Happy Christmas everyone! Now, while many folk will be enjoying turkey this holiday season, for historians the traditional festive dish is beef, served HOT.
So, to help us all survive the annual Beef Season, here’s a game we can play. Points every time you see one of the following:
Something is described as ‘performative’. 10 points.
It is suggested that someone is a bad historian because of their topic or methodology. 20 points. Double if the phrase ‘You’re a bad historian if...’ is used.
A subtweet so obvious the target might as well have been tagged in. 10 points.
Subtweet involving the word ‘performative’. 30 bonus points.
Someone getting upset thinking that a subtweet is aimed at them when it isn’t: 40 points.
Blue-tick historian with 100k followers ruining the day of an academic with only 200 by quote-tweeting them (‘Owen Jonesing’). 10 points.
Rightwing dunce appears quoting Niall Ferguson. 20 points.
Someone mentions Nigel Biggar even when he isn’t relevant. 20 points.
Snitch-tweet. 30 points.
‘It’s probably the fault of the supervisor...’ 40 points.
Government attempts to bring in stupendously idiotic policy/person in relation to universities on New Years Eve. 100 points.
Someone writes a sensible, measured thread balancing the various different issues in relation to the Recent Beef. It is kind, positive, and helps calm the waters. 2 RTs 10 Likes. 10 points.
For no apparent reason, Toby Young appears. 20 points.
The Guardian and New Statesman get wind and hastily commission articles on the Beef. These add nothing. 30 points.
Someone tweets that this beef has been fun, but they really must get back to work. They do this at 11am on Boxing Day. 20 points.
A rancorous debate about performative overwork ensues. 20 points.
A man pops up to explain something to the female leading expert on the subject. Inexplicably, the man is wrong. 1 point.
Someone blames the whole thing on Oxbridge. 10 points.
It’s actually not Oxbridge’s fault on this occasion. 400 points.
And finally: a historian pens an entire thread subtweeting his entire discipline, including himself. 30 points.
Merry Christmas!
