James Keating
@jameskeating.bsky.social
📖 Historian of suffrage, feminism and internationalism | 🖊️ Distant Sisters (MUP, 2020) | @ahsjournal.bsky.social Book Review Editor | he/him
Pinned
James Keating
@jameskeating.bsky.social
· Mar 13
I have a new open access article out in
@historyaustralia.bsky.social: '‘Give it to the Mitchell, it would be there for those that
come after us’: interwar feminists’ archival activism and
the recasting of Australian history' www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@historyaustralia.bsky.social: '‘Give it to the Mitchell, it would be there for those that
come after us’: interwar feminists’ archival activism and
the recasting of Australian history' www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by James Keating
centenary of Women's Library @lselibrary.bsky.social
first Librarian, Vera Douie. Readers sent letters for items to be posted and researched. Vera made a copy & filed it
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
@lsegender.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social
first Librarian, Vera Douie. Readers sent letters for items to be posted and researched. Vera made a copy & filed it
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
@lsegender.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 8:46 AM
centenary of Women's Library @lselibrary.bsky.social
first Librarian, Vera Douie. Readers sent letters for items to be posted and researched. Vera made a copy & filed it
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
@lsegender.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social
first Librarian, Vera Douie. Readers sent letters for items to be posted and researched. Vera made a copy & filed it
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
@lsegender.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social
Reposted by James Keating
I've been in organisations where older members were incredibly annoyed at my cohort's lack of attendance on week nights etc. and it took me a while to work out men in their cohort were allowed, and expected, to just abandon spouses and children at home
Older generations spent a lot less time parenting. Millennial dads spend nearly as much time parenting as Boomer moms did. Millennial and Gen X moms way more.
via The Economist
via The Economist
January 16, 2026 at 5:52 AM
I've been in organisations where older members were incredibly annoyed at my cohort's lack of attendance on week nights etc. and it took me a while to work out men in their cohort were allowed, and expected, to just abandon spouses and children at home
Reposted by James Keating
It's out! This new article by me and my wonderful collaborator Charlotte Ann Legg looks at race, labour and affinities of whiteness in New Caledonia and Australia around the time of the White Australia policy. Part of our special issue on Connected Histories of Empire: France, Britain & the Pacific🗃️
January 13, 2026 at 1:24 AM
It's out! This new article by me and my wonderful collaborator Charlotte Ann Legg looks at race, labour and affinities of whiteness in New Caledonia and Australia around the time of the White Australia policy. Part of our special issue on Connected Histories of Empire: France, Britain & the Pacific🗃️
Reposted by James Keating
Landmark History! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 5, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Landmark History! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by James Keating
all this is both foolish and unnecessary
January 4, 2026 at 9:47 PM
all this is both foolish and unnecessary
Reposted by James Keating
Publication day! My article on how to read an 18C newspapers, on digital remediation, and on the unfree press out in the world. Thanks @andy-schocket.bsky.social @historymatterssyd.bsky.social & M. Karrs for making it all possible. @universitypress.cambridge.org
lnkd.in/eEwbdbSw
lnkd.in/eEwbdbSw
December 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Publication day! My article on how to read an 18C newspapers, on digital remediation, and on the unfree press out in the world. Thanks @andy-schocket.bsky.social @historymatterssyd.bsky.social & M. Karrs for making it all possible. @universitypress.cambridge.org
lnkd.in/eEwbdbSw
lnkd.in/eEwbdbSw
Reposted by James Keating
What insights can feminists gain from revisiting the 1975 World Congress for International Women's Year?
Natali Moreira explores this overlooked event using the Women of the Whole World journal archived at @fotwl.bsky.social 🗃️✊
Natali Moreira explores this overlooked event using the Women of the Whole World journal archived at @fotwl.bsky.social 🗃️✊
A People's Congress
What insights can feminists gain from revisiting the 1975 World Congress for International Women’s Year in East Berlin?
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
December 11, 2025 at 8:11 AM
What insights can feminists gain from revisiting the 1975 World Congress for International Women's Year?
