Joanna Bourke
joannabourke.bsky.social
Joanna Bourke
@joannabourke.bsky.social

Historian curious about violence, the emotions, and what it means to be human. Currently writing a book on Women and Wine! See joannabourke.com

Joanna Bourke is a British historian and academic. She is professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 32%
History 28%

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

Useful reminder here from historian of medicine Fay Bound-Alberti that assumptions that the human body can be repaired like a machine as long as spare parts can be sourced, are misguided.

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Face transplants promised hope. Patients were put through the unthinkable
Twenty years after the first face transplant, patients are dying, data is missing, and the experimental procedure’s future hangs in the balance
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

If you enjoy our social media posts, make sure to subscribe to our flagship podcast, Working Class History! You can join us on Goodpods here:
go.goodpods.com/urAYmN
Working Class History - | Listen on GoodPods™
go.goodpods.com

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

Each of these sentences is devastating to read. Worlds upon worlds being destroyed
The New School is now a place where students cannot major in History, Anthropology, Sociology, Global Policy & International Affairs, Global Studies, Urban Studies, or Environmental Studies. And more pauses, closures, and mergers coming down the pike this week. The future is uncertain.
The New School is now a place where students cannot major in History, Anthropology, Sociology, Global Policy & International Affairs, Global Studies, Urban Studies, or Environmental Studies. And more pauses, closures, and mergers coming down the pike this week. The future is uncertain.
For those who couldn't attend last week, here is @s-pooley.bsky.social's excellent talk on their new book DISCOVERING THE OKAPI.
Out now with Johns Hopkins University Press! 📗🦒
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx1Z...
This week Wednesday at Birkbeck, right in the heart of Bloomsbury: join us for thought-provoking talk by the brilliant Julia Laite on the history of Newfoundland, home of one of the British Empire’s most remote settlements where one of its most complete genocides took place. Free but pls register
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Annual Graduate Lecture 2025 - Stories at the Edge of Empire: Newfoundland, 1763-1829
Join us for an exploration of ways of mapping and knowing Newfoundland in the 18th & 19th centuries delivered by Julia Laite
www.bbk.ac.uk

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

Trouble is, the buck doesn’t stop any more.

Someone who follows me reminded me of a piece I wrote on Niki de Saint Phalle's disturbing 1973 film "Daddy": I have posted it. This is "Joanna-in-a-very-rare-psychoanalytic mood"!
www.joannabourke.com/blog @cultsochistory.bsky.social @crispp.bsky.social @bho.bsky.social @modernistudies.bsky.social

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Take a look at the elegant 'Recovery Histories' website for how ideas about trauma and recovery from child sexual abuse have developed over the 2nd half of the C20th: shra.bbk.ac.uk/projects/rec... @wellcometrust.bsky.social @sshmedicine.bsky.social @crispp.bsky.social @cultsochistory.bsky.social
Recovery Histories – Sexual Harms Research Alliance
shra.bbk.ac.uk

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

Delighted to hear that Pushback is on the shelf @ www.staygoldbooks.com! If you are in Pittsburgh, be sure to catch this lovely indy bookshop in Regent Square. Not in Pgh? bit.ly/4iwTsoL
Really like this article on the circulation of the Marquis de Sade's works in C19 England, looking at everything from adaptation/imitation/influence to two-penny serial parts of Nouvelle Justine.

www.jstor.org/stable/10.56...
The Marquis de Sade in English, 1800–1850 on JSTOR
Will McMorran, The Marquis de Sade in English, 1800–1850, The Modern Language Review, Vol. 112, No. 3 (July 2017), pp. 549-566
www.jstor.org
WAC wrong-headedness
(that's the BBC Written Archives Centre)

I've brought together the key links for the campaign against the changes which now make independent and exploratory research at WAC impossible - and why this matters.

www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/wac-wrong-he...
WAC wrong-headedness - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: Some of you will know that I have been very involved over the past months with attempts to reverse the wrong-headed changes to access at the BBC Written Archives Centre (above, with...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
Critical introduction to forthcoming "Gender & Segregation" special issue of @genderandhistory.bsky.social by Lisa Hellman, @writinghelena.bsky.social, Rachel Jean-Baptiste & me is now out and #OpenAccess! Issue itself to follow shortly... 🌟

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Gender and Segregation: An Introduction
This introduction to the Special Issue explores the ways in which a gendered analysis illuminates histories of segregation. It argues three key points. First, it is essential to understand segregatio....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

One last reminder and then I promise I will stop but if you are anywhere near Glasgow on Wednesday do please come celebrate 20 years of the @cshhh.bsky.social with us! Talks from the fantastic Tracey Loughran and @joannabourke.bsky.social, drinks and @unistrathclyde.bsky.social's best snacks!

