1/ I have joined W Social, the new European social network. Digital Sovereignty and European alternatives to Big Tech have driven this decision. I will not abandon other networks yet, but will gradually reduce my presence there for the benefit of openness, security, and authenticity.

1/ Now that exams are done, corrections are piling up. The town abruptly calms down. Streets are empty. August is the quietest month.

1/ Exam season begins today. Good luck to everyone sitting exams this week and next. Since the pandemic, we have gone through several electronic twists. The biggest chunk of work used to be the reading and grading over the summer. We have retained some of that component.

When grammatical mistakes wrap around you in the warm hug of homecoming: "Döner mit alles und Eis mit Früchte? Waa jut gewesen!" The Berlin variation of German knows how to charm with gruffness. #Berlin #AcademicLife #FieldResearch #Heimat #Dialect

1/ Five years ago, in the last stretch of a summer term not unlike this one, a small group of international academics decided that writing did not have to be a solitary affair. We were exhausted — juggling teaching, administrivia, and writing deadlines in the middle of the pandemic.

1/ Yesterday, I asked: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞? Here is one answer: Most German universities run their summer semester well into late July.

1/ As Europe swelters through its second heatwave of the season, the weather forecasts sound unreal and otherworldly ... 34° ... 37° ... even 40°. But hey: That's record-breaking! In some places, nights offer little relief, with temperatures above 20°.

1/ Hopping on the train to @UniversitätMünster any minute now, with my paper finished just in time. The annual convention of American Studies beckons with this year's theme: "𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩." As always, my angle is TEFL and belonging.

1/ 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝? That question was at the heart of Dr. Andreas Wirag's (Universität Göttingen) guest lecture here in Tübingen last week, "Demokratiebildung im Englischunterricht."

1/ Three things from the Conference on 'Ecopedagogy in the Foreign Language Classroom' at Ca' Foscari University of Venice are still working on me, a few weeks after the fact.

Tokens of friendship from across the Atlantic — 'y'all' included. A week worth every bit of the scheduling. At a moment when Europe and, in fact, the entire world feel tense, transatlantic friendship and exchange matter even more.

1/ That athletes or hackathon coders are celebrated for their endurance is taken for granted. Writers, meanwhile, are quiet achievers. Without fanfare or live coverage. And without the spandex or the energy drinks.

1/4 Friday night. While many ease into the weekend, a couple hundred writers from across the planet are typing the night away — geeking out in the London Writers' Salon's 24-hour writing sprint. Absurd, and truly a nerd's delight. (community.londonwriterssalon.com/c/sprint/wel...)

🌍 Welcome to The 24-Hour Writing Sprint! What Will You Write? | LWS Community

It’s almost time to write! What will you work on across the 24 hours? Kickstart a new project? Make progress on a work-in-progress? Finish a draft? 👇 Share* your intentions in the comments below. *...

community.londonwriterssalon.com

Today, EASLCE @easlce.bsky.social convenes in Utrecht (April 14-17) for its 11th biennial conference: "Join the Orca Uprising! – Nonhuman Resistance and Multispecies (In)Justice." -- easlce2026.sites.uu.nl

Home | EASLCE 2026

“Join the Orca Uprising!”Nonhuman Resistance and Multispecies (In)Justice 11th Biennial EASLCE ConferenceUtrecht University14–17 April 2026 The 11th edition of the biennial conference of the European ...

easlce2026.sites.uu.nl