Charles Forsdick
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cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick
@cforsdick.bsky.social

Drapers Professor of French, MMLL, Cambridge; Professorial Fellow, Murray Edwards College; Lead Fellow Languages, @britishacademy.bsky.social; Hon. Professor Centre for the Study of International Slavery (CSIS). Researches travel, empire, Haiti, comics.. .. more

History 44%
Philosophy 22%

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

Forthcoming in April: "The Essential Senghor: African Philosophy and Black Aesthetics", edited by Doyle D. Calhoun, Alioune B. Fall, and Cheikh Thiam @dukepress.bsky.social. Includes Senghor’s critical & philosophical writings spanning from 1937 to 1985 www.dukeupress.edu/the-essentia... #Senghor

“To translate is not just to haul stories across languages, but to help them remain when everything else falls away. It is a quiet, stubborn refusal to disappear.”

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated
The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

We are pleased to share that David Evans is the new General Editor of French Studies, succeeding Martin Crowley after seven years. We thank Martin for his leadership.
An interview with Crowley & Evans in French Studies Bulletin is free to read this January➡️bit.ly/FS-Editor
@frenchstudies.bsky.social
'One of the most consequential changes [in the September 2025 Immigration White Paper] is the reduction of the Graduate Visa route from 24 to 18 months, which directly undermines the ability of international trainees to complete their Early Career Teacher (ECT) induction.'
WEEKEND READING: The 2025 Immigration White Paper and its impact on international teacher recruitment and retention in MFL and Physics - HEPI
This blog was kindly authored by Juliette Claro, Lecturer in Education at St Mary’s University Twickenham and Co-chair of the UCET Special Interest Group in Supporting International Trainee Teachers i...
www.hepi.ac.uk

Reposted by Alison Phipps

Migrants are at the heart of our art, our music, our whole history. That’s what the right won’t admit to you

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Migrants are at the heart of our art, our music, our whole history. That’s what the right won’t admit to you | Rowan Williams
From Britain’s medieval buildings to western pop and contemporary art, these creations showcase our interwoven stories, says former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
www.theguardian.com

Over 24 years, Louise Cocker has captured almost half a million Norfolk Gravestones. ‘As a result, she has produced a remarkable dataset… which experts consider one of the most comprehensive photographic records of gravestones and memorials in England.’
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘The hidden engine room’: how amateur historians are powering genealogical research
Wealth of datasets compiled as private passions are now a goldmine for those hunting for their ancestors
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

Thrilled to share that "Venice Requiem", the #translation of my #novel by Ros Schwartz is coming out on Feb. 5 with @hoperoadpublish.bsky.social ! Deeply grateful to Ros for her exceptional work & to my publisher Pete Aryton. Many thanks to @oliviasnaije.bsky.social & Raphaël Thierry! bit.ly/4pFcEUY

Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic
More than 1,000 words used as far back as 325BC to be collected for insight into past linguistic landscape
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

Actually - based on substantial evidence - perhaps an even better headline would be

“Glasgow is a super smart city. Fact.”

Majority also speak Scots as mother tongue and first language

Read UNESCO report to find out why bilingualism is best for everyone

unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p...

UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme

www.theguardian.com/education/20...
UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme
Britain quit EU programme after Brexit, when Boris Johnson claimed it did not offer good value for money
www.theguardian.com

The uncompromising politics of Jimmy Cliff

theconversation.com/the-uncompro...
The uncompromising politics of Jimmy Cliff
The reggae singer used his music to speak out at issues that mattered.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Alison Phipps

Are you worried about the devastating cuts we are seeing to arts, humanities & social sciences in UK universities? Last call for my lecture in Leicester this Thurs 27th Nov on the value of these subjects and how they support UK security, cohesion and prosperity www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shaping-a-...
Shaping a Brighter Future
The first event in our Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series, delivered by Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, The British Academy
www.eventbrite.co.uk

Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81
Star of The Harder They Come had hits including You Can Get It If You Really Want and I Can See Clearly Now
www.theguardian.com

University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees

www.theguardian.com/education/20...
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
www.theguardian.com

David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80

www.princeton.edu/news/2025/11...
David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80
His work grappled with the tricky nature of interpreting between languages and embraced the potential of language itself to help us understand the human condition.
www.princeton.edu
A very insightful article on the recent threats to UK modern languages:

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...

Support the petitions to stop the closures at Leicester and Nottingham, to sign click here:

www.change.org/p/save-moder...

www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...

#languages #mfl

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

@cforsdick.bsky.social concludes the @readingbodies.bsky.social takeover and discusses how this project contributes to rethinking the medical humanities in ways that are simultaneously multilingual, transnational and translational.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/24/m...
Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities
Charles Forsdick concludes the Reading Bodies takeover and discusses how this project on historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contributes to rethinking the medical …
thepolyphony.org