History at Bristol

Exciting news! 📣 The CMS' own Dr Sig Sønnesyn (@sigsonnesyn.bsky.social) is giving a lecture tomorrow (Tuesday) on 'Meaning, Intelligibility, and Fusing Horizons: Medieval Thought as a Case Study' at 3:30pm in G.HO1, Arts Complex. All welcome. We can't wait! 😀 #medievalsky #skystorians

Ending the week on a high with an Old English/Old Norse reading group mash up!

Thanks as ever to Hattie Soper for coordinating! Remember that Old English reading group runs on Fridays at 3pm, followed by Old Norse at 4pm. All welcome, no prior knowledge necessary! #medievalsky #skystorians

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to hear about Dr Elena Rossi’s (@elenarossi.bsky.social) work on female employment in medieval universities. A HUGE thank you to Elena for sharing such a fascinating paper with us all: we really hope to welcome you back to Bristol soon! 🥰 #medievalsky #skystorians

The Experience of Work in Early Modern England II: Family Fortunes This post is part of a series that marks the publication of The Experience of Work in Early Modern England. The book is co-authored by monster head Mark Hailwood, along with Jane Whittle, Hannah Ro…

Another post on 'The Experience of Work in Early Modern England' - a reminder that work in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was very much a family affair...

manyheadedmonster.com/2025/10/09/t...

The Experience of Work in Early Modern England I: Winter is Coming This post is part of a series that marks the publication of The Experience of Work in Early Modern England. The book is co-authored by monster head Mark Hailwood, along with Jane Whittle, Hannah Ro…

As you dig out your chunky knitwear from the back of the draw, I know you are wondering: 'How did people prepare for winter 400 years ago?'

Read today's post to find out (and whet your appetite for our new book The Experience of Work in Early Modern England)

manyheadedmonster.com/2025/10/07/t...

What an amazing CMS event! We were so excited to celebrate not only Kathleen and Melek’s wonderful new book, but a bumper crop of new books from CMS members Matt Lampitt, Leah Tether, Rachael Harkes, Marianne Ailes, Adrian Ailes, Ad Putter, and Ben Pohl! 🎉🥳 Congratulations once again to all!

The Experience of Work in Early Modern England I: Winter is Coming This post is part of a series that marks the publication of The Experience of Work in Early Modern England. The book is co-authored by monster head Mark Hailwood, along with Jane Whittle, Hannah Ro…

The night is dark and full of terrors! As the days grow shorter+ the darkness creeps in, grab yourself some pilfered firewood, slaughter a sheep, and read more about seasonal work patterns from @markhailwood.bsky.social +others’ new book on experiences of work
🗃️
manyheadedmonster.com/2025/10/07/t...

The 1789 French Revolution – not just a revolution in France

Our new short course 'The French Revolution - Not just a Revolution in France' starts this evening. There is still time to sign up and all sessions are recorded. Historian William Doyle emeritus professor of @uobrishistory.bsky.social is the opening speaker www.history.org.uk/historian/ca...

Hwæt?! The amazing Old English Reading Group is BACK and with a new friend?!?

Join Hattie and Co for Old English Reading Group at 3pm Friday in Hattie’s office, followed by the brand new Old Norse Reading Group at 4pm! No prior knowledge or experience needed, and everybody welcome!

Owen presenting at the conference

Here he is in action!

Have a read here: historiansatbristol.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/archives/934

‘Fast forward to July, after finishing my degree programme, and I was confronted with a bizarre introduction to the United States – Americans more proficient in Welsh than I was!'

… North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History (NAASWCH). In this blog, he reflects on his dissertation research on Welsh settler and Indigenous Tehuelche memorialisation in Patagonia’s built environment, and what it was like to travel to Ohio and present on this research…

‘This kind of exposure to other scholars’ real, living work was an essential reminder that the bounds of academic curiosity and innovation do not end with a coursework deadline or at the library or seminar room door.'

Over the summer, recent History graduate Owen Chennetier attended the…

Sijie has kindly written a blog post introducing this prize-winning research - do have a read here: historiansatbristol.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

Dr Sijie Ren, who was supervised by @robertbickers and Adrian Howkins, was awarded the British Association for Chinese Studies 'Best Doctoral Thesis Prize' for their PhD “Science and Politics in Maoist China: The Synthetic Insulin Project and its Legacy."

