Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Historian of Britain and colonialism, material culture, the EIC. Also works on equalities, museums, open access & research policy. Download the EIC @ Home open access volume here: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/88277 (or individual chapters via JSTOR)
Reposted by Margot Finn
BBC has a case against Trump. WhiteHouse Chief Press Officer called the BBC ‘100% fake news.’ Which is defamatory and untrue.
Trump says he will sue BBC for between $1 billion and $5 billion despite apology www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Trump says he will sue BBC for at least $1bn over Panorama edit
The US president told reporters on Air Force One that he will take legal action against the broadcaster and will call Sir Keir Starmer over the weekend.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 8:45 AM
BBC has a case against Trump. WhiteHouse Chief Press Officer called the BBC ‘100% fake news.’ Which is defamatory and untrue.
Reposted by Margot Finn
As a historian of the 18th c and an American, I've always known 2026 would be a critical moment. This doc is worth watching, and thinking through. Begins and ends w Indigenous contexts, conveys the horrors of a civil war wrought w racism + the ideals of liberty and equality we keep reaching for. 1/
_The American Revolution_ offers a look at how complex and violent — and also inspiring— the American founding was. Getting huge coverage, it may give folks time to digest that complexity as 2026 commences. Premieres tonight + PBS has preview clips of all episodes. www.pbs.org/show/the-ame...
The American Revolution
Thirteen colonies unite in rebellion, win their independence, and found the United States.
www.pbs.org
November 16, 2025 at 3:44 PM
As a historian of the 18th c and an American, I've always known 2026 would be a critical moment. This doc is worth watching, and thinking through. Begins and ends w Indigenous contexts, conveys the horrors of a civil war wrought w racism + the ideals of liberty and equality we keep reaching for. 1/
'content included one TikTok post referencing a Formula 1 scandal titled "Explaining 2008 Crashgate in girl terms" written in pink glowing text alongside pink nail polish emojis.'
Own goals.
Own goals.
Sky Sports axes 'sexist' TikTok channel Halo after three days
The female-focused TikTok channel was dubbed
www.bbc.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 3:45 PM
'content included one TikTok post referencing a Formula 1 scandal titled "Explaining 2008 Crashgate in girl terms" written in pink glowing text alongside pink nail polish emojis.'
Own goals.
Own goals.
Reposted by Margot Finn
Want to join the www.codicum.eu project?
3 year PostDoct at SDU (Odense, Denmark) for an Latin expert with palaeographical as well as text and book historical skills.
#Medieval #Manuscript
3 year PostDoct at SDU (Odense, Denmark) for an Latin expert with palaeographical as well as text and book historical skills.
#Medieval #Manuscript
3-year postdoc position in medieval studies
3-year postdoc position in medieval studies The Department of Culture and Language invites applications for a 3-year postdoc position in Dominican studies within the CODICUM project. The position is e...
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Want to join the www.codicum.eu project?
3 year PostDoct at SDU (Odense, Denmark) for an Latin expert with palaeographical as well as text and book historical skills.
#Medieval #Manuscript
3 year PostDoct at SDU (Odense, Denmark) for an Latin expert with palaeographical as well as text and book historical skills.
#Medieval #Manuscript
Reposted by Margot Finn
As immigration dominates the brief this morning, here’s my two cents on the salience vs. the importance of the issue:
labourlist.org/2025/11/immi...
(Full report linked below - Many thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social!!)
labourlist.org/2025/11/immi...
(Full report linked below - Many thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social!!)
'Bread, circuses, and polling errors: Are we truly measuring what matters?' - LabourList
Pollsters who ask questions that add nuance are rewarded with a richer look at the public’s outlook argues Labour Together's Calum Weir.
labourlist.org
November 16, 2025 at 10:09 AM
As immigration dominates the brief this morning, here’s my two cents on the salience vs. the importance of the issue:
labourlist.org/2025/11/immi...
(Full report linked below - Many thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social!!)
labourlist.org/2025/11/immi...
(Full report linked below - Many thanks to @emmaburnell.bsky.social!!)
Reposted by Margot Finn
Is it 'online training course'?
June 17, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Is it 'online training course'?
Reposted by Margot Finn
‘Liverpool went from having a single slave ship in 1709 to more than a hundred six decades later. By 1795 it controlled almost half of the European slave trade.’
John Kerrigan on Atlantic slavery:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Kerrigan on Atlantic slavery:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Kerrigan · No Illusions: Syntax of Slavery
Slavery was accepted across most of the early modern world. No one wanted to be a slave, except when the alternative was...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 1:29 PM
‘Liverpool went from having a single slave ship in 1709 to more than a hundred six decades later. By 1795 it controlled almost half of the European slave trade.’
John Kerrigan on Atlantic slavery:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Kerrigan on Atlantic slavery:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Not to mention the effects of 2 local universities making staff redundant, closing taught programmes and reducing their research and civic engagement capacities (in response to government policies).
