Andrew Thacker
banner
andrewthacker.bsky.social
Andrew Thacker
@andrewthacker.bsky.social

Professor of Twentieth Century Literature, Nottingham Trent University. Modernism, periodicals, cricket.

Art 31%
History 26%

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

The BAAS website has been updated with news of a whole host of new books in American Studies 📚
Digest Submission Archive - British Association for American Studies
Promoting, supporting and encouraging the study of the United States since 1955
buff.ly

This is also a good time to mention that nominations are open for *5* positions on the BAMS committee & *3* postgraduate representative roles. To apply see here bams.ac.uk & for an idea of what being a PGR Rep involves, see a blog from our reps here: modernistreviewcouk.wordpress.com/2025/12/20/b...
BAMS Elections: A Representative Dialogue
20 December 2025 At the end of another year and the start of the holiday season, it is once again time for the BAMS elections. As current Postgraduate Representatives, we would like to take this ti…
modernistreviewcouk.wordpress.com

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

Not the main thing ofc, but indicting a foreign head of state for conspiring to possess a machine gun is low key hilarious.
Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year
Very welcome news today that the UK will join the Erasmus+ programme in 2027. This will enable greater opportunities for study abroad and contributions in UK universities, and is something we called for in our most recent Manifesto.
British Academy's pioneering 'cold spots' work now replicated by HESA.

'University "cold spots" are developing in some parts of the country, new data analysis suggests, with courses in some subjects no longer available to students in certain regions.' 1/2
University students facing course 'cold spots' as enrolments fall
New data analysis suggests courses like artificial intelligence are surging in popularity as languages fall.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

NEW on Wonkhe: The abolition of the binary divide in HE made visible the wealth of research excellence in what became known as the post-92 part of the sector. Katie Normington worries that forcing specialisation risks eroding longstanding research ecosystems buff.ly/a2Lusby

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

Postdoc Opportunity!

University of Rochester - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Digital Humanities

networks.h-net.org/jobs/69418/u...
University of Rochester - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Digital Humanities | H-Net
networks.h-net.org
“Four years ago, we suffered an earlier redundancy programme that we were told would secure the future of the university. That clearly was not true."

#UKHE

www.leicester.news/university-o...
University of Leicester moves forward with plans to cut 150 jobs
A 'large number of staff' across several schools could be impacted
www.leicester.news

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

Open-access and in print - Muireann Maguire (@muireanndinosaur.bsky.social), Invading the American Canon: Translators of Russian Literary Fiction, 1863-1984 (@bloomsburyhist.bsky.social, @bloomsburylit.bsky.social, 2025; h/t @jrdwrrn.bsky.social, #skystorians) www.bloomsbury.com/us/invading-...
Invading the American Canon
Through case studies of émigré literary translators and editors, this open access book traces how Russian literature kindled the American imagination in the 20t…
www.bloomsbury.com
Private Eye nailing it.

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

Southampton Solent University accused of “unprecedented” attempt to move staff on to “inferior” pension schemes, with those not complying facing losing their jobs www.timeshighereducation.com/news/southam... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social
Southampton Solent pensions row ‘sets concerning precedent’
Union claims that professional service staff have been told to move on to subsidiary firm with less generous pension scheme, or face losing their job
www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

'And some academics are angry that universities are allowing or even encouraging the use of AI tools — many of which are controlled by companies, have unknown cognitive impacts and are dogged by ethical and environmental concerns.'
Universities are embracing AI: will students get smarter or stop thinking?
Millions of students arriving at campuses are now using artificial intelligence. Worries abound.
www.nature.com

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

New open-access article on a peculiar type of periodical, the county magazine:
Rural Modernity in an Interwar English County Magazine: Cheshire Life, 1934–39
doi.org/10.1080/1478...
In Cultural and Social History
Rural Modernity in an Interwar English County Magazine: Cheshire Life, 1934–39
There are some eighty-five county magazines across England, read by millions. This case study of 1930s Cheshire Life explains their appeal and demonstrates their value for twentieth-century social ...
doi.org
Relectures féministes de Michel Foucault. Colloque International (2025)

