James Kneale
@jameskneale.bsky.social
Cultural/historical geographer at ucl working on drink/temperance, insurance, literary geographies, sf/fantastic/horror, &c. He/him.
Author of Temperance Lives: Life Assurance, Drink and Medicine in Britain, 1840-1918 (Bloomsbury 2026)
Author of Temperance Lives: Life Assurance, Drink and Medicine in Britain, 1840-1918 (Bloomsbury 2026)
Pinned
James Kneale
@jameskneale.bsky.social
· Dec 20
Temperance Lives
This book explains how the rise of temperance life assurance affected ideas surrounding the dangers of drinking and abstinence between 1840 and 1918.James Kneal…
www.bloomsbury.com
Between 1840 and 1918, British attitudes towards drink changed dramatically. Life assurance company archives reveal their influence and also offer insights into the lives of ordinary abstainers.
Available (at 35% off with code GLR AT8) from Bloomsbury Academic www.bloomsbury.com/uk/temperanc...
Available (at 35% off with code GLR AT8) from Bloomsbury Academic www.bloomsbury.com/uk/temperanc...
Reposted by James Kneale
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
Reposted by James Kneale
Jim Ratcliffe is best known as the unpopular Manchester United owner and today he has been in the news for saying that 'the UK has been colonised by immigrants'. We need to understand Ratcliffe's as an energy billionaire who made his power and money by closing workplaces and opposing unions 🧵
'UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
In an interview with Sky News's Ed Conway, Sir Jim says Britain faces profound political, social and economic challenges, among them an unprecedented rise in immigration in recent years.
news.sky.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Jim Ratcliffe is best known as the unpopular Manchester United owner and today he has been in the news for saying that 'the UK has been colonised by immigrants'. We need to understand Ratcliffe's as an energy billionaire who made his power and money by closing workplaces and opposing unions 🧵
Reposted by James Kneale
Why did charity become the outlet for global compassion?
Join us for the launch of 'Charity After Empire' by Matthew Hilton
24/3/26, QMUL, London E1
Book here eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-charity-after-empire-tickets-1981162909594
@qmul.bsky.social
Join us for the launch of 'Charity After Empire' by Matthew Hilton
24/3/26, QMUL, London E1
Book here eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-charity-after-empire-tickets-1981162909594
@qmul.bsky.social
Book Launch: Charity After Empire
British Humanitarianism, Decolonisation and Development
eventbrite.co.uk
February 12, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Why did charity become the outlet for global compassion?
Join us for the launch of 'Charity After Empire' by Matthew Hilton
24/3/26, QMUL, London E1
Book here eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-charity-after-empire-tickets-1981162909594
@qmul.bsky.social
Join us for the launch of 'Charity After Empire' by Matthew Hilton
24/3/26, QMUL, London E1
Book here eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-charity-after-empire-tickets-1981162909594
@qmul.bsky.social
Reposted by James Kneale
Our new paper in Urban Geography led by Phil Boland on the frontier politics of BIDs vis a vis Drug Consumption Rooms in Belfast.
Latest article in Urban Geography with @tristansturm.bsky.social, @gwshorter.bsky.social and Stephen McKay
doi.org/10.1080/0272...
doi.org/10.1080/0272...
Are drugscapes bad for business (improvement districts)? Policy mobility, security planning, and frontier politics
This journal has previously published several articles on policy mobility, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs), and security planning. Drawing upon this literature ...
doi.org
February 12, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Our new paper in Urban Geography led by Phil Boland on the frontier politics of BIDs vis a vis Drug Consumption Rooms in Belfast.
Reposted by James Kneale
The 2nd chapter of my book Solidarity and Pressure, on the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, has been made free to read. Looks at overlaps with the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, trade unions, and the efforts of John Hume, Seán MacBride, & the Belfast branch academic.oup.com/book/61377/c...
Friends and Enemies: The Left, the North, and Secret Operations
Abstract. This chapter considers the powerful influence of trade unionism on the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement (IAAM): a feature that was more pronounced i
academic.oup.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
The 2nd chapter of my book Solidarity and Pressure, on the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, has been made free to read. Looks at overlaps with the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, trade unions, and the efforts of John Hume, Seán MacBride, & the Belfast branch academic.oup.com/book/61377/c...