Natali Moreira explores this overlooked event using the Women of the Whole World journal archived at @fotwl.bsky.social 🗃️✊
Natali Moreira explores this overlooked event using the Women of the Whole World journal archived at @fotwl.bsky.social 🗃️✊
Reposted by James Keating
‘No one seems to care’: scholars decry plight of British Library
Historian Peter Mandler said it was “a sorry state when a major piece of public infrastructure like this is hit so badly and no one in authority even seems to notice, much less care”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Historian Peter Mandler said it was “a sorry state when a major piece of public infrastructure like this is hit so badly and no one in authority even seems to notice, much less care”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
‘No one seems to care’: scholars decry plight of British Library - Research Professional News
Humanities researchers suffer amid “agonisingly slow” recovery from 2023 cyberattack, as strikes cause further delays
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:37 AM
‘No one seems to care’: scholars decry plight of British Library
Historian Peter Mandler said it was “a sorry state when a major piece of public infrastructure like this is hit so badly and no one in authority even seems to notice, much less care”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Historian Peter Mandler said it was “a sorry state when a major piece of public infrastructure like this is hit so badly and no one in authority even seems to notice, much less care”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
Reposted by James Keating
If you're interested in learning more about the existence and condition of precarious oral history collections in Victoria, check out our newly released Report & Online Database!
precariousoralhistories.com/project-outp...
precariousoralhistories.com/project-outp...
December 8, 2025 at 9:59 PM
If you're interested in learning more about the existence and condition of precarious oral history collections in Victoria, check out our newly released Report & Online Database!
precariousoralhistories.com/project-outp...
precariousoralhistories.com/project-outp...
Reposted by James Keating
Read an extract from Charlotte Macdonald's new book, 'Garrison World: Redcoat Soldiers in New Zealand and across the British Empire', in the ODT!
Pick up a copy of 'Garrison World' today from your local bookshop or through the BWB website.
www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/maga...
Pick up a copy of 'Garrison World' today from your local bookshop or through the BWB website.
www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/maga...
Boots on the ground
Dunedin grew rapidly during the early 1860s. This watercolour was painted at this time by Walter Scarlett Hatton and shows substantial buildings...
www.odt.co.nz
December 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Read an extract from Charlotte Macdonald's new book, 'Garrison World: Redcoat Soldiers in New Zealand and across the British Empire', in the ODT!
Pick up a copy of 'Garrison World' today from your local bookshop or through the BWB website.
www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/maga...
Pick up a copy of 'Garrison World' today from your local bookshop or through the BWB website.
www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/maga...
Reposted by James Keating
It is exciting to announce that my first book has just been published with Palgrave!
Pregnant Women’s Sexuality explores ideas and practices about pregnant women’s sex in early modern England and European medicine ✨
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
#history #histofsex
Pregnant Women’s Sexuality explores ideas and practices about pregnant women’s sex in early modern England and European medicine ✨
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
#history #histofsex
Pregnant Women’s Sexuality in Early Modern England
This book provides the first history of pregnant women’s sexuality in England from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries.
link.springer.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:45 PM
It is exciting to announce that my first book has just been published with Palgrave!
Pregnant Women’s Sexuality explores ideas and practices about pregnant women’s sex in early modern England and European medicine ✨
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
#history #histofsex
Pregnant Women’s Sexuality explores ideas and practices about pregnant women’s sex in early modern England and European medicine ✨
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
#history #histofsex
Reposted by James Keating
“The character of *the reader* is a strange and curious one. While being entirely individual and with his or her own reactions, the reader is so intimately linked with the writer that the truth is that the reader *is* the writer.”
— Clarice Lispector (Feb. 1968)
— Clarice Lispector (Feb. 1968)
April 19, 2025 at 5:09 PM
“The character of *the reader* is a strange and curious one. While being entirely individual and with his or her own reactions, the reader is so intimately linked with the writer that the truth is that the reader *is* the writer.”
— Clarice Lispector (Feb. 1968)
— Clarice Lispector (Feb. 1968)
Reposted by James Keating
"Now they’re hacking away at the actual librarians? Shame on them. They bring disgrace on the name of our city.”
Helen Garner says State Library of Victoria turned into ‘party central’, with planned job cuts to ‘bring disgrace’ on Melbourne
Acclaimed author ‘sick’ about 171-year-old institution’s proposed restructure as hundreds of writers sign open letter in protest
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:41 PM
"Now they’re hacking away at the actual librarians? Shame on them. They bring disgrace on the name of our city.”
Reposted by James Keating
Great stuff from Judy Brett.
December 3, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Great stuff from Judy Brett.
Reposted by James Keating
Melbourne's State Library of Victoria – the third most popular library in the world! – is being threatened with cuts to staff and facilities. Add your name to the petition to save jobs and resources www.change.org/p/save-the-s...
Sign the Petition
Save the State Library of Victoria!
www.change.org
December 1, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Melbourne's State Library of Victoria – the third most popular library in the world! – is being threatened with cuts to staff and facilities. Add your name to the petition to save jobs and resources www.change.org/p/save-the-s...
Reposted by James Keating
I am heavily invested in handwriting & historical documents. Historians need to weigh carefully whether time spent transcribing documents is “wasted,” or whether it actually helps thought processes & skills. This is not to say these tools should not be used.
