Rebecca Pinner

The Folklore Society mistletoe logo

The Folklore Society’s Katharine Briggs Prize 2026 has opened for entries! Open to books in English having their initial publication in the UK & Ireland in the period from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026. Deadline for entries 31 May 2026. More info and rules: www.folklore-society.com/awards/the-k...

A weird looking "cat", thin and with babies on its back.

A 🧵 of 4-legged animals in sixteenth-century prints, including 🦊 🐕 🦒 🐈‍⬛ and a 🦄 . #skystorians

Birkbeck, University of London, is seeking a Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics to join our dynamic team within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Autumn 2026. As Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics, you will contribute to the teaching of ancient Greco-Roman history and Classics in the School of Historical Studies - this includes our BA Ancient History and Archaeology, BA Classics, BA Classical Studies, as well as MA Classical Civilisation and MA Classics. This post is offered on a permanent contract at Birkbeck, full time, 35 hours per week, with a salary of £44,247 rising to £60,858 per year. Teaching hours will vary from 6-9pm Monday to Friday. To be successful, you will bring research expertise in ancient Greek history, broadly understood (this could include the history of Greek-speaking lands under the Roman empire), as well as ancient Greek literature, and demonstrate a capacity to contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching, participate actively in curriculum development, supervise doctoral students, and help shape the intellectual life of our vibrant academic community. We would also welcome applicants who could contribute to collaborative teaching programmes or research in the Faculty, in areas such as identity, race/ethnicity, or gender - experience of collaboration with cultural institutions, whether through research or teaching, is also welcome. The postholder could potentially take advantage of Birkbeck’s new Immersive Learning Centre for teaching or research. As Lecturer, your core responsibilities will initially include programme/module administration, teaching, supervision, assessment, student support and pastoral care. You will also be equipped to supervise doctoral students. With a PhD in any area of Ancient History/Classics relating to the ancient Greek world,...

We're hiring at Birkbeck!

Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics, full-time and open-ended. Closing date March 18th.

Details here: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

A large, suspended dragon sculpture crafted from translucent materials in shades of blue, green, and yellow dominates the upper part of a museum space, giving the impression of flight. Below it, various display cases and exhibition stands can be seen, along with a crocodile model placed atop a mosaic-patterned platform in the foreground. The vibrant dragon contrasts with the warm tones and historic architecture of the museum interior. Overlaid text promotes the "Mythical Creatures" exhibition at Colchester Castle, running from 26 July 2025 to 22 February 2026. The castle logo and Tom Archer’s photo credit are also present.

It’s your final weekend to explore Mythical Creatures! From ancient myths to fossil origins, this magical story quest closes Sunday 22 February.

Don't let the dragon go without a goodbye: colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/events/mythical-creatures

Ditching equality would start the race to the bottom, says UNISON.

🚨 Reform UK’s plan to scrap equality laws would fire the starting gun on a race to the bottom.

UNISON warns that ditching protections would let bad employers act with impunity and drag the UK backwards on fairness and rights.

unsn.uk/4cywGfU

They're always great 😊

Sign the petition to save languages and intercultural studies at Heriot-Watt university. Friends there going through drastic times. They have an incredible interpreter training programme there

I'd asked the students to share some examples of where they've seen the Middle Ages (or a version thereof) depicted in contemporary media of any kind. It's a module about medieval monsters and marvels so D&D was bound to come up!

Would it be ok to share this with some of my students? D&D came up in our seminars last week and I think they'd find this really interesting.

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award studentships The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award is a major new funding scheme from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Its aim is to grow the UK’s capacity for doctoral research in the arts and humanit...

Full time AHRC doctoral studentships now available in Arts & Humanities at University of Hertfordshire for October 2026 start - please do share widely!! This includes both History & Heritage Studies among other subjects 🌟😀 www.herts.ac.uk/research/res...

AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards @ Southampton Klaxon! Arts and humanities! Deadline March! Medieval studies proposals welcome! Deets on the webpage: www.southampton.ac.uk/doctoral-col...

Graduate Trainee Library Assistant at University of London Discover Graduate Trainee Library Assistant jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.

We're advertising for a new Graduate Trainee Library Assistant, to start here at the IHR in September 2026. It's a great introduction to libraries and the profession, and the IHR is a fascinating place to work. Please repost! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPZ835/g... @ihr.bsky.social @ihrlibrary.bsky.social

Published a book on transnational women's or gender history 2020-25?

🚨Submissions to the Ida Blom-Karen Offen Book Prize in Transnational Women's & Gender History now open🚨You can see the full details on our website: www.ifrwh.com

Closing date is 28 February 2026!

#WomensHist #GenderHist

National Storytelling Week 2026 Activities, Events And Resources | National Literacy Trust Storytelling ideas and activities for teachers in primary and secondary schools, and professionals in early years settings to celebrate National Storytelling Week 2026.

Next week is #NationalStorytellingWeek, part of the National Year of Reading 2026.

The theme is 'Soundtrack your story' because music connects us to words, helping us express ourselves.

#Libraries can access resources from @literacy-trust.bsky.social.

literacytrust.org.uk/resources/na...

Thinking About Thinking In some of the bigger news of the past week, this silly piece I wrote means Google's AI search engine is now telling people that my cat Roscoe is a real human woman who came to media prominence during...

