcrafts, folklore, France 18-20th c
ass. ed. French History
ed. Cambridge Elements in Magic
also #CreativeHistories
that’s an actual photo of me
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willpooley.bsky.social
will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · Nov 10
My reintroduction: historian of french magic, folklore, witchcraft, tarot. I blog about all that, as well as writing, creative historical methods, quantification and research process.

A surprising number of you sickos can’t get enough spreadsheet chat🗃️
williamgpooley.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/s...
Sheet Happens
When I started working on witchcraft cases in France from 1790-1940, I knew I wanted to count them. This, of course, was my first mistake. The oldest version I have of the Excel spreadsheet I built…
williamgpooley.wordpress.com
Reposted by will pooley
cemskcl.bsky.social
Delighted to announce our seminar - 'Race and the Early Modern' - now has a full schedule of events. We'll be convening monthly to discuss research on race, racemaking, and racialisation across #earlymodern studies.

@kingsartshums.bsky.social @folger.edu

kingsearlymodern.co.uk/race-and-the...
Race and the Early Modern — CEMS KCL Blog
kingsearlymodern.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Reposted by will pooley
davehitchcock.bsky.social
We are organising a big "Festival of Social History" at the IHR, Friday April 24. The ticket price is an absolute steal for SHS members (join!). Trust me when I say this one's built different, it will be a hands-on day demonstrating how vibrant and engaged UK social history is. ONLY £10!
socialhistsoc.bsky.social Social History Society @socialhistsoc.bsky.social · 1d
📣Bookings now open!

👉Celebrating 50 years of the Social History Society with our 'Festival of Social History' @ihr.bsky.social

Panels, zine-making stall, tours, lunch, a roundtable, & keynote by Naomi Tadmor

📅 24 Apr 2026
💷 from £10 for members

All welcome!
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
Festival of Social History
To celebrate 50 years of the Social History Society, we’ve teamed up with the Institute of Historical Research to host a Social History Festival! The festival will feature two expert discussion pan…
socialhistory.org.uk
February 6, 2026 at 9:24 AM
willpooley.bsky.social
taking my mind off the *waves hands* by rereading this banger

doi.org/10.1086/ahr....
Global Perspectives on the Birth of the Prison
Since the turn of the twenty-first century, a wave of new studies has revitalized the field of prison history. Most notably, scholars of Asia, Africa, and
doi.org
February 6, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by will pooley
julialaite.bsky.social
Take the time to do this folks. The proposed changes to ILR are shocking and cruel, which is made abundantly clear in the text of the public consultation linked below. Please lend your voice to try to mitigate the cruelty.
carladenyer.bsky.social Carla Denyer @carladenyer.bsky.social · 3d
PS. Not too late to tell the government what you think about their proposed changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain - the public consultation is open until 12th Feb.

www.gov.uk/government/c...
February 5, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by will pooley
richmondbridge.bsky.social
A French caving guide did propose a spring Olympics for the Pyrenees in 1988! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Would have had adventure sports like mountain biking, paragliding etc
The History and Geography of a Forgotten Olympic Project: The Spring Games
This article concerns the project put forward in the late 1980s to create a third type of Olympic Games in the French Pyrenees. The idea consisted of organizing a gathering for new outdoor sports (...
www.tandfonline.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by will pooley
ihrhistorylab.bsky.social
Our conference #cfp is now live! This year's conference, "Embodied Histories: Body, Mind and Experience" will take place on 17th July 2026 at University of Birmingham!

Keep on reading to find out more...(1/9)
HistoryLab 20th Anniversary Annual Conference 2026 — Call for Papers Embodied Histories: Body, Mind, and Experience 17th July 2026 | Hybrid Conference, in-person at University of Birmingham, Staff House, Grand Central Room The human body is both a biological reality and a cultural construct. It is a site of meaning, experience, and power. From rituals of health and healing to practices of regulation, discipline, and display, bodies have both shaped and been shaped by their historical contexts. We invite papers that place the body and lived experience at the centre of historical inquiry, engaging with themes such as medicine, disability, gender, the senses, and the emotions. We welcome contributions that explore how bodies and experiences have been represented, regulated, or performed, and how these processes intersect with broader questions of identity, power, culture, and society across periods and regions. This conference also marks the 20th anniversary of HistoryLab. Since its founding, HistoryLab has provided a national platform for postgraduate and early career historians to share ideas, foster collaboration, and build community. We invite participants to join us in celebrating this milestone year.
February 6, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by will pooley
hpsvanessa.bsky.social
Sometimes reddit is an amazing resource.

www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/co...
From the Cooking community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Cooking community
www.reddit.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by will pooley
drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social
Puddle surfing
February 6, 2026 at 10:52 AM
willpooley.bsky.social
sorry to be a downer, but im actually more excited about next year and the spring olympics
February 6, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by will pooley
pgoldsworthy.bsky.social
I just got a copy of my cover for my forthcoming book! It features a postcard from Fez by the Moroccan Jewish photographer Joseph Bouhsira. Bouhsira was the first Moroccan to establish his own commercial photography studio, and many of his images featured the Jewish community in Fez.
The cover of the forthcoming book Colonial Negatives: Picturing History and Identity in Morocco by Patricia Goldsworthy. Bottom half of the image has an image of an oil seller in Fez surrounded by Muslim and Jewish Moroccans. The image highlights the religious diversity of the crowd, and demonstrates the dynamic nature of the Jewish district
February 6, 2026 at 4:18 AM
Reposted by will pooley
echomikeromeo.bsky.social
I am giving the Edinburgh Uni LGBTQ+ History Month lecture on the evening of 27 February, with the title 'Scottish Trans Pasts, Useable and Otherwise'. Details and link to register are here: hca.ed.ac.uk/updates-even... Do come along if you're in Edinburgh!
LGBTQ+ History Month: 'Scottish trans pasts, useable and otherwise?' | School of History, Classics & Archaeology | History Classics and Archaeology
Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with Dr Sam Rutherford and learn more about the last 150 years of trans history in Scotland.
hca.ed.ac.uk
February 5, 2026 at 10:30 AM
willpooley.bsky.social
“The existence and extent of the new institutional weighting leaves open the possibility for distortions in Unit ranking to the benefit, generally speaking, of larger, research intensive units.”

