Matt Barfield
@mdbarfield48.bsky.social
Early modern French thought
🎓 PhD @gsas.harvard.edu (2022) on 18th-c. moralistes
🏴🇬🇧🇪🇺 in 🇺🇸 studying 🇫🇷📚
🎷🎹🎵 Jazz fanatic
📍Cam, UK ➡️ Cam, MA
🎓 PhD @gsas.harvard.edu (2022) on 18th-c. moralistes
🏴🇬🇧🇪🇺 in 🇺🇸 studying 🇫🇷📚
🎷🎹🎵 Jazz fanatic
📍Cam, UK ➡️ Cam, MA
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Un fragment du cycle arthurien, vieux d’environ 700 ans, a été retrouvé dans la reliure d’un livre du XVIᵉ siècle à Cambridge.
Je vous raconte tout en détail : open.substack.com/pub/histoire...
Je vous raconte tout en détail : open.substack.com/pub/histoire...
Découverte majeure d’un manuscrit arthurien caché depuis 700 ans
Merlin ressurgit
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Un fragment du cycle arthurien, vieux d’environ 700 ans, a été retrouvé dans la reliure d’un livre du XVIᵉ siècle à Cambridge.
Je vous raconte tout en détail : open.substack.com/pub/histoire...
Je vous raconte tout en détail : open.substack.com/pub/histoire...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Dear #skystorians, here is a cool story of a very big cannon experiment of the 1680s in Europe. A 🧵 about the idea of transporting people in cannon balls ...
November 13, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Dear #skystorians, here is a cool story of a very big cannon experiment of the 1680s in Europe. A 🧵 about the idea of transporting people in cannon balls ...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Unboxing my author copies to finally hold the finished book in my hands. What a feeling! I started this research during my MA in 2016, and 1 PhD and 2 research fellowships later it’s finally here. Coming soon to a research library near you! ✨
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Unboxing my author copies to finally hold the finished book in my hands. What a feeling! I started this research during my MA in 2016, and 1 PhD and 2 research fellowships later it’s finally here. Coming soon to a research library near you! ✨
Reposted by Matt Barfield
I am hearing that @uniofnottingham.bsky.social is suspending (i.e shutting down) *all modern language courses* in 2026-27. One of the largest departments in the UK. A shocking short sighted move that damages regional and national prospects @britishacademy.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 12:39 PM
I am hearing that @uniofnottingham.bsky.social is suspending (i.e shutting down) *all modern language courses* in 2026-27. One of the largest departments in the UK. A shocking short sighted move that damages regional and national prospects @britishacademy.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt Barfield
@davidandress.bsky.social is the academic expert in the chair this evening talking about the French Revolution, the people, the events and the legacy. Its not too late to join the course.
www.history.org.uk/historian/ca...
www.history.org.uk/historian/ca...
The 1789 French Revolution – not just a revolution in France
www.history.org.uk
November 4, 2025 at 12:28 PM
@davidandress.bsky.social is the academic expert in the chair this evening talking about the French Revolution, the people, the events and the legacy. Its not too late to join the course.
www.history.org.uk/historian/ca...
www.history.org.uk/historian/ca...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
18th century abolitionist married and settled in Cambridgeshire.
Fascinating story.
Fascinating story.
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student
Fitzwilliam Museum has uncovered student’s work from 1977 that revealed Cambridgeshire location of child’s burial place
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM
18th century abolitionist married and settled in Cambridgeshire.
Fascinating story.
Fascinating story.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
I made my students a little “book” (just using Google slides) to show them how you all answered my question about how you take notes for research. Just to show the variety.
How Do Scholars Take Notes?
How do scholars take notes? I like seeing examples of different people’s notetaking, so I asked scholars to show me how they take notes for research.
docs.google.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
I made my students a little “book” (just using Google slides) to show them how you all answered my question about how you take notes for research. Just to show the variety.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments.
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
October 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments.
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
#medievalsky
www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
In which Johanna Winant (@johannawinant.bsky.social) and I make the case for teaching whole books. And argue for a model of close reading that would bridge high school, college, and professional practice slate.com/life/2025/10...
There’s a Literacy Crisis. One Classroom Solution Should Be Obvious.