‘I think the city is falling apart’: Leicester braces for a make-or-break budget
‘I think the city is falling apart’: Leicester braces for a make-or-break budget
In the local authority where people have the least spare cash there are hopes the chancellor will instil change
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Not to mention the effects of 2 local universities making staff redundant, closing taught programmes and reducing their research and civic engagement capacities (in response to government policies).
Reposted by Margot Finn
NEW: Welcome to the Great AI Bubble. Yes, it’s here. And yes, it’s going to burst.
It’s also got way more in common with the Epstein scandal than you really want to know.
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
It’s also got way more in common with the Epstein scandal than you really want to know.
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
The Great AI Bubble
Yes, it's a bubble. And yes, it's going to burst.
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:35 AM
NEW: Welcome to the Great AI Bubble. Yes, it’s here. And yes, it’s going to burst.
It’s also got way more in common with the Epstein scandal than you really want to know.
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
It’s also got way more in common with the Epstein scandal than you really want to know.
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
'The HeatHub was developed by Thermify and is part of UK Power Networks' SHIELD project, external, which aims to come up with innovative ways for low-income households to transition to net zero.' 1/2
'I heat my Essex home with a data centre in the shed'
www.bbc.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 12:34 PM
'The HeatHub was developed by Thermify and is part of UK Power Networks' SHIELD project, external, which aims to come up with innovative ways for low-income households to transition to net zero.' 1/2
Reposted by Margot Finn
Struck this morning by how the win wasn’t from the UC system itself pushing back—it was its worker power through *unions* and aligned groups like @aaup.org defending UC interests, even though admin itself wasn’t.
There’s some kind of lesson here
There’s some kind of lesson here
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
Judge bars Trump from immediately cutting funding to the University of California | CNN Politics
The Trump administration cannot immediately cut federal funding to the University of California or issue fines against the school system over claims it allows antisemitism or other forms of discrimina...
www.cnn.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Struck this morning by how the win wasn’t from the UC system itself pushing back—it was its worker power through *unions* and aligned groups like @aaup.org defending UC interests, even though admin itself wasn’t.
There’s some kind of lesson here
There’s some kind of lesson here
Reposted by Margot Finn
Whether it’s Barack Obama, appearing in a tan suit or Donald Trump appearing 1700 times in Jeffrey Epstein‘s emails, both presidents made some highly controversial appearances.
November 15, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Whether it’s Barack Obama, appearing in a tan suit or Donald Trump appearing 1700 times in Jeffrey Epstein‘s emails, both presidents made some highly controversial appearances.
'Under the proposed changes announced by prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, bachelor’s programmes will be shortened from four to three years and master’s from two to one, while childhood education will be reduced from 12 to 11 years. 1/3
Georgian universities ‘may collapse’ under reforms, scholars fear
Proposed ‘one city, one faculty’ approach, reduced degree length and hostility towards international students prompt alarm
www.timeshighereducation.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:56 AM
'Under the proposed changes announced by prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, bachelor’s programmes will be shortened from four to three years and master’s from two to one, while childhood education will be reduced from 12 to 11 years. 1/3
Reposted by Margot Finn
Alas! It is the 257th anniversary of the death of Philip Stanhope, described by one historian as “merely a worthy, kindly, but dim diplomatic official at Dresden – not, as his father (pictured) once dreamed, a Secretary of State”. Why, then, do we need to know about him? Well... 🧵
November 16, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Alas! It is the 257th anniversary of the death of Philip Stanhope, described by one historian as “merely a worthy, kindly, but dim diplomatic official at Dresden – not, as his father (pictured) once dreamed, a Secretary of State”. Why, then, do we need to know about him? Well... 🧵
'Speaking from Cop30, Jamaican economist Mariama Williams said historical injustices must be confronted and addressed....“Climate justice cannot be separated from reparatory justice. The same systems that enriched the north created today’s vulnerabilities.”'
Hurricane Melissa a ‘real-time case study’ of colonialism’s legacies
Destruction in Jamaica shows why climate justice cannot be separated from reparatory justice, campaigners say
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:32 AM
'Speaking from Cop30, Jamaican economist Mariama Williams said historical injustices must be confronted and addressed....“Climate justice cannot be separated from reparatory justice. The same systems that enriched the north created today’s vulnerabilities.”'
'The Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) will be meeting with UK parliamentarians, Caribbean diplomats, academics and civil society groups from 17 to 20 November.' 1/2
Caribbean reparations leaders in ‘historic’ first UK visit to press for justice
CRC mission will seek to deepen public understanding of Britain’s colonial legacy and its lasting impact
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:28 AM
'The Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) will be meeting with UK parliamentarians, Caribbean diplomats, academics and civil society groups from 17 to 20 November.' 1/2
Tip of an iceberg?
The academics who stuck by disgraced Epstein to the end – and those who didn’t | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Tip of an iceberg?
Reposted by Margot Finn
When I think about how exquisitely careful NEH staff were to be fair, impartial, and rigorous, and how much work people put into grants so small they’re pocket change…I just want to scream.
Fired Scholars and Big Grants to Favored Projects: Inside Trump’s N.E.H.
