Laura C Forster

In it we have a chapter on the policing of friendship. It covers #spycops, and, precisely as you put it, the infiltration of political intimacies, the state poisoning of activist intimacies

Myself and Joel White recently wrote a book - Friends in Common (Pluto) - which connects the late nineteenth century with the recent past (c. 1970s - 2000s), in terms of how friendship was a key component in both radicalising and animating political commitments

thanks Dave - the short answer is yes! Not explicitly here, but my thinking about forms of intimate activism and interest in the explicit desire for and practice of friendship as part of political organising has certainly grown out of frustratiion with easy crits of post-68 period

This is really excellent and informative, as ever. From the best @eskandarsadeghi.bsky.social

The rest of the special issue can be accessed here (much of it open access): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17500206... it's full of brilliant scholarship on political organising in the 19th century

It argues that intimacies shared on the road – flashes of affinity, mishaps, meals, beds & boredom – were central to making socialists

Travelling Activists, Radical Hospitality and the Intimate History of Socialist Organising in Britain, c.1880–1914* This article considers the political lecture tour, and particularly the travelling socialist caravan tours organised by Clarion socialists at the end of the 19th century, to argue that, for socialist...

I've got a new article out @parlhistjournal.bsky.social 💥 It's about late 19thC socialist caravan tours & the production of everyday forms of cross-cultural connection & provincial internationalisms that were vital for the development of socialist ideas in this period

🥳🥳🥳 so happy to hear this Constance!! Richly deserved!

History Workshop in Turbulent Times How can history offer illumination and hope at a time of global upheaval and chaos?

What does history have to offer to a world beset by upheaval?

@lauracforster.bsky.social, @julialaite.bsky.social, Laura Schwartz, Anne Irfan and Jo Kelcey consider the complexities of this question in our new podcast 🎙️

CONFERENCE - 'Sociability & Political Life', University of York, 3rd/4th July 2026

Get your abstracts in by 14th Feb!

The cover of History Workshop Journal 100. The cover is a woodland green, and shows an abstract illustration of a coniferous tree based on Sadiah Qureshi's article on the Wollemi pine.

The latest issue of History Workshop Journal is out now, and it marks two exciting milestones: 50 years and 100 issues of innovative radical history.

You can read the journal on the HWJ website through the link below!

academic.oup.com/hwj...

CONFERENCE - 'Sociability & Political Life', University of York, 3rd/4th July 2026

Get your abstracts in by 14th Feb!

New episode announcement image for the Interdependent Study podcast featuring a gray background with black marks and stylized image renderings of the cohosts in each bottom corner of the image with episode title The Radical Practice of Friendship in yellow text

📖 EPISODE 230! 📖

In today’s episode, we discuss the book Friends in Common: Radical Friendship and Everyday Solidarities by @lauracforster.bsky.social and @joeljoel.bsky.social (and published by @plutopress.bsky.social).

Looking forward to listening to more of your episodes!

@interdependentstudy.com thank you so much for this thoughtful & generous reading - great to hear you enjoyed the book 🙌

History Workshop Journal’s 100th Issue: a celebration Speakers include former and newer editors, and friends of the journal. Tea, coffee and a drink will be provided.

Next year we are co-hosting a celebration event with @rshc.bsky.social to mark the 100th issue of History Workshop Journal.

📍Birkbeck, University of London
🗓️Saturday 31 January 2026
⏱️14:00-18:00

Everyone welcome! Please make sure to book via the link below.

It's beautiful! Congratulations Stuart!

This is tonight! 6pm! York! Come along if you're in the neighbourhood

Labour Movements and Movements of Labour in Britain and its Empire York historians explore 19th-century labour politics, transnational radicalism, and indentured migration following the abolition of slavery.

On Wednesday at 6pm my two fantastic colleagues Purba Hossain and @lauracforster.bsky.social are having a joint book launch for their new monographs at Kings Manor in the centre of York. If you're interested you can sign up at the Eventbrite here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/labour-mov....

Thanks for reading Ole - I love your work!

💕

📢Call For Papers📢
Sociability & Political life

Marc Jaffré & I are organising a conference! We're asking: can there be politics without sociability? How have friendship, intimacy, socialising & informal attachments been central to political projects & movements?

Get your abstracts in by Feb 14th!

Writing history in a time of genocide Anne Irfan asks, what does it mean to write the history of a place as it is being destroyed before our very eyes?

"Palestinians experience the displacement of the 2020s genocide not as a singular event, but as part of a repeated cycle."

Anne Irfan on the importance of writing Gaza's history.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that a big piece of Mamdani’s campaign was simply “cities are cool and lots of people enjoy living in them” which in and of itself dismantles alot of rightwing talking points

The Curriers’ Prize The Worshipful Company of Curriers, has established an essay prize on the history of London, in association with The London Journal Trust and the IHR.

The Curriers' Prize is now open! Submit your best unpublished essay on any aspect of London's history, and you could get a £1,000 award!

Full details: 👇 w ww.history.ac.uk/funding/awards-bursaries-prizes/curriers-prize

Thanks Alasdair!

In the midst of political pessimism, this episode on friendship as transformative power gave me some hope.

Joel & I in conversation with the wonderful @marybethhamilton13.bsky.social - talking about friendship, forms of belonging, & revolutionary histories for @historyworkshop.org.uk

Friends in Common How might we reassess friendship as a transformative, even revolutionary, political resource?

How might we reassess friendship as a transformative, even revolutionary, political resource?

Laura Forster (@lauracforster.bsky.social) and Joel White (@joeljoel.bsky.social) join Marybeth Hamilton (@marybethhamilton13.bsky.social) to discuss the radical potential of friendship 🎙️🗃️

Here is a very specific thing you can do right now that will meet the moment quite nicely Maybe do it five or six times, actually

"You want a movement, I hear. We all do. But the question is never “will somebody do something?” They are. We are. Our job is to notice, and to ensure that none of our flames burn out."

Also our job is to join in, where we can, how we can, with what we have.

open.substack.com/pub/thewhite...