Luke Seaber
@thelong1930s.bsky.social
1.3K followers 280 following 700 posts
Senior Teaching Fellow in Modern European Culture, UCL. Proudly Cornish and quasi-Italian. Interested in the 1930s (1848-1950). Biographer of Celia Fremlin.
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thelong1930s.bsky.social
More does need to be done combining histories of the technologies with studies of the representations - it’s a fascinating field!
thelong1930s.bsky.social
That sounds wonderful! I know a (very) little about the ’30s technical side, but am far too ignorant on anything later (although that’s also true of things literary, to be honest).
thelong1930s.bsky.social
I always feel sad knowing they’re no more!
thelong1930s.bsky.social
Ooh - what’s the module? Great to know he’s being taught! I think he’s a remarkable writer and it’s a remarkable novel.

The notes aren’t mine, but I’d be really interested in any issues with them.
thelong1930s.bsky.social
Given the amount of drinking as well as flying in John Llewelyn Rhys, a very strong gin and tonic feels about right in an airport on my way to @moderniststudies.bsky.social in Boston to talk about his work.
Reposted by Luke Seaber
thehistoryguy.bsky.social
We have built a society in which people of different skin tones, religious backgrounds & cultures get along, share power, work alongside each other, procreate with each other, recognise the each other’s humanity and democratic rights. It is a STUNNING ACHIEVEMENT OF WORLD HISTORIC PROPORTIONS.
omaromalleykhan.bsky.social
I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them
Reposted by Luke Seaber
nctopophile.bsky.social
Fred Astaire took up skateboarding in his 70s and broke his arm
A black and white photo of Fred Astaire skateboarding in a driveway
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bibliomancer7.bsky.social
Edward Gorey was obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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arecoleman.bsky.social
I once helped a researcher confirm that Igor Stravinsky was an avid "Mad Magazine" reader.
thelong1930s.bsky.social
I may well have to read (the earlier sections of) this!
Reposted by Luke Seaber
jameskneale.bsky.social
Enjoyed Ivan Marković's seminar on the 'atmospheric politics of smoking in modern Britain' at today's @lghgseminar.bsky.social seminar, the first in this term's 'Bad Habits' series. Three stories from his book, prompting many questions & thoughtful answers www.bloomsbury.com/uk/atmospher...
An Atmospheric History of Smoking in Modern Britain
This book studies the historiography of smoking in modern Britain, with a focus on the social, cultural, and emotional aspects of the practice.Centring on four…
www.bloomsbury.com
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antiprofessor.bsky.social
A big beautiful bouncing #Brexit bonus comes at last!
goodclimate.bsky.social
This lurid headline is about British tourists no longer getting away with overstaying in Schengen. Or being 'illegals', as it's often called in the UK.
Reposted by Luke Seaber
drgillhistory.bsky.social
Even those of us working in universities but on teaching-only contracts are excluded from a variety of opportunities and funding.
Reposted by Luke Seaber
themhra.bsky.social
The MHRA has transitioned from Twitter/X and will now use Bluesky to communicate our work. We are excited to contribute to establishing Bluesky as a dynamic, inclusive, and engaging platform for academic exchange and collaboration.

To celebrate this new chapter, we are hosting a book giveaway! 👇
Reposted by Luke Seaber
rhi.bsky.social
Dad’s books are full of empathy, common sense, and a healthy suspicion of the powerful. But at its heart his work is also about how systems keep people poor while pretending it’s their own fault. So I hope Kemi’s taking notes as well as reading the jokes.
paulhaine.bsky.social
Kemi Badenoch claiming Terry Pratchett as her favourite author is wild
thelong1930s.bsky.social
This fox clearly likes our garden.
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Reposted by Luke Seaber
jbau.bsky.social
This whole section really.
Finally: AI cannot do your job, but an AI salesman can 100% convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI that can't do your job, and when the bubble bursts, the money-hemorrhaging "foundation models" will be shut off and we'll lose the AI that can't do your job, and you will be long gone, retrained or retired or "discouraged" and out of the labor market, and no one will do your job.
AI is the asbestos we are shoveling into the walls of our society and our descendants will be digging it out for generations:
Reposted by Luke Seaber
katrinanavickas.bsky.social
Ebeneezer Howard, leading light of the scene, know what I mean?
E created the vibe - E takes you to Letchworth as if by Design
The city ignites like it's comin' alive
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katrinanavickas.bsky.social
There's a guy in the place who's got a bittersweet face
And he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Howard
His friends call him 'Ezer and E is the main geezer
And E greens up the place like no other coward
katrinanavickas.bsky.social
I was very tempted to put "Ebenezer Goode" on the Spotify playlist for the module
thelong1930s.bsky.social
I was out of the UK from pretty much 2002 to 2012 - it’s *all* a cultural hole.
hannahfearn.bsky.social
Inspired by a post I just saw in which someone admitted they hadn’t seen a single episode of Friends nor the film Love Actually… what cultural hole do you have that’s a bit weird for your generation?

I’ll go first: I haven’t seen Dirty Dancing.
thelong1930s.bsky.social
You know it’s a good afternoon in a pub when you get given a kilo of unsold whelks to take home.
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alanallport.bsky.social
WILLIAM BLAKE: I, the venerated William Blake, have written the finest verse about a tiger anyone will ever conceive.

NAEL: hold my juice