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:12 PM
When I think about how exquisitely careful NEH staff were to be fair, impartial, and rigorous, and how much work people put into grants so small they’re pocket change…I just want to scream.
Reposted by Margot Finn
The Curriculum & Assessment Review, led by @beckyfrancis.bsky.social, is out - and it has potential implications for how schools think about history in the primary curriculum.
A short thread on what it might means for local history and teacher collaboration 👇
A short thread on what it might means for local history and teacher collaboration 👇
November 10, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The Curriculum & Assessment Review, led by @beckyfrancis.bsky.social, is out - and it has potential implications for how schools think about history in the primary curriculum.
A short thread on what it might means for local history and teacher collaboration 👇
A short thread on what it might means for local history and teacher collaboration 👇
Reposted by Margot Finn
A very worthwhile read! Critical approaches to AI use in research & education are needed, more than ever, in conjunction with human dialogue about results between researchers, and between student & lecturer!
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
November 15, 2025 at 5:05 PM
A very worthwhile read! Critical approaches to AI use in research & education are needed, more than ever, in conjunction with human dialogue about results between researchers, and between student & lecturer!
Reposted by Margot Finn
15 November 1582: In Mortlake, Dr John Dee is conversing with angels again, along with his scryer Edward Kelley, with whom he has recently reconciled. Dee starts a new record book today, his Quartus Liber Mysteriorum, and they use a 'showstone', or crystal ball. They speak ... 1/
#earlymodern
#earlymodern
November 15, 2025 at 3:21 PM
15 November 1582: In Mortlake, Dr John Dee is conversing with angels again, along with his scryer Edward Kelley, with whom he has recently reconciled. Dee starts a new record book today, his Quartus Liber Mysteriorum, and they use a 'showstone', or crystal ball. They speak ... 1/
#earlymodern
#earlymodern
Up to £2,500 for 2-4 weeks in 2026. Open to postdoctoral researchers, or those with comparable records of research.
📣Our UofG Library Visiting Research Fellowships are now open for applications!
We’re delighted to invite scholars from across the globe to apply to work with our internationally significant collections.
Apply at: www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...
📆Closing date: 5 January 2026
#UofGLibraryFellows
We’re delighted to invite scholars from across the globe to apply to work with our internationally significant collections.
Apply at: www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/li...
📆Closing date: 5 January 2026
#UofGLibraryFellows
November 15, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Up to £2,500 for 2-4 weeks in 2026. Open to postdoctoral researchers, or those with comparable records of research.
Reposted by Margot Finn
So proud of my @leidenhumanities.bsky.social colleague Lotte Fikkers, whose Open Access Book, Early Modern Women’s Life Writing & English law is out w/ @edinburghup.bsky.social ! A stunning achievement from our @erc.europa.eu project #FEATHERS. Don’t miss it
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Women in early modern courtrooms: 'A cross-section of society'
In early modern England, courts of law were working overtime. University lecturer Lotte Fikkers delved into the records of centuries-old court cases involving women. In Early Modern Women's Life-Writi...
www.universiteitleiden.nl
November 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM
So proud of my @leidenhumanities.bsky.social colleague Lotte Fikkers, whose Open Access Book, Early Modern Women’s Life Writing & English law is out w/ @edinburghup.bsky.social ! A stunning achievement from our @erc.europa.eu project #FEATHERS. Don’t miss it
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
'Put simply, by...genetic scientist Dr Sundhya Raman: "Just because you have something encoded in your DNA, doesn't mean you'll express it."'
Like genetics, historical causation is complicated and convoluted, traits lost in sensationalist coverage of this research.
Like genetics, historical causation is complicated and convoluted, traits lost in sensationalist coverage of this research.
This #research has been making waves the last few days. I'm critical of this approach, and when the BBC asked, I told them why. #History #Perpetrators #MassViolence #Genocide #Holocaust
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Should Hitler's DNA have been studied?
Ground-breaking research has made some fascinating discoveries on the dictator, from his ancestry to possible neurological disorders.
www.bbc.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:47 AM
'Put simply, by...genetic scientist Dr Sundhya Raman: "Just because you have something encoded in your DNA, doesn't mean you'll express it."'
Like genetics, historical causation is complicated and convoluted, traits lost in sensationalist coverage of this research.
Like genetics, historical causation is complicated and convoluted, traits lost in sensationalist coverage of this research.
Reposted by Margot Finn
With apologies for posting 2 FT articles in quick succession, this is useful phrasing to encapsulate where we are with data centre investment: "the reality is that investors are taking long-term bets on a sector that has already turned on a dime more than once"
on.ft.com/4oKFToK
on.ft.com/4oKFToK
Who’s funding Silicon Valley’s data-centre dream? It might be you.
A large part of the investment pouring into AI is being financed by debt of the kind that lines millions of nest eggs
on.ft.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:06 AM
With apologies for posting 2 FT articles in quick succession, this is useful phrasing to encapsulate where we are with data centre investment: "the reality is that investors are taking long-term bets on a sector that has already turned on a dime more than once"
on.ft.com/4oKFToK
on.ft.com/4oKFToK