Joanne Begiato
@jbhist.bsky.social
Prof of History & Material Culture Studies. Associate Dean for Research @lcflondon.bsky.social. The Victorian Hand Project funded by AHRC. Happily married to @medhistoryman.bsky.social
Simon Marginson in today's @timeshighered.bsky.social : "The wheels are now rapidly falling off the 2012 funding system" in England. Treasury displays "no signs of awareness or concern about the devastation of the nation's capacity in higher education". What would a wheeled UKHE bus look like? 1/7
Wolverhampton 'is currently in the middle of a restructure and redundancy process, having last year announced plans to close its Telford campus, as well as proposing to close numerous English courses earlier this year.' 1/3
Wolverhampton accidentally reveals staff at risk of redundancy
Impacted staff were all copied into a group email, prompting outrage
timeshighereducation.com
Our rapid disillusionment with political leaders is treated by much of the media as some kind of pathology. But what I see is these leaders backtracking on their promises, dashing people's hopes and serving the ultra-rich ahead of the rest of the population. Why wouldn't we be disillusioned?
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 4w agoSo the ultra-rich will continue to own our politics, and our country. Disappointing to say the least. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
No-one should doubt that Anglosphere universities face a very powerful, well-concerted and resourceful attack across the board. This comes at UK universities' moment of maximum weakness - when a string of institutions are teetering on the edge. inews.co.uk/news/educati...
Universities at risk of going bust before 2026 freshers finish their degrees
Mergers, course closures and job losses are also expected in the higher education sector and could accelerate in a few years
inews.co.uk
'A June report by UK IT body Jisc and the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) warned that pressure for universities to adopt AI has “outpaced clarity about what responsible action looks like in practice”. ' 1/2
Is universities’ AI embrace undermining their net-zero targets?
Amid all the debates about student employability and academic integrity, the question of how AI mandates square with universities’ commitments to addressing climate change has been largely neglected. ...
timeshighereducation.com
Two thirds of articles about the wildfires didn't mention climate change. Once again parts of our media are failing at the most basic part of their job - reporting the truth. uk.themedialeader.com/two-thirds-o...
Two-thirds of UK news articles about wildfires this summer haven't mentioned climate change
Analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit adds to concerns that national newspapers are failing to link this summer's extreme weather to climate change and the net-zero policies necessary to mitigate its drastic effects.
uk.themedialeader.com
'Now people are asking aloud: why is Burnham ignoring what is in front of his face – the devastating impact of climate breakdown on the country and its citizens?' A Ukrainian comedian stood up to Putin, in the face of all the odds. Can the PM stand up to climate collapse?
Hot topic: why is Burnham so reluctant to talk about the climate crisis?
Extreme heat is harming wellbeing of ordinary people the PM champions, yet little has been said on the topic
theguardian.com
Could we please have a hefty cross party group of MPs urging the 2 most relevant Secretaries of State (at DfE and BIST) to intervene in the car crash that is higher education and research funding and policy, as joined-at-the-hip in universities? We're all in this together.
Oxford Clarion@oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 2mo agoA cross party group of MPs led by Olly Glover have urged the Secretary of State to intervene over £162m proposed cuts to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), warning the cuts could seriously damage the UK's global leadership in science, innovation and space research.
Universities... I've just been sent to the edge today by all this stupid reporting about A-Level results day like everything's fine and dandy. Those 18yos are heading into a proper storm. It's hot, I'm hot, none of us can do anything about it anyway. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
UK universities face ‘financial crisis’ amid collapse in international students
Higher education figures call on Labour to reverse tax on fees and warn institutions at risk of ‘going under’
theguardian.com
'languages are often unavailable to students in schools and colleges before they make their subject choices at university. Limited opportunities have suppressed demand. But interest in languages is not limited, and it is important not to forget the joy and vitality of languages too.'
