George Severs
Historian of sexual health, sexual violence and HIV/AIDS. Postdoc at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland. Honorary Research Fellow of the School of Historical Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. Usually found reading or swimming.
- Reposted by George SeversMy team are looking for a new team leader and Modern Britain (post-1782) specialist. Closes 22nd February and do get in touch if you have any questions www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQJ050/t...
- Myself, Andrea Althaus, Linde Apel and Janine Schemmer have just submitted the first draft of our book Reusing Oral Histories: From Archive to Analysis to our series editor. Still a lot of work to do, but what a great feeling!
- Reposted by George SeversTo mark the 100th anniversary of the General Strike we have a special event planned @ihr.bsky.social on Weds 29 April. Prof Jonathan Schneer will be discussing his new book on the strike alongside Paul Novak, Jon Cruddas, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite & Jim Moher. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
- Does anyone have a copy of Participant Observers by @freddyfoks.bsky.social who can tell me on what page this appears? "The archives left by social anthropologists are exceptionally rich and have been surprisingly underexplored by historians." It comes directly after n15 in the introduction. Thanks!
- Reposted by George SeversFollowing the news of another political defection in Westminster, we're resharing our recent #HistParl article on the history of MPs 'crossing the floor' and changing their party affiliation, drawing heavily upon extracts from our #OralHistory archive. historyofparliament.com/2026/01/16/c...
- Reposted by George SeversWe are delighted to share our call for papers for Medical Humanities. @georgesevers.bsky.social, Naomi Samake-Bäckert and I are guest editing a topic collection titled “Race, Sexual and Reproductive Health: Histories, Inequalities, Futures. Deadline: 31 October 2026 mh.bmj.com/pages/topic-...
- Morning reading.
- Reposted by George SeversBump for my CFP for Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... Deadline 14 February! Have had a few abstracts already and it's shaping up to be great. 🗃️
- Reposted by George Severs"Coughs & sneezes spread diseases" but it's fine to carry on smoking a pipe. Timely Government advice from the 1940s, from the Brewers' Society archive. mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/BLR/...
- Reposted by George SeversJOB ALERT! 3-year postdoc at @girtoncollege.bsky.social - research anything you like in History, Archaeology or Anthropology in a wonderful, welcoming scholarly community. PLEASE SHARE! Closes 12 January www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...
- Reposted by George SeversThat's why Trump is decapitating and gutting the CDC - a bit like what's happening to those chlorinated chickens he wants to force into our supermarkets.
- Your fact of the day: The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in six American citizens suffers a food-borne illness annually. In the UK, the figure is one in 132. bylinetimes.com/2020/02/28/f...
- Sundials say ‘I only tell the sunny hours’ because it is all they can do. Given half a chance, our memories would do the same. But life would not be half as interesting. Ronald Blythe
- Reposted by George SeversWe're back, rested and ready for more archive exploration in 2026! As we balance precariously on the metaphorical penny farthing of time, here's hoping for a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year for us all - wobbling slightly but still upright and speeding onwards (fitted sportsing shorts optional)
- Reposted by George SeversNikolaos Papadogiannis @npapadogian.bsky.social reviews 'Radical Acts: HIV/AIDS Activism in Late Twentieth-Century England', by George J. Severs @georgesevers.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-... @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social
- Reposted by George SeversGive me your best recent British & Irish LGBTQI+ history recommendations! I'm updating the reading list for my queer & trans history module. Looking for things published in the last 2-3 years. 🌈🎓 🌈 🏳️⚧️ #queerhistory
- Reposted by George SeversPost-doc positions: "Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..." uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
- Reposted by George SeversIt's that time of year again... the History Workshop team present our "Radical Reads" for 2025! www.historyworkshop.... Image source: Openverse.
- Thanks Nikos for reviewing my book!
- Nikolaos Papadogiannis @npapadogian.bsky.social reviews 'Radical Acts: HIV/AIDS Activism in Late Twentieth-Century England', by George J. Severs @georgesevers.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-... @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social
- A very interesting PhD project is looking for interviewees with LGBTQ+ photographers with experiences of making photographs in home darkrooms. Get in touch if this applies, and do share.
- Reposted by George SeversI'm not going to share Stock's Unherd article. But here's the important part: "Abortions should only be done for a highly restricted set of reasons. They should not be just nodded through for any reason a pregnant woman likes." The ven diagram of the anti-trans & the anti-woman lobby is a circle.
