Dr Meg Kobza

Photo of a Poem on the Underground piece on the tube in London titled Epitaph on a Tyrant by W.H. Auden. Poem: "Pefection, of a kind, was what he was after. And the poetry he invented was easy to understand; He knew human folly like the back of his hand. And was greatly interested in armies and fleets; When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter; And when he cried the little children died in the streets." January 1939

Well played, London Underground.

A poster that reads: you can’t spell hatred without red hat accompanied by a drawing of a red hat

Everything is awful but the creativity behind some of these handmade posters gives me a glimmer of hope in humanity.

Why Professor Holliday Doesn’t Use Generative “AI” Why Professor Holliday Doesn’t Use Generative “AI” This is a (very) incomplete list of journalistic and scholarly sources that provide information about limitations and documented drawbacks of variou...

My course syllabi now contain a link to this document, "why Professor Holliday Doesn't Use Generative AI". Feel free to share/repurpose or just check out the links for your own reference. It won't stop some of them, but I want students to know why. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

This Author has the privilege of sharing the tale of Mrs Catherine Perceval with avid readers & riotous revellers alike. The Author hopes this will satiate the ton's boundless appetite for gossip. For now.

yalebooks.co.uk/the-real-mas...

Whatever my uni declares, I am not going to engage with AI. I am not going to use AI or teach students to use it. I am going to continue to explain to students why it is harmful. Absolutely absurd to allow this anti-intellectual, environmentally devastating technology into the university at all.

This works for Masquerade pre-orders too 😘

Including Novels, Needleworks, and Empire by @chloewigstonsmith.bsky.social, and a preview of Masquerade by @fancyhistorian.bsky.social!

Free postage in the UK. Offer runs until 31/1/26. Not available in North/South America & Australia/NZ.

This thread. The lack of acknowledgement of luck is a constant in the humanities. I have had a really successful career, made a living as a writer. And I am a pretty good researcher, I can present interesting ideas in a way people want to read them. Is that why I'm successful? 1/3

14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.

Vacancies - BSECS Vacancies on the Council This page gives details of any current vacancies on the BSECS Council. Vacancies are normally advertised in the autumn of the year and appointments are made or elections held ...

We have two vacancies on the Council of the *British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies*:

1. Postgraduate Representative
2. Communications Officer

Happy to answer any questions about @bsecs.bsky.social Council life!

More info here: www.bsecs.org.uk/the-society/...

Evenings and mornings.

University course closures leave students unable to study many SHAPE subjects close to home - report A new report shows that students are shut out of SHAPE education in their home regions, as large swathes of the UK are ‘cold spots’ for humanities, social sciences and arts degrees.

We have a whole report on this
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/univers...

Poster for the podcast UPRISING: THE CIVIL WARS. A picture of Charles I is in the centre with battle scenes in the background. Along with the podcast title are the words ‘Listen wherever you get your podcasts’.

It’s my birthday! A really wonderful gift would be if you could listen, like and share my new podcast series, Uprising: The Civil Wars (and, if you have enjoyed it, give it 5 ⭐️)

In the words of Henrietta Maria, Merci.

🎧 play.megaphone.fm/quvuyhkqs66t...

Teaching Slavery Teaching Slavery offers ground-breaking research and practical guidance for teaching Britain’s role in transatlantic slavery. Combining historical analysis with classroom strategies, it equips educato...

Congratulations to Katie Donington, Abdul Mohamud, Robin Whitburn, Nicholas Draper and their contributors! Their #OpenAccess book Teaching Slavery published today. Read and download free at: bit.ly/48vnDdJ #Education #Colonialism #Slavery #Racism

TODAY! We’re looking forward to this in-person CECS seminar with the always wonderful Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth @carolinemccaff.bsky.social

A movie that takes place where you're from.

This is the most frustrating and exhausting thing about academia. When I mentioned it to a headhunter who was asking about things that could change, they said, “you are the first person to bring this up” — but two other women in the room backed me up.

15 depts in College of Humanities and Social Sciences will be completely eliminated and replaced by
~ School of Human Behavior & Well-Being
~ Center for Interdisciplinary Programs & Writing Studies
~ Institute for Y (e.g. Intelligence, Value, and Societal Structures)

Wth? Sounds like BBC show W1A.

NYT opinion: OPINION BINYAMIN APPELBAUM Mamdani Isn’t the Future of the Democrats. This Guy Is The picture is of PA Gov Josh Shapiro

You have to understand what pieces like this from the NYT are and are not.

They are not an honest assessment of the state of politics today.

They are a negotiation tactic—an effort by a calcified, right-leaning legacy institution to steer the discourse in a direction more palatable to elites.

Novels, Needleworks, and Empire - Yale University Press London The first sustained study of the vibrant links between domestic craft and British colonialism  Finalist, Susanne M. Glasscock Book Prize   In the e...

For colleagues in the UK: Yale UP is running a 50% discount through November, using the promo code FIFTY. Lots of books at much better prices, including my own: yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

BSECS Conference Registration Registration for the BSECS Annual Conference is now open. Please use the form below to register for the conference.

Early Bird Registration for #BSECS2026 closes on the
***15 NOVEMBER 2025***
www.bsecs.org.uk/conferences/...
#skystorians #18thC 🗃️

I have fallen victim to the craze.

Dr Meghan Kobza in black trousers and a sparkly top front of a screen with her book cover on

Had an interesting lunchtime talk today at @yalebooks.bsky.social from Dr Meghan Kobza about her upcoming book The Masquerade: A History of Extravagance and Intrigue. Now I want to go to a Masquerade 🎭 find out more about the book here yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

Anthony Blinken was explicitly calling the actions of the RSF and SAF in Sudan a genocide all the way back in January.

Which people who’d actually been paying attention to the situation in Sudan before now (when it’s handy to use it Sudan as a rhetorical gotcha against Gaza protesters) would know.

A brindle pit bull style dog sits on a mat inside a front door, wearing a Halloween costume consisting of a black and white horizontally striped shirt with foam “arms” at the sides, one holding a painter’s palette, one holding a paint brush, she also has a beret on

When no one at the école noticed your work

My review of @benltjackson.bsky.social's excellent book!

Networks of Reception in the Eighteenth-Century British Press and Laurence Sterne Cambridge Core - English Literature: General Interest - Networks of Reception in the Eighteenth-Century British Press and Laurence Sterne

‪
Great to see Mary Newbould's new book on #Sterne and networks of reception out and open access rom @universitypress.cambridge.org! Lots of rich #18thcentury material here, including oral recitals & naughty Sternean poetry
@shandyhall.bsky.social @lsternetrust.bsky.social

Applied History Fellowship launch Event- 19 November 2025: 2.30pm - 4.00pm. Register to join us online: https://www.history.ac.uk/news-events/events/applied-history-fellowships

🎉We are pleased to announce new Applied History Fellowships in partnership with @royalhistsoc.org & @findmypast.bsky.social.

Join us on the 19 November at our launch event to find out more about the Fellowships and how to apply:

www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

These lovely new books are for work. I promise. #18thc

Giant copy of the Constitution being carried down Pennsylvania Avenue.