Simon Rushton
@simonrushton.bsky.social
Professor of International Politics at University of Sheffield, UK. He/Him.
📣 Announcing our latest Changing Policy and Practice funding awards! 📣 This will allow researchers to maximise the real-world impact of their Foundation or @ukri.org MRC-funded work and turn medical research into action. Congratulations to the eight researchers awarded! 👉 https://bit.ly/44UCUBR
Rupert Lowe claims to detest far-right ethnonationalism and neo-Nazism. Yet a string of extremists have been out campaigning for Restore candidate Marlon West ahead of Thursday’s Greater Manchester mayoral election.
Timely reminder of where UUK are coming from, and how they continue to do such a poor job of making the political case for HE. Education is a public good. The investment in it should be made by the state. Tuition fees should be abolished and universities directly funded by government.
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 4w ago‘Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said that her organisation agreed with the committee that the costs of undergraduate higher education should be shared more equally between graduates and the state, since both benefited.’ www.thetimes.com/article/11ff...
More terrible news, this time from Exeter www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
change.org
Simon Rushton@simonrushton.bsky.social · 3mo agoGovernment policies don’t help of course, but VCs across the country continue to actively pursue the complete destruction of arts and humanities in UK universities. A catastrophic failure of individual and collective leadership.
Really interesting research that shows the limits of information provision for creating behaviour change. Radical idea I know, but I think we could all get together and agree to elect a group of people who we could then ask to regulate away dangerous products. That might improve safety for us all?
Prof. Ian Walker@ianwalker.bsky.social · 2mo ago🚨 New research by us! 📣 Most British drivers don't know how dangerous SUVs are to other road users, but adding information to SUV marketing materials seems to do almost nothing to change people's plans to buy SUVs Here's a 🧵 on why harder action is going to be needed 1/10
The Tories used to call themselves “ the party of law and order”.
Jane@localnotail.bsky.social · 2mo agoJust Ryan Bridge from Raise the Colours at the Conservative Party Immigration policy launch while on multiple bails in multiple English counties including for wounding "Thank you to the Home Shadow Secretary, Chris Phelps for inviting myself and Siobhan down today" www.facebook.com/reel/1184777...
'Conflict and cooperation in a changing world' 🌍 The deadline to submit papers for #VirtualBISA2027 is approaching 🌟 Find all information here! 👉 virtualconference.bisa.ac.uk @simonrushton.bsky.social @jamiejhagen.bsky.social @julietdryden.bsky.social @citystgeorges.bsky.social
Job opportunity at the University of Sheffield (UK) for a Danish speaking researcher interested in the business of bordering, political economy and related topics
Research Associate - The Business of Bordering at University of Sheffield
Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Associate - The Business of Bordering. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
jobs.ac.uk
Government policies don’t help of course, but VCs across the country continue to actively pursue the complete destruction of arts and humanities in UK universities. A catastrophic failure of individual and collective leadership.
Onni Gust@onnigust.bsky.social · 3mo agoFor further context: almost everyone in the Faculty of Arts is at risk of redundancy. Music, Modern Languages & American & Canadian Studies courses to close completely. History will not close but staff numbers will be significantly reduced. This is what 'right-sizing' looks like, apparently.
Sheffield staff who took strike action are being locked out again next week for refusing to replace teaching lost to the strike. But in a strange twist, next week is still a teaching week for us. So management’s brilliant actions have knocked out another week of teaching for no reason.
So incredibly grim. Supporting and advising my students is by far the most important (and rewarding) part of my job. Why are universities so keen to AI themselves out of existence?
Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH@gavinyamey.bsky.social · 3mo agoAn email in my inbox today from Harvard Business Impact, Harvard University—specifically from something called The Faculty Lounge This is where shit is heading, right? Giving AI-assisted career advice? Just shoot me now.
