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Hannah Barker

@historyhannahb.bsky.social

8K followers 690 following 270 posts

Professor of British History, University of Manchester. Social historian of northern England. Currently partial to a bit of material culture, religion, digital community history, popular culture and boxing. 🗃️

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Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · Feb 28

So excited to see ‘Faith in the Town’ (co-authored my me, @kategibson Jeremy Gregory and Carys Brown & published in Open Access form (free to read) today by @oxfordunipress.bsky.social. Want to know how religious faith was woven through urban life in northern English towns 1740-1830? Then read on …

Faith in the Town: Lay Religion in Northern England, 1740–1830

Abstract. Faith in the Town explores the ways in which religious faith affected the lives of men, women, and children in the increasingly urban and industr

academic.oup.com

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

On PCE, none of us is in a position to say anything meaningful until the results of the PCE pilot are released. That delay has opened up a void now filled with more sound than light. 2/2

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'Because of the REF’s direct link both to (unhypothecated) gold and (international) glory, nothing really motivates universities more.'

Really? REF has dropped down the list of important things at rather a lot of universities, with student numbers a larger driver. 1/2

The battle for people, culture and environment

Lizzie Gadd makes the case for embracing People, Culture and Environment and sets out why reverting to REF 2021 would be a mistake

wonkhe.com

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Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 13d

Stephen Mullen, a highly regarded historian specialising in Scotland's links with Atlantic slavery, objects to a right wing scholar's flagrant misrepresentation of his own work and that of Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum's curators in @thetimes.com

alanlester.co.uk/blog/falsify...

Falsifying Heritage: The Denial and Disavowal of Glasgow’s Links with Atlantic Slavery

By Stephen Mullen In a recent article in The Times, (‘Scottish Taxpayers should not have to pay the price for Slavery, 7 June 2025), Professor Nigel Biggar misrepresented an exhibition in Glasgow’s…

alanlester.co.uk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · Sep 19

Everybody makes money out of academic authors except the authors...News.

Wiley is the latest academic publisher to reach a multi-million deal to allow access to its content to AI developers, with no opt out, let alone payment, for the authors who created that content.

Wiley set to earn $44m from AI rights deals, confirms “no opt-out" for authors

The US publisher is the latest to capitalise on deals to give tech firms access to its authors’ content to train their Large Language Models (LLMs).

www.thebookseller.com

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3d

Finally, an article that at least touches on teaching quality and staff workload issues. Not that it suggests any viable alternatives to the current state of play. (And for 'colleges' in the headline, read 'universities', a telling choice of nomenclature.

Grade deflation, overcrowding and ‘chaos’ as colleges scr...

Russell group hoovers up international students to stave off budget deficit fears

observer.co.uk

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 5d

Ooh the opportunity to run the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity has come up. £81k. Based at Birmingham City University. Great chance to create positive change
jobs.bcu.ac.uk/en/sites/CX_...

Director of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity

The Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity (LHC) is seeking a visionary and dynamic Director to lead its mission to improve the diversity of representation and employment across contemporary Briti...

jobs.bcu.ac.uk

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 6d

'more restructuring has been planned...with staff across its humanities courses, including English and politics, as well as staff in its schools of East Asian studies, civil and structural engineering, materials engineering, chemistry, and management courses, facing targeted voluntary severance'.

Sheffield UCU backs strike action over restructuring plans

Union plans to call four weeks of continuous strikes as university reviews staffing across several academic departments

www.timeshighereducation.com

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John Levin @anterotesis.bsky.social · 6d

‘This is strength’: stories of enslaved Africans in Grenada made into searchable archive

Depths of Paradise project backed by British family and created by Stephen Lewis, a descendant of survivors

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

The database itself:
www.depthsofparadise.co.uk

#History 🗃️

‘This is strength’: stories of enslaved Africans in Grenada made into searchable archive

Depths of Paradise project backed by British family and created by Stephen Lewis, a descendant of survivors

www.theguardian.com

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 6d

'The affected staff, in the schools of foreign languages, history, religion and music, have been warned the university cannot rule out compulsory redundancy.'

Almost 200 Cardiff University staff left in limbo as they face losing jobs

Cardiff University confirmed it cannot rule out compulsory redundancies as it also apologised to students for problems with a new timetabling system as the academic year begins

www.walesonline.co.uk

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 8d

The Wolfson History Prize shortlist for 2025 is announced. Good reading.

