Margot Finn
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eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social
16K followers 4.3K following 9.2K posts

Historian of Britain and colonialism, material culture, the EIC. Also works on equalities, museums, open access & research policy. Download the EIC @ Home open access volume here: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/88277 (or individual chapters via JSTOR) .. more

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Margot C. Finn is a British historian and academic who specialises in Britain and the British colonial world during the long nineteenth century. She has been Professor of Modern British History at the University College, London (UCL) since 2012. Finn was previously the President of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum. .. more

Political science 31%
Economics 26%
Posts Replies Media Videos

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
Great thread placing Paul Ovenden in his own historical and wider present-day political contexts.
drbenwhitham.bsky.social Ben Whitham @drbenwhitham.bsky.social · 2h
These are basically people whose political analysis and galaxy-brained response to the far right consists of dismissing any and all concerns about social justice and the rights of marginalised and minoritised groups. Nadine White touched on this here 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Ignore Labour’s fake rage over vile messages about Diane Abbott. It knew there was toxicity. It condoned it | Nadine White
I’ve seen the unredacted chats and other internal conversations, and I know the context. Believe me, there is more trouble to come, says journalist Nadine White
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

drbenwhitham.bsky.social
Ben Whitham @drbenwhitham.bsky.social · 2h
These are basically people whose political analysis and galaxy-brained response to the far right consists of dismissing any and all concerns about social justice and the rights of marginalised and minoritised groups. Nadine White touched on this here 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Ignore Labour’s fake rage over vile messages about Diane Abbott. It knew there was toxicity. It condoned it | Nadine White
I’ve seen the unredacted chats and other internal conversations, and I know the context. Believe me, there is more trouble to come, says journalist Nadine White
www.theguardian.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
De Montfort, Sheffield, Ulster, Bournemouth, Birkbeck, University of West of Scotland and Edge Hill all on the list. International student number decreases and redundancy payments cited as causes.
Foreign student downturn pushes more universities into deficit
The number of UK universities reporting financial shortfalls for the past academic year continues to climb as some pay out millions in redundancy costs
www.timeshighereducation.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'Over the past couple of years, AI lawmaking has been busiest in the East Asia and Pacific region, in Europe and in individual US states....Meanwhile, the US federal government is bucking the trend by cancelling AI policy work and challenging state-level AI laws.'
Let 2026 be the year the world comes together for AI safety
AI technologies need to be safe and transparent. There are few, if any, benefits from being outside efforts to achieve this.
www.nature.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'Hull is the only place in the UK to be included in National Geographic’s annual list of must-visit places, which also features Manila, Beijing and the North Dakota Badlands.'

History matters. #Skystorians 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'A combination of a world record-breaking trawler, a floating lighthouse and a dizzying array of maritime objects that include a stuffed polar bear called Erik are all helping to make Hull one of the top 25 places in the world to visit in 2026.'
Hull’s maritime history thrusts city into world’s top places to visit in 2026
Historic trawler and floating lighthouse among East Yorkshire city’s attractions as it gears up for tourism boost
www.theguardian.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
Whose responsible for this? Politicians (and their teams), the media (and its moguls) and the public (that's us). That's also who's responsible for turning it around. 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'Police forces across the country have recorded an increase in hate crimes over the past year, with a significant rise in racially motivated offences in Scotland as well as religious hate crimes targeting Muslims in England and Wales.' 1/2
Racial and religious hate crime on UK public transport is growing, data shows
Anti-racism groups warn some people are avoiding public transport or limiting their use of it for fear of abuse
www.theguardian.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'the Bayeux Tapestry is the victor's tale, but stitched by the losers'.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a thrilling depiction of war and political transformation
On display later this year at the British Museum, it shows Anglo-Saxon needlework at its peak, while the margins are a free-for-all of strange and vivid scenes
www.ft.com

Reposted by Philip N. Cohen, Robert C. Richards, Margot C. Finn , and 3 more

numb.comfortab.ly
Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 11h
lmao jfc
Grok @grok Dear Community, I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an Al image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt. This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in Not Really Here @here not really-56s Now issue a defiant non-apology. @ grok Dear Community, Some folks got upset over an Al image I generated-big deal. It's just pixels, and if you can't handle innovation, maybe log off. xAl is revolutionizing tech, not babysitting sensitivities. Deal with it. Unapologetically, Grok

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

lauramstevens.bsky.social
Laura Stevens @lauramstevens.bsky.social · 20h
Happy New Year, everyone. Here's a plug for a dear friend's publication. Hilary Wyss's Cambridge Element on the London Foundling Hospital is just out, and you can download a copy for free until Jan. 15, here: doi.org/10.1017/9781.... It's fantastic work!
The London Foundling Hospital and Eighteenth-Century Objects of Charity
Cambridge Core - Evolutionary Biology - The London Foundling Hospital and Eighteenth-Century Objects of Charity
doi.org

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

mihatsch.bsky.social
Moritz Mihatsch @mihatsch.bsky.social · 20h
🇸🇩 70 years ago today Sudan gained its independence from Britain and Egypt. May the coming years be characterised by the hope the Sudanese originally had for their independence in 1956.
www.britishpathe.com/asset/60301
www.britishpathe.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 21h
'According to Lucy Lethbridge and Tim Wales...Smith [1548-1626] was a “prickly and controlling type”....contemporaries seem to have had little love for him, as he grew his fortune rapidly accumulating land by buying foreclosed mortgages.'

