Heartened to see that my university is ending its contract with Turnitin before the next academic year, because Turnitin is going to use student submissions to train AI models. Institutions can and should resist this stuff!

"Wyoming will become the first state in the US where you cannot receive a B.A. in Philosophy. The University of Wyoming will be the only R1 institution, the only state flagship university, and one of two land-grant universities that do not offer a B.A. in Philosophy." dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...

22,000 signatures so far for our petition against the corrupt UK media. Please sign at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76... and then share the hell out of it.

Petition: Ban foreign media ownership, enact a social media levy & new regulatory reform

Pass law to ban foreign & offshore ownership of UK media, enact a social-media levy to distribute media ownership across society & fund independent, local & cooperative-owned media. We believe democra...

petition.parliament.uk

Definitely the case here. In two weeks we find which 9 of 12 in my group will be gone. The other 3 will then have a month to prepare and find hourly-paid replacements for all the classes across two degrees. And supervise 25 PhDs. Plus admin and pastoral care and research. Management doesn’t care.

Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you're arriving at uni this autumn, or maybe dropping your kids, remember that there could be a ghostly phalanx of absent redundant staff, lost modules and degraded degrees making it a very unhappy place. It may *look* the same, but it won't *be* the same. www.ft.com/content/e5b0...

youve heard of failing upwards. well academic careers in 2026 encapsulate the reverse: succeeding downwards. so many talented, highly qualified people, being punished for their achievements

Next week Minus 5 English Literature colleagues (cf last year: more took VS the year before) Remaining colleagues moving out of shared workspaces moved into last year and back into individual offices. Our students complained about the erosion of their student experience Still employed For now

You know what, props to him for making that case for the humanities in The Spectator. Much easier to just jump on the hitting-the-humanities-while-they're-down bandwagon to score some easy points, and his audience are the ones who'll need convincing. spectator.com/article/we-s...

‘Fairies, Spirits, Witches, and Wise Women’: an interesting CFP for the Renaissance Society of America (deadline 27 July): call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/07/...

Herewith the reminder that #ChristopherNolan studied English Literature #EnglishCreates "The Odyssey review – Nolan goes god-tier with breathtaking epic of men, monsters and moral metamorphosis" | Film | The Guardian share.google/yRnVSUlkMzaJ...

The Odyssey review – Nolan goes god-tier with breathtaking epic of men, monsters and moral metamorphosis

Doing full justice to the Homeric legend, Christopher Nolan amasses an epic cast to convey the true cost of war with film-making of thrilling ambition

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Congratulations to the government on saving 2700 jobs by nationalising British Steel. Now, about the 18,000 university jobs lost in the last 18 months, with more coming…

DeGruyter / Brill welcomes book proposals to this new series of peer-reviewed books - Early Modern Visual and Material Cultures Series Editor: Allison Levy, Brown University brill.com/page/forthco... Pls contact me with any questions - by DM or by email at Erika.Gaffney@degruyterbrill.com

I've signed and sent a letter - from authors, broadcasters, journalists, artists, scholars and performers - to express our deep concern at @exeter.ac.uk’s troubling plans to make mass redundancies within the Humanities Dept @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social. I would love it if you read and shared widely.

Major yn Englisshe: • Focused readinge & writinge prepare you for anythinge • Research, communicacioun, creativitye, and interpretacioun will be needed for careers not even inventid yet • Meaningful engagement wyth big ideas and textes that will staye wyth you forevir • It ys awesome • Bookes!

This petition needs as many signatories as the Exeter one. Please sign and share — don’t let Hertfordshire managers get away with this just because a Russell Group one took the spotlight. #UKHE

Joanna Bourke@joannabourke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Shocking news about redundancies in the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire, despite their exceptional research activities. I have signed the petition against these actions: it would be great if you would as well: c.org/kDQynZV7J4 @bbkhistorical.bsky.social @bisa-bkk.bsky.social

Roll up, roll up, sign this pretition for Humanities At Hertfordshire! Signing to support them is supporting the #Humanities - it might be them now, and whilst for many it's also us now, if it isn't already, it'll be you next. Sign!! #Skystorians 🗃

Sign the Petition

Save the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire

c.org

From today’s Times letters page. #DefendExeterUni

From nowe on, calle it not "Gen A.I." Calle it kakomancy, the which doth signifye "crappye magique."

