Melanie Torrent
meltorrent.bsky.social
Melanie Torrent
@meltorrent.bsky.social
British & Commonwealth history, Franco-British relations and connected ends of empire, foreign policy & diplomatic cultures Université Picardie Jules Verne & Institute of Commonwealth studies
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
My friend Henry Dee's new book "Militant Migrants: Clements Kadalie, the ICU and the Mass Movement of Black Workers in Southern Africa, 1896-1951" has just been published by @livunipress.bsky.social . Check it out here: www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....
Militant Migrants | Home
Clements Kadalie, the ICU and the Mass Movement of Black Workers in Southern Africa, 1896-1951
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.

news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Black Cultural Archives have created a timeline, “Medicine, Race, and Activism,” in partnership with Royal Holloway, celebrating Black contributions to British healthcare, spotlighting the health workers, patients, & campaigners who challenged medical racism.
#histmed
Medicine, Race and Activism - Black Cultural Archives.
This timeline focuses on the contribution of Black people to the British healthcare ecosystem over centuries. It underscores the experiences of these workers and Black service users and recognises the...
bcatimelines.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:20 AM
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New article out today! Published on the eve of Ghanaian independence, A Wreath for Udomo fictionalises Kwame Nkrumah's struggle against imperialism and imagines a future after British rule.

hwiccanreview.substack.com/p/accra-noir...
Accra Noir: ‘A Wreath for Udomo’ (Peter Abrahams, 1956)
A political thriller for a nation about to exist
hwiccanreview.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:19 AM
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Il est sorti! Co-édité avec Bastien Goursaud, ce n° sur la survivance des 80s contient un entretien avec @fionasampson.bsky.social qui balise 40 ans de poésie et 8 articles sur le concept de dérégulation mis en avant par Sean O'Brien en 95. Merci aux contributeurices!
revueties.org?lang=en
October 31, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgb_...
Dialogue avec @guillaumblanc.bsky.social autour de nos recherches sur les sources et l'histoire africaine
@cnrseditions.bsky.social
Elara Bertho et Guillaume Blanc - "Conakry, une utopie panafricaine" et "Empires"
YouTube video by librairie mollat
www.youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:38 PM
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My book UP IN THE AIR: A HISTORY OF HIGH-RISE BRITAIN is out today!
October 28, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
We are excited to announce our new lecture series starting tomorrow. Corey Ross (Basel) will be presenting on "Liquid Empire." Zoom Link: recentglobe.uni-leipzig.de/veranstaltun...
October 28, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Créé par des résistants des PTT, un réseau téléphonique parallèle a survécu après la Libération. Espace de communication et de rencontre dans les années 1970, il constitue le chaînon manquant entre les agences matrimoniales du XIX e siècle et nos applis contemporaines.
Le Réseau, ou lorsque nous étions intraçables
Créé par des résistants des PTT, un réseau téléphonique parallèle a survécu après la Libération. Espace de communication et de rencontre dans les années 1970, il constitue le chaînon manquant entre les agences matrimoniales du XIX e siècle et nos applis contemporaines.
laviedesidees.fr
October 24, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Avec beaucoup trop de retard, un livre remarquable et tellement stimulant à signaler, "Ondes de choc: histoire médiatique et politique de la radio conservatrice aux Etats-Unis" de
@sebastienmort.bsky.social
(et tant d'écho avec le paysage médiatique français actuel...)
#àlire
October 24, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
For centuries, Western powers have sought to ‘fix’ African economies. Shortlisted for the 2025 British Academy Book Prize, Bronwen Everill's Africonomics traces how these interventions have repeatedly failed to deliver, and highlights Africa’s own approaches to economic life: https://bit.ly/47aBrcJ
October 20, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Thank you, Dan, for your review! And thanks again to our wonderful contributors, @byrnealice.bsky.social Lori Maguire, Adrien Rodd, Bent Boel, Christian Turner, @ameliahadfield1.bsky.social @thibaudharrois.bsky.social
Edited by @meltorrent.bsky.social & Lauriane Simony, this collection of articles is key reading for anyone interested in British foreign policy in the second half of the Twentieth Century: www.tandfonline.com/toc/fcbh20/3...
Latest articles from Contemporary British History
Browse the latest articles and research from Contemporary British History
www.tandfonline.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
The intro to our Itinerario special issue on the entwined histories of tourism and imperialism has just passed 1,000 views! 🥳 Many thanks to all readers, keep spreading the word and remember to check out the great contributions that make up the issue, too. doi.org/10.1017/S016...
October 20, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
It's tomorrow! If you cannot attend in person, you will find the Zoom link on the programme below or you may ask for it via DM.
The workshop “Mutations in discourse: digital discourses” will take place on October 17th at the UPJV (Amiens Citadelle) and online (see poster for link).