I’ve taken the paywall off this piece I wrote, triggered by AI deciding that my cat was an actual human celebrity (it decided briefly to give her a human face, too). It’s also a bit of a love letter to good old-fashioned human thinking using our messy creative brains. www.tom-cox.com/thinking-abo...

Love this idea!

Think so. My neighbour could see jets in the sky from her balcony.

How marvellous.

Hi hi historians, my wonderful colleagues in Leuven & Ghent are organising a workshop on histories of scholarly evaluation, in Leuven 27-29 September! Expenses covered. Call for papers here:

www.arts.kuleuven.be/cultuurgesch...

Birkbeck, University of London, is seeking a Lecturer in Medieval Studies to join our dynamic team within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Autumn 2026. As Lecturer in Medieval Studies you will contribute to the teaching of Medieval English literature and Medieval history across the Faculty, within our School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, and School of Historical Studies - this includes our BA English and BA History programmes, as well as postgraduate taught programmes in the two subject areas. This post is offered on a permanent contract at Birkbeck, full time 35 hours per week, with a salary of £44,247 rising to £60,858 per year. Teaching hours will vary from 6pm - 9pm, Monday to Friday. To be successful, you will bring research expertise in the literature, history and culture of the Late Medieval period (c.1300-1500), and demonstrate a capacity to contribute to interdisciplinary research and teaching, participate actively in curriculum development, supervise doctoral students, and help shape the intellectual life of our vibrant academic community. We would also welcome applicants who would be able to contribute to collaborative teaching programmes or research in the Faculty, in areas such as identity, race/ethnicity, or gender - experience of collaboration with cultural institutions, whether through research or teaching, is also welcome. Core responsibilities will initially include programme/module administration, teaching, supervision, assessment, student support and pastoral care. You will also be equipped to supervise doctoral students. With a PhD in any area of Medieval Studies, you will contribute the Faculty’s and Schools’ research impact and culture, and to the intellectual and cultural life of the institution and the various communities and partners with whom we work and serve.

Birkbeck is hiring a Lecturer in Medieval Studies (c.1300-1500), full-time and open-ended.

They will be formally based in English but expected to be able to contribute about 0.5FTE to History, including teaching and supervision.

Closing date Feb 23rd: cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

👋

Middle Ages spread?

Here's what it looked like on my return to work this morning - beautiful red brick gabled building of Girton's Hall, with a dusting of snow on the grass in front.

JOB ALERT!

3-year postdoc at @girtoncollege.bsky.social - research anything you like in History, Archaeology or Anthropology in a wonderful, welcoming scholarly community.

PLEASE SHARE! Closes 12 January

www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...

Call for Papers 18th International Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Scottish Language, Literature, and Culture (ICMRSLLC) University of Bristol, 1-4 July 2026 We are delighted to invite papers for the 18th International Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Scottish Language, Literature, and Culture (ICMRSLLC), first established in 1975. We welcome proposals for papers that discuss any aspects of medieval and renaissance Scottish language, literature, and culture, and papers that reflect on these fields from different time periods, languages, and places. Keynote speakers: Roderick Lyall (Emeritus Professor of Literatures in English, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) Anna Groundwater (Principal Curator, National Museums Scotland) Steven Reid (Professor of Early Modern Scottish History and Culture, University of Glasgow) You may submit either an individual paper proposal (in which case the organisers will compile proposals into panels); or a complete panel of 3 papers at 20 minutes each. The conference also welcomes alternative panel formats (e.g. roundtables, flash panels, work in progress sessions), but these will need to managed by the proposer and proposed in full, with details of all participants. Individual papers: 20 minutes Panel sessions (typically featuring 3 papers with time for questions, or in alternative formats): 90 minutes.

CFP: 18th International Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Scottish Language, Literature, & Culture
1–4 July, @bristoluni.bsky.social

Deadline (extended): 15 January 2026. See link for details 👇
#medievalsky #callforpapers
icmrsllc2026.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/call-for-pap...

New Year, New-ish Call for Papers

Calling all #Bronte scholars, #poetry specialists, #Romantic & #Victorian -ists: please consider submitting to our Brontës and Poetry special issue of Brontë Studies - #creative approaches encouraged 🖤

Abstracts: 1 April
Manuscripts: 15 December

Please RT

IHR London Summer School 2026: Sickness and Health From the Black Death to the Covid-19 pandemic, from medieval medicine to public health across the centuries, from hospitals to archives & collections. Join us to discover Londo...

The #London #SummerSchool 2026 is now booking on the theme of 'Sickness & Health'. From the Black Death to Covid-19. Use code HEALTH10 before 24th Jan to get 10% discount! Bursaries available www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

Research Training and Short Courses The IHR offers a wide range of training courses for historians at all career stages, from digital research and oral history to archives and publishing.

Looking to boost your historical research skills in 2026? Check out our range of research training and short courses. More coming in Term 3!
www.history.ac.uk/study-traini...

Goodnight, Hookland, see you on the other side.

The complete Bayeux Tapestry has finally been released and proves that Bishop Odo had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal Norman invasion of England.

He ys ridinge a horse
He ys emerald and svelte
He will get reallye weirde
If you lie about beltes
The Green Knighte
Ys Cominge
To Toun