Would you like to build inclusive and creative strategies? 📢 Come along to Playful Spaces, an inspiring learning event led by industry specialists. Together, let's build rehearsal spaces where every young person can find their voice. www.shakespeareschools.org/pages/book-m...

This. 👇 I'm freelance and self-employed, but the closure of university departments and academic redundancies affects me because I do para-academic editorial work for academics and universities - and if they don't have jobs, I won't have work!

Katherine McDonald@katherinemcdon.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Ok, look, what's been particularly infuriating about the redundancies at Exeter (and Nottingham and Newcastle and and and) is this weird idea that it only affects those individuals and institutions. It harms us all because we are so closely interconnected.

I spoke to Aaron Irber on his podcast about the history of fairies podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

Fairies: A History (ft. Dr. Francis Young)

Podcast Episode · I Might Believe in Faeries · June 15 · 1h 3m

podcasts.apple.com

🛑NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY CENSURED BY UCU🛑 On 28 May @ucu.org.uk wrote to management @northumbriauni.bsky.social regarding censure.

It too much to expect that unsuccessful shortlisted applicants for academic jobs receive a personal message rather than an automated email? I know, I know HR guidelines &c But I learned a lot from phone calls that offered suggestions for improvement Thank you Cora Kaplan in particular

Out today! Congratulations to Richard Frohock! His book 'offers new insights into piracy literature by analyzing ways in which the pirate served as a contested figure of conversation in relation to imperialist violence, gender, race & topical philosophical matters'. www.routledge.com/Piracy-Mythm...

Cardiff Uni wants to scrap the 2nd floor of the Arts and Social Studies Library. We're talking 7km of books and vital study space gone to make way for classrooms. Please help us save this crucial campus resource before it's ripped out in June! Add your name here: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

Stop Cardiff University from scrapping the ASSL's second floor!

thousands of books and crucial study spaces are at risk. Cardiff Uni wants to repurpose the busiest library on campus into classrooms. Help protect our library and sign the petition today.

you.38degrees.org.uk

East Asian Studies is being gutted at Sheffield - all staff at risk with 8.6 FTE proposed to go (a third of us). Biggest cuts in Chinese and Japanese Studies. We’ll be taking a few days to process. Solidarity to Materials and Chemistry colleagues who are also dealing with similarly bad news.

Note: relatively stable institution; HAPP's a supportive (even harmonious) School; there's another Ancient History colleague; and pay at Queen's is now relatively high (starting salary is junior; post confirmation-in-post, lecturer starts c. £52k, SL starts c. £66k). www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRP030/l...

Lecturer in Ancient History at Queen's University Belfast

Looking for a new job opportunity in academia? Check out this job opening for a Lecturer in Ancient History on jobs.ac.uk!

jobs.ac.uk

Roses are redde Noble are the manatees For a bettir future Teach artes and humanityes

#skystorians Please sign and share. Petition to save the Humanities at University of Hertfordshire c.org/kK5v9MTdNr

Sign the Petition

Save the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire

c.org

Literature ys powerful bycause it ys a dynamic, engaginge, attention-grabbinge art forme that kan existe wythout large amountes of fundinge or huge companyes. Obviouslye it ys best for wryteres to make a livinge and for literature to sell, but it ys not *required.* Literature kan lyve undergrounde.

Teachinge young people how to reade literature and poetrye and novels ys teachinge them how to access an olde and goode and powerful system for sharinge messages yn tymes of emergencye. Readinge literature ys key to the ongoing struggle for a bettir and more just worlde.