Margot C. Finn | Lightnews

Margot Finn

@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

17K followers 4.4K following 9.5K posts

Historian of Britain and colonialism, material culture, the EIC. Also works on equalities, museums, open access & research policy. Download the EIC @ Home open access volume here: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/88277 (or individual chapters via JSTOR) .. more

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Margot C. Finn is a British historian and academic who specialises in Britain and the British colonial world during the long nineteenth century. She has been Professor of Modern British History at the University College, London (UCL) since 2012. Finn was previously the President of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum. .. more

Political science 31%

Economics 26%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h

'Among the ideas for guaranteeing quality over quantity are optimising entrances to the museum, rethinking the size of visiting groups, and making sure people know they are not allowed to take photos in the galleries.'

How Madrid’s Prado Museum is trying to avoid becoming like ‘the Metro at rush-hour’

The famous gallery, home to masterpieces from Goya and Velázquez, is exploring how best to preserve, and improve, the visitor experience

www.theguardian.com

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h

'Combined with this, a strand of Islamophobia in the party’s membership again reared its head....Zahawi’s recruitment was cast by some of the same vaccine sceptics as another example of a “Muslim takeover” of Nigel Farage’s party.' 2/2

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h

'away from the plush Westminster venue which Reform had chosen for Zahawi’s unveiling, his recruitment has caused disquiet among Reform UK members for whom hostility to the Covid vaccine programme has become an article of faith.' 1/2

Zahawi defection pushes Reform’s vaccine scepticism into spotlight

The views of the former Tory vaccines minister clash with those of high-profile members and the party faithful

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 14h

“I’ve never felt my speech was so chilled as it was in the classroom at UATX.”

Good iob, Bari Weiss!

They Wanted a University Without Cancel Culture. Then Dissenters Were Ousted.

Inside the civil war at the anti-woke university backed by Bari Weiss.

www.politico.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Martin Paul Eve, Margot C. Finn , and 1 more Steve Peers, Martin Paul Eve, Margot C. Finn, Guillaume Allègre

Paul Braterman #FBPE #FactsMatter #Vote4Democracy @paulbraterman.bsky.social · 14h

h/i David Grinspoon

Trumpet accepting award from Serena Williams

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Jacob Pleasants @jbpleasa.bsky.social · 15h

@marcwatkins.bsky.social gives a list of 10 great scenarios worth discussing and thinking through with higher ed colleagues - I will be using this gift!

marcwatkins.substack.com/p/what-we-gi...

What We Give Up When We Let AI Decide

Automation Is Easy. Judgment Is Not.

marcwatkins.substack.com

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 19h

Love the way too that the assessments of the people who have actually read and assessed students’ actual as opposed to fictive imagined work are entirely discounted.

Reposted by Richard Toye, Margot C. Finn

Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 19h

Our roundtable tribute to Malcolm Chase is now published in Northern History.
@northernhistory.bsky.social
(Open access version will be available soon).

Northern History, 1-13

Check far updates

MALCOLM CHASE: A ROUNDTABLE TRiBUTE

MATTHEW ROBERTS

Sheffield Hallam University

RoBERT POoLe

University of Lancashire

KATRINA NAVICKAS C

University of Hertfordshire

This paper brings together the reflections by three historians who knew Malcolm
Chase, presented at the Northern History memorial conference in Leeds on 29
November 2024. It shows how integral Malcolm Chase's work was to nineteenth-
century political and labour history of Britain. It explains his impact and legacy on the
study of history, especially in and of northern England, and ends with a call for more
work on regional and working-class history

Keywords: labour history; Chartism; Malcolm Chase; northern history

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Daniel S. Goldberg

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 19h

'We especially encourage work on Leuven’s role in early modern medicine. In Special Collections, you can study the writings of Vesalius, Biesius and Fienus (16th c.), Plempius and Verheyen (17th c.) and/or De Villers, Jacobs, Rega and Zypaeus (18th c.)'. #Skystorians

KU Leuven Libraries Special Collections @speccoll-kuleuven.bsky.social · 1d

Interested to work on our collections? The Call for applications of the LECTIO – KU Leuven Visiting Fellowships 2026–2027 is now open. As in previous years, Special Collections offers a joint fellowship. We will be happy to welcome you!

Call for applications: LECTIO Visiting Fellowships 2026–2027

www.kuleuven.be

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'The Lib Dems are the only opposition party that have put education at the centre of their agenda.'

Opposition parties' skills policies in a changing political landscape

A look at how the main political parties; Reform UK, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the Greens, are positioning themselves on FE and skills policies

feweek.co.uk

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'For those with the largest followings on X, it has been universities who are most reluctant to let go....over half of the 141 institutions in my list remain active' [on X].

