Chris Callow
@chriscallow.bsky.social
Medievalist at the University of Birmingham, fan of Iceland, Vikings, running and other things
Reposted by Chris Callow
Reposted by Chris Callow
The Sixth Mass Extinction is the vilest crime of our time, bar *nothing*.
share.google/aivyd4jGG5eA...
share.google/aivyd4jGG5eA...
‘A precarious position’: almost 3,000 species at risk of disappearing from Wales, report finds
Environmental body says modest investment and changes can help preserve long list of animals, fungi and lichen
share.google
November 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
The Sixth Mass Extinction is the vilest crime of our time, bar *nothing*.
share.google/aivyd4jGG5eA...
share.google/aivyd4jGG5eA...
Reposted by Chris Callow
NEW Have archaeologists identified the largest nucleated settlement in prehistoric Ireland and Britain? Survey at Brusselstown Ring, one of the largest hillforts in Ireland, found evidence for potentially hundreds of occupied roundhouses!
Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
November 26, 2025 at 8:13 AM
NEW Have archaeologists identified the largest nucleated settlement in prehistoric Ireland and Britain? Survey at Brusselstown Ring, one of the largest hillforts in Ireland, found evidence for potentially hundreds of occupied roundhouses!
Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Reposted by Chris Callow
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Chris Callow
New publishing opportunity!
The London Record Society are looking for someone to edit a volume based on the archive of the Working Ladies' Guild, which supported impoverished women in late nineteenth-century Britain.
Further information and contact details in the text below.
The London Record Society are looking for someone to edit a volume based on the archive of the Working Ladies' Guild, which supported impoverished women in late nineteenth-century Britain.
Further information and contact details in the text below.
November 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM
New publishing opportunity!
The London Record Society are looking for someone to edit a volume based on the archive of the Working Ladies' Guild, which supported impoverished women in late nineteenth-century Britain.
Further information and contact details in the text below.
The London Record Society are looking for someone to edit a volume based on the archive of the Working Ladies' Guild, which supported impoverished women in late nineteenth-century Britain.
Further information and contact details in the text below.
Reposted by Chris Callow
The excellent @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social (which has done such great reporting on the flag epidemic over the last few months) delivers the goods again today with this deep dive into the Midlands mythology of Penda's Fen.
Penda’s Fen reinvents Mercia for the modern age
How an experimental British 1970s television play pioneered a folk horror revival
www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk
November 22, 2025 at 10:13 AM
The excellent @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social (which has done such great reporting on the flag epidemic over the last few months) delivers the goods again today with this deep dive into the Midlands mythology of Penda's Fen.
It’s always a pleasure to hear the thoughts of @judithjesch.bsky.social on Orkneyinga saga, poetry, runes and vikings. This evening her lecture for the Viking Society was interesting and thought-provoking. I’m looking forward to getting my copy her translation of Orkneyinga.
November 21, 2025 at 7:33 PM
It’s always a pleasure to hear the thoughts of @judithjesch.bsky.social on Orkneyinga saga, poetry, runes and vikings. This evening her lecture for the Viking Society was interesting and thought-provoking. I’m looking forward to getting my copy her translation of Orkneyinga.
Reposted by Chris Callow
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Protest and Public Space in Fourth-Century Rome
Popular discontent in Late Antiquity has traditionally been interpreted as a sign of social disfunction and urban decline – a framework that has underestimated the political agency exercised by non...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Chris Callow
You probably won’t see this in mainstream media - aka the right wing press - coz it’s against their narrative. Wind energy in Britain broke a new record last week with nearly 23GW on the grid one cold windy evening.
buff.ly/twsgH5c
buff.ly/twsgH5c
November 21, 2025 at 7:30 AM
You probably won’t see this in mainstream media - aka the right wing press - coz it’s against their narrative. Wind energy in Britain broke a new record last week with nearly 23GW on the grid one cold windy evening.
buff.ly/twsgH5c
buff.ly/twsgH5c
Reposted by Chris Callow
From @cnn.com: Inside the old church where one trillion webpages are being saved www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/b...
Inside the old church where one trillion webpages are being saved | CNN Business
The Internet Archive has been saving web history for nearly 30 years. CNN’s Hadas Gold goes inside its headquarters to see how the archive is innovating for the AI age and protecting itself from both ...
www.cnn.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:23 PM
From @cnn.com: Inside the old church where one trillion webpages are being saved www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/b...
Reposted by Chris Callow
Interested in early medieval history? Read the proceedings of the latest Dorestad conference online FREE here, including my chapter about gold and silver in Frisia after Dorestad's disappearance in the 850s. For a .pdf of my chapter, DM/email me. #medievalsky
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Dorestad and Everything After @ Sidestone Press
Dorestad was the largest town of the Low Countries in the Carolingian era. As an inland port on the edge of the Frankish Empire, it functioned as an international hub, connecting the North Sea World w...
www.sidestone.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Interested in early medieval history? Read the proceedings of the latest Dorestad conference online FREE here, including my chapter about gold and silver in Frisia after Dorestad's disappearance in the 850s. For a .pdf of my chapter, DM/email me. #medievalsky
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Reposted by Chris Callow
Corporate profit margins have increased by 30% since the pandemic. Electricity companies have trebled their margins. The 4 big banks made £45bn in 2022 (up by 75%). But instead of talking about corporate profiteering our gov talks about taking jewellery and “identifiable assets” from migrants.