The Wolfson History Prize - Celebrating Outstanding History

The Wolfson History Prize is awarded annually to promote and recognise outstanding history written for a general audience.

www.wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk

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Naomi Pullin @naomipullin.bsky.social · 8d

Great opportunity for Early Career Researchers and PhD students led by the GIS Sociabilités/Sociability Network: 'Sociability and the Travelling Letter: Message, Medium, Mobility in Europe and the Colonies in the Long Eighteenth Century'.
Brest, March 2026
gis-sociabilites.org/cfp-young-re...

gis-sociabilites.org

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Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 8d

I should identify the Geo-locator expert as Steven Batty at Sheffield Hallam in case you want to acknowledge him in any way in future

Owen Davies @odavies9.bsky.social · 9d

That's it! Send my thanks to your friend.

Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 10d

From a friend who likes looking for this sort of thing

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Prof. Elaine Chalus @profelainechalus.bsky.social · 11d

For anyone who is #teaching #18thcentury politics and/or electoral culture, or is doing #localhistory or #familyhistory, do check out our ECPPEC web resource : it's chock-full of short informative essays, polling data, and artefacts #skystorians ecppec.ncl.ac.uk

Eighteenth-Century Political Participation & Electoral Culture

18th-century Britain is notorious for corrupt and restrictive politics, when few could vote, bribery and debauchery were commonplace. But it was also an age when modern democracy was being shaped.

ecppec.ncl.ac.uk

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Prof. Elaine Chalus @profelainechalus.bsky.social · 11d

Lecturer in Irish/British History
King's College London - Department of #History #skystorians 🗃️www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOU178/l...

Lecturer in Irish/British History at King's College London

Looking for a new job opportunity in academia? Check out this job opening for a Lecturer in Irish/British History on jobs.ac.uk!

www.jobs.ac.uk

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Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 11d

Near Buxton

Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 11d

Packhorse Bridge in the Goyt Valley?

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Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 11d

Try just asking the publisher “could I have a copy of the book in hardcopy please? I find that much easier to read than on a screen”. The worst they can say is no.

Reposted by Hannah Barker

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 11d

This deserves *way* more attention than it’s getting

Reform’s former Wales leader admits he received corrupt payments in exchange for making statements in the European Parliament to promote Russia’s interests in #Ukraine.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12d

Reform UK’s ex-leader in Wales Nathan Gill pleads guilty to bribery charges

Gill admits to eight charges while an elected member of the European parliament Nathan Gill, a former leader of Reform UK in Wales, has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight bribery charges while an elected member of the European parliament. More details soon … Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Elaine Mitchell @elaineamitchell.bsky.social · 11d

Stoke-on-Trent heritage job!

Alasdair Brooks @alasdairbrooks.bsky.social · 12d

Heritage job klaxon!

We're recruiting for a fixed-term project officer role to help deliver an exciting new Stoke100 heritage initiative in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. See link for details...

re-form.org/careers/

Careers at Re-Form Heritage | Job Opportunities

Be part of a team that helps support the regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent’s heritage buildings. Apply for our job vacancies at our website.

re-form.org

Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 11d

C18th England too

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Paul Cheney @halfmanhalfbook.bsky.social · 14d

Anybody in the Stevenage area have available an accessible room or studio flat to rent?

My daughter is starting a PhD next week and the flat that we hoped she be in by now looks like it is going to fall through.

Thanks

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Greg Jenner @gregjenner.bsky.social · 16d

If you write professionally in the UK, make sure to sign up to ALCS for your fair share of royalties

ALCS @alcs.co.uk · 16d

🥳 This week, we will pay 31,487 members their share of £11,588,572!

Find out more:
www.alcs.co.uk/news/your-di...

Your distribution questions answered

This week, we will pay 31,487 members their share of £11,588,572. Get answers to your most pressing questions about our latest distribution.

www.alcs.co.uk

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 16d

Great news in era of disappearing/disappeared archives:

'Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust combine support for the Humanitarian Archive Emergency (HAE) project based at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester.' @leverhulme.ac.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social

Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust Combine Support

Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust combine support for the Humanitarian Archive Emergency (HAE) project based at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester. This...

www.manchester.ac.uk

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Alison Stenning @alisonstenning.bsky.social · 17d

The financial realities of university life for some students; how do we imagine this funding system is fair, or conducive to a positive university experience for many?

My student loan doesn't cover my bills - so I wear my work uniform to lectures

As students struggle to cover the cost of university, the BBC speaks to young people to find out how they make it work.

www.bbc.co.uk

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