Goldsmiths has decided to terminate my employment as part of a devastating restructure. With no specialist staff, this means the closure of the MA Queer History, the world's only MA degree of its kind. This is an afront to my students, colleagues, and community. It is vandalism.
Nearly the entire History dept, including all lecturers in Queer History, have been notified that our roles are at risk of redundancy. If it remains, this will deeply impact & limit any future for the MA
#QueerHistory
Please sign & share widely
#histsex
On Friday evening Goldsmiths confirmed to 5 academic staff in History and our dept business manager that they are all to be made redundant. I am not amongst those who will lose their jobs, but I am devastated by the loss of brilliant colleagues and friends; they deserve better.
Join us at Goldsmiths History for another first! Looking for a Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in Black British History who will also convene the first MA in Black British History. Please share widely.
#twitterstorians
History’s not dead! A thread.
We are UCU members of the Department of History at Goldsmiths. As our three week
#GoldStrike
winds down, we want to share and clarify the following points:
It's Welcome Week at Goldsmiths. This is the news we received to welcome us this week into an already difficult term as we return to resume in-person pandemic teaching.
BREAKING: We now know the full picture on redundancies planned by
@GoldsmithsUoL
- at least 52 jobs. Alongside 32 professional services staff, SMT today served notice they are seeking to cut the equivalent of 20 full time lecturers in English & Creative Writing and History. 1/4
Something carefully built and truly special is being willfully destroyed at Goldsmiths. Our family in
@HistoryGold
is being ripped apart & our students are suffering from this vandalism and the loss of amazing people like
@QueerHistGold
's
@katemdavo
& other brilliant colleagues.
Can't even begin to express how proud I am of the
@QueerHistGold
MA
#QueerHistory
students who graduated today. You've endured global pandemic, online instruction, College restructure, and yet you excel. You have inspired me every day that I work with you. CONGRATS!!!!!
So
@stonewalluk
, really?? Either you don't read much or you're a big fan of irony.
Please read this: "World’s first queer history degree faces axe as staff fight for jobs during LGBT History Month"
Do you have stories of LGBT+ life in the UK in the 70s and 80s? The producers of a new podcast are asking you to share them here:
#histsex
#lgbtq
#lgbtqhistory
Queer Oral History Roundtable
4 Dec 5-7pm
@GFRN_UCL
@UCL_IAS
With Dr Justin Bengry (Goldsmiths), Dr Amy Tooth Murphy (Royal Holloway) and Dr George Severs (Geneva Graduate Institute), chaired by Dr Rebecca Jennings (UCL).
Among the most unexpected lines to appear in the Telegraph:
'We probably know from historical records which were the notorious public toilets in York, but I'm not surprised we're not seeing them as a setting in Downton Abbey.'
#histsex
#DowntonAbbey
Just some of the amazing work done by our fantastic MA
#QueerHistory
students. They joined this programme as an act of resistance against those who say they don't have or don't deserve a history. Now they are fighting our university in order to keep it!
#histsex
#GoldStrike
This year it was History and English & Creative Writing departments under attack. I don't know what next year will bring. Please keep your voices raised in opposition to the vandalism still ongoing at Goldsmiths.
This just in! HWJ and HWO editors object to redundancies at Goldsmiths
HUGE thanks for support and solidarity from the editors of
@HistoryWO
and History Workshop Journal.
UK PhD students interested in trans history? Cross dressing history? Apply for this funding to come research with me
@RyersonU
in the transtastic city of Toronto! NERC - Online registration
It's worth noting too that Goldsmiths has no Queer Studies programme. But good to know that that non-existent programme is safe. How about the MA Queer History?
2) Per the article: “The spokesperson stressed that the proposals would not entail the discontinuation of Creative Writing, Black British and Caribbean literature, Black British History and Queer Studies teaching.” So why was I in a Stage 2 Individual Consultation meeting today?
In the immediate short-term this means that the MA Queer History has not been cancelled as many feared it might be. That doesn’t yet mean that it's safe or that we can be confident of its long-term stability or support at Goldsmiths. The need to fight for Queer History continues.
An essential report out today from
@RoyalHistSoc
on
#LGBT
+ Histories and Historians. Sobering but with numerous useful and practical recommendations as well as examples of best practice. Critical reading for anyone in
#highered
#histsex
#queerhistory
and more!
In 2019, the RHS established a working group to look at the experiences of LGBT+ historians, and the teaching of LGBT+ & queer histories.
Today we publish the LGBT+ Histories and Historians report, together with a set of online resources.