You can't get better at reading until you care about a text.
slate.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:12 PM
In which Johanna Winant (@johannawinant.bsky.social) and I make the case for teaching whole books. And argue for a model of close reading that would bridge high school, college, and professional practice slate.com/life/2025/10...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for the next two years.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for th...
www.thecrimson.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for the next two years.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles | News | The Harvard Crimson
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences slashed the number of Ph.D. student admissions slots for the Science division by more than 75 percent and for the Arts & Humanities division by about 60 percent for th...
www.thecrimson.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
- Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60%
- Social Sciences by 50–70%
- History by 60%
- Biology by 75%
- The German department will lose all PhD seats
- Sociology from six PhD students to zero
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Today is pub day for my third book: Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century. It is a handbook on how to read. It argues for the foundational importance of *caring* to thought. It offers an anatomy of close reading's five steps so we can hone the skills to perform them. It argues for why to read
October 21, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Today is pub day for my third book: Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century. It is a handbook on how to read. It argues for the foundational importance of *caring* to thought. It offers an anatomy of close reading's five steps so we can hone the skills to perform them. It argues for why to read
Reposted by Matt Barfield
‘Very significant’ Jack Kerouac story discovered after mafia boss auction
‘Very significant’ Jack Kerouac story discovered after mafia boss auction
Exclusive: Two-page 1957 manuscript signed by author linked to his classic of beat literature, On the Road
A “very significant” unpublished story by Jack Kerouac described as “a lost chapter of the On the Road saga” has been discovered after languishing in the files of an assassinated Mafia crime boss for at least 40 years.
The two-page typewritten manuscript signed by Kerouac in green ink is titled The Holy, Beat, and Crazy Next Thing and is dated 15 April 1957, five months before his classic of beat literature, On the Road, was published. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 10, 2025 at 12:17 PM
‘Very significant’ Jack Kerouac story discovered after mafia boss auction
Reposted by Matt Barfield
A good example of why direct inflation adjustment of this sort is more deceptive than clarifying when applied over very long stretches of time where consumption patterns are very different.
Basic foods (bread/grain) probably devours a third of Cratchet's income, but not the modern worker's.
Basic foods (bread/grain) probably devours a third of Cratchet's income, but not the modern worker's.
October 8, 2025 at 3:42 PM
A good example of why direct inflation adjustment of this sort is more deceptive than clarifying when applied over very long stretches of time where consumption patterns are very different.
Basic foods (bread/grain) probably devours a third of Cratchet's income, but not the modern worker's.
Basic foods (bread/grain) probably devours a third of Cratchet's income, but not the modern worker's.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
#litcrit pals, a really interesting question about the history of discipline from a graduate student here, a question that has me totally stumped:
"which journal in literary criticism was the first to implement modern peer review?" (I think he might mean blind review)
Thank you for your suggestions!
"which journal in literary criticism was the first to implement modern peer review?" (I think he might mean blind review)
Thank you for your suggestions!
October 7, 2025 at 3:20 AM
#litcrit pals, a really interesting question about the history of discipline from a graduate student here, a question that has me totally stumped:
"which journal in literary criticism was the first to implement modern peer review?" (I think he might mean blind review)
Thank you for your suggestions!
"which journal in literary criticism was the first to implement modern peer review?" (I think he might mean blind review)
Thank you for your suggestions!
Reposted by Matt Barfield
We've updated our three BlueSky starter packs for historians.
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
October 3, 2025 at 8:37 AM
We've updated our three BlueSky starter packs for historians.
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
Reposted by Matt Barfield
It's true that you can get by in English traveling almost anywhere in the world today, but learning at least some of a local language changes your relationship with the local population. It shows respect and opens doors that would otherwise be shut.
September 30, 2025 at 4:52 PM
It's true that you can get by in English traveling almost anywhere in the world today, but learning at least some of a local language changes your relationship with the local population. It shows respect and opens doors that would otherwise be shut.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Learning another language is important not just as a research tool or job skill but for the ways that it opens up the mind and forces students to think in different ways. Learning a language uses different parts of the mind than other subjects.
September 30, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Learning another language is important not just as a research tool or job skill but for the ways that it opens up the mind and forces students to think in different ways. Learning a language uses different parts of the mind than other subjects.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Speaking the local languages of places I study allows me not only to interact with people in a way that shows my respect for them but also to monitor translators. Learning the languages also opens a window into cultures.
