James Kneale
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jameskneale.bsky.social
James Kneale
@jameskneale.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.5K following 520 posts
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)
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jameskneale.bsky.social
James Kneale @jameskneale.bsky.social · Dec 20
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...
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
Reposted by James Kneale
amal-ka6.blacksky.app
My 5-year-old son Mohammad was injured by shrapnel in Gaza. I am his mother, Amal, and I beg you to help him get the urgent treatment he needs outside Gaza. Please donate and share his story — your compassion can truly save his life 💔🙏

@jameskneale.bsky.social
@malortwitch.bsky.social
amal-ka6.blacksky.app Amal @amal-ka6.blacksky.app · 19h
🚨 Urgent humanitarian appeal
My child is fighting for his life after being injured by Israeli drones and is currently in surgery in Gaza. He urgently needs life-saving medical treatment outside Gaza. Please don’t look away — your donation or share could save a child’s life
chuffed.org/project/168482
February 9, 2026 at 1:36 PM
jameskneale.bsky.social
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
February 9, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by James Kneale
sarahcrook.bsky.social
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...
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
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timcresswell.bsky.social
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
jameskneale.bsky.social
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]"
February 8, 2026 at 1:57 PM
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davidstoreygeog.bsky.social
Saved by a stranger: The 100-year-old Irish man in London
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
Reposted by James Kneale
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
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
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jaytoddgla.bsky.social
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
February 8, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by James Kneale
jpwarchaeology.bsky.social
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
Reposted by James Kneale
21group.bsky.social
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...
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
Reposted by James Kneale
drbeard79.bsky.social
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!
Poster for Placing the Nineteenth Century An EHU19 PGR & ECR Conference Theme: The North (West) Keynote Speaker: Dr Claire O'Callaghan Friday 26th June 2026 Call for Papers deadliné: Friday 1st May 2026 Email: ehu19place@outlook.com for abstracts and queries Featuring images of Haworth, Blackpool, Bold Street in Liverpool, Ormskirk from the 19thC
February 7, 2026 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
joshih.bsky.social
Wow - @manchestermill.bsky.social catches Reform UK sending fake letters to residents without saying they’re from Matt Goodwin’s campaign, a glaring breach of electoral law.
February 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
jameskneale.bsky.social
Checking my email on Bandcamp Friday
a woman in a white dress is standing in front of a red white and blue flag
Alt: a woman opens a cupboard and boxes fall out on here, making her fall over
media.tenor.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by James Kneale
gabemoshenska.bsky.social
Imagine you're an Egyptian mummy dug up and sold to a British tourist in like 1825 and you think Aha I'm going somewhere where people aren't so goddam dramatic about dead bodies but no, no no no, noooooooooo omg no.
February 6, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
ehunineteen.bsky.social
Our brilliant PhD students have organised a conference - Placing the Nineteenth Century - and you’re all invited! Friday 26th June

CFP deadline: Friday 1st May

We’re all excited for our keynote speaker, @drclaireocall.bsky.social 🤩

Please share - and send us an abstract!
Placing the Nineteenth Century: A PGR/ECR conference Friday 26th June 2026 Image of Blackpool Edge Hill Nineteen research centre is excited to invite you to 'Placing the Nineteenth Century', a PGR/ECR conference focused on the North (West) of England in nineteenth-century literature and history. London and the South have often been the heart of discussion about the nineteenth century. However, development in industry during the period brought popularity to cities such as Liverpool and Manchester, which led to a boom of industrial growth in the north of England. In the nineteenth century, the north of England developed like never before, both within cities and in more rural areas. Following a recent EHU19 research symposium, PhD students from literature and history came together to discuss their emerging research and found a common theme - place. More specifically, the North (and North West) of England was a uniting thread, and so the idea for such a conference was born. We invite proposals that engage with 'place' in the long nineteenth century, with particular attention to the North (West), broadly conceived. Papers may approach place as material, imagined, represented, contested, remembered, or speculative. We welcome MA/MRes students, PhD students, and Early Career Researchers whose research interests focus on the North (West) of England in nineteenth-century literary studies, history, art history and related disciplines, with suggested (but not limited to) topics such as: • Fictional/fantastical representations of the North (West) • The legacy of space in the North (West) • Transnational and postcolonial links to the North (West): colonial, imperial, and transatlantic contexts (e.g, Liverpool as a global port) • Museums, archives, and collections: regional museums and the afterlives of nineteenth-century places • Gendered, racialised, and marginalised spaces: who belongs, who is excluded, and how space is policed • Landscape across disciplines: historical, literary, artistic, and creative engagements with the natural and industrial landscapes of the North (West) in the long nineteenth century • The North (West) in popular culture, periodicals, visual culture, and performance • Queer histories and queer readings of place, including non-normative identities & relationships Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words (including title) for 10-15 minute papers, along with a short biography to ehu 19place@outlook.com by 1st May 2026, including name, preferred pronouns, and academic institution. We are excited to have Dr Claire O'Callaghan giving a keynote address on Top Withens, Wuthering Heights and the impact of literary scholarship. As Dr O'Callagham is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Brontë Studies journal, she has kindly agreed to also run a workshop on publishing in an academic journal. Given the conference's emphasis on 'place', we are excited to offer an in-person conference gathering in the North West and warmly welcome participants to join us here. However, we are also committed to accessibility needs and widening participation, so please indicate if you would prefer to present online in your application. Please also do let us know about any other access needs or adjustments that can make your experience easier.
February 6, 2026 at 7:20 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
manchesterup.bsky.social
'A Queer Scrapbook' is a treasure trove of LGBTIQ+ histories from across Britain and Ireland. Packed with material, the book explores urban, rural and regional queer life since 1945.