- Reposted by George SeversAn excellent PhD opportunity for someone to work on family separation during WW1 or WW2. I've done some research on Italian emigrant families separated when the father was serving in the Italian Army and it's a really fascinating area of study. royalhistsoc.org/calendar/phd...
- One of the many great things I got out of last week’s trip to Montréal for the NACBS was a copy of @sarahcrook.bsky.social’s new book. I can’t wait to get stuck into this!
- Important reminder of the national obliviousness to the crises at the British Library and why it should concern policymakers. www.cityam.com/the-british-...
- Reposted by George Severs📣 CALL FOR CHAPTERS 📣 Co-editors Amy Tooth Murphy & @georgesevers.bsky.social invite expressions of interest to contribute chapters to the forthcoming Routledge Oral History Theory Handbook. Visit: oralhistory.org/wp-content/u... #OralHistory #OralHistoryTheory #Routledge #OralHistorian
- Call for chapters! Amy Tooth Murphy and I are editing the Routledge Handbook of Oral History Theory, and we are seeking contributions from a range of scholars and practitioners. See our full call here. oralhistory.org/2025/11/11/c...
- Reposted by George SeversLong tails and important outcomes. Finally, it's live - the website for the report, "Conversion Therapy' and the University of Birmingham c.1966-1983'! There's material about the history, the project, its organisation, and there are resources there too. #HistPsych #HistSTEM #QueerHist #HistSex
- Yesterday it was my honour to receive the 2025 Phanes Award in HIV Information Work from Tupilak (Nordic Rainbow Culture Workers) & ILGCN (the International Rainbow Culture Network) in Stockholm. I am very grateful for this recognition of my work, and only sorry that I couldn't be there in person!
- Reposted by George Severs#AfS: Die Beschäftigung mit dem AIDS-Aktivismus steht noch am Anfang, konstatiert Rezensent @adrianlehne.bsky.social. Die Studie von @georgesevers.bsky.social nimmt sich der Lücke an und nimmt nicht nur den konfrontativen, sondern auch den leiseren Aktivismus in den Blick: library.fes.de/pdf-f...
- Reposted by George Severs#MondayNetwork - a regular appeal to any #skystorians with intersecting interests: food /nutrition, surviving climate change, environmental determinism, race science, exploration, acclimatisation & physiology, cit sci, Indigenous knowledge, & related topics to say hi or share link to your work! 🗃️
- Reposted by George Severs“I knew that homosexuality was a sin - I didn’t want to be homosexual. I went to my G.P and said I had read Freud’s book on dreams, that I suffered from homosexuality, and that I would like to change.” My new article now out in Irish Historical Studies: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
- I'm looking forward to speaking at the History of Medicine seminar at University College Dublin this afternoon. I'll be talking about British HIV/AIDS activists & their role in the broader transnational AIDS movement. More info here, inc. how to sign up for the Zoom link www.ucd.ie/chomi/resear...
- Je suis solidaire de mes collègues qui sont en grève aujourd'hui à l'Université de Fribourg. J'espère que l'administration cédera à vos justes revendications!
- Arrived back from the International Oral History Association conference in Krakow to the latest issue of Oral History. A very striking cover, and two fabulous Public History articles!
- My latest article has just been published in the Journal of British Studies! It's open access and you can read it here. Huge thanks to the archivists and librarians across Birmingham for their help with this research. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
- Reposted by George SeversJustin Webb just referred on Today to "platforms like Bluesky, where you can see the celebration of the killing" of Charlie Kirk. What I'm seeing on here is overwhelming condemnation; despair at the violence of US politics; alarm at where this might go; & calls for equal horror at other shootings.
- Great first day in Copenhagen exploring the European Histories of HIV/AIDS. Thanks to @nebeling.bsky.social (pictured speaking) for organising!
- Reposted by George SeversMuseum of Cambridge are looking for a #Disability Heritage Research Volunteer, to work remotely, creating histories of people with disabilities in Cambridgeshire. www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/wp-content/u...
- The wonderful Adeline!
- In this video from our team, our wonderful anthropologist Adeline Moussion Esteve talks about her PhD research, her work on our new project and why it all matters. #ethnography #VAWG #CSA shra.bbk.ac.uk/member/ms-ad...