With much anticipated contributions from @christianilbury.bsky.social, Catherine Ruchon and @jessaiston.bsky.social.

#linguistics
October 16, 2025 at 6:22 AM
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A date for your diaries: On 4 November, @ria.ie will host a witness seminar, where former and current diplomats, along with Michael Kennedy (executive editor) will reflect the latest edition of @difp-ria.bsky.social and the role of historical reflection in policy-making. 🗃️
www.ria.ie/events/the-t...
The Troubles and the European Community: Exploring DIFP XIV (1969-73) - Royal Irish Academy
Witness seminar on the latest volume of Documents in Irish Foreign Policy, covering the years 1969-73. In this event co-hosted by The Standing Committee for International Affairs and Documents in Iris...
www.ria.ie
October 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Great news!
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month

www.jstor.org/action/showL...
September 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
In Search of Britain @upjv-univ.bsky.social reçoit Dominique Connan @uparisnanterre.bsky.social, le 24/09 à 17h, pour Faire partie du club. Élites et pouvoir au Kenya (CNRS Éditions, 2024). Rejoignez-nous ! u-picardie-fr.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Le programme ac M. Ruiz: searchofbritain.wordpress.com
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: In Search of Britain. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: In Search of Britain. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
u-picardie-fr.zoom.us
September 18, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Damn. Another handy tool that now has to be avoided like the plague.
Bye forever, WeTransfer.
July 15, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
My new article on protest marches and processions in London,1780-1915, has just been published online!

Thanks to the editors and reviewers of Historical Research for making it such a smooth process.

academic.oup.com/histres/adva...
The development of political procession routes and policing the right to march in London, 1780–1915
Abstract. Processions and marches were an integral part of popular politics, protest and urban life. This article maps the routes of 101 civic, political a
academic.oup.com
June 30, 2025 at 4:36 PM
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PROOFS, baby! There’s nothing in this whole academic life quite as exciting. (Ok, maybe the cover.) Home stretch with @princetonupress.bsky.social
June 11, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
Nous organisons une JE sur l'abolition de la peine de mort, devoir de mémoire (UK, US, France) le 28 novembre prochain à Poitiers. Rejoignez-nous ! mimmoc.labo.univ-poitiers.fr/appel-a-comm...
Appel à communication  » L’abolition de la peine de mort, un devoir de mémoire »
Un contenu sur ce site
mimmoc.labo.univ-poitiers.fr
June 11, 2025 at 6:30 AM
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Lecture du moment: l'excellent essai de Sophie Heywood sur Hachette et les livres pour la jeunesse en temps de guerre froide album50.hypotheses.org/9752 #LitteratureJeunesse #BookHistory
Lecture du moment: Hachette et les livres pour la jeunesse en temps de guerre froide
Je voudrais rendre compte ici du formidable essai publié par Sophie Heywood aux éditions Bloomsbury : Children’s Publishing in Cold War France: Hachette in the Age of Surveillance and Control. Ce livr...
album50.hypotheses.org
June 9, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
If you haven't heard from me in a while, it's because I've been working on this👇 - a truly global workshop on solidarity activism, which is taking place in Malmö this week. Come for the inspiring work of colleagues from round the world; stay for the venue's truly gaudy Olof Palme statue.
25 participants from around the world are on their way to Malmö for the second Global Solidarity Network Workshop, which starts tomorrow. We'll spend two days finding connections - across themes, sources, groups and individuals - from Australia and Argentina to Thailand and Zimbabwe.
June 10, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
On 10 June, we'll be marking 50 years since the 1975 referendum & 5 years since leaving the EU by asking what we can learn from Britain's two referendums on Europe - and what lessons they hold for the future.

With Sara Hobolt, Anand Menon, Maria Sobolewska & me!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-win...
How to Win a Referendum on Europe: 1975, 2016 and ...?
Join the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation and the Mile End Institute to explore what we can learn from the 1975 and 2016 referendums.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
May 14, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Melanie Torrent
This new book by Amalia Ribi Forclaz (@gvagrad.bsky.social) – "Cultivating Fields of Progress: Agriculture and the International Labour Organization, 1920s–1950s" – looks really great 👇 #HistIR global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
May 9, 2025 at 10:24 AM