Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz
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juliarsct.bsky.social
Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz
@juliarsct.bsky.social
750 followers 580 following 110 posts

Researcher in Anthropology, French Studies, History & Digital Humanities, working on the poetry of the Great War 📚 Rugby player/coach 🏉 Cat person 😻
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juliarsct.bsky.social
So glad to be back and to be able to compile these threads again! There is so much wonderful research going on about the Francophone world, I am delighted we can give it a platform!
asmcf.bsky.social asmcf.bsky.social @asmcf.bsky.social · 5h
With our team of Web Officers once again complete, we are delighted to resume our weekly threads! As a reminder, on Fridays we have our Francophone Friday thread, where we highlight research being done in or about the Francophone world. 1/8
November 28, 2025 at 4:43 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
On my way to Oxford for the "Languages and literatures of the Francophone world in libraries and archives", where I'll be talking about @lacontemporaine.bsky.social, Birmingham City Libraries & Lautarchiv Sound Archives. If you are at the MFO today, come say hello! (Baby is loving his second trip!)
November 21, 2025 at 8:07 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
New normal: working on the floor next to the play gym and when one baby leaves my lap the other one takes his place. Having said that, I am very excited for my talk about French collections outside of France at the Maison Française d'Oxford on Friday!
November 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
If you didn't catch last week's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, it is now available on Youtube!
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · 11d
Last week's wonderful Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture by @juliarsct.bsky.social on the subject of 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War', is now available to watch on the Society YouTube Channel: youtu.be/yoaRVrmjDLw?...
Dennis Showalter Lecture 2025 by Julia Ribeiro Thomaz: 'Poetry under fire'
YouTube video by International Society for First World War Studies
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 9:05 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Maternity leave rules in France are ridiculous and I only had 10 weeks.. this is what work-life balance looks like these days
November 15, 2025 at 3:23 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
ECR whiplash is real and so, so tiring... in the space of 24 hours I went from delivering a public lecture I won through a competitive award, the grestest honour of my career so far, to not even being shortlisted for a job I thought I'd be perfect for and I don't know how I'm feeling anymore!
November 13, 2025 at 6:45 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
That is it for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture. Thank you to the @fwwsoc.bsky.social for their continuous support of my work and of ECRs. This award is one of our numerous member benefits, so do consider joining us! Thank you as well to everyone who attended both in person and online!
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
November 11, 2025 at 10:52 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Final preparations for Tuesday's lecture! I am so lucky that I get to deliver this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture - and at Craiglockhart (and online) out of all places! If you are in Edinburgh, do come say hello - you can sign up via the link below
November 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Just finished my first full rehearsal for this and I am buzzing! There are still some tickets left for both online and in-person attendance, just use the link below.
And if you're joining us in Edinburgh, let me know and we can organise a FWW meet-up ahead of the lecture? I'd love to meet more ECRs!
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
November 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz
chriskempshall.bsky.social
Almost the final call if you want to attend the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture by @juliarsct.bsky.social nect week on Tuesday 11th November! There are a few tickets left for either in person or online attendance and you can access them through the eventbrite in the message below. 🗃️
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
November 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz
fwwsoc.bsky.social
The Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture will be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social next week! There are still some tickets left available to attend either in person or online. So if interested, check out the Eventbrite link in the quoted message. 🗃️
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
November 3, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz
afrayn.bsky.social
Quick reminder that this is 3 weeks today! Please sign up if you haven't already - in-person and online.
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
October 21, 2025 at 4:02 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Briefly emerging from my maternity leave bubble to invite you to my lecture in 11th November about what (French) poetry did during the First World War. You can register to attend in-person or online via the link below
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
October 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Not a story I tell very often, but my first contact with French poetry, which I now study for a living, happened through Black Sabbath. I had just turned 15, it was the year before the last at school. I skipped a few days and when I came back the literature teacher said I had missed an assignment...
July 6, 2025 at 12:18 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Having a blast at Back to the Beginning, Black Sabbath's final gig! And since today is all about celebrating the birth of Heavy Metal, you can catch me talking about the genre and the First World War here ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/heav...
July 5, 2025 at 1:43 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
@frenchstudies.bsky.social conference looked a bit different for me this year, but left with so many ideas of where to go with my project on the tirailleurs sénégalais! Also, I have to say SFS were a 10/10 for being inclusive and accommodating my heavy pregnancy!
July 1, 2025 at 8:13 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Book proofs and indexing finally done and this baby is now back with the editor for printing! Hoping for a publicatin in early 2026 🤞
June 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Very excited for the @frenchstudies.bsky.social conference next week, where I'll be presenting my new project about poetry by tirailleurs sénégalais! Here is a teaser in case you're there and want to come to the Coloniality and Commemoration panel (4.6) on Tuesday!
June 24, 2025 at 2:34 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Out of everything that is wrong with the academic publishing industry, surely the fact that T&F's paper can't even handle highlighters is one to be complained about...
June 19, 2025 at 7:40 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Been dying to write about Nakamura's gig at the Paris Opening Ceremony and about rap galsen about the tirailleurs, and now it's finally happening! Not that my brain is in any capacity to do it, but having fun anyway!
June 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
In spite of myself, I seem to be engaging quite a lot with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning - currently writing my third piece in this area 😱 two of them were edited by Ann-Marie Einhaus and Catriona Pennel, and I can't thank them enough for their support!
May 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Finally went to see I'm Still Here. It is a beautiful portrayal of how the military dictatorship in Brasil invaded households and impacted families. This is a film to bring ppl together: if you are pro-family/conservative, you are on our side: to protect families is to fight against dictatorships!
March 1, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz
chriskempshall.bsky.social
This was just such a wonderful event in the end. Hopefully the audience got as much out of it as myself, @juliarsct.bsky.social & @amfoster.bsky.social did!
chriskempshall.bsky.social Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · Oct 25
Following the publication of ‘Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ Dr Ann-Marie Foster, @juliarsct.bsky.social, and myself will be discussing its approach to ‘Writing Fictional History’ at the @ihr.bsky.social on 26 February 2025.