September 30, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Speaking the local languages of places I study allows me not only to interact with people in a way that shows my respect for them but also to monitor translators. Learning the languages also opens a window into cultures.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
I actually misremembered this - it’s 100 papers *a month*. Essentially total access unless you’re @sharonk.bsky.social
September 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM
I actually misremembered this - it’s 100 papers *a month*. Essentially total access unless you’re @sharonk.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt Barfield
This is my regular reminder to everyone that jstor is open to the general public now; a free account there will give you access to 100 papers a year.
regrettably if you try to point this out online you'll get yelled out by 79208 journalists going OH SO YOU WANT JOURNALISTS TO STARVE??? even if you're, say, a journalist yourself, and point out that while there are clearly no easy answers, the status quo isn't exactly working for society
September 29, 2025 at 1:19 PM
This is my regular reminder to everyone that jstor is open to the general public now; a free account there will give you access to 100 papers a year.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
1/ So you’re thinking about applying for an academic job in the UK but don’t know how? This thread will walk you through the essentials.
September 22, 2025 at 1:06 PM
1/ So you’re thinking about applying for an academic job in the UK but don’t know how? This thread will walk you through the essentials.
Reposted by Matt Barfield
Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH) wishes to recruit an Associate Professor/Professor in CDH from Jan 2026
Specialisms: Digital History/Mapping, Critical Data Studies, Archive and Memory Studies, Digital Media Arts, Environmental Humanities, AI/Digital Visual Culture
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/associa...
Specialisms: Digital History/Mapping, Critical Data Studies, Archive and Memory Studies, Digital Media Arts, Environmental Humanities, AI/Digital Visual Culture
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/associa...
Associate Professor/Professor in Cambridge Digital Humanities
Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH) wishes to recruit an Associate Professor/Professor in Cambridge Digital Humanities from January 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The appointment may be made
www.cam.ac.uk
August 27, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH) wishes to recruit an Associate Professor/Professor in CDH from Jan 2026
Specialisms: Digital History/Mapping, Critical Data Studies, Archive and Memory Studies, Digital Media Arts, Environmental Humanities, AI/Digital Visual Culture
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/associa...
Specialisms: Digital History/Mapping, Critical Data Studies, Archive and Memory Studies, Digital Media Arts, Environmental Humanities, AI/Digital Visual Culture
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/associa...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
We're recruiting for a new role in the Early Modern team at TNA to help us integrate the Parliamentary Archives. I'm looking for someone with an expertise in pre-modern Westminster Parliament so we can join the executive, legislative and judicial collections www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD893/r...
Records Specialist - Early Modern Parliament at The National Archives
Start your UK & international job search for academic jobs, research jobs, science jobs and managerial jobs in leading universities and top...
www.jobs.ac.uk
August 4, 2025 at 2:36 PM
We're recruiting for a new role in the Early Modern team at TNA to help us integrate the Parliamentary Archives. I'm looking for someone with an expertise in pre-modern Westminster Parliament so we can join the executive, legislative and judicial collections www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD893/r...
Reposted by Matt Barfield
📣John Locke’s Forgotten Manuscript
We are thrilled to announce that @davidrarmitage.bsky.social's
article on his discovery of a new John Locke manuscript is out now👇
It sheds new light on Locke's practical involvement in political economy & his engagement with Ireland 📜🗃️
We are thrilled to announce that @davidrarmitage.bsky.social's
article on his discovery of a new John Locke manuscript is out now👇
It sheds new light on Locke's practical involvement in political economy & his engagement with Ireland 📜🗃️
John Locke and Irish Linen Manufacture: A New Manuscript | The Historical Journal | Cambridge Core
John Locke and Irish Linen Manufacture: A New Manuscript
www.cambridge.org
August 15, 2025 at 7:56 AM
📣John Locke’s Forgotten Manuscript
We are thrilled to announce that @davidrarmitage.bsky.social's
article on his discovery of a new John Locke manuscript is out now👇
It sheds new light on Locke's practical involvement in political economy & his engagement with Ireland 📜🗃️
We are thrilled to announce that @davidrarmitage.bsky.social's
article on his discovery of a new John Locke manuscript is out now👇
It sheds new light on Locke's practical involvement in political economy & his engagement with Ireland 📜🗃️