Michael Brown
@medhistoryman.bsky.social
Historian at Lancaster University and Co-Investigator on the AHRC-funded @victorianhand.bsky.social project. Blissfully married to my PI @jbhist.bsky.social. Author of two books: https://bit.ly/3968wLB & https://bit.ly/3KwWtVS
Reposted by Michael Brown
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Michael Brown
Getting close to the end with our final panels. Wonderful papers from Dr Anna Elisabeth Gehl (Frei Universitat Berlin),Dr Mike Reeve (Open University), Tiago Rocha e Melo (University of Lisbon) and Dr Otman Bychou (Sultan Moulay Silmane University) #milwelfhist
November 7, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Getting close to the end with our final panels. Wonderful papers from Dr Anna Elisabeth Gehl (Frei Universitat Berlin),Dr Mike Reeve (Open University), Tiago Rocha e Melo (University of Lisbon) and Dr Otman Bychou (Sultan Moulay Silmane University) #milwelfhist
Reposted by Michael Brown
✊ From the late 19th century, socialist movements adopted the raised fist as a symbol of unity and strength.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
November 7, 2025 at 11:47 AM
✊ From the late 19th century, socialist movements adopted the raised fist as a symbol of unity and strength.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
One of the first depictions was by Hungarian artist Mihály Biró in 1912. His image of a fist emerging from factories toward parliament in Budapest visualised the power of collective action.
Reposted by Michael Brown
General registration now open!
General registration is now open for our upcoming conference The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment and Identity at London College of Fashion, 8-9 January!
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
November 5, 2025 at 3:41 PM
General registration now open!
General registration now open!
General registration is now open for our upcoming conference The Hand: Emotions, Embodiment and Identity at London College of Fashion, 8-9 January!
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website to register: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
November 5, 2025 at 3:41 PM
General registration now open!
Reposted by Michael Brown
Very much looking forward to speaking at this conference about #GeorgeMallory #Mountianeering #QueerAesthetics #HapticModernism
‘But there is Art and ART’: Winckelmann, Pater and the Haptic Aesthetics of Mountaincraft.'
ABSTRACT: shorturl.at/DjkJ3
‘But there is Art and ART’: Winckelmann, Pater and the Haptic Aesthetics of Mountaincraft.'
ABSTRACT: shorturl.at/DjkJ3
November 5, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Very much looking forward to speaking at this conference about #GeorgeMallory #Mountianeering #QueerAesthetics #HapticModernism
‘But there is Art and ART’: Winckelmann, Pater and the Haptic Aesthetics of Mountaincraft.'
ABSTRACT: shorturl.at/DjkJ3
‘But there is Art and ART’: Winckelmann, Pater and the Haptic Aesthetics of Mountaincraft.'
ABSTRACT: shorturl.at/DjkJ3
Reposted by Michael Brown
Halloween Reading 👻
This month’s suitably spooky blog post is from our Research Associate, who has been speaking with the dead in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research!
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
October 31, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Halloween Reading 👻
Reposted by Michael Brown
Check out @victorianhand.bsky.social new blog post on the unsettling evidence of hands in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research.
Halloween Reading 👻
This month’s suitably spooky blog post is from our Research Associate, who has been speaking with the dead in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research!
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
November 1, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Check out @victorianhand.bsky.social new blog post on the unsettling evidence of hands in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research.
Why not indulge yourself on this spooky Halloween by reading our blog post about how hands could form a bridge between the living and the dead in late Victorian Britain?
This month’s suitably spooky blog post is from our Research Associate, who has been speaking with the dead in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research!
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
Read here: www.thevictorianhand.uk/gallery/spir...
October 31, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Why not indulge yourself on this spooky Halloween by reading our blog post about how hands could form a bridge between the living and the dead in late Victorian Britain?
Reposted by Michael Brown
A plate from “Engravings, Explaining the Anatomy of the Bones, Muscles, and Joints” by Scottish surgeon-anatomist John Bell FRCSEd, published in 1794. Bell illustrated his own works based on dissections he carried out in his Edinburgh anatomy school.
October 31, 2025 at 11:49 AM
A plate from “Engravings, Explaining the Anatomy of the Bones, Muscles, and Joints” by Scottish surgeon-anatomist John Bell FRCSEd, published in 1794. Bell illustrated his own works based on dissections he carried out in his Edinburgh anatomy school.
Thank you to the @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social for sharing this article of mine on John Bell, surgery, and embodied emotion. It is available to read completely open access and is one of my favourite pieces.
