Will Tullett
@willtullett.bsky.social
He/him. Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at University of York. Books on 'Smell in Eighteenth-Century England' and 'Smell and the Past'. #smellhistory #smellstudies #sensoryhistory
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Will Tullett
@willtullett.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Hello new followers! I'm a historian at the University of York who works on histories of smells and smelling. Any sense of personality I possess mainly revolves around my two cats. I'm writing a big history of smell for a broader audience for Yale University Press. I like making people sniff things.
Useful thread if you want to see a minister who is absolute not on top of their brief at all. The degree of (deliberate or unintentional?) ignorance about what is happening and the effect of new and impending policies is pretty frustrating.
House of Commons Education Committee on Universities and the threat of insolvency starts its last session at 10:00.
BBC Parliament - Select Committees
Coverage of select committee proceedings at the Palace of Westminster.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Useful thread if you want to see a minister who is absolute not on top of their brief at all. The degree of (deliberate or unintentional?) ignorance about what is happening and the effect of new and impending policies is pretty frustrating.
hmmm waiting to hear back on a BA grant where the decision was meant to be communicated on Friday... feels like bad news is on its way
November 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
hmmm waiting to hear back on a BA grant where the decision was meant to be communicated on Friday... feels like bad news is on its way
Does killing a whole sector and thereby causing thousands of people to lose their jobs count as a ‘tax on working people’ I wonder, Labour? Difficult to tax working people if you destroy their jobs.
November 24, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Does killing a whole sector and thereby causing thousands of people to lose their jobs count as a ‘tax on working people’ I wonder, Labour? Difficult to tax working people if you destroy their jobs.
the thing that scares me about Labour HE policy is that because I work in the sector I can see how absolutely insane it is, which makes me wonder just how terrible their policies are in all the other sectors I’m in less of a position to engage with critically out of lack of knowledge.
November 23, 2025 at 11:08 PM
the thing that scares me about Labour HE policy is that because I work in the sector I can see how absolutely insane it is, which makes me wonder just how terrible their policies are in all the other sectors I’m in less of a position to engage with critically out of lack of knowledge.
The government is the thing that is wrong with Higher Education in this country. The government is the only body that can make the changes that are needed. Banging on about VC salaries etc is not going to produce the change that stops this.
November 23, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The government is the thing that is wrong with Higher Education in this country. The government is the only body that can make the changes that are needed. Banging on about VC salaries etc is not going to produce the change that stops this.
Reposted by Will Tullett
Successive Labour and Conservative governments have basically told UK HE to go get any extra money needed from foreign students and now we're going to be punished for having been so overwhelmingly successful at it
November 23, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Successive Labour and Conservative governments have basically told UK HE to go get any extra money needed from foreign students and now we're going to be punished for having been so overwhelmingly successful at it
Screw Labour, screw Reeves. An absolutely appalling act of self-sabotage that is all optics and no sense. Exactly what we’ve come to expect from this ship of fools. Utterly undermines the fee rise with inflation, which was already sucked up by National Insurance increases.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Screw Labour, screw Reeves. An absolutely appalling act of self-sabotage that is all optics and no sense. Exactly what we’ve come to expect from this ship of fools. Utterly undermines the fee rise with inflation, which was already sucked up by National Insurance increases.
Conclusion of listening to latest Maintenance Phase ep on Raw Milk is that the MAHA right in the U.S see illnesses like listeria and tuberculosis as an important part of their collective heritage that they want to keep alive for the future.
November 21, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Conclusion of listening to latest Maintenance Phase ep on Raw Milk is that the MAHA right in the U.S see illnesses like listeria and tuberculosis as an important part of their collective heritage that they want to keep alive for the future.
there are more smells in heaven and earth that what lies behind the fragrance counter
November 21, 2025 at 8:30 AM
there are more smells in heaven and earth that what lies behind the fragrance counter
Anybody know if there's a publicly-searchable equivalent of the Hein Online 'State Statutes a historical archive' where one can search superseded historical statutes? I don't have access to it and it would make some work I'm doing a lot easier... libguides.heinonline.org/state-statut...
LibGuides: State Statutes: A Historical Archive: Overview
A valuable source of information for researchers and scholars to explore and understand the creation of historical state statutes.
libguides.heinonline.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Anybody know if there's a publicly-searchable equivalent of the Hein Online 'State Statutes a historical archive' where one can search superseded historical statutes? I don't have access to it and it would make some work I'm doing a lot easier... libguides.heinonline.org/state-statut...
For various reasons looked at how much local councillors get paid yesterday and was appalled. The estimate is that local councillors spend about 22 hours a week doing their councillor work and yet, in my area, the allowance is £6k a year. That works out less than half the living wage...
November 11, 2025 at 11:31 AM
For various reasons looked at how much local councillors get paid yesterday and was appalled. The estimate is that local councillors spend about 22 hours a week doing their councillor work and yet, in my area, the allowance is £6k a year. That works out less than half the living wage...
Tells you everything about the culture we live in that a big fuss is made of wearing the poppy but seemingly if you’re out and about at the shops when the two minutes silence occurs plenty of people just blithely ignore it and carry on talking.
November 9, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Tells you everything about the culture we live in that a big fuss is made of wearing the poppy but seemingly if you’re out and about at the shops when the two minutes silence occurs plenty of people just blithely ignore it and carry on talking.
it’s that time of the year again where I reiterate my strong belief that we should ban fireworks because they’re stupid, pointless, and harmful.
November 8, 2025 at 7:03 PM
it’s that time of the year again where I reiterate my strong belief that we should ban fireworks because they’re stupid, pointless, and harmful.
