Alan Lester
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alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester
@alanlester.bsky.social
16K followers 6.8K following 1.9K posts

British Empire Professor, University of Sussex. Co-editor, MUP Studies in Imperialism series. Views here own.
Blogs on politics of colonial history here: https://alanlester.co.uk Editor https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-truth-about-empire/ .. more

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Alan Lester is a British historical geographer and author who has worked for Sussex University since 2000. He was appointed Professor of Historical Geography in 2006. He is known for his research on imperial networks, colonial humanitarianism and imperial governance. .. more

Political science 40%
Sociology 34%
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alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · Apr 30
The podcast of David Olusoga and I discussing Empire & the rewriting of history:

howtoacademy.com/podcasts/dav...
HOW TO PODCAST | David Olusoga & Alan Lester - The Truth About the British Empire
David Olusoga and Alan Lester reveal the dark realities of the British Empire, and reflect on the importance of historians amid the resurgence of nationalism and misinformation.
howtoacademy.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 13h
3/3 and for a comparison between Lenny Henry & Marcus Ryder’s arguments for, and Nigel Biggar’s against, see www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reparation or disavowal? The morals and the politics of slavery and racism: The Big Payback: The Case for Reparations for Slavery and How They Would Work, Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder. Faber, London (...
www.sciencedirect.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 13h
2/3 For the lecture on British debates I have to the Commonwealth Journalists Association see alanlester.co.uk/blog/british...
British Reparations for Trans-Atlantic Slavery: Lessons From History?
Lecture Given to the Association of Commonwealth Journalists, 24 Nov 2025 Alan Lester Professor of Historical Geography University of Sussex Introduction[1] Reparations are ‘a commitment to acknowl…
alanlester.co.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 13h
1/3 Great account of state of play with reparations demands from Kenneth Mohammed:

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
In 2025 reparations became central to UK ties with the Caribbean and Africa – so how do we move forward? | Kenneth Mohammed
This year was a pivotal one, in which the issue of restorative justice began to frame the UK’s post-imperial relationship with the global south
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 14h
The closer the Epstein net draws in around Trump, the more prolifically he launches the US military against other countries.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Why has Trump ordered strikes in Nigeria and what has it got to do with the persecution of Christians?
Parts of the US right have for years been amplifying claims that Christians face violence in Nigeria, a notion the US president has helped to encourage
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
Happy Christmas

Reposted by Alan Lester

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 2d
Excellent analysis from @dirkmoses.bsky.social of the implications of Western leaders devaluing Holocaust memory by invoking it to justify another genocide in Gaza:

thediasporist.de/is-holocaust...
Is Holocaust Memory Over? – the Diasporist
How the German political and media classes have hollowed out the lessons of history
thediasporist.de

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 2d
Britain is not immune. The links between the AfD, MAGA and Reform are clear. They even inform US government strategy.

www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
In Berlin, I took an evening class on fascism – and found out how to stop the AfD | Tania Roettger
With the far-right party ahead in the polls, I discovered that a novel set during the rise of the Nazis provides a timely warning, says journalist Tania Roettger
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
2/2 See alanlester.co.uk/blog/antisla...
Antislavery and the Original ‘Scramble for Africa’, 1807-1879
Keynote Lecture for 140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference, Africa Centre and SOAS Friday 12 December and Saturday 13 December 2025   Alan Lester Most British imperial historians have tended t…
alanlester.co.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
1/2 Trump’s “war on drugs” in South America clearly echoes the British war on ”slavery” that precipitated the Scramble for Africa in the C19:

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘Gunboat diplomacy on steroids’: US signs security deals across Latin America
Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro warns Trump administration may ‘destabilise the entire region’ amid rising tensions
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
Surely anyone campaigning against child sexual exploitation on either side of the Atlantic can no longer support Donald Trump?

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Jeffrey Epstein apparently wrote letter to Larry Nassar referencing Trump
Letter to former US gymnastics team doctor postmarked three days after Epstein’s death
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Dave O’Brien

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
Two posts available at UCL’s groundbreaking Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery:

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
I gave two main public lectures this semester. One on the reparations debate in Britain and one on British antislavery and the ‘pre-scramble’ for Africa. Both available to read over Christmas for free here:

alanlester.co.uk/blog/british...

And here:

alanlester.co.uk/blog/antisla...
Antislavery and the Original ‘Scramble for Africa’, 1807-1879
Keynote Lecture for 140 Years Beyond the Berlin Conference, Africa Centre and SOAS Friday 12 December and Saturday 13 December 2025   Alan Lester Most British imperial historians have tended t…
alanlester.co.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
Very good news. About time this completely unnecessary,cruel practice on behalf of over-privileged, de-sensitised gourmands was ended.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
3. Their definition of “legitimate targets” is shared, the result of a radical, dehumanising disease. The only difference is that Netanyahu has greater resources at his disposal to kill those innocents he defines as “representatives” of his enemies.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
2. Both conflate attacks on Netanyahu’s government with attacks on Jewish people. Just as Netanyahu has used allegations of antisemitism against critics of his policies, so antisemitic terrorists also refuse to differentiate between Jewish people and the actions of his state.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
1/3. Netanyahu has far more in common with the Bondi Beach attackers than Albanese.