John Bell was a fascinating surgeon but is often over overlooked by his more famous brother Charles. This is a great piece by @medhistoryman.bsky.social that digs deeper into John and his work onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Surgery, Identity and Embodied Emotion: John Bell, James Gregory and the Edinburgh ‘Medical War’
Click on the article title to read more.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Thank you to the @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social for sharing this article of mine on John Bell, surgery, and embodied emotion. It is available to read completely open access and is one of my favourite pieces.
Reposted by Michael Brown
The next Ethics of Medical Photography Network seminar will be on Mon 8 Dec, 2 pm UK time, online and we'll discuss a very hot topic: consent! We couldn't have better speakers: @duncanwilson78.bsky.social, Dr Chimwemwe Phiri and Dr Arya Thampuran. Book your place here: forms.gle/QUxL41SwixUH...
The Ethics of Medical Photography Network Online Seminar
Join us for the next online seminar!
Date: Monday 8 December 2025
Time: 2-3.30 pm UK time
Platform: Ms Teams
ETHICS AND CONSENT IN MEDICAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Speakers:
Dr Arya Thampuran (Durham University...
forms.gle
October 31, 2025 at 11:14 AM
The next Ethics of Medical Photography Network seminar will be on Mon 8 Dec, 2 pm UK time, online and we'll discuss a very hot topic: consent! We couldn't have better speakers: @duncanwilson78.bsky.social, Dr Chimwemwe Phiri and Dr Arya Thampuran. Book your place here: forms.gle/QUxL41SwixUH...
Reposted by Michael Brown
I have Issues with the concept of writers block, such that I wrote a post on it. kjcharleswriter.com/2019/11/13/w...
There are a ton of things you can do if you're struggling to write, and none of them require using the theft-based environment-ruining plagiarism machine.
There are a ton of things you can do if you're struggling to write, and none of them require using the theft-based environment-ruining plagiarism machine.
People who aren’t writers think writer’s block is at least as big and real a problem as I thought quicksand would be, as a child.
AI can help authors beat writer’s block, says Bloomsbury chief
Publisher last week reported jump in revenue in academic and professional arm thanks to AI licensing deal
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:52 AM
I have Issues with the concept of writers block, such that I wrote a post on it. kjcharleswriter.com/2019/11/13/w...
There are a ton of things you can do if you're struggling to write, and none of them require using the theft-based environment-ruining plagiarism machine.
There are a ton of things you can do if you're struggling to write, and none of them require using the theft-based environment-ruining plagiarism machine.
Reposted by Michael Brown
Amazing how a few TikToks of e-bike thieves can create a completely false impression observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘Lawless London’ is safer than it’s been in decades
Official data suggests the capital may be safer than at any time in the past half century, comfortably beating other major cities
observer.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Amazing how a few TikToks of e-bike thieves can create a completely false impression observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
I'm really pleased to see that this volume, to which I contributed a chapter, has a web presence. Jane Ewbank's 'diary' is a fascinating historical document and it was a real pleasure to revisit the familiar world of healthcare in early nineteenth-century York.
boydellandbrewer.com/book/gender-...
boydellandbrewer.com/book/gender-...
October 27, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I'm really pleased to see that this volume, to which I contributed a chapter, has a web presence. Jane Ewbank's 'diary' is a fascinating historical document and it was a real pleasure to revisit the familiar world of healthcare in early nineteenth-century York.
boydellandbrewer.com/book/gender-...
boydellandbrewer.com/book/gender-...
We are very excited about this event and all the amazing speakers who will be presenting. Also, check out the lovely poster courtesy of @helenvmurray.bsky.social!
We are delighted to announce that the plenary speakers for our upcoming conference are Dr Sarah Jackson, Professor Peter J. Capuano and Caroline Seymour!
Visit our website for more information: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
Visit our website for more information: www.thevictorianhand.uk/conference
October 27, 2025 at 4:18 PM
We are very excited about this event and all the amazing speakers who will be presenting. Also, check out the lovely poster courtesy of @helenvmurray.bsky.social!
Reposted by Michael Brown
That is William J Herschel, the son of John, grandson of William, and great nephew of Caroline en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Wil...
#histSTM
#histSTM
In colonial India, William Herschel introduced fingerprinting in the 1850s to authenticate identity on legal documents.
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
October 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
That is William J Herschel, the son of John, grandson of William, and great nephew of Caroline en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Wil...
#histSTM
#histSTM
Reposted by Michael Brown
The Victorian Hand's #handoftheweek is all about the fingerprint and the handprint and roots in racialised ideologies. Do check it out and follow us!