Reposted by Will Tullett
Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry
Surely placing an extra per mile tax on electric car users that is paid in a lump sum rather than added to the cost of charging is going to discourage those who are on the fence about EVs. It’s also another block to regular long distance drivers taking up EVs.
November 6, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Surely placing an extra per mile tax on electric car users that is paid in a lump sum rather than added to the cost of charging is going to discourage those who are on the fence about EVs. It’s also another block to regular long distance drivers taking up EVs.
Anyway, I’m very much looking forward to going to my first Green Party meeting next week. The time has come to actually get involved with local politics properly.
November 6, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Anyway, I’m very much looking forward to going to my first Green Party meeting next week. The time has come to actually get involved with local politics properly.
Far be it from me to defend L*bour but when Emma Barnet was told on R4 Today that crisis facing prisons was result long term underfunding etc her response was ‘let’s not take a trip down memory lane’. So she can’t accept that events might have causes that stretch more than a week into the past?!
November 6, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Far be it from me to defend L*bour but when Emma Barnet was told on R4 Today that crisis facing prisons was result long term underfunding etc her response was ‘let’s not take a trip down memory lane’. So she can’t accept that events might have causes that stretch more than a week into the past?!
How long before Impact in the REF is just replaced with a single box labelled ‘profit’ with a £ symbol next to it where UoAs have to input a number.
'On 29 October, Research England revealed that a shake-up in the purpose of HEIF will see the programme—which distributes £280 million annually towards knowledge exchange activities in universities—narrow its funding focus towards activities that can be proven to drive economic growth.' 1/3
HEIF funding ‘refreshed’ to drive government’s growth mission.
Funding formula to be changed as part of shake-up, while institutions will demonstrate EDI commitments.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Funding formula to be changed as part of shake-up, while institutions will demonstrate EDI commitments.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
October 29, 2025 at 8:34 AM
How long before Impact in the REF is just replaced with a single box labelled ‘profit’ with a £ symbol next to it where UoAs have to input a number.
Looking at solar panels in and it’s depressingly familiar how even
press stuff starts with images of terraces and talk of ‘families’ but then in provided case studies you have to be the owner of a 3-bed semi
nearing retirement or a Park and Ride bus station to benefit… www.gov.uk/government/n...
press stuff starts with images of terraces and talk of ‘families’ but then in provided case studies you have to be the owner of a 3-bed semi
nearing retirement or a Park and Ride bus station to benefit… www.gov.uk/government/n...
Homeowners could save hundreds on energy bills from solar drive
Homeowners could save around £500 from the government’s drive for solar power on rooftops.
www.gov.uk
October 25, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Looking at solar panels in and it’s depressingly familiar how even
press stuff starts with images of terraces and talk of ‘families’ but then in provided case studies you have to be the owner of a 3-bed semi
nearing retirement or a Park and Ride bus station to benefit… www.gov.uk/government/n...
press stuff starts with images of terraces and talk of ‘families’ but then in provided case studies you have to be the owner of a 3-bed semi
nearing retirement or a Park and Ride bus station to benefit… www.gov.uk/government/n...
Ok so the responses to the post this quotes suggest that this may not be whole story but, even so, I think it all suggests a need for way more transparency for researchers on application success rates.
2% success rate for the standard AHRC research grant. Absolutely bonkers.
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Ok so the responses to the post this quotes suggest that this may not be whole story but, even so, I think it all suggests a need for way more transparency for researchers on application success rates.
2% success rate for the standard AHRC research grant. Absolutely bonkers.
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
2% success rate for the standard AHRC research grant. Absolutely bonkers.
Reposted by Will Tullett
I'm planning an interactive workshop on the senses and medical humanities, to be held in Leeds in July 2026. It will involve creative practitioners, academics, and clinicians. If this is something you'd be interested in attending, please drop me a message or reply to this post and we can chat more!
October 23, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I'm planning an interactive workshop on the senses and medical humanities, to be held in Leeds in July 2026. It will involve creative practitioners, academics, and clinicians. If this is something you'd be interested in attending, please drop me a message or reply to this post and we can chat more!
Of course we all know that, in reality, smells are the things that drive history
FT columnist Janan Ganesh recently wrote of his conversion to the 'Great Man' theory of history - but only a minority agree
-History is primarily shaped by major figures: 27%
-Primarily shaped by broad social / economic / cultural / tech changes: 51%
yougov.co.uk/topics/enter...
-History is primarily shaped by major figures: 27%
-Primarily shaped by broad social / economic / cultural / tech changes: 51%
yougov.co.uk/topics/enter...
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Of course we all know that, in reality, smells are the things that drive history
Reposted by Will Tullett
Thrilled to say I'm a judge for the first ever Inspiring History Teaching Awards, in association with Historic Royal Palaces. Do you know a great history teacher in the UK who deserves to go down in history? Nominate them here bit.ly/42yhGZP
Inspiring History Teaching Awards
Created by Historic Royal Palaces, these awards celebrate teachers who make history exciting, inclusive and meaningful. We want to recognise the impact that great teachers can make by bringing the pas...
bit.ly
October 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Thrilled to say I'm a judge for the first ever Inspiring History Teaching Awards, in association with Historic Royal Palaces. Do you know a great history teacher in the UK who deserves to go down in history? Nominate them here bit.ly/42yhGZP
spent some time looking at late 20th and early 21st century perfume advertising this morning and wow how did I forgot what an absolute cesspit of misogyny and sexism it was
October 21, 2025 at 8:16 AM
spent some time looking at late 20th and early 21st century perfume advertising this morning and wow how did I forgot what an absolute cesspit of misogyny and sexism it was