Broadsides

The Latest from Broadsides

A black and white print shows the internal gears of a chronograph. The circular shape of a watch or clock face is stuffed with machine parts. Gears, axels, and cogs all intersect in a busy pattern.

Deus in Machina: AI and Divine Rhetoric

“The urgent message from history concerning the process of forcing the metaphorical deus into his machina is that social domination readily takes up the language of philosophy or religion when seeking to reset social norms.”

Tobias Wilson-Bates

2 days ago

Data is the New Oil: Outside-in intelligence and the social and environmental consequences of AI

"After all, if the AI boom has taught us anything it is this: Data is the new oil, and the most pressing questions are, who owns it, who has access to it, and what should it be used for?"

Kevin Lambert

Feb 19

Norman L. Jones (1951-2026): A Remembrance

"As a final word, it’s hard to think of anyone who wore his brilliance with such modesty, grace, and generosity, and who put so many others before himself."

Susan Cogan and Robert Tittler

Feb 19

A black and white line illustration shows a figure in the center left, hunched reading a giant book. The figure is dwarfed by the stacks of enormous books that surround them. None of the books feature titles on the spines. The figure is intensely reading.

Reading, Assessment, and AI in English Studies

"The current anxiety around AI in English studies, however, cannot be understood in isolation from the longer institutional and colonial histories of the discipline, which parallel the institutional and colonial histories of AI itself."

Anushmita Mohanty

Feb 12

An illustration in mostly grayscale, with only a light pinkish sky and pops of light red for color, shows a decaying castle-like structure. Atop the structure, a woman lays dejectedly among the decay. A large robotic figure holding a light bulb and “T” looms behind and over the structure. Smaller human figures throughout the bottom portion of the crumbling structure engage in various activities.

The AI Takeover Is Not Inevitable: Now Is the Time to Resist

"Studying history, we know that nothing is inevitable."

Amy Woodson-Boulton

Feb 4

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Broadsides Series

Pride Month 2025

A photograph shows a horizontal stack of book spines. The works are various books written by John Broderick. One book lays with the cover exposed, a pencil sketch style drawing of a man siting on a couch, with the words “The Trial of Father Dillingham” above it.

Banning Books is Stupid, So Keep Writing

Averill Earls

Jun 25, 2025

“A Special Law Just for Us:” Negotiating Gender Recognition in Postwar Britain

Adrian Kane-Galbraith

Jun 23, 2025

“Not totally gay, I suppose”: Bisexuality and Multiple-Gender-Attraction in the Archives

Martha Robinson Rhodes

Jun 20, 2025

A detail shows a close up of the fireplace mantle and chandelier in the smoking room. The fireplace features carved marble and the chandelier is a bright gold.

Hyacinth at the End of the World: Queering William Burges, Eschatology, and Cardiff Castle

Katrina-Eve Nasidlowski Manica

Jun 18, 2025

British Studies Outside the Anglophone Academy

A dramatic seascape painting titled by Carl Neumann, depicting the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. The scene shows British and Danish warships engaged in intense naval combat amidst turbulent seas. Explosions and smoke rise from the ships, with cannon fire illuminating the dark sky. The Danish fleet is anchored near the coast, while British vessels maneuver in the foreground. The painting captures the chaos and scale of the battle, with detailed depictions of the ships' rigging and the surrounding environment.

Teaching Incidental British History around the Globe

Jessica Hanser

May 8, 2025

A stylized oil painting depicting a fairground scene from 1931. The central figure is a Black man dressed in a bright red coat and white gloves, standing in front of a velvet-draped entrance to a carnival ride. The background features a shadowy, indistinct figure, adding to the mysterious atmosphere. The composition reflects Philpot's modernist approach, characterized by flattened forms and bold color contrasts, capturing the allure and intrigue of the fairground setting.

Teaching Black London in Pandemic Paris

Laura Carter

May 6, 2025

The Prospects for British Imperial History: The View from Macau

Joshua Ehrlich

May 1, 2025

"Detailed black and white engraving showing San Domingo Street in Santiago, Chile, in 1822. The scene features colonial-era buildings with tiled roofs lining a wide, unpaved street. Several figures in period clothing walk or stand along the street, including women in long dresses and men in coats and hats. In the background, the Andes mountains rise prominently, partially veiled in haze, anchoring the setting in a South American landscape. The perspective draws the viewer's eye down the street toward the distant mountains, capturing the architectural and natural elements of 19th-century Santiago."

Addressing the Inequality of Languages: a proposal for teaching and writing British History from Latin America

Laura Tavolacci

Apr 29, 2025

Britain and the US Presidency

Washington, US Revolution, and the British Atlantic

Troy Bickham

Jan 24, 2025

In the Graveyard of Empires: The United States, Britain and the Afghan War

Sarah Burns

Jan 22, 2025

Public Utterances and Private Thoughts: A Perspective on the Eisenhower and Churchill Relationship

Justin Olmstead

Jan 20, 2025

London & the Making of Herbert Hoover

Tammy Proctor

Jan 17, 2025

British Studies: State of the Field

A Way Forward: Look Local

Priya Satia

Feb 16, 2024

A Teachable Moment?

Catherine Chou

Feb 13, 2024

British History, Once and Future

David Cressy

Feb 9, 2024

British History in Canada: No Jobs, No Field

Ted McCormick

Feb 6, 2024

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Historiography of Ireland/Northern Ireland Series

"The Irish do not live in the past rather Ireland’s history lives in the present"

Laura McAtackney

Nov 3, 2023

Why the Inertia? Situated Knowledge and Action in Northern Ireland

Jennifer Todd

Oct 31, 2023

The Start of the Troubles and Real Politics

Simon Prince

Oct 25, 2023

Consensus and Debate: Walking the 'New' Northern Ireland

Elizabeth DeYoung

Oct 20, 2023

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Broadsides is the official blog for the North American Conference on British Studies. This digital forum offers an accessible, communal space to host scholarly discussion of interest to our membership. You can read more about this NACBS initiative here.

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