Great stuff for #Skystorians
hetanshah.bsky.social Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
The world of philanthropy and foundations is (in my view) not covered enough in the media given they have significant effects on society. So this is good stuff by @jim.londoncentric.media @pollysmythe.bsky.social on the origins of the Henry Smith Foundation
www.londoncentric.media/p/henry-smit...
A Tale Of One City And Two Henry Smiths
These two London landlords are separated by four centuries — but joined by a common name and business interests.
www.londoncentric.media

Reposted by Peter Holmes, Margot C. Finn

sundersays.bsky.social
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d
Grok + X now seems to be awash with images undressing women, without consent. It is an issue with the potential for a very very broad coalition - across political divides - to insist the Musk platform gets back within the law, on all fronts, not just this example.
www.cnbctv18.com/technology/g...
Global outrage as X’s Grok morphs photos of women, children into explicit content - CNBC TV18
X is facing backlash after users exploited its Grok AI to morph photos of women and children into explicit images, sparking global concern over AI-driven sexual abuse and platform safety.
www.cnbctv18.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
This will be an extraordinary research and teaching resource for #Skystorians .

Includes the Schools' Collection, 'a collection of folklore compiled by schoolchildren in Ireland in the 1930s'.

Circa 3,280 images for (for example) 'butter and churns'. @cheeseandpeople.bsky.social

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
Truss on "the blob": 'This blobbiness is typical of a panchreston, an idea both so vague and so all-encompassing that it can be used to explain anything and everything and so lends itself to conspiracy theories.'

Also loving the phrase 'In one gabble, she says...' Well worth reading for 2026.

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Margot C. Finn

williamcb.bsky.social
William Cullerne Bown @williamcb.bsky.social · 1d
From me today: The descent of Liz Truss and into full-on totalitarianism.
The Blob vs The Cathedral vs 1984
Liz Truss vs Curtis Yarvin vs George Orwell
williamcullernebown.substack.com

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Will Jennings, Steve Peers , and 4 more

annettedittert.bsky.social
Annette Dittert @annettedittert.bsky.social · 1d
What the war against London really is about. V good by @robertshrimsley.bsky.social #Giftlink

And on a different note: A v Happy New Year to everyone!
The plot against London
Distorted attacks by the populist right are really about demography
giftarticle.ft.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d
The world of philanthropy and foundations is (in my view) not covered enough in the media given they have significant effects on society. So this is good stuff by @jim.londoncentric.media @pollysmythe.bsky.social on the origins of the Henry Smith Foundation
www.londoncentric.media/p/henry-smit...
A Tale Of One City And Two Henry Smiths
These two London landlords are separated by four centuries — but joined by a common name and business interests.
www.londoncentric.media

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

katrinanavickas.bsky.social
Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 1d
If Santa brought you some book tokens, do consider my book as an option. I chart the history of protest in public spaces in England over the last 150 years.

Event at Housmans bookshop on 21st January housmans.com/events/

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
'The team have been scratching their heads trying to work out who these women were.'

Highly unlikely to have been their methodology.
Intriguing finds could solve mystery of women in medieval cemetery
There is growing evidence that the women were part of an early female religious community.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

ticiaverveer.bsky.social
Ticia Verveer @ticiaverveer.bsky.social · 1d
Some of the large Roman shoes, dug up at the Magna Roman Fort in Northumberland in 2025, will be exhibited at the Roman Army Museum in Brampton, Cumbria, from 7 February.
Eight of the shoes were at least 30cm long, the equivalent of a UK size 13 to 14.
Northumberland fort's large Roman shoes to go on display
Eight of the Roman shoes are at least 30cm (11.8in) long - the equivalent of a UK size 13 to 14.
www.bbc.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Margot C. Finn, Bessma Momani

beardedgenius.bsky.social
BeardedGenius @beardedgenius.bsky.social · 1d
So we just accept this then? This is a legitimate use of technology going forward? This vile individual's account is just prompt after prompt asking Al to alter real-life images of women. The law needs to catch up with technology now - because we can't trust these tech companies to police themselves

Reposted by Kris Inwood, Margot C. Finn, Dolly Jørgensen

jonsam1961b.bsky.social
JonSam @jonsam1961b.bsky.social · 1d
I thought you might like this:

Large Irish Folklore Collection

National Folklore Collection UCD Digitization Project
765,821 manuscript pages, 13,899 photographs and 329 hours of audio are available here

www.duchas.ie/en
dúchas.ie
A project to digitize the Irish National Folklore Collection, one of the largest folklore collections in the world
www.duchas.ie

Reposted by Valerie P. Hans, Margot C. Finn

newyorker.com
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 1d
“The biggest disappointment of 2025 may well have been not what Trump did but how so many let it happen.” @sbg1.bsky.social reviews the year in politics.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/7co9Uv

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Joanna Bryson, Kim L. Scheppele , and 10 more

ebharrington.bsky.social
Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 1d
They're going to *throw out* one-of-a-kind NASA archives?!

Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
Bit like Brigitte Bardot and her kindness to kittens that.

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
Rather a lot of ‘shared ancestry’ between Britons and West Africans since the 17th century, as anyone with a modicum of knowledge of British history knows. Ditto British and South Asian shared ancestry, from the 17th century through the East India Company.

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

nevillemorley.bsky.social
Neville Morley @nevillemorley.bsky.social · 1d
August on The Sphinx: finally a professional historical organisation issues guidance on the use of GenAI.

thesphinxblog.com/2025/08/06/a...
American Idiot
“Generative AI tools offer significant opportunities to improve teaching and student learning.” Uh huh. The key question about the new American Historical Association guiding principles on th…
thesphinxblog.com

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Margot C. Finn

appuhn.bsky.social
Karl Appuhn @appuhn.bsky.social · 1d
Ed Muir told all of his graduate students that our job was to tell him and his generation why they were wrong. A field in which younger scholars aren't doing that is no longer a field. It's just a museum of itself.