Meet two of the editors at @queerbritain.bsky.social on March 11th, tickets here: www.outsavvy.com/event/32181/...
February 6, 2026 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
alanlester.bsky.social
Epstein managed different networks. The UK media has rightly centred the powerful pedophile ring. It has maintained an uncanny silence about the global, anti-democratic, far right political network. Farage is up to his neck in it. If it weren’t for unprecedented double standards it’d be career over.
Dinner with Mr Brexit: Bannon’s European Revolution – Planned with Farage, Backed by Epstein
Nigel Farage was the figurehead and his partner Laure Ferrari started it. Steve Bannon and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were providing almost daily support
bylinetimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:47 AM
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duncanbell.bsky.social
NEW BOOK!

I'm very happy to say that my new book, Utopia, co-written with Douglas Mao, has been published on-line

academic.oup.com/book/62279
Utopia
Abstract. Ideal societies, better worlds, more just and peaceful ways of living: these have long been the stuff of human beings’ social dreaming. In this c
academic.oup.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by James Kneale
ravenbooks.bsky.social
If you'd like the crib notes on Eva Gore-Booth's extraordinary life, EPIC have a post on her here: blog.epicchq.com/eva-gore-boo... and you can read her full biography next month when @sonjatiernan.bsky.social's excellent book is republished by @manchesterup.bsky.social
February 4, 2026 at 6:56 PM
jameskneale.bsky.social
POV I'm stuck in a Philip K Dick short story
A screen shot of a google search for the question "does AI hallucinate DOI information". Below it is an 'AI overview' that starts "Yes, AI commonly hallucinates (fabricates) Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs),"
February 5, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
djrgrey.bsky.social
Full time AHRC doctoral studentships now available in Arts & Humanities at University of Hertfordshire for October 2026 start - please do share widely!! This includes both History & Heritage Studies among other subjects 🌟😀 www.herts.ac.uk/research/res...
AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award studentships
The AHRC Doctoral Landscape Award is a major new funding scheme from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Its aim is to grow the UK’s capacity for doctoral research in the arts and humanit...
www.herts.ac.uk
February 3, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
lvhicks.bsky.social
A PhD opportunity at CCCU in History/Archaeology/Heritage. Preference is for a modernist, but proposals in other areas will be considered. Dr @davehitchcock.bsky.social is the point of contact. www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/f... #skystorians #medievalsky #archaeology
CCCU History and Archaeology PhD Scholarship
Find out about the CCCU History and Archaeology PhD Scholarship which will support a student looking to explore a modern historical topic.
www.canterbury.ac.uk
February 2, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
ianhunt.bsky.social
going to talk by Emily Gee about her book Hostel House and Chambers: Accommodating the Victoriana nd edwardian Workling Woman on Thursday at London Archives, 6-8pm. Se. some #ArchitecturalHistory and #housing people there maybe. Book is of interest to feminism, suffrage and modernism researchers too
archive photo of a single, very small bedroom / sleeping compartment, with chair, washstand, open window. Ada Lewis house -- name is on bedspread. used as cover of Emily Gee's book.
February 4, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by James Kneale
misssarahwise.bsky.social
We didn’t have Magdalene Laundries in the UK. But we DID lock away young women–for life–as well as many boys, too. I’ve just recorded this episode of Travels Through Time with host Peter Moore, on my work on the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913
travelsthroughtime.podbean.com/e/sarah-wise...
Sarah Wise: The Undesirables (1947) | Travels Through Time
Our guest today is Sarah Wise, an author known for her incisive social studies of nineteenth century history. In this episode Wise takes us back to a more recent year, 1947, so she can investigate the...
travelsthroughtime.podbean.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by James Kneale
clairelanghamer.bsky.social
For anyone interested in our 18-month post in British Studies please follow the link below. @ihr.bsky.social

www.jobs.london.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Jacob Price Fellowship in British Studies (18 month FTC):London Senate House - Hybrid
The University of London is both the UK’s largest provider of international distance and online learning and the convenor of a federation of 17 renowned higher education institutions.
www.jobs.london.ac.uk
February 4, 2026 at 6:59 PM