Find out more:
How can I not retweet this? BEST discovery on opening up twitter after a break away. This Canadian accent will take me far in life! :) Thanks!
@greg_jenner
@suziruffell
take note! :) Such fun memories of working with you two on
#youredeadtome
Just catching up on
#YoureDeadToMe
Podcast and the
#lgbtqia
+ history episode, and my, is it possible to fall in love with a voice? Because
@JustinBengry
has a beautiful one. Reminds me of Howell's shipping forecast on Black Books.
@goldhistsociety
As a member of
@GoldsmithsUCU
and staff
@HistoryGold
who faced redundancy last year, I want to make unambiguously clear that the students of
@goldhistsociety
have ALWAYS been our MOST steadfast and dedicated supporters, and our most vocal allies! Thank you then! Thank you again!
While 100% of the staff responsible for the MA
#QueerHistory
and MA Black British History remain 'at risk' of redundancy, these programmes continue to face an existential threat.
Thank you
@HistoryWO
for helping to name this danger and counter myths about our safety.
#histsex
There is an urgent need to train people to research Queer History & Black British History.
Groundbreaking MA programmes in these areas, at Goldsmiths, now face an existential threat.
Written by
@JustinBengry
,
@seefryar
,
@hannahelias
&
@katemdavo
I'm pleased to have been invited to write this piece for Against the Grain about a personal queer archive recently donated to the Goldsmiths Centre for Queer History.
Read Dr. Justin Bengry from
@GoldsmithsUoL
article in our sponsored issue of Against the Grain. Justin writes on the topic of archiving queer lives and the rare personal archives he uncovered in his research.
Read more here:
Conal, a 41-year-old queer and nonbinary person living in London, was traveling frequently between England and Northern Ireland when COVID-19 first hit the UK. They share their memories in this
#QueerPandemicProject
clip.
1/ History as a discipline isn’t dead or dying.
History is the 5th most popular subject for students at A Level, and the top ranked discipline in the humanities.
“I especially look forward to… beginning our collective work of insisting that the histories of Black British people are central to the discipline of history as a whole.”
Dr Christienna Fryar has been appointed Lecturer in Black British History
@seefryar
These are only the most recent losses to History, already decimated by voluntary redundancies and resignations leaving it a husk of the vibrant place it was when I joined in 2017. And these redundancies are only the first round of several that will now rip through other depts.
UK HISTORY ECRs: Check out the
@RoyalHistSoc
's emergency COVID-19 Hardship grant fund offering individual grants of up to £500 to provide some short-term material assistance in the COVID-19 context.
Deadline 28 May.
#twitterstorians
#phdchat
SUPER proud of all of our MA
#QueerHistory
students who presented their dissertation research this week! It's a pleasure and an honour working with you!
We were thrilled to listen to the important work-in-progress presentations of our MA students at the
@HistoryGold
MA Conference 2022. Of our current
@QueerHistGold
MA
#QueerHistory
cohort we heard from… 1/
Support for me, my colleagues, students and Queer History has been loud and voluminous. There are far too many of you to thank. You know who you are and I appreciate your warmth and generosity, kindness and advocacy.
My former MA Queer History supervisee and now PhD student today had a VERY successful upgrade for an innovative study of fat and queer activism.
@carliegem89
is now officially a PhD candidate! They grow up so fast!
Huzzah! Carlie! So very proud of you!
SMASHED my PhD upgrade!
Am now officially a PhD Candidate, no longer probationary 🥳
Thx to these absolute LEGENDS
@katemdavo
&
@hannahelias
for being the best examiners!
S/o to
@JustinBengry
& Erica Wald for supervising& getting me to this point 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
#QueerHistory
#PhDLife
VOICES FOR HERITAGE: A special evening celebrating
#LGBT
+
#oralhistory
at Hampshire Record Office, Winchester with guest lecture by
@tintins49
Dr Clifford Williams 26 February 6:30pm
#histsex
Check out this wonderful short film featuring my friend and colleague
@seb_boo
and his research into the use and memory of the pink triangle. Non-German speakers, I used youtube's autotranslate feature to get most of it. Definitely worth the effort!
#QueerHistory
#Histsex
Late 4
#IDAHOBIT2022
, but this is out! In Nov. last year the team of
@WissenAusBerlin
and
@scriptsberlin
contacted me and asked me if I would like to give an interview abt my research. The project evolved into this wonderful short-film 🔺🏳️🌈
#queerhistory
Are you keen to conduct research on how illicit print shaped sexual knowledge in Britain? Apply for this new
@ahrcpres
CDP studentship in partnership w
@UniKentHistory
on 'Sex, Secrecy & Obscene Literature in Britain, 1857-1959'.