- Reposted by George Severs#MondayNetwork - a regular appeal to any #skystorians with intersecting interests: food /nutrition, surviving climate change, environmental determinism, race science, exploration, acclimatisation & physiology, cit sci, Indigenous knowledge, & related topics to say hi or share link to your work! 🗃️
- Reposted by George Severs#4S2025 may be ending, but our virtual exhibit is still open! Browse our virtual exhibit and get 30% off & free domestic shipping using code EX58104: bit.ly/UCPEX4S
- Reposted by George SeversQuite apart from the fact that this is garbage, I see that Mr Free Speech "will not stand for" people teaching interpretations of the past that he doesn't agree with.
- Reposted by George SeversA huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.
- Reposted by George SeversNew jobs here! I'm on the Advisory Board of this Leverhulme Trust-funded project investigating 'The long-term impact of New Labour’s social and economic policies', and there are two Research Fellowship posts available: jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
- Vielen Dank an @adrianlehne.bsky.social für die Rezension meines Buches „Radical Acts“. Mein Buch handelt von England, beleuchtet aber auch viele europäische Kooperationen. Daher bin ich dankbar, dass es deutsche Leser gefunden hat. library.fes.de/pdf-files/af... @deutscheaidshilfe.bsky.social
- Huge thanks to Adrian Lehne (@adrianlehne.bsky.social) for reviewing my book Radical Acts in the Archiv für Sozialgeschichte. German-speaking followers (and those content to use Google Translate) can read it here. library.fes.de/pdf-files/af...
- Reposted by George Severs
- Reposted by George SeversA more perfect metaphor for the far right doesn’t exist. We all know that sliced white bread is still widely available and sells as well as ever, probably the majority of bread sales. What Alex finds objectionable is the existence of anything else, even in a minority.
- Oral history job at the University of Bristol looking at the history of Hong Kong. The job ad says it’s permanent but is, in fact, only for 18 months. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOL945/h...
- Lovely piece in today’s Birmingham Dispatch. Great to see historically informed writing which gets us thinking about the impact of the city’s transport links on how we think about different parts of Birmingham, with a view to the future too. www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/how-harborne...
- Reposted by George SeversPrecarious contracts keep getting shorter. Until recently short-term associate lecturer contracts were for 10 months. Now UCL advertises for 7 months. What does it say about our field, about how we treat the new generation of scholars? www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNW277/a...
- Great news!
- Eric Engstrom uses the panel chaired by Catherine Coleborne on deinstitutionalisation to announce the reboot of the journal "History of Psychiatry" (@journals.sagepub.com) who has structured the field since 1990 #eahmh25 #histpsych #histmed #newcovertocome
- This, this, one thousand times this!
- Reposted by George SeversPostdoctoral Research Associate (16th-18th century focus) - Inclusive Histories - Royal Holloway #skystorians 🗃️#earlymodern #c18th jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
- This looks like an absolutely incredible recourse, and clearly the result of an immense amount of hard work. Congratulations to all involved!
- We are proud to announce that South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories, a landmark educational website on the histories of South Asians in Britain, is now live! Visit southasianbritain.org @qmul.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social @britishlibrary.bsky.social #AHRC @uobartsmatter.bsky.social
- My review of Geraldine Fela's excellent book on Australian HIV/AIDS nursing histories has just been published online in Oral History Review. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @gvagrad-gc.bsky.social
- Curatorial opportunity to work with Cambridge University Library on Black British Voices: Black British Collections. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOC683/p...
- Reposted by George SeversWonderful news this morning that @clairelanghamer.bsky.social the director of @ihr.bsky.social has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy. Warmest congratulations to Claire! www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
- Friends, does anyone have access to this article? Any help greatly appreciated! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by George SeversCutting "red tape" (aka public protections), as Reeves is doing, does not save money. Instead, it transfers costs from the rich to the poor. Other people pay for financial recklessness, filthy rivers, air pollution, lax building standards and consumer rip-offs. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
- Reposted by George SeversArt can't just be a luxury for the few. That requires a city where artists can actually afford to live and create, and where musicians don't just receive recognition but fair pay. That's what @local802.bsky.social organizes for and I'm so proud to have their endorsement.
- Great news! This will be such a useful resource.
- Thanks to a wonderful donation of original Bulletin journals I am digitising UKAHNs archive. Autumn 1985 no 5 is available. bulletin.ukahn.org/autumn-1984-... #histnursing
- Reposted by George SeversThanks to a wonderful donation of original Bulletin journals I am digitising UKAHNs archive. Autumn 1985 no 5 is available. bulletin.ukahn.org/autumn-1984-... #histnursing
- Pleased to see a firm stance being taken by the Swiss National Science Foundation opposing the Federal Council's proposed budgets cuts, and making the case for investment in research. www.snf.ch/en/9a7Fhnojt...
