Chris Manias

Cambridge University Library, University Museum of Zoology and the University of Cambridge - Collections Connections Communities

Fully funded PhD studentship: ‘Recording nature and writing the self: time, entomology and the archive in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’. Closes 3 May.

With Ruth Abbott, Staffan Müller-Wille, Ed Turner & me. @theul.bsky.social @zoologymuseum.bsky.social

www.ccc.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/...

The New Dinosaurs: an alternative evolution Published in Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology (Ahead of Print, 2026)

My long review of the 2025 edition of Dougal Dixon's The New Dinosaurs has just been published in Historical Biology. What is the 'use' of Speculative Zoology and how does this book connect to the history of dinosaur research? www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YTPSK... #SpecZoo #SpecBio

"Fossils (February)" by the English surrealist Tristram Hillier. This 1955 painting was commissioned by Shell for the Shell Book of Nature, Fossils, Insects and Reptiles. From Ark UK: Government Art Collection. You Can Be Sure Of Shell... #FossilFriday

Webinar: Pursuing a research degree in the history of STM A webinar to orient prospective students on pursuing an MA and PhD in the history of STM, and how to apply to the Hans Rausing Scholarship.

📣Interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree in the history of STM? Wishing to apply to our Hans Rausing Scholarship? Then this webinar is for you!

Pursuing a research degree in the history of STM
Thursday 12 March
17.00-18.00 (GMT)

Register via Eventbrite ⬇️

#histsci #histtech #histmed #histstm

The Face What’s in a face? The face is the only part of the body where all the senses come together and, over the course of human history, has come to represent who we are as individuals. We unlock our phones...

Congratulations to @fayboundalberti.bsky.social for the publication of “The Face: A cultural history” today!

You can now get it from your preferred bookshop in the UK!
tinyurl.com/the-face-fba

@kingshistory.bsky.social @kingsartshums.bsky.social @ctb-kcl.bsky.social

#histmed #histtech #body

Terrible Lizards: S12E02 Writing with Dinosaurs  This is available to watch on youtube here: Support the podcast (keep it advert free) and get exclusive content: We have talked plenty about dinosaurs in pop culture, including in movies, but ...

New episode of #TerribleLizards is out with @richardfallon.bsky.social talking about Crichton, Conan Doyle, and #dinosaurs in literature. terriblelizards.libsyn.com/tls12e02-1

A very special #FossilFriday. Thanks to @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social, one of the c19th's greatest works of palaeontological literature is now properly digitised: Thomas Hawkins's beautiful, epic, semi-unhinged Memoirs of Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri (nhm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/44...)

PhD Studentships at King's College London At jobs.ac.uk, you can apply for a PhD Studentships. Explore our diverse range of PhD opportunities today.

Two more PhD scholarships at @kingshistory.bsky.social: focussing on different aspects of Nigerian history, and working with my excellent colleague @bixhiribarren.bsky.social :

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQM397/p...

Ah, sounds intriguing! Possibly some kind of Entelodont? (they're quite popular to depict in the early- and mid-20th century)

I was indeed curious about that! Can't see the feet very well but I'm guessing it's supposed to be some kind of early Equid...?

I'm especially liking the polyhedral dice at the front

Presenting the background and my general thoughts about a new developing project next week....

No worries! The project itself is going on for another two years, so there will be more stuff happening on these lines in due course

New book out by my colleague on the development of the idea of intelligence - had a preview, and it's very good!

Very glad to see they have survived!

Other possible supervisors listed here: www.kingschostm.com/people

We have people working on history of tech, disability history, history of collections, internationalism and science, early modern science, biosciences, and many other things!

Applications are still open for these doctoral scholarships in history of science at KCL (which can cover a preparatory History MA & international fees)

I'm always happy to receive enquiries from people interested in working on history of palaentology, geology, anthropology, natural history & so on

We submitted a manuscript ,dealing with impacts of war and colonialism on geodiversity of #Ukraine. I am not at liberty to discuss unpublished research - but I want to highlight some published sources and amplify Ukrainian voices, and impact of war on #fossils in UA @nataliajagielska.bsky.social

Excellent owls! Many thanks

Retro palaeoart: Polish (1929, interwar) popular science palaeontology book "O czym mówią kamienie?" ("What do rocks tell us"), with charming illustrations. Written by Józef Siemiradzki, a Professor of Geology at the University of Lviv.

I would also like to see the Powerful Owls

Yeah, I'm making Abel a major character in a book I'm writing partly so this background can be better known! His ideas and art quite often feature in sci-com without any indication of this

And Klaus Taschwer has done some really great investigation of him: geschichte.univie.ac.at/en/articles/...

Wonderful news from Birkbeck's School of Historical Studies. We're hiring not one but TWO open-ended, full-time roles: Medieval Studies, and History of Art! cis7.bbk.ac.uk/home.html#fi...

Critical History for Tomorrow's Paleontology Cambridge Core - Palaeontology and Life History - Critical History for Tomorrow's Paleontology

Some #FossilFriday reading - a new publication by Victor Monnin entitled Critical History for Tomorrow's Paleontology

It thinks about how historical research can connect with issues in palaeontology: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

And it's free to download until 10 February, so get it quick!

Call for Papers: Cultural Materialism, Fascism and the Far Right, A Special Issue of Key Words: A Journal of Cultural Materialism Speaking in 1980 amid the New Right upsurge, Raymond Williams noted that ‘cultural struggle is absolutely crucial, because this is the terrain on which the interpretation of the crisis had to be es…

I’m editing a special issue of Key Words on cultural materialism, fascism and the far right for publication next year. Call for contributions and full details here: raymondwilliams.co.uk/2026/01/28/c...

Lecturer in Early Medieval History at King's College London An opportunity for an academic position as a Lecturer in Early Medieval History is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.

We have a job at @kingshistory.bsky.social!

Open-ended lecturing post in Early Medieval History, with focuses on Britain and/or Europe: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQH751/l...

Yeah, Martin is very interesting in that regard - his main works were Epic & Terrible scenes from the Bible, literature and history, or consciously-created sublime landscapes. So his dinosaurs are also in those sort of genres and conventions

We have an exciting line-up for term 2, with book manuscripts workshop (@davidedgerton.bsky.social) project talks (@chrismanias.bsky.social), book launch (David Brydan) and paper discussion (@mrweatherburn.bsky.social).
See more in our website: www.kingschostm.com

Palaeontology in Public Since the establishment of concepts of deep time in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, palaeontology has been one of the most high-profile sciences. Dinosaurs, mammoths, human ancesto...

Yes, and with full-colour illustrations. Order link is here (under "Purchase"): uclpress.co.uk/book/palaeon...

The book "Palaeontology in Public" is one year old today! 🦣🦖🦕🎂🎉

We've apparently had 7,756 downloads (!!), so many thanks to @uclpress.bsky.social for publishing it and making it open access, and to all the contributors, and to everyone who has read it so far