Reposted by James Kneale
there's a new found footage doc about J. G. Ballard out this month by B.J.A. Samuel, and it's free to watch on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0V...
J.G. Ballard Documentary | The Unlimited Dream Company – Archive & Interviews
YouTube video by BJA Samuel
www.youtube.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:23 PM
there's a new found footage doc about J. G. Ballard out this month by B.J.A. Samuel, and it's free to watch on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0V...
Reposted by James Kneale
I've recorded an hour long interview talking about Atomic Albion for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social. Listen here!
newbooksnetwork.com/atomic-albion
newbooksnetwork.com/atomic-albion
Tom Bolton, "Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations" (Strange Attractor, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:02 AM
I've recorded an hour long interview talking about Atomic Albion for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social. Listen here!
newbooksnetwork.com/atomic-albion
newbooksnetwork.com/atomic-albion
So I was under the impression, from conversations I've had with a few historians, that London did not have a university until the early ninetheenth century because the work that universities did was already being done elsewhere - for example in the Inns of Court?
February 11, 2026 at 9:27 AM
So I was under the impression, from conversations I've had with a few historians, that London did not have a university until the early ninetheenth century because the work that universities did was already being done elsewhere - for example in the Inns of Court?
Reposted by James Kneale
FINALLY sitting down this evening with @leannecalvert.bsky.social's 2024 article on trans* histories of the family in 18th C Ireland and its absolutely 👌🌟 Also picking up more than a few further reading suggestions! doi.org/10.1080/1081...
‘Came to her dressed in mans cloaths’: transgender histories and queer approaches to the family in eighteenth-century Ireland
This article engages with queer and trans scholarship to produce a methodological think-piece on how to queer the Irish family. It draws on a case study of alleged crossdressing and attempted intim...
doi.org
February 10, 2026 at 5:33 PM
FINALLY sitting down this evening with @leannecalvert.bsky.social's 2024 article on trans* histories of the family in 18th C Ireland and its absolutely 👌🌟 Also picking up more than a few further reading suggestions! doi.org/10.1080/1081...
Reposted by James Kneale
This week, university staff Manchester Met and Bristol University are striking to demand a pay rise that acknowledges their work and dedication.
After years of real-terms pay cuts, a further pay cut is simply not good enough. University staff deserve better.
#fundourfuture #fundourpay
After years of real-terms pay cuts, a further pay cut is simply not good enough. University staff deserve better.
#fundourfuture #fundourpay
February 10, 2026 at 1:59 PM
This week, university staff Manchester Met and Bristol University are striking to demand a pay rise that acknowledges their work and dedication.
After years of real-terms pay cuts, a further pay cut is simply not good enough. University staff deserve better.
#fundourfuture #fundourpay
After years of real-terms pay cuts, a further pay cut is simply not good enough. University staff deserve better.
#fundourfuture #fundourpay
Reposted by James Kneale
#CFP: 'Call for Contributions: Histories of Weather & Weathering'
Deadline for abstract: 4 September 2026
Link: teleskopos.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...
#envhist #envhum #ecocriticism #ecopoetics #ecolit #histsci #hstm #sts #sciencestudies
Deadline for abstract: 4 September 2026
Link: teleskopos.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...
#envhist #envhum #ecocriticism #ecopoetics #ecolit #histsci #hstm #sts #sciencestudies
Call for Contributions: Histories of Weather & Weathering
Call for Contributions: A Sourcebook for Histories of Weather and Weathering (working title) Editors: Rebekah Higgitt, Tamara Caulkins and Lotta Leiwo We invite contributions to this planned open a…
teleskopos.wordpress.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:59 AM
#CFP: 'Call for Contributions: Histories of Weather & Weathering'
Deadline for abstract: 4 September 2026
Link: teleskopos.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...
#envhist #envhum #ecocriticism #ecopoetics #ecolit #histsci #hstm #sts #sciencestudies
Deadline for abstract: 4 September 2026
Link: teleskopos.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...