I'm breaking my silence with another cocktail blog as part of my 'Let's Lighten Up' series. It is for a spicy tsiporos (or grappa) cocktail. I enjoy it. Try it!
Here is the recipe: www.joannabourke.com/post/spicy-g...
Spicy Tsipouro (or Grappa) Cocktail
Confession: I am not keen on spicy cocktails, but make an exception for this one. And my Greek friends like it, so that is a good reason to shake away!  4/10 Greek tsipouro or Italian grappa4/10 pear ...
www.joannabourke.com

I'm breaking my silence with another cocktail blog as part of my 'Let's Lighten Up' series. It is for a spicy tsiporos (or grappa) cocktail. I enjoy it. Try it!
Looking forward to this week’s @qubhistory.bsky.social seminar, co-ordinated with @publichistoryqub.bsky.social, with Dr Laura Aguiar (UU) speaking this week! Snacks and drinks provided as usual. For more information & to sign up online follow the link below below:
www.eventbrite.com/e/qub-histor...

I am thrilled to be part of this 20th anniversary of the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare in Glasgow. Will be speaking about 'Violent Women, Femininity, and Medical Professionals'. Would love to see you!
Join us on Wednesday afternoon next week for the @cshhh.bsky.social 20th anniversary! We have two fantastic public lectures from Tracey Loughran & @joannabourke.bsky.social! Tell your friends, tell your students and come along! #HistSex #HistMed

Looking forward to speaking at the 20th anniversary of the Centre for the Social History of Health & Healthcare, University of Strathclyde, alongside the incredible Tracey Loughran. I speak about violent women and medical profession. Join us, 29th Oct: from 3.30pm: www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/d...

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Looking forward to speaking at the 20th anniversary of the Centre for the Social History of Health & Healthcare at University of Strathclyde, alongside the incredible Tracey Loughran. I speak about violent women and medical profession. Join us, 29th Oct: from 3.30pm: www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/d...
Centre for the Social History of Health & Healthcare seminar series | University of Strathclyde
www.strath.ac.uk

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

“She affirmed that our lives hold meaning and that we stand on the shoulders of giants like her, whose courageous love and relentless fight assured our right to live with dignity.”

RIP, Miss Major.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, activist since Stonewall, has died
The LGBTQ+ community — and particularly the transgender community — has lost an iconic activist.
www.advocate.com

I will definitely join. Thanks for drawing this to my attention.

The Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia has produced a beautiful volume based on the exhibition 'Can We Stop Killing Each Other?' (showing until mid-2026). Recommend the exhibition and book: sainsburycentre.ac.uk/whats-on/can... @sainsburycentre.bsky.social @ueahistory.bsky.social

The production, National Theatre, is incredible. I strongly recommend it. Strong cast, brilliant feminist analysis, plenty of contemporary relevance. A few jarring moments, but far outweighed by a celebration of women, wine, difference, and gods amongst the refugees. Open-mouth awe, with laughter

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

Really looking forward to the @cshhh.bsky.social 20th Anniversary later this month, with Tracey Loughran and @joannabourke.bsky.social giving public lectures to help us celebrate! #HistSex #HistRepro #HistMed

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

We are thrilled to announce that @joannabourke.bsky.social and Tracey Loughran will be helping us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the @cshhh.bsky.social. Come along on the 29th of October to hear two fantastic public lectures and to raise a glass with us. Register here:
tinyurl.com/4k98rn7w

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

Look at this gorgeous cover for Keywords/Keyimages in Graphic Medicine!! Thanks to Ian Williams for giving us permission to use his image on the cover, which captures brilliantly the concept & structure of the book. Briana Martino (@briwok.bsky.social) & I are grateful & thrilled!
#GraphicMedicine

I have been writing about Euripides’ The Bacchae for my new book on Wine & Women. It speaks to my lifelong curiosity about orgiastic violence, the gods, female resistance, & wine. I have seen other productions i.e. the Epidaurus Theatre, so can't wait to watch the new National Theatre production.

Reposted by Joanna Bourke

📚 New faculty book alert! In Birth Politics, Ogechukwu E. Williams examines childbirth in Nigeria from the colonial era to the present to consider the complex relationships between traditional midwives, biomedical maternities & faith-based birthing homes. @hopkinspress.bsky.social #ubuffalo #histmed