Dr Beckie Rutherford (she/her)

@beckierutherford.bsky.social

Historian of disability, gender and sexuality in modern Britain | UKRI Research Fellow @voicesofmotherhood.bsky.social | erstwhile History Workshop and Warwick

@beckierutherford.bsky.social

"A radical horizon instead invites us to question the limit: it asks if our horizon is indeed the limit & if we could situate it somewhere else. The history of disability offers a particularly relevant & interesting way into this question." So good to see Paul's brilliant work in Radical Horizons!

@saimanasar.bsky.socialReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

Please join us in celebrating the Centre for Black Humanities’ tenth anniversary. CBH is holding a two-day symposium titled ‘Collectivity, Community, Collaboration’. Our keynote will be Professor Christina Sharpe. Cfp below. Please spread the word!

CALL FOR PAPERS Centre For Black Humanities 10th Anniversary Symposium: ‘Black Humanities: Collectivity, Community, Collaboration’ Keynote Speaker: Professor Christina Sharpe 8-9 th April 2027 University of Bristol The Centre for Black Humanities is an interdisciplinary research collective dedicated to advancing scholarship on the artistic and intellectual contributions of people of African descent. It is inspired by and expands legacies of scholarship, art, and activism relating to Black lives across time and space. Building on our international and multilingual networks, and our home in the port city of Bristol, our research often engages with communities beyond traditional academic settings and addresses inequality and social justice through innovative collaborations. By centring an ethics of care and generosity, despite the chronic conditions of life in and beyond the academy, we support earlycareer scholars and visiting scholars/practitioners. In turn, we seek to interrogate and repurpose institutions of knowledge production such as universities, museums and publishing houses, within entangled contexts of reparative justice, decolonization, and the climate crisis. We imagine collectivity, community and collaboration as methods for Black Humanities research going forwards.To celebrate the Centre’s 10-year anniversary, we will be holding a two-day symposium entitled: ‘Black Humanities: Collectivity, Community, Collaboration’. The keynote will be Professor Christina Sharpe, Research Chair in Black Studies in the Humanities at York University (Canada), and author of In the Wake: On Blackness and Being (2016) and Ordinary Notes (2024). We invite scholars and practitioners (at all levels, independent and affiliated) to submit abstracts for presentations of 15 minutes. The event will be held in person at the University of Bristol. We invite presentations that speak to Black Humanities in its multi/anti/undisciplinary forms. We are particularly interested in work that speaks to the following themes: - Collectivity, Collaboration and/or Community in Black Humanities - Black Humanities/Studies in times of polycrisis - Black Health - Environmental Justice - Radical Imaginaries (how creative works make sense of Black pasts/present and help to shape Black futures) - Methods for solidarity and/or incompleteness - Folklore and storytelling as method - Translation and multilingual solidarities - Beyond critique Please submit your abstract of no more than 250 words, along with a short bio of no more than 100 words, to cbh-publicity@bristol.ac.uk. Abstracts should be submitted no later than Friday 30th October 2026. A publication and podcast series are planned to follow on after this event. You may reach us at cbh-publicity@bristol.ac.uk in case of any questions or observations.
@lottelydia.bsky.socialReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

literally thousands of jobs in higher education were cut *last year alone* and there's been almost no media coverage and no government action

@beckierutherford.bsky.social

... I've ordered a copy of 'Disability: A History of Resistance' to the @worcesteruni.bsky.social library and will be using it this term to introduce students to the importance of disability history!

@beckierutherford.bsky.social

"Including disabled people in the story of Britain, which is what the book grandly tries to do, is about showing that disabled people are always there and that disability isn’t some kind of modern trend." Extremely timely reflections from @profdavidturner.bsky.social's new book project ...

@beckierutherford.bsky.social

"Every response will help build the evidence needed to ensure Disabled people are not overlooked in future climate and heatwave planning." Very important survey from @disrightsuk.bsky.social gathering disabled expertise on the impact of the climate crisis.

@royalhistsoc.orgReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

Applications now invited for the Society's next round of research funding: for Postgraduates, studying for a PhD, and Early Career Historians, within 5 years of completing a doctorate: bit.ly/4ywZi0S

Grants of £500-£1000 to pursue research. Closing date 4 December 2026 #Skystorians 1/2

@historyworkshop.org.ukReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

"Designed to provide access to public toilets for disabled people, the Radar Key reflects more than a material tool: it showcases wider debates around access, design, and spatial politics in modern Britain." Kirstie Stage on the radical nature of the Radar Key.

@voicesofmotherhood.bsky.socialReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

Exciting Update! Our website now includes pages on each of the eight projects we are currently working on 👀 👉 Disabled motherhood 👉 Genetic screening 👉 Grandmothers 👉 Maternal and child welfare associations (1/3)

A magazine article from 1986 called ‘Women, Disability and Reproductive Rights’ which features a photograph of a smiling white woman cuddling her baby. Image courtesy of Beckie Rutherford.The green front cover of a 1989 report published by the Royal College of Physicians entitled ‘Prenatal Diagnosis and Genetic Screening: Community and Service Implications’. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection.A 21st century photograph of an older Black woman holding a Black baby dressed in a white christening gown. They are stood in front of a vibrant, multi-coloured stained glass window. Image courtesy of Ayodele Adeniyi via UnSplash.A black and white portrait photograph of a smiling nurse handing a newborn baby to its mother. They are stood outside the doorway to a building and are both dressed in 1960s-era clothing. Image courtesy of the George Marshall Medical Museum.
@historyworkshop.org.ukReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

The Radar Key grants access to public toilets and is a small but crucial part of the history of disabled people demanding rights and independence in modern Britain. Kirstie Stage explores the little-known history of this radical object.

@tionneaparris.bsky.socialReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

Hi folks, Putting out a message here to ask if there are any UK orgs *you* represent, or may know of, that would be interested in hosting a talk about my new book in 2027. I am keen to share the incredible history of Black women radicals with basically anyone who will listen!

@voicesofmotherhood.bsky.socialReposted by @beckierutherford.bsky.social

Two of our team are very much looking forward to attending @caring-communities.bsky.social 'Rethinking Histories of Care, Class, and Kinship, 1800-present' conference in Newcastle later this week. We'll be taking part in this excellent panel, and are also excited to hear others' brilliant research!

@beckierutherford.bsky.social

My time at History Workshop is sadly coming to an end but it's been a huge joy to publish two final additions to Reimagining Disability (the series I launched in 2024 which now has 11 articles/podcasts in total) Firstly @hspandler.bsky.social's brilliant piece on the politics of madzines...