Studying Humanities, Social Sciences, languages, Arts will become a luxury for the few who can 'afford' it, & those who can enter elite institutions, while the rest make 'practical' choices about studies. There will be an assymetry, favouring those with access to economic, social & cultural capital.

Pooh Think Gif

ALT: Pooh Think Gif

static.klipy.com

Universities are tearing apart the humanities, arts and social sciences. Courses are closing, jobs are disappearing, and students and staff are paying the price. At Exeter, 85% of proposed job cuts targeted these disciplines. We need university leaders who will defend education mot destroy it.

Not just about money.. "The decision made no financial sense as the extra work for remaining staff would reduce their contribution to the Research Excellence Framework that determinesfunding." This is why it's not just about money... Something else is going on. novaramedia.com/2026/10/12/u...

UK Universities Are Smashing Humanities and Arts Subjects to Pieces | Juliet Jacques

It’s time to resurrect the cultural democracy arguments of the 20th century: that the arts and humanities are inherently good rather than just economically profitable, argues Juliet Jacques.

novaramedia.com

Declining American pop culture driven soft power? Soft power is back on the radar www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...

Video: Opinion | America Used to Be Cool. What Happened?

The world order is changing. So is the United States’ place in it.

nytimes.com

Go Marion!! explaining why this strike is necessary. This isn't ideal but what's happening in higher education at large is changing the landscape of higher education for the worst.

UCU Edinburgh@ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 4w ago

Day 1 of our strike at the University of Edinburgh while senior management shrugs and says 'crisis, what crisis?' at the complaints about the inevitable falling educational standards and job losses.

Check out my article! Liminal belonging and racialized Western identity: intersectionality, nostalgia, and the lived experience in a Japanese town www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Liminal belonging and racialized Western identity: intersectionality, nostalgia, and the lived experience in a Japanese town

This article examines the marginalization, liminality, and reconfiguration of identity through embodied intersectionality, to grasp the complexities of the lived situated experience. Focusing on in...

tandfonline.com

Terrible to see cuts to Scottish & Celtic Studies in Scotland’s capital; languages, Arts. Universities are more than efficiency & cost-cutting, they challenge assumptions, preserve knowledge, help students understand histories, cultures, people beyond their own. bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/09/21/a...

An Act of Monumental Cultural and Educational Vandalism

“There is a loss of any vestiges that the University of Edinburgh conceives of itself as primarily a Scottish institution.” – Alec Finlay. You could argue that this process began …

bellacaledonia.org.uk

Facebook served me a rage-bait post asking why Muslims migrate to “Christian nations.” Many migrate to secular, multicultural societies for safety, work, rights, and stability, not to a religion. That distinction matters. Less hate, more reason.

Anti racist protest in Leith #Edinburgh against the recent knife attack

Worth reading. The erosion of universities is not just an institutional problem; it risks diminishing one of the few spaces dedicated to sustained critical reflection on social and political life. newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

Lorna Finlayson, Irreversible — Sidecar

On Britain’s universities.

newleftreview.org

Nearly 6 billion people live in the 101 countries that a study has identified as confronting a net decline in water supply — signaling enormous challenges for food production and a heightening risk of conflict and instability. (Published July 2025)

“Staggering” Water Loss Driven by Groundwater Mining Poses Global Threat

A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.

propublica.org

This can't be true, and yet it is.... Dumping sick people infront of a hospital because they can't afford to pay and are unisured in Kentucky, treated like garbage.. NHS isn't perfect but I feel safer here! youtu.be/rFJsFdgMkYE?...

‘It’s like I’m worthless’: Troubleshooters investigate patient dumping allegations

YouTube video by WAVE News - Louisville, KY

youtu.be

Dalkeith County Park, beautiful place for a stroll

This flyer popped through my door, no thank you ✋🙅‍♀️

This Guardian piece describes middle men, pretty much trafficking international students for UK universities The reality of the “study abroad” dream isn’t always what it seems, do your homework before committing read up on economic opportunities in the country. www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UK

The long read: Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt

theguardian.com

Japan Declares "Yakuza" as Intangible Cultural Property With UNESCO Officials described the move as “long overdue recognition of a living tradition,” noting that the yakuza's distinctive aesthetics, extortion, and political influence makes them "living treasures" open.substack.com/pub/tokyopal...