#envhist #envhum #ecocriticism #ecopoetics #ecolit #histsci #hstm #sts #sciencestudies
Reposted by James Kneale
Tomorrow at the IHR, we welcome Margot Rashba for a paper on Viviennne Westwood.
Booking link below.
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Booking link below.
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
“All of London Started With Her”: Vivienne Westwood’s Punk and Britishness
www.history.ac.uk
February 10, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Tomorrow at the IHR, we welcome Margot Rashba for a paper on Viviennne Westwood.
Booking link below.
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Booking link below.
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by James Kneale
I urge you to fill in this consultation if you can - with this very helpful support from Amnesty International - although AND because ! it is heart-breaking that this country has sunk so low that Amnesty suggest in a number of cases to provide no answer as the terms of the question are so evil
The UK government is proposing radical and punitive changes to settlement rules. This is settlement, not citizenship. The consultation is open until 12 February; please respond to it and oppose these evil proposals. Amnesty have a good guide: www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/gu...
Guidance for responding to 'A Fairer Pathway to Settlement' consultation
We are Amnesty International UK. We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.
www.amnesty.org.uk
February 10, 2026 at 5:43 PM
I urge you to fill in this consultation if you can - with this very helpful support from Amnesty International - although AND because ! it is heart-breaking that this country has sunk so low that Amnesty suggest in a number of cases to provide no answer as the terms of the question are so evil
Reposted by James Kneale
In our latest blog, Jem Roberts and Dr Peter Rice unpack the panic about pub closures - and show why much of it is misleading 🍺
What’s actually happening?
⬇️ Pub numbers have fallen for over a century - this isn’t new
⬆️ Employment in pubs has stayed stable...
www.ias.org.uk/2026/02/10/i...
What’s actually happening?
⬇️ Pub numbers have fallen for over a century - this isn’t new
⬆️ Employment in pubs has stayed stable...
www.ias.org.uk/2026/02/10/i...
Is the Great British Pub on the verge of extinction? The truth behind the headlines - Institute of Alcohol Studies
Media headlines often suggest that British pubs are in terminal decline. But is that true?
www.ias.org.uk
February 10, 2026 at 9:18 AM
In our latest blog, Jem Roberts and Dr Peter Rice unpack the panic about pub closures - and show why much of it is misleading 🍺
What’s actually happening?
⬇️ Pub numbers have fallen for over a century - this isn’t new
⬆️ Employment in pubs has stayed stable...
www.ias.org.uk/2026/02/10/i...
What’s actually happening?
⬇️ Pub numbers have fallen for over a century - this isn’t new
⬆️ Employment in pubs has stayed stable...
www.ias.org.uk/2026/02/10/i...
I'm hearing that my institution is recruiting a special 'Toilet Squad' - no word yet if this is a tribute to Edwin 'Stinker' Chadwick, or a punishment detail for staff
more when we have it
more when we have it
February 9, 2026 at 12:28 PM
I'm hearing that my institution is recruiting a special 'Toilet Squad' - no word yet if this is a tribute to Edwin 'Stinker' Chadwick, or a punishment detail for staff
more when we have it
more when we have it
Reposted by James Kneale
The special issue of Cultural and Social History on “Researching Student Lives: Methodological and Theoretical Perspectives” (co-ed. w Georgina Brewis & Jodi Burkett) is live - yay! Several articles are OA :) Huge thanks to our contributors & the journal editors!
www.tandfonline.com/toc/rfcs20/2...
www.tandfonline.com/toc/rfcs20/2...
Cultural and Social History
Researching Student Lives: Methodological and Theoretical Perspectives. Volume 23, Issue 1 of Cultural and Social History
www.tandfonline.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:27 AM
The special issue of Cultural and Social History on “Researching Student Lives: Methodological and Theoretical Perspectives” (co-ed. w Georgina Brewis & Jodi Burkett) is live - yay! Several articles are OA :) Huge thanks to our contributors & the journal editors!
www.tandfonline.com/toc/rfcs20/2...
www.tandfonline.com/toc/rfcs20/2...
Reposted by James Kneale
A taster of my new book - coming soon! open.substack.com/pub/timcress...
The Citizen and the Vagabond - Introduction
My new book, The Citizen and the Vagabond: A Politics of Mobility is winging its way to me from the University of Minnesota Press and will be officially published on March 17th.