Feminist Re-readings of Michel Foucault, Hybrid, 7–8 Nov 2025, Sciences Po, Paris Registration link for anyone who might wish to attend online   Friday, November 7, 2025 (room K011) 9:15–10:00 – Introduction Judith Revel…
Relectures féministes de Michel Foucault. Colloque International (2025)
Feminist Re-readings of Michel Foucault, Hybrid, 7–8 Nov 2025, Sciences Po, Paris Registration link for anyone who might wish to attend online   Friday, November 7, 2025 (room K011) 9:15–10:00 – Introduction Judith Revel (Université Paris Nanterre) & Frédéric Gros (Sciences Po) 10:00–10:30 – Coffee break (for speakers and audience) 10:30–12:00 – Panel 1: Building Feminist Agency Beyond Foucault’s Elusions…
michel-foucault.com

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

Are you a grad student, untenured faculty member, or an independent scholar doing research in Romantic-era literature and culture? There's still time to apply for a Pforzheimer Award!

Apply by Nov. 1 to be considered.

Find more information here: www.k-saa.org/pforzheimera...
Carl H. Pforzheimer, Jr, Award — K-SAA
www.k-saa.org
The most Minnesotan protest sign. #NoKings

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

Tony Harrison’s poem ‘V.’ is to be performed in the Leeds cemetery that inspired it.

The day of site-specific readings will now also serve as a tribute to the poet, who died last week.

Read the article: www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/s...

Book tickets here: www.slunglow.org/v-a-homecomi...
Tony Harrison’s poem V to be performed in the Leeds cemetery that inspired it
The site-specific performance of the once controversial poem was planned for its 40th anniversary in October, but will now double as a tribute to the writer who died last week
www.theguardian.com
ICYMI on Tuesday, here's my *new* and *free* short-form summary of what's gone wrong in our universities. This is something of a last word really, because unless the Budget and White Paper do something really radical, the fate of much HE is already sealed.
politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/where-n...
Where now for Britain’s Universities?
UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.
politicalquarterly.org.uk
New at Print Plus: "Virginia Woolf in Circulation: The Hogarth Press Order Books, Modernist Bookselling, and Digital Practice" by Alice Staveley et al sheds light on the business of modernism and reads order books as digital portals for literary history

modernismmodernity.org/articles/sta...
‘Them & [uz]’ by Tony Harrison (1937–2025)

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

“AI has turbocharged the spread of bullshit and falsehoods. It is not able to produce actual, qualitative academic work, despite the claims of some in the AI industry. As researchers, as universities, we should be clearer about pushing back against these false claims by the AI industry.”
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
www.ru.nl
Very much enjoying the culture of trust and respect implicit in the installation of room usage monitoring devices on academics' office doors today. Imagine my shock on discovering that managers' doors remain unsullied…
Gillian Rose's on law, history, and Marxism.
This should be an essential workshop with deep intellectual and theoretical engagement that is becoming rarer by the day in UK legal academia. Organised by the wonderful Rosie Woodhouse. Registration and more info here: warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/...
Jeremy Noel-Tod on the importance of ‘unfunded’ or ‘hobbyist’ research in academica.

open.substack.com/pub/someflow...
Unfunded Hobbit Research
In defence of academic inspiration
open.substack.com

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

We’re delighted to announce a CFP for a Virginia Woolf special issue of TMR, marking the 34th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf. Please see the details below:

Reposted by Andrew Thacker

We’re excited to share #TheModernistReview57, our first autumn issue! It includes seven reviews on diverse topics in modernist studies. Go check it out! we hope you enjoy reading:
modernistreviewcouk.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/t...
The Modernist Review Issue #57
8th September 2025 All the months are crude experiments out of which the perfect September is made. (Virginia Woolf, ‘The Lands End’, 1905) September arrives again, and with the beginning of autumn…
modernistreviewcouk.wordpress.com