#REF2029

blog.royalhistsoc.org/2026/02/02/w...
With December’s restart, what next for REF2029 and for History? | Historical Transactions
blog.royalhistsoc.org
February 5, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by will pooley
hpsvanessa.bsky.social
I need this alt history high budget netflix series .
willpooley.bsky.social will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 1d
every time i see a reference to arno mayer’s “the furies” my mind does a double take
Front cover of mayer’s “The Furies: VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN THE FRENCH AND RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONS” Except it reads “The Furries”
February 5, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by will pooley
clairelanghamer.bsky.social
For anyone interested in our 18-month post in British Studies please follow the link below. @ihr.bsky.social

www.jobs.london.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Jacob Price Fellowship in British Studies (18 month FTC):London Senate House - Hybrid
The University of London is both the UK’s largest provider of international distance and online learning and the convenor of a federation of 17 renowned higher education institutions.
www.jobs.london.ac.uk
February 4, 2026 at 6:59 PM
willpooley.bsky.social
every time i see a reference to arno mayer’s “the furies” my mind does a double take
Front cover of mayer’s “The Furies: VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN THE FRENCH AND RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONS” Except it reads “The Furries”
February 5, 2026 at 7:12 AM
willpooley.bsky.social
winbuzzer.com/2026/01/28/g...

(what’s the betting that the answer to this mystery is LLMs and crawlers)
February 4, 2026 at 7:20 AM
willpooley.bsky.social
Google books going down is just the latest in the long catalogue of “don’t rely on big tech to save the commons”
February 3, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by will pooley
jonnelledge.bsky.social
Reminder that "jaywalking" was literally made up by american car manufacturers to shift the blame for accidents from drivers to pedestrians. "Jay" was a slang term meaning "idiot" or "rube".
carolinerussell.bsky.social Caroline Russell @carolinerussell.bsky.social · 4d
“Jaywalking is permitted in London. In 1966, the police tried to crack down on it, but gave up after three months.”

People walk and cycle on roads by right, people drive under licence.

Jaywalking is not a thing in English law and Waymo must not change that.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Self-driving taxis are coming to London – should we be worried? | Jack Stilgoe
Waymo’s cars were first rolled out in San Francisco, but the English capital’s old roads, pelican crossings and jaywalkers may pose issues for AI, says science and technology professor Jack Stilgoe
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by will pooley
tomhulme.bsky.social
*drum roll*

Here is the cover for my book, which will be published by @cornellupress.bsky.social on 15 April 2026!

I thought it would be nice to share a bit of info on who these men were and how their lives and interests inspired the design...
A book cover, showing the title 'Belfastmen: An Intimate History of Life before Gay Liberation' by Tom Hulme. It is lavender coloured with yellow text, and shows two men sat on a bench, c. 1935.
February 2, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by will pooley
histoftech.bsky.social
I just learned about something called recency bias.

It's my favorite thing ever.
February 3, 2026 at 6:14 AM
Reposted by will pooley
histoftech.bsky.social
What happens if you fail to pay your exorcist tax?

Your house gets repossessed👻
a cartoon of a skeleton and two ghosts with the letter k on a gravestone
Alt: a cartoon of a skeleton and two ghosts dancing in front of gravestones
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Reposted by will pooley
tombhamilton.bsky.social
New article by Katherine Astbury and Abigail Coppins, 'French prisoner-of-war sociability in Hampshire during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars'

Open Access here: doi.org/10.1093/fh/c...

@frenchhistory.bsky.social
French prisoner-of-war sociability in Hampshire during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Abstract. Daniel Gordon in his monograph on Citizens without Sovereignty explored how, in eighteenth-century France, sociability enabled those without powe
doi.org
January 29, 2026 at 1:29 PM
Reposted by will pooley
smidbob.bsky.social
Just uploaded a recording of the SSFH Douglas Johnson lecture to the society's youtube channel. You can explore some past lectures there as well:

www.youtube.com/@societyfort...

🗃️#skystorians
Society for the Study of French History
www.youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by will pooley
thisone0verhere.bsky.social
I am still shocked at just how much emailing is involved in being evil
February 3, 2026 at 5:39 AM
Reposted by will pooley
dudleymarianna.bsky.social
Will's whole thread on the threat of Reform to UK HE is on the money. And yeah, I've seen the environment already 'deplatformed' in very real ways at institution level (counterbalanced by rise of, you guessed it, AI). Please do read what a prick NF was about wind in the 00s! (and some Cons tbf)
willpooley.bsky.social will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 4d
what wd REF target within unis? There are the obvious things/subjects but let’s not forget their immense climate change scepticism. Reminded of @dudleymarianna.bsky.social book pointing out that Farage campaigned against wind farms and the EU with UKIP manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526182937/
Manchester University Press - Electric wind
Electric wind - Browse and buy the eBook edition of Electric wind by Marianna Dudley
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
February 2, 2026 at 12:58 PM