UK academia’s presence on X is reaching a tipping point - Impact of Social Sciences

Data collected on UK universities’ use of social media shows academic engagement with X is at a tipping point with more institutions off the platform than on.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

In my day, that would have merited a 3rd but now it's a 1st no doubt (tee hee)

Reposted by Margot C. Finn, Christine Kooi

KU Leuven Libraries Special Collections @speccoll-kuleuven.bsky.social · 1d

Call for applications: LECTIO Visiting Fellowships 2026–2027

www.kuleuven.be

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

See Harvard gnomic comment…..

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'It will have a dual role: monitoring health information and also alerting the public and public authorities on the spread of disinformation. As such, the observatory, whose budget has not been disclosed, will commission research'.

Smart move. Be more French.

Craig Nicholson @clanicholson.bsky.social · 2d

France news: Government to set up network against health disinformation

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

Very well put!

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

A voice of informed reason in a weltering wilderness of wild claims.

The grade inflation mutant algorithm, 2026

Grade inflation is falling, but OfS still thinks too many are getting good degrees. David Kernohan asks what it would take to know what is really going on

wonkhe.com

Reposted by Martin Paul Eve

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'At the University of Buckingham, 52 per cent of students achieved firsts in 2023-24 – compared with just 17 per cent in 2010-11. According to the OfS, 73 per cent of these grades are unexplained by modelling – the highest of all universities in the data.'

No one can imagine how this has happened.

Rise in firsts at some English providers ‘unexplained’, warns OfS

Regulator says proportion of top marks awarded by institutions still way above what might be expected

www.timeshighereducation.com

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'Nishan Canagarajah, vice-chancellor at the University of Leicester, told Times Higher Education that the staff may have to cope with lower wage increases in order to ensure colleagues can remain on the payroll.'

Presumably this is also his and Ucea's approach to VCs' and SMTs' salaries too?

‘We can either save jobs or award pay rises – but not both’

New Ucea chair warns ‘much is at stake’ if unions and employers don’t collaborate to tackle ‘negative’ sector image, as he promises action on the ‘employee experience’

www.timeshighereducation.com

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'“We wouldn’t allow tobacco companies to be involved in crafting approaches to education, so why should BP – a company shunning the scientific consensus on climate change by ramping up drilling for oil and gas – be able to buy such an influential and prominent role?”' (Chris Garrard). 2/2

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

'the company funded a research project that led to the creation of the Science Museum Group academy – its teacher and educator training programme – which BP sponsors and which has run more than 500 courses, for more than 5,000 teachers.' 1/2

BP accused of ‘insidious’ influence on UK education through Science Museum links

Campaigners claim firm has bought sway over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths

www.theguardian.com

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

Quelle surprise of the week.

X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool

Despite restrictions announced this week, Guardian reporters find standalone app continues to allow posting of nonconsensual content

www.theguardian.com

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

Need to contextualise this (and to question the basis of the modelling). Introduction of late summer resits, vast improvements in student support, great variety in classification schemes and renewed attention to teaching quality all need a look. And compare UK stats to the typical GPA at Harvard...

Regulator raises alarm over rise in top grades at English universities

Office for Students says almost two-thirds more first-class degrees were awarded than can be explained

giftarticle.ft.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn, James Cameron, Catriona Seth

Philip Lewis @pslewis.bsky.social · 1d

@britishacademy.bsky.social International Fellowships are now open

Applications are welcome across the #humanities and #socialsciences from early career researchers anywhere in the world to come to 🇬🇧 for 2 years

The deadline is 11 March

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...

International Fellowships 2026

The International Fellowships Programme enables researchers to work for two years at a UK institution with the aim of building a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce.

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Janet Stiles Tyson @stiles-tyson.bsky.social · 1d

This is #MartinKettle's last column as a regular writer for the Guardian. It speaks to the heart and mind. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The world of today looks bad, but take hope: we’ve been here before and got through it – and we will again | Martin Kettle

As I write my last regular column for the Guardian, my thoughts turn to the lessons and hope we can take from history, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Lucy Munro, Margot C. Finn

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 1d

1926: the BBC decided women should not be radio announcers:

"The...physical strain...is greater than could be borne by the average woman", & "there is something incongruous in a woman announcing weighty news bulletins or...football results".

The decision was rapidly reversed after public derision.

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d

Agree; it’s complicated.

Reposted by Mary Corcoran, Clyde W. Barrow, Margot C. Finn , and 1 more Mary Corcoran, Clyde W. Barrow, Margot C. Finn, David Toke

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 1d

👇👇

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 1d

Some good news, though, if anyone has mislaid medieval Britain.

Reposted by Steve Peers, Margot C. Finn

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 1d

By standing up to President Trump, the 72-year-old Fed chair, Jay Powell, has “put to shame the heads of law firms, universities, and public companies who have caved to the White House,” @johncassidysays.bsky.social writes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me/VgYCpA

Jay Powell, the Prepster Banker Who Is Standing Up to Trump

The seventy-two-year-old Fed chairman put to shame the heads of law firms, universities, and public companies who have caved to the White House.

newyorkermag.visitlink.me

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