In colonial India, William Herschel introduced fingerprinting in the 1850s to authenticate identity on legal documents.
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
October 24, 2025 at 11:04 AM
The Victorian Hand's #handoftheweek is all about the fingerprint and the handprint and roots in racialised ideologies. Do check it out and follow us!
Make sure to check out our #handoftheweek as we bring you intriguing, exciting, and touching stories of the hands of history!
In colonial India, William Herschel introduced fingerprinting in the 1850s to authenticate identity on legal documents.
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
Influenced by colonial ideologies, his experiments laid the foundations for modern forensic identification, codifying the hand as a scientific marker of identity.
#handoftheweek
October 24, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Make sure to check out our #handoftheweek as we bring you intriguing, exciting, and touching stories of the hands of history!
Reposted by Michael Brown
“When an emergency sitting was called to (basically) nationalise a steel plant at Scunthorpe to save 2500 jobs, the [House of Commons] was packed. When about 14,000 people have left or been laid off in less than a year from one of this country’s biggest sectors, that gets a parliamentary yawn.”
I wrote about the stupid white paper.
In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.
In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.
Somewhere in the Department for Education, a phone is ringing
On October 20th at a bit after 5pm, the UK government introduced its Education and Skills white paper to Parliament, to absolutely no…
hitchcockian.medium.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:08 AM
“When an emergency sitting was called to (basically) nationalise a steel plant at Scunthorpe to save 2500 jobs, the [House of Commons] was packed. When about 14,000 people have left or been laid off in less than a year from one of this country’s biggest sectors, that gets a parliamentary yawn.”
Reposted by Michael Brown
I wrote about the stupid white paper.
In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.
In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.
Somewhere in the Department for Education, a phone is ringing
On October 20th at a bit after 5pm, the UK government introduced its Education and Skills white paper to Parliament, to absolutely no…
hitchcockian.medium.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:38 AM
I wrote about the stupid white paper.
In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.
In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.
Reposted by Michael Brown
This is the current reality of the Higher Education sector. Set this literal "P & O Ferries nuke pensions from orbit and put all staff on worse conditions" behaviour against the white paper, and you know why I'm so angry with the government.
Unprecedented, potentially unlawful retrograde proposals made by @solentuniversity.bsky.social
If you have a vested interest in HE, this concerns you.
We must stand together to resist these outrageous proposals.
#HE #TPS #LGPS #Pension #post-92
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
If you have a vested interest in HE, this concerns you.
We must stand together to resist these outrageous proposals.
#HE #TPS #LGPS #Pension #post-92
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
Solent University threatens P&O-style 'Fire & Rehire' with pension cuts
UCU today announced that it has entered a formal trade dispute with Southampton Solent University over plans to force all its staff onto inferior pension schemes, paving the way for a strike ballot if...
www.ucu.org.uk
October 23, 2025 at 7:52 AM
This is the current reality of the Higher Education sector. Set this literal "P & O Ferries nuke pensions from orbit and put all staff on worse conditions" behaviour against the white paper, and you know why I'm so angry with the government.
Reposted by Michael Brown
Home Sec describes a widely held public perception (UK is the destination of choice for asylum seekers in Europe) + endorses it as true. Home Office data shows it is not true. Whatever merits of her policy change, should not make false factual claims
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...
Migrants come to Britain because they think we're Europe's most generous country
TODAY’S small boat numbers are shameful, and the British people deserve better. They contain a lesson: we must go further and faster to secure our borders. Under the last Conservative Government, t…
www.thesun.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Home Sec describes a widely held public perception (UK is the destination of choice for asylum seekers in Europe) + endorses it as true. Home Office data shows it is not true. Whatever merits of her policy change, should not make false factual claims
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...
Reposted by Michael Brown
For weekend readers:
We’re launching our #handoftheweek series!
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
October 18, 2025 at 12:31 PM
For weekend readers:
Reposted by Michael Brown
Do you want to read about the weird and wonderful history of hands? Check out @victorianhand.bsky.social and our #handoftheweek series, starting today!! Please share widely.
We’re launching our #handoftheweek series!
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
This week is Dr Hippolyte Baraduc, who tried to photograph the human soul via 'the most perfect organ after the brain', the hand.
Baraduc’s photos blend science and occult, showing how hands were seen as windows onto the inner self in the 19th century.
October 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Do you want to read about the weird and wonderful history of hands? Check out @victorianhand.bsky.social and our #handoftheweek series, starting today!! Please share widely.