Emily Whittingham

Wright of Derby: From the Shadows (National Gallery) - BSECS The silence of light and shadow dulls the chatter of Wright’s subjects, immobilising squabbling children and gesticulating lecturers into quiet, almost spectral forms.

I'm delighted to share my review for the National Gallery's 'Wright of Derby' Exhibition has been published on the @bsecs.bsky.social criticks blog!

The exhibition is open until the 10th of May and I'd thoroughly recommend it. To read why, follow the link below:

www.bsecs.org.uk/criticks-rev...

Suggestion accepted, motion passed!

I'm excited to share I've been selected as a PG Rep for @bsecs.bsky.social. I'm looking forward to joining the team, and for the postgrad events we will plan together!

Thank you to our sponsors, @crems-york.bsky.social, @cecs-york.bsky.social, and @anthropocenebio.bsky.social, who have made this event possible.

You now have until the 15th of February to send in your applications for our upcoming workshop on historical approaches to the non-human, ran in collaboration with @northernenvhistory.bsky.social.

Some fantastic applications in already, we look forward to reading yours!
🌿 🕷️ 🐀 🦠

With thanks to the @northernenvhistory.bsky.social, and our sponsors, @crems-york.bsky.social, @cecs-york.bsky.social, and @anthropocenebio.bsky.social.

There's still just over two weeks left to apply to our workshop exploring historical approaches to non-human life.

It will take place on 9-10th April 2026, and aims to bring together scholars across disciplinary divides.

PGR and ECR support available thanks to the generosity of our sponsors!

Rotifers - very popular with Victorian amateur microscopists - as illustrated in John Clegg's Freshwater Life (1974)

This workshop forms part of the @northernenvhistory.bsky.social network, and is hosted in collaboration with @cecs-york.bsky.social and @crems-york.bsky.social. We are very grateful for their support.

I'm delighted to share this CFP for our workshop on historical approaches to non-human life. Expect keynotes, collaborative discussions, and cake!

Being on the organising team has been great fun, and I look forward to reading your submissions. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Image taken from Francis Douce's notebook of microscopic observations, titled 'Animalcules No. I'. Manuscript held at the Weston Library, Oxford (MS. Douce, e.53). Copyright the property of @bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

First line of image text reads, 'A singular animalcule with fibrillae underneath of great power. Motion extremely swift like a jack of the lanthern. Transparent.'

My heartfelt thanks to the CSECS for inviting me to present at their annual conference. I particularly enjoyed sharing this description of an animalcule with a 'motion extremely swift like a jack of the lantern.' Very fitting for the spooky season! 🎃 🦠

@csecsscedhs.bsky.social

I had the amazing opportunity this week to visit Durham University and deliver my paper in their historic castle! 🏰

Thank you to the MEMSA team for organising the 'Illuminating Nature' conference, and for bringing this academic community together.
@durhammemsa.bsky.social

The Sense of Nature: SHNH Summer Meeting, June 2025 by Josephine Koopman - Society for the History of Natural History SHNH Summer Meeting by Josephine Koopman, Researcher (Department of History, European University Institute) “The senses,” Michel de Montaigne wrote in 1588, “are the beginning and the end of human kno...

I enjoyed reading this piece by Josephine Koopman on the SHNH summer conference. It offers a wonderful summary of the presentations we heard, and teases out the shared themes our papers raised. Thank you Josephine!

shnh.org.uk/the-sense-of...
@sochistnathist.bsky.social

For a 19th century UK example, you might find Tim Cassedy's article 'Minimismal Monsters in Our Blood and Brains' interesting (see Literature and Medicine vol 37, 2019). He examines the case study of John Gilchrist who advocated for homeopathic treatment in 1833. It's a very curious case study!

I had a great time talking about the optics of microscopy at this year's SHNH conference! 🔬 I come away feeling enriched by the papers we heard and the conversations we shared.

Thank you to @ellelarsson.bsky.social and @sochistnathist.bsky.social for organising such a fantastic conference!

I had a great time at the Feathers conference listening to some fascinating papers on early modern scribal culture and exploring a beautiful city. 🖋️

Thank you to @misswalsingham.bsky.social and the Feathers team for organising the conference and for inviting me to speak!

Scribes and Inky Fingerprints: Collaborative and Mediated Authorship in Early Modern English Manuscripts This three-day international conference hosted at Leiden University by the ERC Consolidator-funded FEATHERS project aims to bring together researchers working on early modern scribal culture and manus...

I'll be travelling to Leiden this week to talk about poetry and scribal cultures in seventeenth-century Oxford. Looking forward to exploring the city and seeing some early modern manuscripts!

I'm looking forward to discussing magnification and illumination at this year's SHNH conference! 🔍 ✨

Making transparencies!