Dr Beckie Rutherford (she/her)

Many congratulations!

Nice to learn about @elisaheinrich.bsky.social's research @eui-history.bsky.social in this: www.eui.eu/news-hub?id=...

Will surely be of interest to @beckierutherford.bsky.social + other #DisHist folks working on activism.

Definitely of interest, thanks Daniel! I look forward to reading this and learning more about your work Elisa 😊

Hi everyone! As some of you may know, our organisation, YHP, is focused on the promotion of the scholarship of Black British History.

We have some amazing projects which we can't wait to share with you next year. But the research, editing etc. for these projects are done on a volunteer basis.

Roy Porter Prize 2025-2026 Deadline for entries is 1 February 2026. Rules and Entry Form The Society for the Social History of Medicine invites submissions to its 2025/6 Roy Porter Student Essay Prize Competition. Downl…

SSHM invites submissions to its 2025/6 Roy Porter Essay Prize for the best original and unpublished essay in #histmed
🏆£500 first prize
Open to all students (registered at the deadline for entries or were awarded their degree in 2025).
For the entry form and rules and eligibility see👇
#histmed

I've been developing this series since I joined the @historyworkshop.org.uk team two years ago and I'm thrilled to finally kick it off with this fantastic piece by Barbara Taylor!

Keep an eye out for lots more articles and podcasts after Christmas 👀

An Editors' Picnic Barbara Taylor introduces a new series with memories of a picnic she shared with other History Workshop Journal editors in 1984.

"Being an editor was intensely sociable as well as stimulating ... I loved being a History Workshop editor and the intellectual excitement that came with it."

Barbara Taylor on the social and political fervour of History Workshop Journal in the 1980s.

it was a pleasure to draw up this programme with Anna, Eve and @ruthdav.bsky.social - please share widely and we hope to see you in February!

A People's Congress What insights can feminists gain from revisiting the 1975 World Congress for International Women’s Year in East Berlin?

What insights can feminists gain from revisiting the 1975 World Congress for International Women's Year?

Natali Moreira explores this overlooked event using the Women of the Whole World journal archived at @fotwl.bsky.social 🗃️✊

HWJ is 50 years old next year and we're about to launch a fab new series of articles and podcasts all in celebration of the 100th issue!

Come along in January and wish us a Happy Birthday 🥳

Some of these stories are starting to gain wider attention but most are rarely talked about (even in Disability History Month).

Disability history shows us the importance of collaboration and I'm always happy to share resources with anyone interested in learning/teaching these histories!

8/8 🧵

Block Telethon 1992 — the day we ‘pissed on pity’ By Barbara Lisicki (and a host of people who made the demonstration a legendary success).

We finished up by talking about anti-charity campaigning and its role in catalysing the passage of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995.

Barbara Lisicki and others' recollections of the 'Block Telethon' protests is a brilliant read for this.

7/8 🧵

A green A4 poster with GEMMA written at the top. Below is a black and white an illustration of four women gathered together. The two women in the centre are standing with their arms around each other and the other two are sat in their wheelchairs just in front.

A photograph of a short typed letter from Alison Behr at Feminist Audio Books to Jaffa at the Feminist Archive - Alison is offering to send a Feminist Audio Books poster to the archive. At the top of the page is a creative letterhead for "FABOOKS" where the two 'o's' take the form of a cartoon cassette tape.

A bright red A4 front cover of Issue 4 of the Sisters Against Disablement magazine. There are three black and white photos of different disabled women and at the top it reads 'A magazine by, for and about women with disabilities of relevance to everyone'.

Gemma, Sisters Against Disablement and Feminist Audio Books were just some of the disabled women's groups we discussed.

All are brilliant examples of how self-determination, allyship and creativity were the bedrock of disabled women's social and political organising in the 1980s and 1990s.

6/8 🧵

Our history - Graeae

Next up was disability arts and it was a joy to introduce the students to @graeaetheatre.bsky.social, the first Deaf and disabled-led theatre company in the UK.

We also looked at some of the incredible resources available in the National Disability Arts and Archives Collection.

