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
Great statement from UCL Jews for Palestinian Justice on the provost's bizarre attempt to take credit for the Palestine encampment (when UCL actually tops the table for disciplining students and repressing activism on campus)
www.instagram.com/p/DU8vh85jpC...
www.instagram.com/p/DU8vh85jpC...
Jews for Palestinian Justice UCL | Full statement after video.
🇵🇸 | Instagram
113 likes, 1 comments - ucljpj on February 19, 2026: "Full statement after video.
🇵🇸".
www.instagram.com
February 19, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Great statement from UCL Jews for Palestinian Justice on the provost's bizarre attempt to take credit for the Palestine encampment (when UCL actually tops the table for disciplining students and repressing activism on campus)
www.instagram.com/p/DU8vh85jpC...
www.instagram.com/p/DU8vh85jpC...
Reposted by James Kneale
The identification of a 'smiling' object found on Holy Island in Northumberland has been confirmed by BGS senior paleontologist Jan Hennissen.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'Smiling' fossil discovered in Northumberland
The unusual looking fossil is estimated to be a few hundred million years old dating to the Carboniferous period.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 19, 2026 at 11:16 AM
The identification of a 'smiling' object found on Holy Island in Northumberland has been confirmed by BGS senior paleontologist Jan Hennissen.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by James Kneale
New PhD studentship opportunity! Research and write the history of Release, supervised by me and @alexmold.bsky.social! bloomsbury.ac.uk/drugs-civil-...
Drugs, Civil Rights and the Alternative Society: A History of Release
Principal Supervisor: Professor Toby Seddon (UCL) Co-Supervisor: Professor Alex Mold (LSHTM) Project Description Background Described as the oldest independent drugs charity in the world, Release w…
bloomsbury.ac.uk
February 18, 2026 at 1:22 PM
New PhD studentship opportunity! Research and write the history of Release, supervised by me and @alexmold.bsky.social! bloomsbury.ac.uk/drugs-civil-...
Reposted by James Kneale
Oh so it does have phd level intelligence
Google Gemini doesn’t appear to be doing too well:
‘"I am a disgrace to this planet. I am a disgrace to this universe. I am a disgrace to all universes . . . I am a disgrace to all possible and impossible universes and all that is not a universe," the bot continued.’
‘"I am a disgrace to this planet. I am a disgrace to this universe. I am a disgrace to all universes . . . I am a disgrace to all possible and impossible universes and all that is not a universe," the bot continued.’
Google says it's working on a fix for Gemini's self-loathing 'I am a failure' comments
Google Gemini users said the bot is sharing self-loathing messages while attempting to solve tasks, including "I am a disgrace to this universe."
www.businessinsider.com
August 8, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Oh so it does have phd level intelligence
Reposted by James Kneale
Yeah, quite key: it's not £21 million that is going directly to those 6500 students...
The only ones winning anything (other than maybe £2000 per student) are the firm raking in the £7 million and the people keen to crash universities.
Grim day for #UKHE.
The only ones winning anything (other than maybe £2000 per student) are the firm raking in the £7 million and the people keen to crash universities.
Grim day for #UKHE.
February 18, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Yeah, quite key: it's not £21 million that is going directly to those 6500 students...
The only ones winning anything (other than maybe £2000 per student) are the firm raking in the £7 million and the people keen to crash universities.
Grim day for #UKHE.
The only ones winning anything (other than maybe £2000 per student) are the firm raking in the £7 million and the people keen to crash universities.
Grim day for #UKHE.
Reposted by James Kneale
Two days after the deadly sea collision, ~1,000 people demonstrated in central Athens, chanting slogans such as “Athens – Minnesota we fight together, against the system that murders us,” “open borders for refugees,” and “we live together, we work together with the migrants, fight the nazis.”
February 18, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Two days after the deadly sea collision, ~1,000 people demonstrated in central Athens, chanting slogans such as “Athens – Minnesota we fight together, against the system that murders us,” “open borders for refugees,” and “we live together, we work together with the migrants, fight the nazis.”
Reposted by James Kneale
The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-u...
With @jennypickerill.bsky.social @peterhopkins.bsky.social Beth Greenhough & Jamie Woodward
The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings
From climate change to geopolitics, the knowledge, skills and insights of geographers have never been more relevant, say five professors
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:49 PM
The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/uk-u...
With @jennypickerill.bsky.social @peterhopkins.bsky.social Beth Greenhough & Jamie Woodward
Reposted by James Kneale
'If they choose to take up the Voluntary Severance Scheme, open to all academic staff in the School of Humanities and the School of Modern Languages, staff essentially make themselves redundant in return for a good pay-out.'
9 months' pay; 3 weeks to decide. 1/3
9 months' pay; 3 weeks to decide. 1/3
University of Bristol asks Humanities and Languages academic staff to voluntarily quit
Certain departments are being run into a ‘managed decline’, says Bristol UCU's co-President, as a new Voluntary Severance Scheme is announced.
epigram.org.uk
February 17, 2026 at 10:34 AM
'If they choose to take up the Voluntary Severance Scheme, open to all academic staff in the School of Humanities and the School of Modern Languages, staff essentially make themselves redundant in return for a good pay-out.'
9 months' pay; 3 weeks to decide. 1/3
9 months' pay; 3 weeks to decide. 1/3
Reposted by James Kneale
UK friends, fans of my essays, radical femmes, and femmephiles! My forthcoming book FEMMEPHILIA is available for 25% off if you pre-order *this week* (before the end of Friday) from @waterstones.bsky.social - just enter FEB26 at the checkout www.waterstones.com/book/femmeph...
