Lenny Hodges
@lrhodges.bsky.social
Historian of the early modern world. Postdoc at Durham. Associate Editor for French History. Also pottery.
Great post-film q and a with Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, director and producer of We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe.
October 7, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Great post-film q and a with Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, director and producer of We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe.
Tintin in Palestine by Yto Barrada. Based on a colour analysis of Hergé's Land of Black Gold, which was originally set in Palestine, before being changed to a fictional country in the 1970s.
October 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Tintin in Palestine by Yto Barrada. Based on a colour analysis of Hergé's Land of Black Gold, which was originally set in Palestine, before being changed to a fictional country in the 1970s.
Fantastic to see the stolen (and later recovered) copy of Shakespeare's First Folio at the Cosin's Library with @imems.bsky.social this evening!
October 2, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Fantastic to see the stolen (and later recovered) copy of Shakespeare's First Folio at the Cosin's Library with @imems.bsky.social this evening!
Been trying out lidded pots. Latest ones got a bit weird...
September 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Been trying out lidded pots. Latest ones got a bit weird...
As much as I'll miss this feathered colleague an office probably isn't the best place for a magpie...
September 11, 2025 at 8:07 PM
As much as I'll miss this feathered colleague an office probably isn't the best place for a magpie...
Epic to swim in rough seas under the mournful glaze of a ruined castle. (Not pictured - slightly less epic golf course the other side...)
August 20, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Epic to swim in rough seas under the mournful glaze of a ruined castle. (Not pictured - slightly less epic golf course the other side...)
Some great source discussion at Birkbeck's early modern research day today!
July 2, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Some great source discussion at Birkbeck's early modern research day today!
Freudian footnote? The misspelled title of a book in a recent historiographical review compared to its actual title:
June 18, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Freudian footnote? The misspelled title of a book in a recent historiographical review compared to its actual title:
While annoying to still be using TNA's catalogue to search for India Office Records in the British library, searching all British archives does bring up surprising links, e.g. that churchwardens in Dorset celebrated the 1761 capture of Pondicherry with the ringing of church bells.
June 12, 2025 at 4:03 PM
While annoying to still be using TNA's catalogue to search for India Office Records in the British library, searching all British archives does bring up surprising links, e.g. that churchwardens in Dorset celebrated the 1761 capture of Pondicherry with the ringing of church bells.
Feel this really captures the essence of Lambeth country fair, only second place though...
June 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Feel this really captures the essence of Lambeth country fair, only second place though...
Feel this really captures the essence of Lambeth country fair, only second place though...
June 7, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Feel this really captures the essence of Lambeth country fair, only second place though...
Fantastic to catch Electric Dreams at Tate Modern just before it ends. A psychedelic and sensory show on artists and tech pre-internet. The "white heat" of some of this 1960s technology was clearly flagging by this point - stared at one piece for ages before confirming with a steward it was broken.
May 30, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Fantastic to catch Electric Dreams at Tate Modern just before it ends. A psychedelic and sensory show on artists and tech pre-internet. The "white heat" of some of this 1960s technology was clearly flagging by this point - stared at one piece for ages before confirming with a steward it was broken.
Fascinating to see the exhibit from the trial of the East India Company at the Court of Intergenerational Climate Crimes
April 19, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Fascinating to see the exhibit from the trial of the East India Company at the Court of Intergenerational Climate Crimes
Exploring some different glaze combinations. This was after three different attempts to get the second coat of glaze to stick which kept bubbling after dipping - I think the key is leaving the first coat plenty of time to dry. Definitely like the results though!
April 1, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Exploring some different glaze combinations. This was after three different attempts to get the second coat of glaze to stick which kept bubbling after dipping - I think the key is leaving the first coat plenty of time to dry. Definitely like the results though!
Something about Choiseul reminds me somehow of Michael Gove
March 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Something about Choiseul reminds me somehow of Michael Gove
Glad to see Birkbeck not giving any ground to the Coriander haters
February 24, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Glad to see Birkbeck not giving any ground to the Coriander haters
Wonderful to finally make it to the British Museum's Silk Roads exhibition. I was struck by the prominence of slavery in the exhibit, described as "a dark thread" that runs through the silk roads. Deeds of sale for the enslaved in multiple languages, as well as neck restraints and this figurine.
February 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Wonderful to finally make it to the British Museum's Silk Roads exhibition. I was struck by the prominence of slavery in the exhibit, described as "a dark thread" that runs through the silk roads. Deeds of sale for the enslaved in multiple languages, as well as neck restraints and this figurine.
Tamil Mauritius. The small Madurai Mariamen Temple sits nestled between a banyan tree and the M1 overpass. Often associated with indenture in the 19th century, the Indian presence in Mauritius is actually much older. Here are the signatures of skilled Tamil craftsman who lived in port Louis in 1777.
February 8, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Tamil Mauritius. The small Madurai Mariamen Temple sits nestled between a banyan tree and the M1 overpass. Often associated with indenture in the 19th century, the Indian presence in Mauritius is actually much older. Here are the signatures of skilled Tamil craftsman who lived in port Louis in 1777.
Still processing the incredibly rich and simulating #UNESCO Routes of Enslaved People Conference. A fantastic week and I've met so many great people. Here's ethnomusicologist Dr LEJIM playing on the final day
February 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Still processing the incredibly rich and simulating #UNESCO Routes of Enslaved People Conference. A fantastic week and I've met so many great people. Here's ethnomusicologist Dr LEJIM playing on the final day
Fantastic first day at UNESCO Routes of Enslaved People Conference. First conference I've been to opened by a head of state! If only politicians in the UK were so enthusiastic about history...
February 3, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Fantastic first day at UNESCO Routes of Enslaved People Conference. First conference I've been to opened by a head of state! If only politicians in the UK were so enthusiastic about history...
Love the name of this Mauritian film production company: "Maullywood", complete with dodo made from film
February 1, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Love the name of this Mauritian film production company: "Maullywood", complete with dodo made from film
Hello Mauritius. Trading one rainy island for another rainy (but much warmer) island.
January 29, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Hello Mauritius. Trading one rainy island for another rainy (but much warmer) island.
Pottery progress. Celebrating my improvement from making a tiny misshapen cup, to making a larger, slightly less misshapen cup!
January 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Pottery progress. Celebrating my improvement from making a tiny misshapen cup, to making a larger, slightly less misshapen cup!
The memorial was quite difficult to find, but I eventually found it in a children's playground. It's made of 213 metal plates, each bearing the name of a person freed from slavery in 1848, in Guadeloupe. The number represents 213 years of slavery on the island. (3/4)
January 13, 2025 at 11:27 AM
The memorial was quite difficult to find, but I eventually found it in a children's playground. It's made of 213 metal plates, each bearing the name of a person freed from slavery in 1848, in Guadeloupe. The number represents 213 years of slavery on the island. (3/4)
Just by chance I also stumbled upon a memorial to the victims of colonial slavery - just a stones throw from the basilica. (2/4)
January 13, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Just by chance I also stumbled upon a memorial to the victims of colonial slavery - just a stones throw from the basilica. (2/4)