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:29 AM
A taster of my new book - coming soon! open.substack.com/pub/timcress...
Marking, and trying not to be this person
![A shot from the film The Holdovers (2023). A middle-aged white man sits at a desk by a window. He is smoking a pipe and marking student essays. The caption reads "Hmm. [scoffs]"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mncrz2wwy4ct4kjxh4fc3eo3/bafkreigmseqkn65o7s6c3e7zqbi4u2vqzdj75ihpe54muieooavigbn4iq@jpeg)
February 8, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Marking, and trying not to be this person
Reposted by James Kneale
Saved by a stranger: The 100-year-old Irish man in London
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Saved by a stranger: The 100-year-old Irish man in London
Michael Hopkins was let down by the Irish system as a child and the British system as an elderly bachelor. Then he met a photographer at a bus stop
www.irishtimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Saved by a stranger: The 100-year-old Irish man in London
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Reposted by James Kneale
Join us on Wednesday for Philippa Hellawell (The National Archives), 'The Ship Bedford: Atlantic and Archival Crossings in the Long Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade', at the Institute of Historical Research, London and on Zoom, 11 February, 5:30 pm. Free and open to the public. Booking link below.
The Ship Bedford: Atlantic and Archival Crossings in the Long Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade
www.history.ac.uk
February 8, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Join us on Wednesday for Philippa Hellawell (The National Archives), 'The Ship Bedford: Atlantic and Archival Crossings in the Long Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade', at the Institute of Historical Research, London and on Zoom, 11 February, 5:30 pm. Free and open to the public. Booking link below.
Reposted by James Kneale
Sharing again this thread on the potentially harmful approach to research ethics - impacting all forms of research - proposed by report 2 of the Sullivan Review
doi.org/10.1111/tran.70057
doi.org/10.1111/tran.70057
February 8, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Sharing again this thread on the potentially harmful approach to research ethics - impacting all forms of research - proposed by report 2 of the Sullivan Review
doi.org/10.1111/tran.70057
doi.org/10.1111/tran.70057
Reposted by James Kneale
Here's a thread which follows my last book - Historic Building Mythbusting. Its a look at the stories we tell about ancient buildings, a debunking of some of those tales, and what we can learn about ourselves through folklore... the stories behind the stories 1/12🧵
February 7, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Here's a thread which follows my last book - Historic Building Mythbusting. Its a look at the stories we tell about ancient buildings, a debunking of some of those tales, and what we can learn about ourselves through folklore... the stories behind the stories 1/12🧵
Reposted by James Kneale
Oxford University's Handling of Sexual Harassment Allegations under scrutiny
Investigation of serious matters of sexual harassment, bullying & whistleblowing needs to be taken out of hands of universities
Their inclination is to cover up & do nothing
poetsandquants.com/2026/02/02/o...
Investigation of serious matters of sexual harassment, bullying & whistleblowing needs to be taken out of hands of universities
Their inclination is to cover up & do nothing
poetsandquants.com/2026/02/02/o...
Oxford Under Scrutiny: How A Mishandled Safety Case Preceded The Ouster Of Saïd’s Dean
Oxford’s handling of the allegation against Bent Flyvbjerg set off a chain of events that ended with the resignation of Saïd’s dean.
poetsandquants.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:58 AM
Oxford University's Handling of Sexual Harassment Allegations under scrutiny
Investigation of serious matters of sexual harassment, bullying & whistleblowing needs to be taken out of hands of universities
Their inclination is to cover up & do nothing
poetsandquants.com/2026/02/02/o...
Investigation of serious matters of sexual harassment, bullying & whistleblowing needs to be taken out of hands of universities
Their inclination is to cover up & do nothing
poetsandquants.com/2026/02/02/o...
Reposted by James Kneale
ICYMI our @ehunineteen.bsky.social PGRs are hosting a conference - check out our poster - please reskeet - share with your PGRs - and do come along and join us in June!
February 7, 2026 at 7:08 AM
ICYMI our @ehunineteen.bsky.social PGRs are hosting a conference - check out our poster - please reskeet - share with your PGRs - and do come along and join us in June!