Japan Declares "Yakuza" as Intangible Cultural Property With UNESCO

Officials described the move as “long overdue recognition of a living tradition,” noting that the yakuza's distinctive aesthetics, extortion, and political influence makes them "living treasures"

open.substack.com

Listen to “The Headlines,” which brings you the biggest stories of the day from the New York Times reporters who are covering them, all in about 10 minutes.

Deaths in ICE Custody Are Growing, and Trump Defends Ballroom Plans

Plus, a three-minute, multimillion-dollar art heist.

nyti.ms

Or in Utrecht, for that matter - we're currently hiring! www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

PhD-position: Collective Action, Cohesion and Inequality

Are you interested in how social process around climate-related behaviour work, this might be your project.

uu.nl

Karen Gregory@karengregory.bsky.social · 7mo ago

I guess I didn't fully grasp just how threatening sociology is to people, but obviously we have more power than we think. Come become a sociologist in Edinburgh-- we have a solid department (although I'm probably biased there). www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...

Thank goodness: Jury finds Meta's platforms are harmful to children in 1st wave of social media addiction lawsuits | PBS News www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

Jury finds Meta's platforms are harmful to children in 1st wave of social media addiction lawsuits

A New Mexico jury found Tuesday that social media conglomerate Meta is harmful to children's mental health and in violation of state consumer protection law. The case was among the first to reach tria...

pbs.org

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/u...

The Pets Left Behind When Their Owners Are Deported

nytimes.com

Been offered a Peer Researcher role with Migration Policy Scotland. Looking forward to working on the Better Mixing project in Scotland all about diversity and belonging. Such wonderful news on Eid. Happy Eid!! 💖

a penguin holding a rainbow flag with the words " celebrate diversity " below it

ALT: a penguin holding a rainbow flag with the words " celebrate diversity " below it

media.tenor.com

Eid Mubarak 🌙✨ A new ritual in our home: my husband baking these beautiful treats for Eid. I think I may be married to a pastry chef now

JFEC Call for Applications 🇯🇵 The Japan Foundation Endowment Committee (JFEC) invites applications for small grants supporting Japanese Studies research and events at UK universities. Deadline: 15 April 2026 Details & application info: jfecommittee.org.uk/about-us/ @jfecuk.bsky.social

Rewatching Sex & the City. Loved that show portraying women as strong, liberated, independent. Now shocked. Men chasing models normalising beautiful women as “easy”, and blase about non consent. Strange to revisit a once empowering series & how it regurgitated the same stereotypes that harmed women.

a woman in a floral shirt is making a surprised face .

ALT: a woman in a floral shirt is making a surprised face .

media.tenor.com

I’ve got friends w/ family in Iran, Israel, Emirates. What’s happening isn’t some distant geopolitical nightmare, it’s people’s homes, towns, lives. None of this needs to be happening. May everyone find peace in these uncertain times. 🌍❤️ #Peace #Humanity

The Government wants to make it massively harder for migrants and refugees to get settlement. They are betraying millions of people already living and working here. Email your MP now and tell them to speak out. act.praxis.org.uk/email-mp-con...

The Government is betraying its promise to millions. Email your MP now & defend migrant rights.

The Government is ramping up their hostile environment policies once again. This time, they want to make it harder than ever for migrants and refugees to settle in the UK permanently. Email your MP no...

act.praxis.org.uk

This morning, us in Sheffield’s East Asian Studies (and at least one other area) hear the outcomes from the sham “review” conducted by management, and likely how many jobs are at risk. The review promised openness, transparency and engagement with stakeholders. It delivered none of those things.

So the management decision is to restructure with the aim of cutting academic jobs in East Asian Studies. This decision is based on a false narrative of decline and financial unsustainability, despite management’s own figures showing that we continue to generate well in excess of our costs.

Mark Pendleton@markpendleton.bsky.social · 8mo ago

This morning, us in Sheffield’s East Asian Studies (and at least one other area) hear the outcomes from the sham “review” conducted by management, and likely how many jobs are at risk. The review promised openness, transparency and engagement with stakeholders. It delivered none of those things.

Ongoing impact of scholars funded by the Japan Foundation Endowment Committee. Scholar Spotlights showcase how awardees contribute to the study of Japan and Japanese Studies more widely through UK scholars and their innovative and interdisciplinary research. jfecommittee.org.uk/scholar-spot...

A passageway hidden below a dresser at the Merchant’s House Museum in New York City had long been a mystery. It was recently linked to the Underground Railroad. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/n...