Bodies, Tides, Timber, and the Global History of London’s Docks, 1860–1928* Abstract. This article examines changes in the bodies and environment of labourers carrying timber imported into London’s docks in the 1860s to the 1920s t

New on advance access: "Bodies, Tides, Timber, and the Global History of London’s Docks, 1860–1928"

by Simeon Koole (@uobrishistory.bsky.social) and @benmechen.bsky.social (@uclhistory.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Please join us for this guest lecture with the brilliant Dr Eugenia Anderson (KNUST/Oxford) titled: 'We do not fear intimidation,
we will express our opposing views.' Thursday 23rd October, 4-5.30pm. All welcome! @uobartsmatter.bsky.social @uobrishistory.bsky.social @brisblackhums.bsky.social

Lovely to connect with @uobrishistory.bsky.social, and to hear more about Victoria and Sarah's powerful books - on hospital colours and chronologies as overlapping and layered, and on mothers radicalised by and of the women's liberation movement. I've read both these books and really loved them 💖

✈️ Our PGR internship series returns, as PhD @uobrishistory.bsky.social candidate Jenny Hutton tells us about working with Dr @smawdsley.bsky.social to examine the history of aircraft cabin air contamination

Read more about this important research with global reach 👉 bit.ly/3IHyV47

We're so excited for the first Centre for Medieval Studies Research Seminar of the year!

Join us on Thursday at 4pm, with our CMS Welcome Party to follow straight after!

All welcome! We hope to see you there! #medievalsky #skystorians

Bristol's forgotten street names revealed in map Names of roads either lost down the centuries or renamed are available on a new map.

'They [maps] are a great research tool and are also equally accessible to people without skills or training.' 🗺️

Dr Evan Jones (@uobrishistory.bsky.social) comments on the addition of historic street names to Bristol's Know Your Place interactive city map for BBC News

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fascinating stuff from the CMS' own Dr Evan Jones!

A new semester means a new exciting round of CMS seminars! Here's a sneak peek of what we have to look forward to over the next few weeks!

Maintaining Islam, ‘Moroccanness’ and white privilege: social perception and experiences of mixed individuals in Morocco from the colonial era to the present This interdisciplinary article examines mixed families in Morocco from French colonial rule to the present day, focusing on experiences and perception of mixed individuals within Morocco. Our compa...

🚨new article on mixed identities in Morocco🚨 how did mixed families construct their identity and navigate discrimination in the 20th and 21st century? 🇲🇦 find out here, baby…

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

In this new blog post, Bristol History student Hannah Clark reflects on her summer internship working with Professor Sumita Mukherjee on a public digital resource called ‘South Asian Britain: Connections and Networks.’ Read more here: historiansatbristol.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

Map of the British Indian Empire from Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909. Gwalior is located in one of India’s Princely States, coloured yellow on the map, which were semi-autonomous territories.

Example of a letter envelope with Indian stamps consulted in Ellen’s latest research, courtesy of the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge.

✍️ Dr @ellencssmith.bsky.social (@uobrishistory.bsky.social) introduces us to her Imperial Letters project which explores how the correspondence of British families in India shaped public opinion of empire in the 19th & 20th centuries

Find out more this South Asian Heritage Month 👉 bit.ly/45chAIX

Sunday Feature - The Hiawatha Phenomenon - BBC Sounds Uchenna Ngwe charts the changing fortunes of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Song of Hiawatha.

📻 Dr Sam Hitchmough (@uobrishistory.bsky.social) joins #BBCRadio3 The Sunday Feature to discuss Buffalo Bill and the potential influences on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's The Song of Hiawatha

Listen to the full programme 👇

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Excited to be welcoming a new cohort of keen 2nd-year @uobrishistory.bsky.social students to the extended, year-long (24 weeks!) version of my tried-and-tested special ‘Vikings, Normans, and the Making of Europe’, now with 50% more vikings!

I’m very pleased to working on this new project seeking to embed silenced voices in the new Natural History GCSE curriculum. This is a fabulous collaboration with Rising Arts Agency, colleagues in the School of Education and Bristol Museum. Thanks to @hellobrigstow.bsky.social.

Historians in their robes

Bristol historians all dressed up for graduation. It’s an absolute highlight of the year getting to celebrate the many achievements of our history students!