The joy and vitality of languages - HEPI
This blog was kindly authored by Fiona Devine (Manchester) and Jo Fox (Newcastle), on behalf of the N8 subgroup on Modern Languages. We are very familiar with the story that languages are in decline a...
hepi.ac.uk
Really? Is that it? If this is all that’s come from COBR, it’s pitifully inadequate. As crisis deepens, it beggars belief that there aren’t eg plans to increase resources for the fire service, support for farmers, max workplace temperature, funded community cool spaces & obvs ban on new fossil fuels
Andy Burnham warns of summer ban on disposable barbecues
Andy Burnham said he would consider if a restriction on purchasing the products during the summer months could be justified
independent.co.uk
A fire now the size of 140 football pitches Drought in half of England & all of Wales Heat alerts across the country. Already 3000 dead from the heat. The crisis is here. We can see it, we can smell the smoke. We cannot sit by while government sit on their hands. www.lbc.co.uk/article/new-...
Drivers told to flee cars ‘if you want to stay alive’ after New Forest fire spreads | LBC
An area the size of 140 football pitches has reportedly been destroyed
lbc.co.uk
There's been a real failure on the part of progressive leaders this summer to link the weather and Net Zero in the public mind. Most people get it, but the consensus is crumbling and it would be useful to reinforce it.
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 2mo agoI know he has a lot on, but in the midst of a ferocious drought, fires, heat events and severe threats to food production, it would be quite edifying to hear Andy Burnham mention climate breakdown.
📢PROJECT UPDATE📢 You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy. The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/
My column on how capital becomes a death cult. Faced with a choice between profit and human life, the radical right chooses profit. Then it tries to persuade us that mass death is what we want. It's the new phase of climate denial: accept your fate, earthlings. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot
As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
'Ben Johnson, co-director of...Science Works and a former government science adviser, told Research Professional News the government must understand how and where the sector is contracting or risk losing pockets of research capability.' That horse is already exiting the stable. 1/3
Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 2mo agoGovernment ‘doesn’t know where research capability lies’. Contractions in the university sector need to be understood, former government science adviser says. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Great to see Osterley House, National Trust engage again with the long legacy of the East India Company and its material cultures in Hounslow. Exciting to see another exhibition on this theme: Journeys: Wedding Shawls, Baghs and Phulkaris from the Karun Thakar Collection, open until 1 November. 1/4
Karun Thakar brings British Asians into Osterley House with National Trust exhibition
Exhibition of shawls invites visitors to rediscover estate's India links
easterneye.biz
Not to make light of a difficult to diagnose allergy. But given that climate survivals demands that humans eat much less red meat, this may also be read as 'nudge' from nature.
Meat allergy is on the rise — what scientists want to know
The allergy is caused by ticks, but researchers have much to learn about it.
nature.com
Really appreciated a piece that lays out the multiple horrors of UK HE in humane detail.
Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 2mo agoBehind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
NEW on Wonkhe: International students are often treated as financial assets rather than pedagogic partners. Sumeya Loonat sets out four lenses for moving beyond the deficit model buff.ly/jnPFPMD
I'm not only incredibly sad about this, I'm also profoundly angry; mostly with the government & sector leadership who allowed this to happen, but also with colleagues who rejected the idea that lifting the cap would make this inevitable and told me that I had no right to stop students 'trading up'.
Owen Davies@odavies9.bsky.social · 2mo agoSo a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.
This is an absolutely disgusting state of affairs. While only Russell Groups are in the news, the humanities at many other universities are being eviscerated.
Owen Davies@odavies9.bsky.social · 2mo agoSo a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.
Thinking through the unedifying, un-evidence-based rush to an undefined, apparently unmodelled paradigm of 'specialisation, what's being lost/threatened? Herts History was an excellent example of performing to a top standard in REF, but also much more than that. Questions to think with include: 1/4
Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 2mo agoSo it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)
In late 2023, the Society spent a day with Hertfordshire’s historians. We saw the quality, creativity and distinctiveness of teaching, research and engagement. We were told by a (now departed) senior manager that History was ‘a portfolio the university will guard very carefully’. bit.ly/4hLediN
Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 2mo agoSo it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)
NEW on Wonkhe: Universities UK’s Future Universities strategy aims to tackle public apathy towards universities. Sally Mapstone explains why that means doing more than “telling better stories” buff.ly/PglwhMi
The 'stinging rebuke' is open access here. You don't need to be an historian to applaud it. #Skystorians 2/2
History and the humanities at the University of Hertfordshire – a statement from the Royal Historical Society - RHS
Even for those familiar with bleak times, this has been a particularly bad few weeks in UK higher education. Confirmed job losses at the University of Essex were followed by further bad news from Hert...
royalhistsoc.org