Netanyahu and the terrorists both dehumanise innocent people who “represent”, but who are not, their enemy. Furthermore…

www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Israel's Netanyahu accuses Australian PM of fuelling antisemitism
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Sunday's deadly shooting at a Jewish holiday celebration in Sydney and said he had warned his Australian counterpart that the country's support for ...
www.reuters.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
It highlights how Netanyahu & his supporters are the mirror image of antisemitic terrorists. Not only do they dehumanise Palestinians in the same wary terrorists dehumanise Jews, but they share the idea that to attack the Israeli government is to attack all Jews.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
2/2 bylinetimes.com/2025/06/19/h...
How Negative Media Headlines About Small Boat Crossings Are Turning Brits Against All Migrants
New research finds that disproportionate coverage of the relatively low numbers crossing the English channel is turning British people against all incomers
bylinetimes.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
1/2 Trevor Phillips on Farage in @thetimes.com.

Single-handedly?

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
Netanyahu’s extremist government continues to colonise the West Bank, while his Western supporters and ‘peacemakers’ continue to treat him as if he isn’t a war criminal.

www.thetimes.com/world/middle...
Israel approves 19 new Jewish settlements in occupied West Bank
New West Bank settlements mark a 50 per cent increase in Jewish presence under the present government, deepening divisions and complicating peace efforts
www.thetimes.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 5d
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘We’ve got more in common than what divides us’: a Muslim-Jewish kitchen in Nottingham counters hate and hunger
As antisemitism and Islamophobia rise, a community centre brings people together over shared meals, offering an antidote to food poverty, social isolation and division
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Alan Lester, Pauline Stafford , and 1 more

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 5d
Looking for a New Year's resolution that is good for your mind and (relatively) easy to keep? Check out the Institute of Historical Research seminars for January 2026. Fourteen seminars in week 1 alone. Free, broad-ranging, open to the public and usually available both in person and online.
Events
Stay up to date with the upcoming events organised or hosted by the Institute of Historical Research
www.history.ac.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 6d
Giles Coren (in The Times) is wrong on two counts. 1. You do have to be racist to vote Reform. Racist scapegoating is the essence of the party’s politics. You don’t vote for that if you’re antiracist. 2. Since Johnson & Badenoch led the party down the same path, other racists will vote Tory.

Reposted by Alan Lester

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 6d
'A new, illustrated adaptation of her novel, called Las aventuras del caballero Cristalián (The Adventures of Cristalián the Knight), aims to redress the balance and introduce Bernal’s work to younger readers.' 2/2
Las aventuras del caballero Cristalián - Anaya Infantil y juvenil
libro infantil, A partir de 12 años , Las aventuras del caballero Cristalián es, además de un libro de caballerías lleno de aventuras y sucesos mágicos, la primera novela escrita por una mujer en la ...
www.anayainfantilyjuvenil.com

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Martin Paul Eve, Alan Lester , and 2 more

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 6d
'Though completely eclipsed by Don Quixote, Cristalián de España, which was first published in 1545, has a unique claim to fame. Its 800 pages, bristling with swords, sorcerers, dragons and damsels, make up the earliest known work by a female Spanish novelist.' 1/2
‘From her pen sprang unforgettable females’: 16th-century Spanish author’s knight’s tale given reboot
Beatriz Bernal’s pioneering novel features brave, chivalrous women who ride dragons and her adapter wants his illustrated version to reach young readers
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 7d
Absolutely. It’s astonishing how anyone can bear to work with him. It must require abject sycophancy and the surrender of one’s soul.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 7d
So much about this serves as a gentle and kind riposte to the hateful far right propaganda, about both the BBC and London.

Sir David Attenborough's London - why he wouldn't live anywhere else www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Why Sir David Attenborough wouldn't live anywhere else but London
In a new one-off documentary, the broadcaster and conservationist comes home - to London.
www.bbc.co.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 7d
This man’s ego is a Black Hole. It has to absorb every particle surrounding it. His narcissism is insatiable. Every attempt to satisfy it only fuels his overwhelming need for yet more flattery.

Kennedy Center to be renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, White House says www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Kennedy Center to be renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, White House says
The board of the performing arts centre, which was appointed by Trump, voted to rename it to honour him, the White House press secretary says.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Alan Lester

pasttensehistories.bsky.social
pasttensehistories.bsky.social @pasttensehistories.bsky.social · 7d
At Policy Exchange Walton writes reports advocating for greater legal repression against protestors. Including climate change groups; questions have been asked as to who funds PE - fossil fuel corporations?