Jared Davidson
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anrchivist.bsky.social
Jared Davidson
@anrchivist.bsky.social
Archivist/research librarian writing radical history/environmental history/history from below. Latest: Blood and Dirt: Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand. He/him.
https://jared-davidson.com/
A month late, but the news is still sad. And considering LA right now, 'Riot. Strike. Riot' remains crucial reading. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Many Lives of Joshua Clover (1962–2025)
How the militant, poet, political theorist, organizer, and giver of gifts refused to die.
www.thenation.com
June 10, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I've begun researching a new book, 'Farms Aflame: The Secret History of Rural Arson' (working title). Still very much at the gathering archives phase, but I can already see this is going to be interesting mahi!
#envhist #radicalhistory
March 25, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
Last weekend, Destiny Church escalated its attacks against the queer community. Destiny wants to drive queer New Zealanders back into the closet.

PAPA won't let this happen. We stood for queer liberation as No Pride in Prisons and we stand for it now.
February 18, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Some pics from a recent research visit to Ōamaru, where I visited the Waitaki Archives as well as some historic estates (Totara, Windsor Park)
February 3, 2025 at 2:56 AM
The closure of The Desert Road (SH1) will see people diverted onto highways first made by prisoners - SH4, 46, 47 and 48. I've written about these highways and work that went into their making here: garagecollective.blogspot.com/2024/11/heav...
Heavy metal: Forced labour, commodity frontiers and highways through Aotearoa’s central plateau
Read or download a PDF version of this paper at Scribd , Academia or Issuu . Tongariro National Park, located in the central plateau of Aot...
garagecollective.blogspot.com
January 13, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Hey team. What is the technical term for this way of laying out a chapter's content? You see it in lots of 19th and early 20th century work...
January 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! (Kind of) 📚💙

In honor of my late grandfather CLR James's 124th birthday, meet the new edition of his 1953 book *Mariners, Renegades, and Castaways: The Story of Herman Melville and the World We live In*

I wrote the foreword with 🧪 in mind!

press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
January 6, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Back at work and reading (and very much enjoying) 'Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class'. I love how Kelley weaves her own family story into the many lives she shares in the book
wwnorton.com/books/978163...
Black Folk
Named one of <em>Smithsonian</em>'s Best Books of 2023<p>2024 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book Award</p><p>2024 Philip Taft Labor History Award&nbsp; </p><p>2024 Brooklyn Public Library Book Pr...
wwnorton.com
January 7, 2025 at 2:06 AM
I read some great historical fiction this year. These were my favourites
December 31, 2024 at 1:21 AM
Also, very happy to announce that I've received a Whiria Te Mahara New Zealand History Grant for my next book, 'Farms Aflame: The Secret History of Stack Burning'. Turns out incendiarism in the NZ countryside was a thing...
Congrats to the other recipients!
#envhist #radicalhistory #labourhistory
Whiria Te Mahara funding awarded to histories of society and creative legacies | Manatū Taonga | Ministry for Culture & Heritage
www.mch.govt.nz
December 20, 2024 at 1:52 AM
Made my submission opposing the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Nothing flash but sharing in case there's something of use to people. You can oppose the Bill here:
www.parliament.nz/en/ECommitte...
December 20, 2024 at 12:54 AM
'It is not often that a book can challenge the way you see the world around you. Jared Davidson’s Blood and Dirt does precisely this... Davidson effortlessly outlines how fundamentally the historical toil of incarcerated workers shapes NZs contemporary economy and relations of power.' 😍📕🔥
Project MUSE - <i>Blood & Dirt: Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand</i> by Jared Davidson (review)
muse.jhu.edu
December 19, 2024 at 1:55 AM
Nice to get a mention in this round-up of reads. Thanks @brannavan.bsky.social (and cool to learn about your reading process as well)
www.anzliterature.com/feature/i-be...
'I became obsessed' – Academy of New Zealand Literature
Writers on the books that shaped their year.
www.anzliterature.com
December 15, 2024 at 2:55 AM
Some snaps from this week: Ōnuku, Takapūneke, and the Coronation Library, Akaroa. Ngāi Tahu and colonial history.
December 14, 2024 at 5:55 AM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
The govt can afford 3 billion for landlord tax cuts. The *entire Marsden fund* is 78 mil or so. & Soc sciences & humanities were only ever a fraction of that. The govt implicitly saying it can't afford it is not credible.

They just don't want critic & conscience work from academics.
December 4, 2024 at 1:55 AM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
And the Greens. Very strong statement opposed & identifying what is lost.

www.greens.org.nz/govt_guts_fu...
Govt guts funding for social sciences and humanities
We are building a future where we do more, faster, to protect our planet and make sure everyone is treated equally.
www.greens.org.nz
December 4, 2024 at 2:16 AM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
In the most direct statement yet that NZ's hard right government is totally opposed to any research that might challenge the social order they support, they have stripped the Humanities & Social Science panels from the largest fund for innovative research in the country.
December 4, 2024 at 1:14 AM
Punk bands everywhere scrambling to claim 'Brain Rot' for next EP.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
What is Brain Rot, the Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year?
Technically, yes, it's two words. But who wants to risk getting pedantic with an Oxford dictionary?
www.rnz.co.nz
December 3, 2024 at 11:31 PM
'Maíllo says that, to his knowledge, no case such as this has been successful but Busquets, a lifelong anarcho-syndicalist, is not deterred.

“It’s not about the money,” he said. “It’s about justice. This country hasn’t made reparations to the victims.'
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
‘It’s about justice’: fighter from guerrilla war sues Spanish government for €1m
Joan Busquets, 96, suffered torture, forced labour and 20 years in prison under the Franco regime and seeks reparations
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2024 at 6:22 AM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
Can't tell you how exciting I am to see this in print, having seen some of the work that's gone into it. Believe me when I say @maryhicks.bsky.social's first book is going to be a fantastic contribution to #AtlanticWorld, #AfricanHistory, and #AfricanDiaspora #history. #BlackHistory
November 13, 2024 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
Writing tip no. 7: in my view, the essential unit of good writing is the paragraph. If you're stuck, spinning your wheels, write one strong paragraph, just one, about whatever topic you are on. In my experience, this breaks the logjam and allows thoughts to flow onto the page.
November 28, 2024 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Jared Davidson
While the lower back tattoo or the barbed wire on the bicep may feel like recent trends, women have been getting inked for centuries.

From initials to butterflies, Nastasha Sartore explores Victorian women's tattoo choices. ✊🗃️

www.historyworkshop....
Victorian Women's Tattoos
From initials to butterflies, Nastasha Sartore explores Victorian women's tattoo choices.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
November 26, 2024 at 11:17 AM
For those interested in learning more about 'history from below', this was something I wrote back in 2019 for History Workshop @historywo.bsky.social. With thanks to Marcus Rediker @marcusrediker.bsky.social and others writing from the bottom up!
www.historyworkshop.org.uk/activism-sol...
History from below: a reading list with Marcus Rediker
Jared Davidson introduces Marcus Rediker's carefully curated list of essential readings to develop a history from below.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
November 26, 2024 at 1:54 AM
Yes! Can't wait to read this!
www.goodreads.com/book/show/20...
The Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconocl…
For readers of Dilla Time and Music Is History; the def…
www.goodreads.com
November 24, 2024 at 10:35 PM