www.history.ac.uk/events/writi...
The front cover of the book ‘Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ In his recent DK and Lucasfilm licensed book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, Dr Chris Kempshall wrote a historical investigation and analysis of the Galactic Empire based around fictitious events, designed for an 'in-universe' audience. Join Dr Ann-Marie Foster and Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz to quiz Chris about how he approached writing a fictional history as an academic historian. We will probe what skills, ideas, and approaches he used to transfer his real-world background to a fictional universe, and ask how through his sci-fi writing he has helped develop public understandings of what historians do. • Dr Ann-Marie Foster is a historian of modern Britain with interests in public history, war studies, and cultural heritage. Ann-Marie is currently a Chancellor's Fellow at Robert Gordon University and Pl on the project AHRC ECR Fellow in Cultural and Heritage Institutions project 'Accessible Pasts, Equitable Futures', based at Imperial War Museums. • Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a Historian of France and Literary Scholar whose work incorporates Anthropology and the Digital Humanities to interrogate poetry as a shared cultural practice that is part of the experience of war. She is a Visiting Fellow in Digital Humanities at the School of Advanced Study and a member of the Digital Humanities project Poésie Grande Guerre. • Dr Chris Kempshall is a public historian and author who specialises both in transnational experiences of warfare and modern media representations of history; predominantly computer games and the Star Wars franchise. Alongside The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire he also co-authored the licensed book Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy in 2021. He is currently the President for the International Society for First World War Studies and a Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
February 27, 2025 at 11:33 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Heading home from this and it was amazing!
It is a privilege to be able to discuss Chris's work but we also covered some serious historiographic questions.

Meeting up with friends to talk about Star Wars, History and writing and still being able to call it work? Definitely a win!
chriskempshall.bsky.social Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · Oct 25
Following the publication of ‘Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ Dr Ann-Marie Foster, @juliarsct.bsky.social, and myself will be discussing its approach to ‘Writing Fictional History’ at the @ihr.bsky.social on 26 February 2025.

www.history.ac.uk/events/writi...
The front cover of the book ‘Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ In his recent DK and Lucasfilm licensed book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, Dr Chris Kempshall wrote a historical investigation and analysis of the Galactic Empire based around fictitious events, designed for an 'in-universe' audience. Join Dr Ann-Marie Foster and Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz to quiz Chris about how he approached writing a fictional history as an academic historian. We will probe what skills, ideas, and approaches he used to transfer his real-world background to a fictional universe, and ask how through his sci-fi writing he has helped develop public understandings of what historians do. • Dr Ann-Marie Foster is a historian of modern Britain with interests in public history, war studies, and cultural heritage. Ann-Marie is currently a Chancellor's Fellow at Robert Gordon University and Pl on the project AHRC ECR Fellow in Cultural and Heritage Institutions project 'Accessible Pasts, Equitable Futures', based at Imperial War Museums. • Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a Historian of France and Literary Scholar whose work incorporates Anthropology and the Digital Humanities to interrogate poetry as a shared cultural practice that is part of the experience of war. She is a Visiting Fellow in Digital Humanities at the School of Advanced Study and a member of the Digital Humanities project Poésie Grande Guerre. • Dr Chris Kempshall is a public historian and author who specialises both in transnational experiences of warfare and modern media representations of history; predominantly computer games and the Star Wars franchise. Alongside The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire he also co-authored the licensed book Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy in 2021. He is currently the President for the International Society for First World War Studies and a Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
February 27, 2025 at 10:32 AM
juliarsct.bsky.social
Very much looking forward to this next week! We'll be talking writing practices, archives, and positionality - with a reflexive freedom that only a galaxy far far away allows! Public historians and those interested in historiography, this one is for you! SW fans welcome, of course!
chriskempshall.bsky.social Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · Oct 25
Following the publication of ‘Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ Dr Ann-Marie Foster, @juliarsct.bsky.social, and myself will be discussing its approach to ‘Writing Fictional History’ at the @ihr.bsky.social on 26 February 2025.

www.history.ac.uk/events/writi...
The front cover of the book ‘Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire’ In his recent DK and Lucasfilm licensed book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, Dr Chris Kempshall wrote a historical investigation and analysis of the Galactic Empire based around fictitious events, designed for an 'in-universe' audience. Join Dr Ann-Marie Foster and Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz to quiz Chris about how he approached writing a fictional history as an academic historian. We will probe what skills, ideas, and approaches he used to transfer his real-world background to a fictional universe, and ask how through his sci-fi writing he has helped develop public understandings of what historians do. • Dr Ann-Marie Foster is a historian of modern Britain with interests in public history, war studies, and cultural heritage. Ann-Marie is currently a Chancellor's Fellow at Robert Gordon University and Pl on the project AHRC ECR Fellow in Cultural and Heritage Institutions project 'Accessible Pasts, Equitable Futures', based at Imperial War Museums. • Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a Historian of France and Literary Scholar whose work incorporates Anthropology and the Digital Humanities to interrogate poetry as a shared cultural practice that is part of the experience of war. She is a Visiting Fellow in Digital Humanities at the School of Advanced Study and a member of the Digital Humanities project Poésie Grande Guerre. • Dr Chris Kempshall is a public historian and author who specialises both in transnational experiences of warfare and modern media representations of history; predominantly computer games and the Star Wars franchise. Alongside The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire he also co-authored the licensed book Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy in 2021. He is currently the President for the International Society for First World War Studies and a Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
February 19, 2025 at 9:54 AM