5/8 🧵

We then talked about the Independent Living Movement and how UK activists learned from disabled folks in the US and Europe to develop strategies and campaigns from the 1970s onwards.

This is a great summary from John Evans via @cdsleeds.bsky.social.

4/8 🧵

Opinion - Crippen - The Social Model: understanding the language of disability from a cartoonists point of view Dave Lupton, aka Crippen disabled cartoonist, has been engaged in the disability arts movement for more decades than he cares to mention. Following on from the publication of a showcase of Crippen's c...

We started off thinking about how the social model of disability was developed as a disruption to the medical model.

We spoke about its key principles and how its usefulness within the movement has changed over time.

3/8 🧵

Last week I had the chance to teach an undergraduate seminar on the history of the Disabled People's Movement and the response from my students was so encouraging that it inspired me to share some of what we covered.

2/8 🧵

I feel conflicted about UK Disability History Month - I love that it exists but each year I grow more disillusioned by how much it gets overlooked and ignored.

1/8 🧵

History UK Disability and History Project The History UK Disability and History Project was launched in November 2023 in response to the History UK EDI report which identified disability as an important aspect of EDI work worthy of further…

As a disabled historian I am so pleased that History UK (co-funded with @royalhistsoc.org) have published their report on disabled student & staff experiences of #highereducation & history. It makes for a difficult reading at times, but none of it is surprising. www.history-uk.ac.uk/projects/his...

Black text on a white background, reading: UKDHHH NEEDS YOU! Do you want to present at our monthly events? or Do you have suggestions for people/things you would like to see at them? Get in touch on social media. Or email: UKDisHistHeritageHub@gmail.com The UK Disability History and Heritage Hub logo is in the bottom left. This is made up of a red rectangular speech bubble, a blue speech bubble and an orange thought bubble, with our name in black letters on a green background in the centre of the three.

We are starting to plan our monthly events schedule for next year and we would love your input! Would you like to lead one of our sessions? Or do you have any ideas for speakers/themes that you would like to see explored? Please do get in touch! #DisHist

Contact us if you have been affected by the policy changes of Girl Guiding or the Women's Institute. This could be as an individual, or because you lead a local Brownie group who don't want this policy change. We want to help protect trans inclusion.

goodlawproject.org/about/contact/

Another update from us to round off the week!

We were absolutely delighted by the overwhelming response to our conference, and have now been in contact with all of our speakers.

We are aiming to share our official programme in the first week of December so watch this space!

Writing History in a Time of Genocide Anne Irfan asks, what does it mean to write the history of a place as it is being destroyed before our very eyes?

I've been thinking about this quote all day

"Every university in Gaza has been destroyed. The mass killing of Palestinians has also extinguished the knowledge, memories, experiences and indeed the histories that they carry as individuals. Genocide targets a people’s past as much as their present."

It was a pleasure to work with Gordon on such a thought-provoking, timely article.

Big thanks also to my erstwhile HW colleague Vivien @inoutofpractice.bsky.social for arranging another ✨amazing✨ collaboration with one of their illustration students!

📅 Save the Date!
🎉 To mark 50 years of the Social History Society, we’re hosting a Social History Festival with @ihr.bsky.social!

🗓️ Fri 24 April 2026
📍 Senate House, University of London

Panels, a keynote + hands-on activities!
💡 Want to contribute? 👉socialhistsoc@gmail.com

More info coming soon!

I'm still looking for participants to interview about Reclaim the Night, squatting/housing co-ops and feminist architecture! Please share 💗

Marginalised Motherhoods Led by the University of Worcester

Exciting news! 🎉👀

We are running a series of events in and around the city of Worcester as part of the 2025 Being Human Festival @beinghumanfest.bsky.social

The theme is "Marginalised Motherhoods" and our aim is to capture critical and creative responses to motherhood and its absence.

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Friends in Common How might we reassess friendship as a transformative, even revolutionary, political resource?

What if friendship were understood not just on an individual, personal level, but as something political – a radical practice capable of upending hierarchies and producing revolutionary social change?

Laura C. Forster and Joel White reflect on radical friendship and everyday solidarities.