Guys I hate to break it to you, but under capitalism, automation improves productivity but doesn't actually reduce the amount of time workers must work to survive. Instead, productivity gains are captured as profit. Only worker organizing will reduce our labor time. Yes, this applies to 'AI'

Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/

We’re n3 in the Sunday Times league table! … oh wait @ucuhallam.bsky.social

Generous tech advice if you're thinking about starting a journal

Alex Gil@elotroalex.bsky.social · 2w ago

Yesterday, we launched Archipelagos Issue No. 9. Essays are amazing, but I wanted to talk also about the changes to the platform, which may be of general interest to all scholars who want to or run an academic journal. First, this is a static site (low maintenance, low cost, low security issues) 🧵

🚨 BREAKING: Staff and PGRs at Sheffield University have voted overwhelmingly to no confidence the whole University executive board and council over their relentless attacks on jobs, pressure at work and a failing restructure project.

Unions have launched a campaign to defend the “freedom of libraries and librarians” from anti-LGBT+ political interference following a spate of clampdowns by Reform-run councils

Reform Councils Accused of Seeking to Hide LGBT+ Books in Libraries as Unions Fight to Keep Pride on the Shelves

TUC report says restrictions on Pride displays and rainbow lanyards are spreading across a growing number of Reform-controlled authorities

bylinetimes.com

I am hiring a Research Associate to join my team at Scholars at Risk: apply.interfolio.com/191007. Great way to get started in international human rights work, particularly if you have an interest in academic freedom

The smirks… sad, sad day. Also be very afraid.

Gregory Kohn@kohngregory.bsky.social · 3w ago

In the wake of Arday's death, Nathan Cofnas (who led the X mob against him) states his motivation. Beyond whistleblowing, he states that after a 'revolution' removes professors like Arday, it will open opportunities for him to become 'head of the department of eugenics and race science at Harvard'.

Fellowship Opportunity www.humanities.utoronto.ca/news/2027-28...

The EA exists to bring the English subject community together for support, collaboration, and collective action. We can’t do this without our brilliant staff team, dedicated trustees, and hardworking volunteers! ❤️🥳🙌 Follow 🧵 for more !

Marking final undergraduate research project of the academic year. This reminds me what all the work is about 😃

Zeus discovers the electric fan! He’s never seen one before

Lecturer in English Literature (12 Months) Liverpool John Moores University Salary: £38,784 to £46,049 per annum www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSD064/l...

Damn right!

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

First they came for the languages. In the hope that no one would have the words to say what was happening. 1/9🧵

"Should this situation continue unchecked, the damage to the health of HE, research and innovation will be profound and have long-lasting consequences. We need an immediate, substantial and comprehensive review of UK higher education and research, and a commitment to act on its recommendations."

Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 2mo ago

"What was once a worrying trend across a small number of disciplines is now an emergency, threatening all subjects. Courses are closing, provision is contracting, and geographical inequalities in access are becoming entrenched. Important skills and capabilities ... are being lost." #Skystorians

‘This direction of travel risks irreversible damage to UK higher education and research, to scholarship, and to our capacity to shape the future…diminishing opportunities for students, widening regional inequalities, and the erosion of knowledge, evidence and expertise on which the UK depends.’

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

British Academy President's statement on the UK's higher education crisis, July 2026.

Lecturer in #Medieval #Literature #jobin #Newcastle. Hey #MedievalSky! Come work with me! (Really, with me on co-taught Medieval English Lit modules.) Closing Date: 2026-07-09 Fixed Term, 10 months Sept-June. jobs.ncl.ac.uk/job/Newcastl... #JobFairy #Academic #AcademicPost

Why not pitch a review to one of the best sff criticism sites out there? They even give you a list of some great forthcoming books to consider!

Ancillary Review of Books@ancillaryreviewofbooks.org · 2mo ago

BIG list of books we're interested in seeing coverage for in October, and we haven't even listed all the excellent horror on the way (feel free to pitch!):

Utopia/Dystopia symposium at the University of Sydney October 9, 2026, co-hosted by Anthropology and @sydsts.bsky.social @aussts.bsky.social #anthro #sts

“Is the sector really committed to sustaining anything like a full humanistic and cultural education? Because this is not a luxury in a climate of polarised and historically myopic conflict.” Rowan Williams asks THE question. The government needs to answer it too. Where is the leadership?

The English Association@englishassociation.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The public historian, author and creator of the You’re Dead to Me podcast Greg Jenner warned…”The arts and humanities are fundamental to the flourishing of our society; knowledge gathering, critical thinking and creativity should be defended as sacred things.”

Applications for the Postdoctoral Fellowships are open. This fellowship is a three-year award made to an annual cohort of outstanding early-career researchers in the humanities or social sciences. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4xWduAS

There’s a permanent modern British history post going at Manchester 🎉Come and join a great department and please share with anyone who might be interested. (Don’t let the short deadline put you off). #skystorians 🗃️

Lecturer in Modern British History (post-1800) at The University of Manchester

Apply now for the Lecturer in Modern British History (post-1800) role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

jobs.ac.uk

“The rise of a highly paid class of managers who do neither teaching nor research right at the time of an emerging financial crisis is testimony to a failure of leadership on their part. The fact that it is they who are exempt from redundancies … is bitterly ironic.”

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

'What is perhaps remarkable about the Exeter cuts is that they are targeted at some of the university’s most successful departments, many of which turn over a profit even after they have made enormous and increasing contributions to the central university budget.' Read, rage and weep.

PRESS RELEASE: UCU Hallam secures major win as Sheffield Hallam University drops plans for subsidiary company. See ucuhallam.org/ezm8 for more info.

With hardly any media coverage one of Britain’s few world-leading sectors is, right now, being decimated. The university funding model does not work and anti-immigrant hysteria has deprived the country of the means by which we met the shortfall: international students.

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A grim day in a grim week in a grim month for UK higher education, with Dundee, Exeter and Hertfordshire all making major announcements of planned redundancies. Shrinkage of the research & teaching base by the invisible hand's visible fist is not an 'us' or 'them', SHAPE or STEM phenomenon. 1/2

there's a lot to say about how UK universities have been managed, but one thing that is particularly dumbfounding is how the vice chancellors and managers (etc) have apparently not managed to get *any* politicians on their side. Truly an astounding feat.

Stephen Shapiro@stephenshapiro.bsky.social · 3mo ago

UK to Universities: drop dead archive.is/PN5y7

A statement from Exeter UCU branch @ucu.org.uk - please share far and wide.

The vast, vast majority of unis are, like mine, teaching-first institutions. Maybe we stop attacking & start funding them? Could we try that instead?

Chronicle of Higher Education@chronicle.com · 3mo ago

Opinion | Liberal education once prepared students for citizenship. Reviving it will require a radical shift: less academic research, far more serious teaching. https://chroni.cl/4uJBSmy

Two-year early modern English job, at Oriel College and the Oxford English Faculty, starting October. Happy to field any questions! my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

'A less than five-minutes-long Teams call with no opportunity to respond is how staff at the University of Dundee heard that their jobs, the courses that they teach and their livelihoods might be at risk. I ask members to think about that for a moment.' (Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) 1/5

The Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament examines what the Scottish Government is doing, makes new laws on devolved matters and debates the issues of the day.

parliament.scot