Just consider the cost of “time saved.”
Just consider the cost of “time saved.”
New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition
One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved
newsletter.dancohen.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I am heavily invested in handwriting & historical documents. Historians need to weigh carefully whether time spent transcribing documents is “wasted,” or whether it actually helps thought processes & skills. This is not to say these tools should not be used.
Just consider the cost of “time saved.”
Just consider the cost of “time saved.”
Reposted by James Keating
this Mushroom Diaries book is honestly make me think a little differently of three writers i have always really appreciated
November 24, 2025 at 11:28 PM
this Mushroom Diaries book is honestly make me think a little differently of three writers i have always really appreciated
Reposted by James Keating
I’m delighted to share that my first journal article has been published in the special issue 'Labour Archives and Methodologies' of Labour History.
Honoured to have this piece included alongside such distinguished work: doi.org/10.3828/labo...
Honoured to have this piece included alongside such distinguished work: doi.org/10.3828/labo...
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 PM
I’m delighted to share that my first journal article has been published in the special issue 'Labour Archives and Methodologies' of Labour History.
Honoured to have this piece included alongside such distinguished work: doi.org/10.3828/labo...
Honoured to have this piece included alongside such distinguished work: doi.org/10.3828/labo...
Reposted by James Keating
Please read this & help save the State Library of Victoria, entering its 'now fully trashed' era. I didn't go to uni - for me the Library was higher education in later life, research for my job, a revelation about what ordinary people could have access to. It changed my life. Not just a building.
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘major’ proposed cuts include slashing the number of reference librarians and free computers for public access. Some staff are shocked.
Proposed cuts at State Library of Victoria go against its mission – and will hurt the disadvantaged
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Please read this & help save the State Library of Victoria, entering its 'now fully trashed' era. I didn't go to uni - for me the Library was higher education in later life, research for my job, a revelation about what ordinary people could have access to. It changed my life. Not just a building.
Reposted by James Keating
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘major’ proposed cuts include slashing the number of reference librarians and free computers for public access. Some staff are shocked.
Proposed cuts at State Library of Victoria go against its mission – and will hurt the disadvantaged
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:40 AM
The State Library of Victoria’s ‘major’ proposed cuts include slashing the number of reference librarians and free computers for public access. Some staff are shocked.
Reposted by James Keating
I'm against pardoning turkeys because it implies that we are eating them as a punishment for their crimes instead of our own
November 24, 2025 at 6:02 AM
I'm against pardoning turkeys because it implies that we are eating them as a punishment for their crimes instead of our own
Reposted by James Keating
#Victorians! Our State Library is being trashed by a series of executives with no experience or understanding of public collections. Many hired as 'temps' without full process, who then caused scandals & exodus of specialist & librarian staff: a full wreck looms. www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
State Library proposes major cuts to staff and services
The library plans halve the number of reference librarians it employs and reduce the number of computers available for public use in a move that has outraged staff.
www.theage.com.au
November 22, 2025 at 12:05 AM
#Victorians! Our State Library is being trashed by a series of executives with no experience or understanding of public collections. Many hired as 'temps' without full process, who then caused scandals & exodus of specialist & librarian staff: a full wreck looms. www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
Reposted by James Keating
Useful thing for Aussie people juggling jobs: the Fair Work Ombudsman has an app called Record My Hours which doesn't store your data (unlike all the other freelancer type apps/programs out there) and lets you track actual hours worked in a way that is lowkey and doesn't add too much cognitive load.
November 20, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Useful thing for Aussie people juggling jobs: the Fair Work Ombudsman has an app called Record My Hours which doesn't store your data (unlike all the other freelancer type apps/programs out there) and lets you track actual hours worked in a way that is lowkey and doesn't add too much cognitive load.
Catriona Menzies-Pike on ‘critical provincialism’: ‘I’d advocate for a set of reading practices that stay close to the contours of place and culture, that let themselves be informed by topography and history’. Yes!
I wrote a long piece for the SRB on Charlotte Wood’s Stone Yard Devotional, international literary success, and the heightened tension between universalising and provincial readings when Australian novels go global.
sydneyreviewofbooks.com/reviews/the-...
sydneyreviewofbooks.com/reviews/the-...
The Monastery and the Monaro | Sydney Review of Books
How do Australian writers find an overseas readership? Reviewing the highly acclaimed Stone Yard Devotional, Catriona Menzies-Pike surveys the critical oversights and abstractions that allow stories f...
sydneyreviewofbooks.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Catriona Menzies-Pike on ‘critical provincialism’: ‘I’d advocate for a set of reading practices that stay close to the contours of place and culture, that let themselves be informed by topography and history’. Yes!