Learn more here.
#HistSex
History’s not dead! A thread.
We are UCU members of the Department of History at Goldsmiths. As our three week
#GoldStrike
winds down, we want to share and clarify the following points:
A tragic loss of of one of the most intellectually generous people I have ever known far far too soon. Jeffrey was a queer mentor to many and his contributions extend beyond words. I'm grateful to count myself amongst those who benefitted from his kindness.
Interested in joining the
@NotchesBlog
#histsex
team? We're looking for an additional social media editor and layout editor. More information at:
Deadline: 30 January 2023
2/ We are witnessing a cultural attack on precisely the kind of history our department specialises in, and a government attack on humanities education.
@GoldsmithsUoL
should not be doing the government’s intellectual vandalism for them.
The loss of key academic staff and ‘deletion’ (!) of our department’s last permanent admin role will surely compromise our ability to deliver our programmes in the most effective and supportive ways possible. Current and future students deserve better.
Nevenka has been my colleague & friend for 5 years. She has been our department's heart. As one of the 'survivors' I cannot imagine it without her. And the loss of too many other brilliant colleagues is likewise devastating. This is vandalism & this is violence. It is grotesque.
9/ As our colleagues in English & Creative Writing have described it: Goldsmiths SMT wants to market a curriculum oriented to a ‘global Britain.’ But our curriculum is already globally oriented, emphasises critical thinking, and does so by centring marginalised perspectives.
Today in The Observer
@guardian
, you can find an interview about my new book “Bi: The culture, history, and science of bisexuality” with the talented
@llaurieclarke
✨
Yesterday the
@MayorofLondon
announced five new Rainbow Plaques dedicated to people, places, culture and significant moments that have been obscured or lost in LGBTQIA+ histories.
Join me and
@JuliaLaite
on Thursday 22nd at 7:30pm as we discuss her new book The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey for
@NotchesBlog
and our new feature Author | Book | Cocktails
Absolutely delighted to be in the company of such great contributors to WHAT IS HISTORY, NOW? edited by
@HelenhCarr
@sixteenthCgirl
available now for pre-order: Check it out and share widely!
Please follow and share widely.
#QueerHistory
#histsex
#OralHistory
We are especially interested in hearing stories from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
5/ Our MA in Black British History
@blackbrithistMA
and MA in Queer History
@QueerHistGold
need a thriving disciplinary culture around them to continue to flourish. We are training new generations of scholars to write histories that have been structurally excluded from UK history
I enjoyed a really interesting conversation about the purpose and vitality of
#queerhistory
with Will Roberts
@QueerRecollect
, a new podcast exploring and rethinking Queer British History.
You can listen to it here:
#LGBTQ
#histsex
5 years in the making! In the grander scheme of things at the moment this is not that important, but I am very proud. Can't wait to hear your thoughts about the book and debates my ideas!
#queerhistory
Out with De Gruyter on the 4th of December.
Are you an
#LGBT
woman who went to the
#cinema
in the
#1960s
? Could you be in London on Tues 27 March? Researcher
@PatrickGlen
is hosting a workshop to collect memories of cinema-going in the 1960s from this underrepresented group.
#lgbthistory
Absolutely delighted to be part of this exciting collection that brings such a range of voices into discussing the nature and dynamism of history. Huge thanks to
@HelenhCarr
and
@sixteenthCgirl
for their vision and effort!
60 years ago vs. today. What is History, Now? A collection of essays from a stellar cast of historians, proudly compiled and edited by me and
@sixteenthCgirl
OUT TODAY!
Really proud to be working with this amazing group of people to think together through submissions for future rainbow plaques to commemorate LGBTQ+ people and histories. Want to know the next five
#Rainblowplaque
locations? Watch this space!
#LGBTplusHM
#QueerHistory
1/2
Announcing our brilliant
#RainbowPlaque
community panel
DJ Ritu, Fisch, Marc Thompson, Nathan Lewis, Dr Justin Bengry, Tessa Havers-Strong & (not 📸) Juliet Jacques.
They helped us decide our 5 new plaques through robust debate & thorough questioning.
#LGBTplusHM
Join
@LdnMetArchives
for the annual LGBTQ conf
#OutLoud2021
. Streamed live from the archive, spend your Saturday speed 'dating' through 20yrs of LGBTQ history. 19 speakers will give lightning talks, taking us from the 00's to present day all in just 2.5hrs