November 17, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Corporate profit margins have increased by 30% since the pandemic. Electricity companies have trebled their margins. The 4 big banks made £45bn in 2022 (up by 75%). But instead of talking about corporate profiteering our gov talks about taking jewellery and “identifiable assets” from migrants.
Reposted by Chris Callow
"Given that the UK needs more graduates with languages qualifications, the task of universities is not to accelerate the decline of language learning but to find ways to bolster their student intakes."
The universities of Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/latest-threat-uk-modern-languages-yet-another-faux-pas
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/latest-threat-uk-modern-languages-yet-another-faux-pas
November 14, 2025 at 9:58 AM
"Given that the UK needs more graduates with languages qualifications, the task of universities is not to accelerate the decline of language learning but to find ways to bolster their student intakes."
Reposted by Chris Callow
Some summer sunshine through your ears.
The Peddars Way in Norfolk on a hot summer's day with crickets, butterflies and bees exploring the wild flowers on the edge of the field.
Episode 238 - Harvest fields (39 mins) > bit.ly/LenPedd
The Peddars Way in Norfolk on a hot summer's day with crickets, butterflies and bees exploring the wild flowers on the edge of the field.
Episode 238 - Harvest fields (39 mins) > bit.ly/LenPedd
November 14, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Some summer sunshine through your ears.
The Peddars Way in Norfolk on a hot summer's day with crickets, butterflies and bees exploring the wild flowers on the edge of the field.
Episode 238 - Harvest fields (39 mins) > bit.ly/LenPedd
The Peddars Way in Norfolk on a hot summer's day with crickets, butterflies and bees exploring the wild flowers on the edge of the field.
Episode 238 - Harvest fields (39 mins) > bit.ly/LenPedd
Reposted by Chris Callow
Had the pleasure to see this stunning case of Brutalist university architecture yesterday in Birmingham. I think that Cardiff will end up regretting hiding its fantastic Brutalist Student Union.
November 13, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Had the pleasure to see this stunning case of Brutalist university architecture yesterday in Birmingham. I think that Cardiff will end up regretting hiding its fantastic Brutalist Student Union.
Reposted by Chris Callow
Reposted by Chris Callow
Dig into a rich record of pre-Norman Wales with this detailed report on archaeological investigations of an internationally important early medieval entrepôt and Viking-age economic hub at Llanbedrgoch, Anglesey. Pre-order your copy ➡️ bit.ly/47ydxqu
November 12, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Dig into a rich record of pre-Norman Wales with this detailed report on archaeological investigations of an internationally important early medieval entrepôt and Viking-age economic hub at Llanbedrgoch, Anglesey. Pre-order your copy ➡️ bit.ly/47ydxqu
Reposted by Chris Callow
TODAY - 🎥 🔴
Emily Lethbridge, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
"Feminist DH: Data in the Kvennaspor-Project Database"
www.youtube.com/live/4qr4MoV...
More about the Digital Humanities After Hours lecture series:
mshl.is/vidburdir/dh-after-hours/
#DH #DHAfterHours
Emily Lethbridge, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
"Feminist DH: Data in the Kvennaspor-Project Database"
www.youtube.com/live/4qr4MoV...
More about the Digital Humanities After Hours lecture series:
mshl.is/vidburdir/dh-after-hours/
#DH #DHAfterHours
November 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
TODAY - 🎥 🔴
Emily Lethbridge, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
"Feminist DH: Data in the Kvennaspor-Project Database"
www.youtube.com/live/4qr4MoV...
More about the Digital Humanities After Hours lecture series:
mshl.is/vidburdir/dh-after-hours/
#DH #DHAfterHours
Emily Lethbridge, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
"Feminist DH: Data in the Kvennaspor-Project Database"
www.youtube.com/live/4qr4MoV...
More about the Digital Humanities After Hours lecture series:
mshl.is/vidburdir/dh-after-hours/
#DH #DHAfterHours
Reposted by Chris Callow
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
Reposted by Chris Callow
Save Modern Languages and Music @ Uni of Nottingham! 💛💚💙
www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
www.change.org/p/stop-the-s...
www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
www.change.org/p/stop-the-s...
Sign the Petition
Stop the removal of Modern Languages courses at the University of Nottingham!
www.change.org
November 8, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Save Modern Languages and Music @ Uni of Nottingham! 💛💚💙
www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
www.change.org/p/stop-the-s...
www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
www.change.org/p/stop-the-s...
Reposted by Chris Callow
Not enough attention is being paid to the effective closure of the bulk of one of the 2 or 3 most important public archives for modern British history. A terrible own goal for the BBC as a public-service agency.
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...
(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
November 7, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Not enough attention is being paid to the effective closure of the bulk of one of the 2 or 3 most important public archives for modern British history. A terrible own goal for the BBC as a public-service agency.
Reposted by Chris Callow
... and Leicester... Languages, History...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
University of Leicester to consult on redundancies
University bosses are also planning to stop a number of courses.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
... and Leicester... Languages, History...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
It's so easy to destroy, so hard to create. So much talent. So many lives.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Chris Callow
Nottingham has one of the most vibrant and forward-looking departments of modern languages around. Music too. To cut them like this, leaving no chance for future rebuilding, is educational vandalism.
tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
Music and modern languages courses suspended at University of Nottingham
In a statement the institution also says it is
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Nottingham has one of the most vibrant and forward-looking departments of modern languages around. Music too. To cut them like this, leaving no chance for future rebuilding, is educational vandalism.
tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx
Cf. Auðunar þáttr.
Back when people never passed up a polar bear photo opp. #1
November 6, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Cf. Auðunar þáttr.