Don't forget our submissions of papers for our 2027 virtual conference #VirtualBISA2027 are OPEN NOW 🌟 'Conflict and cooperation in a changing world' 🌍 All information here! 👉 https://ow.ly/Ask950YY2ek Simon Rushton Jamie J. Hagen @julietdryden.bsky.social City St George's, University of London
Back on strike with @sheffielducu.bsky.social. Why? Management is pushing ahead with restructures despite sitting on £200m+ in reserves. Along with colleagues in East Asian Studies, I also find out in 12 days how many of us they want to fire. No justification is deemed necessary by management.
I, for one, was shocked to discover yesterday that a detailed vetting process had uncovered something that no-one had previously suspected: Peter Mandelson, it turns out, is a wrong ‘un!
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1447...
Sheffield University censured by UK academic community as it continues attacking staff
The University and College Union (UCU) today announced the formal censure of the University of Sheffield by the UK academic community. The union's move comes in response to Sheffield management's unne...
ucu.org.uk
JOB ALERT: Two 4.5 year postdoctoral positions to work on my Wellcome-funded project 'Conserving Global Health: Biodiversity Protection and the Prehistory of Planetary Health'. Please share widely! CLOSING DATE: 23 April (the date on Jobs.ac.uk is apparently incorrect)
As a member of the BISA executive committee, I’d highly recommend this as a good use of your time. Good people doing a lot of work to promote and support the discipline.
BISA - British International Studies Association@mybisa.bsky.social · 5mo agoGet your election nominations in today to serve on the BISA Executive Committee 2026 🌟 We are welcoming applications from from individuals at all career stages & all backgrounds: come and join us at BISA today 🎉 How to apply here! 👉 buff.ly/PN4SJZV @julietdryden.bsky.social
That Starmer keeps Mahmood in post shows this is not just the actions of an inhumane Home Secretary, but a deeper rooted ideology of hostility and xenophobia within this government. No-one benefits from blocking Chevening scholars. This is cruelty for sake of it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
4 x Postdoc opportunities for researchers interested in human-animal relations. I genuinely can’t think of a better group of people to work with. Check out their explanation of the opportunities here: digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Multis...
Multispecies Mutualisms - Join Our Research Team!
We’re hiring 4 Postdoctoral Research Associates (PDRAs) In this video, members of the team share insights into four exciting PDRA opportunities currently available. If you are ready to take the next s...
digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk
The registration deadline for #BISA2026 is today ‼️ Join us in Brighton in June: 'Is International Studies ready for what comes next? New thinking, new directions' 🎉 Register now 👉 https://conference.bisa.ac.uk Simon Rushton @julietdryden.bsky.social VisitBrighton Juanita Elias
The Tories’ real rivals are now the Monster Raving Looney Party, Count Binface, and other assorted eccentrics hoping to attract a few hundred protest votes.
Rob Ralston@policyrelevant.bsky.social · 5mo agohaving the context that the tories got so few votes that they *lost their deposit* in the Gordon and Denton by-election really elevates this to the s-tier of unhinged posts
Insulting his constituents, Matt Goodwin does the most Matt Goodwin thing. Blaming others for failing to see his brilliance. Academics first, now voters. This sentiment is driving his radicalisation. Maybe even people at Reform will realise that it‘s a very bad quality for a politician to have.
Exactly this. The only answer is making the positive case for the benefits of migration into the UK. Starmer’s Labour are far too cowardly to do that so instead we lurch ever further right, in the process doing incalculable harm to immigrants, UK-born minorities, and the country as a whole.
Alasdair Mackenzie@alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 6mo agoWe have already moved on from restricting future migration to proposing mass expulsions of people already here, so it seems optimistic to think reducing numbers will improve the standard of our political debate. All that’s likely to happen is the demands of the far right get ever more extreme
Theory: people who have their own private islands are up to no good. (Only potential exception I can think of to this general rule is St Cuthbert).
Received official notice today that my employer will be withholding 100% of pay for the next three weeks, to myself and all other members of @sheffielducu.bsky.social who refuse (as is our legal right, and our solidaristic duty) to reschedule classes cancelled due to strike action. Outrageous.
Mark Pendleton@markpendleton.bsky.social · 7mo agoWell that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