Femmephilia by Sophie Lewis | Waterstones
Buy Femmephilia by Sophie Lewis from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
www.waterstones.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM
UK friends, fans of my essays, radical femmes, and femmephiles! My forthcoming book FEMMEPHILIA is available for 25% off if you pre-order *this week* (before the end of Friday) from @waterstones.bsky.social - just enter FEB26 at the checkout www.waterstones.com/book/femmeph...
Reposted by James Kneale
Geography's 'combination of STEM, social science and arts and humanities can sit uneasily within university faculty systems, heightening the risk that we are dismantled into separate components.' 1/2
The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings
From climate change to geopolitics, the knowledge, skills and insights of geographers have never been more relevant, say five professors
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 17, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Geography's 'combination of STEM, social science and arts and humanities can sit uneasily within university faculty systems, heightening the risk that we are dismantled into separate components.' 1/2
Reposted by James Kneale
This take on recent history of UK universities omits the 35% cut in academic salaries, the booming bureacracies, the managerial incompetence, the dodgy governance, the obsession with new buildings, and the debts and disciplinary convenants. Otherwise, it's spot on.
www.ft.com/content/131f... via @FT
www.ft.com/content/131f... via @FT
Student loans show that hard policy choices will only get harder
The debate over university funding is a good example of the intractable challenges facing the UK government
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:11 PM
This take on recent history of UK universities omits the 35% cut in academic salaries, the booming bureacracies, the managerial incompetence, the dodgy governance, the obsession with new buildings, and the debts and disciplinary convenants. Otherwise, it's spot on.
www.ft.com/content/131f... via @FT
www.ft.com/content/131f... via @FT
Reposted by James Kneale
Owenite socialist, Chartist land plan smallholder, Northern Star reporter and mutual insurance pioneer Thomas Martin Wheeler died #OnThisDay Monday 16 February 1862. His story is told in Chartist Lives www.amazon.co.uk/Chartist-Liv...
February 16, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Owenite socialist, Chartist land plan smallholder, Northern Star reporter and mutual insurance pioneer Thomas Martin Wheeler died #OnThisDay Monday 16 February 1862. His story is told in Chartist Lives www.amazon.co.uk/Chartist-Liv...
Reposted by James Kneale
If you're in the UK I'm going to be on Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow (Tues 17 Feb) afternoon - talking about gentrification in Detroit and London with the wonderful Laurie Taylor and
@sjccorn.bsky.social.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
@sjccorn.bsky.social.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Thinking Allowed, Gentrification in Detroit and London
Failed gentrification in Detroit and the human cost of urban redevelopment in 1920s London
www.bbc.co.uk
February 16, 2026 at 1:29 PM
If you're in the UK I'm going to be on Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow (Tues 17 Feb) afternoon - talking about gentrification in Detroit and London with the wonderful Laurie Taylor and
@sjccorn.bsky.social.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
@sjccorn.bsky.social.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Drop an album that was important to you when you were 19
February 14, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Drop an album that was important to you when you were 19
Reposted by James Kneale
My brother Garry has dementia and is currently lost somewhere in the Chester area. If anyone should spot him please call the police on 999. We'd appreciate reposts. @shitchester.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 8:00 PM
My brother Garry has dementia and is currently lost somewhere in the Chester area. If anyone should spot him please call the police on 999. We'd appreciate reposts. @shitchester.bsky.social
Reposted by James Kneale
Diving back into this ahead of tomorrow’s new piece in @rottingleafmag.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Diving back into this ahead of tomorrow’s new piece in @rottingleafmag.bsky.social
Reposted by James Kneale
Rebellion's very handsome reprint of Action comics stories from almost exactly 50 years ago, ACTION: BEFORE THE BAN. The cover image feels highly appropriate for 2026, too
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Rebellion's very handsome reprint of Action comics stories from almost exactly 50 years ago, ACTION: BEFORE THE BAN. The cover image feels highly appropriate for 2026, too
Rebellion's very handsome reprint of Action comics stories from almost exactly 50 years ago, ACTION: BEFORE THE BAN. The cover image feels highly appropriate for 2026, too
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Rebellion's very handsome reprint of Action comics stories from almost exactly 50 years ago, ACTION: BEFORE THE BAN. The cover image feels highly appropriate for 2026, too
Reposted by James Kneale
READ ALL ABOUT IT @georgeclarke.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk The 'latest offer' from management @northumbriauni.bsky.social @andylong6.bsky.social offers no protections for hard-working staff: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Northumbria University staff strike over pension row
Staff are taking part in 10 days of strikes after being told to switch pension schemes.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 13, 2026 at 6:29 AM
READ ALL ABOUT IT @georgeclarke.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk The 'latest offer' from management @northumbriauni.bsky.social @andylong6.bsky.social offers no protections for hard-working staff: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by James Kneale
Congratulations to our 2026 RIA Gold Medal recipients. @ybuckley.bsky.social @tcddublin.bsky.social has been awarded the Gold Medal in the Environmental Sciences, Geography and Geosciences, and Christopher McCrudden @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social has received the Gold Medal in the Social Sciences.
February 12, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Congratulations to our 2026 RIA Gold Medal recipients. @ybuckley.bsky.social @tcddublin.bsky.social has been awarded the Gold Medal in the Environmental Sciences, Geography and Geosciences, and Christopher McCrudden @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social has received the Gold Medal in the Social Sciences.
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.
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...
