Andrew WM Smith's avatar

Andrew WM Smith

@smidbob.bsky.social

250 followers 277 following 249 posts

Historian of Modern France, Director of Liberal Arts at QMUL, Councillor at RHS

Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Busy & varied week so far! Book-writing, meetings around admissions & clearing, a school visit yesterday, editorial work for Paper Trails this morning & then it is off to an event at the French Ambassador's Residence this afternoon!

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Spoke about the stunning result in the French Legislative election on France24. Key points: this was not a victory for Macron, the left's victory creates a route for the politics of hope, & fighting the far right starts today rather than finishing last night: www.france24.com/en/video/202...

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Les Jours's avatar Les Jours @lesjours.fr
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20h02: Les chiffres sont tombés et c’est une énorme surprise. Selon TF1 et l’Ifop, c’est le Nouveau Front populaire qui arrive en tête avec 180 à 215 députés élus (contre 142 il y a deux ans). On inspire, on expire.
🖼️ Loïc Sécheresse
➡️ lesjours.fr/obsessions/d...

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will pooley 's avatar will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social
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“Documenting the ‘new normal’ meant recording inclusively and creatively. It meant orientating personal testimony to the needs of the present as well as the future. It supplied a therapeutic tool for self-help but also a relational thread connecting people during unimaginably stressful times.” 🗃️

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Wheeled my old, tired rhetorical device to the polling station today. It said, "which box to vote for a change?" Everyone cheered

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Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾's avatar Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾 @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social
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NEW POST: This week's thematic round-up of reading and listening recommendations, covering contested histories of political ideas; the coming Labour government; bordering practices; and animation and cinema. All reposts much appreciated. X
#skystorians 🗃️ #polisky #filmsky

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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I think they can definitely be sustainable in their own right, but are extremely vulnerable to both external shocks and institutional whim

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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The Royal Historical Society has published an update to the Race, Ethnicity & Equality report, which follows data and trends since its initial release: royalhistsoc.org/society-publ...

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Terrence Peterson's avatar Terrence Peterson @tgpeterson.bsky.social
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Do you have a podcast related to military history, counterinsurgency, or decolonization? Are you teacjing a course that touches on related topics? I would love to join you to talk about my book!

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Henri Rousseau eat your heart out! My daughter made this for her homework. Papier mache tiger (who came to tea) hiding in the grass

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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I should add the Labour candidate came to our door and we were just back from swimming, so were embarrassingly in PJs! Plus the Lib Dem candidate works at QM, so I've seen him at work

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Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾's avatar Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾 @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social
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Does anyone know of any resources/support networks etc directed at people who have had periods out of academia post-ECR stage, including due to redundancy, and are again applying for work in the sector? Particularly in a UK context. #skystorians 🗃️ #polisky

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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I'm technically in Wimbledon constituency (by a whisker) and we had a Worker's Party leaflet through the door. Reckon they must be losing their deposit here

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Best thing about the football tonight, for me, is Modric doing well. Playing in the Champion's League final, scoring in the Euros and... almost uniquely for professional players... is older than me. I've still got a chance!

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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*laughs in man with no plan* *weeps in man with similarly overlength chapters*

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Bryn Hammond's avatar Bryn Hammond @brynleyh.bsky.social
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Is anyone able to tell anything about the script used here on these very faintly marked map sections? It is possible that the writing is reversed. Is it Arabic? Ottoman script perhaps? Any help greatly appreciated.

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Just about to head down to West Sussex to speak to the Chichester Historical Association branch about Franco-British connections, the Second World War, and Rod Kedward's model of routes & roots of resistance

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Depends if it is US/UK date order! 8th Jan might be some sort of intelligence work (maybe see annexe of Hugh Verity's book on clandestine flights), or if 1st August it is the day after its Liberation!

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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I read Avranches in the picture before seeing your caption

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Margot Finn's avatar Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social
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"The British Academy study says that rather than being “low value”, such courses play a vital role in the UK’s £108bn creative industries and have become increasingly relevant in a world grappling with new technologies, artificial intelligence and the dangers of disinformation." 1/2

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Bravery medal citation: we watched the Paris shark film last night & still took my daughter swimming this morning. Extra embarrassment: back & showered, we're all in pyjamas at 3pm, just in time to gabble excuses for that to the various political canvassers at the door

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Genuinely think I might have been there for longer

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Quick thread with a couple of clips from recent news appearances on France24 (which I realise I posted on the other place, but not here)

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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It can get offensive pretty quickly! My goal was to try and imaginatively recreate the encounter where a non French speaking man with broad Irish accent told a non English speaking French man their name. My medium was basically muppet theatre, but I'm sure it would translate into the digital realm

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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We'd need to propose a project at Council to do a big review & it'd need to go beyond French/Francophone. I roll off Council in Nov so couldn't lead it (as I'm currently on another project which completes in Nov). I can ask around tho. There was a UK jobs data survey - was it HistoryUK that did it?

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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I want to trademark my new methodological innovation, however. Best so far has been working out the name of an IRA member who visited the plateau (with a nonsense name in the newspaper) which I read phonetically in a dodgy French accent to a specialist on the Troubles. We managed to identify him!

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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My word, the range of names spelled wrongly in the press (and other documents) with which I am wrestling in this Larzac book is wild!

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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Important statement from the Society for Renaissance Studies in defence of history in all its depth & breadth. Collectively, we have much to learn from the study of the premodern world, & that richness shouldn't be sacrificed on the altar of recency nor relatability www.rensoc.org.uk/statement-on...

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Andrew WM Smith's avatar Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social
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We headed to the National Archives this morning on a mission for the Ministry of Time Travel! My daughter loved looking round and solving clues as a half term trip

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Jane Winters's avatar Jane Winters @jfwinters.bsky.social
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If you’re reviewing a grant proposal and you think it’s a brilliant idea, don’t nitpick. Give it the highest score or it won’t get funded. They can sort out that issue about the number of meetings.

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Margot Finn's avatar Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social
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Six nuggets from today's THE series on fixing UK universities: "And we must encourage and facilitate investment beyond STEM, noting that the UK has enormous depth and breadth in the social sciences, creative arts and humanities, which also lends itself to innovation opportunities." Irene Tracey 1/6

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Laura Sangha's avatar Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social
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Many thanks to Will for writing! I often encourage undergrads to use excel for notetaking and analysis, and now I can point them to this top advice 👍

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