- Very excited to encounter Radical Acts out in the wild (namely the Waterstones on Birmingham New Street), especially to be in such esteemed company. I spot @historianhelen.bsky.social and @joannabourke.bsky.social here amongst many others! @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
- Reposted by George SeversDecent politicians need to push back against Farage's comments on Lucy Connelly. "millions of mothers after Southport feeling exactly the same way"? No. Millions did NOT feel the need to call for mass murder of asylum seekers & we simply cannot allow the idea to be normalised.
- Reposted by George SeversThe sheer barefaced dishonesty of a regime that is snatching people off the streets for their speech; painting over testimonials to women & minorities in US history; subjugating universities & trying to crush research into subjects it dislikes, standing as a champion of "free speech" is staggering.
- Reposted by George SeversMuch to say, but for now: hurrah! Congratulations to the relentless campaigners that made this happen and to Dartmoor National Park Authority for pursuing the case. A rare victory for people over property. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Reposted by George SeversWork like this, by David Carpenter and Nicholas Vincent (both Fellows @royalhistsoc.org), requires expertise, deep knowledge, judgement and analysis. Such work enriches us and culture. We should celebrate and value it as we do discoveries and breakthroughs in other walks of life #Skystorians
- Reposted by George SeversThose who are uncomfortable with this Labour immigration announcement, but think it's necessary to satisfy Reform voters, this is for you. You will not satisfy. You will never satisfy.
- Reposted by George SeversSo excited that this project is going to be happening with us in History! Such a great job for someone too 👇
- 🚨Job klaxon🚨 Opportunity for an oral historian interested in the history of swimming, water access and ‘blue spaces’ to work at Newcastle with the wonderful Elizabeth Turk on an interdisciplinary Wellcome project. Full details here jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...
- 🚨Job klaxon🚨 Opportunity for an oral historian interested in the history of swimming, water access and ‘blue spaces’ to work at Newcastle with the wonderful Elizabeth Turk on an interdisciplinary Wellcome project. Full details here jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl...
- Can't wait!
- Only 54 hrs 59 mins before the wonderful Professor Sameena Mulla gives what will be an enlightening and empathetic public lecture in London about race, racism, mothers, the family, violence and the US court system. Book a free ticket here. www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event...
- Reposted by George Severs#SomethingNew for today's #Archive30 We've recently taken in digital files created as part of the Black Social Workers' Oral History Project, to ensure that the stories continue to be heard long after the project ends #DigiPres More on the project at www.blacksocialworkersoralhistoryproject.co.uk
- Very exciting to see that Prof Sameena Mulla is coming to give a public lecture at Birkbeck 30 April at 18:00 as part of the @recovery-histories.bsky.social network. Full details below, do sign up and share widely! Link here www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event...
- So excited that @ruthbeecher.bsky.social ‘s amazing and important book is out which I was lucky enough to read some of in manuscript. It’s a sensitive study of how child sexual abuse was variably understood by community health practitioners. And open access! link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
- Opportunity to join the editorial board of Oral History, working with me on the Public History section. Full details here, please share! www.ohs.org.uk/volunteering...
- Reposted by George Seversmaybe she's born with it maybe she just decided to visit The Museum of English Rural Life on the first day of spring
- Reposted by George SeversLecturer in Health Inequalities, King's College London: #publichealth #demography #episky www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/109326-...
- Reposted by George SeversA lot of people who got the measles as children died or suffered lifelong disabilities as a result. The measles vaccine was a godsend to worldwide public health, and it’s an absolute scandal that this lethally ignorant dolt has any power over public health.
- Reposted by George SeversThree-year postdoc at Cambridge on 'Ireland and the "ends" of the British Empire'. www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50601/
- At the Oral History Journal, we're looking to recruit a new editor of our International Work section. The section highlights and promotes oral history projects across the world, keeping our readers informed about cutting-edge global oral history practice. Details here! www.ohs.org.uk/volunteering...
- Reposted by George SeversThere's also a lot of literature about how the welfare state WAS a warfare state...
- Reposted by George Severs(Call for papers) Postdoctoral Fellow: History of Modern (19th century-present) Medicine or Public Health histoiresante.blogspot.com/2025/03/post... #histSTM
