Elly Robson Dezateux

Sending love to you and your kiddo as you move through these days, Julia

Screenshot of the first page of Violent Waters book.

Cover of 'Violent Waters: Environmental Politics in Early Modern England' by Elly Robson Dezateux

*Violent Waters: Environmental Politics in Early Modern England*

An important new book from @ellydezateux.bsky.social shows 'how environments were politically constructed and contested, and how environmental concerns inflected politics'. 🗃️

Cambridge UP: www.cambridge.org/core/books/v...

Feel free to dm me if you need help to access the book

Front cover of Violent Waters: Environmental Politics in Early Modern England by Elly Robson Dezateux.

Blurb of Violent Waters: How were environments and politics remade by sovereigns, floods, mapmakers, migrants, rioters, and writers during wetland improvement projects in early modern England? Violent Waters examines flagship ventures which promised to transform unruly fenland fringes into orderly terrain at the heart of national power and productivity. In practice, these projects sparked constitutional controversy, new floods, and huge riots. The first state-led project in Hatfield Level brought local, national, and transnational interests into contact and conflict for almost a century. Elly Robson Dezateux traces the environmental politics that emerged as water and land were constructed and contested, both mentally and materially. These disputes pivoted on urgent questions about risk and justice, which became entangled in civil war conflict and exposed the limits of central authority and technology. Ultimately, improvement was destabilised by a lack of legitimacy and the dynamism of local custom as a method of environmental management and collective action. Wetland communities, as much as improvers and sovereigns, remade the terrain of politics and the future of the fens.

Violent Waters: Environmental Politics in Early Modern England is out now with Cambridge University Press: www.cambridge.org/core/books/v...

This watery, riotous book has been more than a decade in the making, and I'm delighted to see it out in the world to live its own life!

Thank you Liesbeth. I wrote the book, and especially the introduction, in the hope that it would make environmental history accessible to first year undergraduates - so it means a lot to hear this!

Last call for applications to 2 paid, part-time editorial fellowships at History Workshop.

Come and work with us! Hands-on training and experience in public history within a supportive and creative team of ECRs.

Deadline: this Friday

Title page of Brodie Waddell and Jason Peacey (Editors), The Power of Petitioning in Early Modern Britain

Access stats showing 4,239 views/downloads since May 2024.

Our #OpenAccess collection on the #PowerOfPetitioning in early modern Britain has only been out for a year and amazingly it's been downloaded over 4,000 times from @uclpress.bsky.social. So pleased to see all the interest in petitioning! Get your free copy here:
uclpress.co.uk/book/the-pow...

The ‘Daisies’ of the Amandla Cultural Ensemble How did South African women use culture to build an international anti-apartheid movement? Kebotlhale Motseathata on life in exile with the Amandla Cultural Ensemble

How did South African women use culture to build an international anti-apartheid movement?

Kebotlhale Motseathata on life in exile with the Amandla Cultural Ensemble.

www.historyworkshop....

Indigenous Historical Practices Delve into Indigenous history with our History Workshop series, highlighting complex systems of historical knowledge and their significance.

How can we better approach the histories of Indigenous peoples?

Mary Katherine Newman introduces a new History Workshop series which will introduce a range of scholars, educators, and activists and the ways in which they examine Indigenous histories.

www.historyworkshop....

Speaking at the first of these events next week. Come along if you're in Oxford!

Support resources for our trans friends and allies | Good Law Project At a time when anti-trans discrimination is rife and hate crime has reached record levels, it’s important to know what support is out there for trans, non-binary or gender-questioning individuals and ...

On what is a really difficult day, here are some resources for our trans friends and allies.

Solidarity 💜
goodlawproject.org/resource/sup...

The Supreme Court sided with FWS.

But it didn’t hear from a single trans person.
This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and erases trans women from protections. It puts trans rights back 20 years.

We won't stop fighting for trans rights 🏳️‍⚧️

What do you wish you'd known *before* you began indexing your book?

All advice gratefully received 📖👀📝😬

F*Choir for Life! Crowdfunder 2025 YouTube video by F Choir

I'm proud to be in a queer feminist choir. Community & queer joy feel urgent right now - but it's a struggle to sustain utopian projects when space & funding are in short supply.

Today, we're launching a fundraiser to keep F*Choir thriving. Contribute what you can!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFft...

It's easy to dismiss or ridicule far-right ideology, but how do they mobilise support from women or ethnic minorities?

This rediscovered talk by Martin Durham highlights important continuities between the suffragette & fascist movements in 1930s Britain - in personnel and demands.

Very excited about this new series on History Workshop - From Place to Place - curated by my colleague Vivien Chan (@inoutofpractice.bsky.social).

You can read their brilliant introduction to itinerant histories here.

They will call it: fatbergris

Writing is thinking.

It’s not a part of the process that can be skipped; it’s the entire point.

Rethinking State and Society in Early Modern Britain — CEMS KCL Blog Conference on the state and society in early modern Britain.

Really looking forward to this conference at KCL on Tuesday.

I'll be speaking about how putting the environment in the picture refigures relationships between state and society.

There are still tickets available and it's free to attend:
kingsearlymodern.co.uk/events/confe...

Radical Reads 2024, recommended by me and fellow History Workshop editors 📚👀

59% of those consulted opposed a ban.
And yet

History Workshop History Workshop is a digital magazine of radical history. It seeks to deepen understandings of the past, cast fresh light on the present and agitate for change in the world we live in now.

Hello to all our new followers! We are History Workshop 👋

We seek to
🕯️ deepen understandings of the past
🔥 cast fresh light on the present
☄️ agitate for change in the world

You can read & listen to cutting-edge radical history at www.historyworkshop.org.uk

NZ research funding/defunding: “The focus of the Fund will shift to core science, with the humanities and social sciences panels disbanded and no longer supported. Real impact on our economy will come from areas such as physics, chemistry, maths, engineering and biomedical sciences." Grim.

Jaw dropping

At History Workshop, we've put together a radical histories Starter Pack.

It's been joyful to bring together such brilliant researchers, projects and organisations in one place - and of course, there are so many more not yet on Bluesky and not yet on this list.

Thanks Sadiah :) Hope the final touches on your book are going well

Signed the contract for my book - Violent Waters: Environmental Politics in Early Modern England - with Cambridge University Press today.

As my book begins its journey into other people's brains, very pleased to see that the contract includes a section titled 'Death of the Author'.

At History Workshop, we have a long history of publishing articles on the history of food and eating.

From the history of the pineapple to the legacy of the soon-to-close Smithfield meat market, this🧵 is sure to make you hungry (for history)!

(Part 1)

🍍 🍓 🍽️ 🥩 🍜 🍈

This v large picture of my face is a good excuse to share one of the work hats I wear.

History Workshop is a digital magazine of radical history, which deepens understandings of the past, casts light on the present & agitates for change in the world today.

Take a peek: www.historyworkshop.org.uk

A slate gravestone with a carving of a leg and thigh.

🧵 #DisabilityHistoryMonth 🧵

“The left leg and part of the thigh of Henry Hughes Cooper was cut off & interr’d here June 18th, 1756” 🦵

📍 Ystrad Fflur ⛪️

#Wales #History