Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 1d

flipped classrooms & the unquestioned shift toward “student-led learning” were also part of the deprofessionalization->adjunctification->mechanization program whose ultimate goal was a fully administrative university

John Downes-Angus @johndownesangus.bsky.social · 1d

The over-reliance on standardization as the mechanism for writing instruction really was a pretty unbeatable context to produce de-professionalized teachers okay with using AI to grade

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Sherrill Stroschein @sherrillstroschein.bsky.social · 1d

This year I have completely updated all of my classes and am writing new lectures and working weekends to put it together.
Degree of faith the "good teaching" metric will actually reflect it: zero.
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

Tuition fees set to be lowered at universities with poor teaching

Labour is considering bringing the cap below £9,000 a year on campuses where standards aren’t met

www.thetimes.com

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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 10d

REALLY appreciating Lucy Noakes's clear connecting of the dots between the announcement of maintenance grants for 'priority courses' and the Cold Spots mapping by the @britishacademy.bsky.social.

You can't ensure access in a system that ties disciplinary coverage to competition.

On the ground, this fall in total enrolments is sharply exacerbated by changing recruitment practices, as previous high-tariff institutions revise their offers to secure larger undergraduate intakes. Those bearing the brunt are, of course, the institutions which currently serve the most disadvantaged and least mobile students. The risk is now of a worsening spiral of decline—driven by a failed policy of institutional competition and marketisation—which results in options for the most in-need aspirant history students being, quite literally, closed down. Without this core provision, any lingering question over which subjects might qualify for maintenance grants becomes obsolete.

If, as the Education Secretary claimed this week, the government is serious about choice, social mobility and access to education it needs to appreciate that the provision of local universities and courses is now at considerable risk given the financial turmoil affecting UK higher education. What’s clear is that our current situation and trajectory is not a route to greater choice and accessibility. Rather, it is a potential channelling of resources and students into an ever narrowing range of options deemed by policy makers as being in the country’s best interests for the future.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2d

'prime minister Keir Starmer...confirmed that the University of Lancaster and the University of Surrey had been given approval to open new campuses in India while on a trade mission to Mumbai, joining six more institutions already in the country.' (Lancaster is mooting 20% academic redundancy) 1/3

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 2d

Expansion of UK universities in India ‘like California gold rush’.

University leaders embrace transnational education but warn it will not be a “replacement income stream”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Expansion of UK universities in India ‘like California gold rush’ - Research Professional News

University leaders embrace transnational education but warn it will not be a “replacement income stream”

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · 2d

*FIFTEEN THOUSAND JOBS LOST*.
If this were in a sector in which the PM could go and do a photoshoot looking like One Of The People, we’d have had a government intervention by now.

LopaLeach @lopa.bsky.social · 2d

Cuts equivalent to 15,000 jobs planned at UK universities – UCU www.timeshighereducation.com/news/cuts-eq...

Cuts equivalent to 15,000 jobs planned at UK universities – UCU

Proposed job losses almost triple since March as unions prepare to vote on nationwide industrial action

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 2d

Same reaction!!

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Alyssa S. @drsepinwall.bsky.social · 2d

🚨🚨30 years after coming out in English,

Michel-Rolph Trouillot's SILENCING THE PAST

est paru *enfin* en français!!!

Veuillez partager ces bonnes nouvelles avec vos meilleurs amis et collègues francophones! 🗃️🇭🇹

www.amitiefm.ht/post/michel-...

Michel-Rolph Trouillot : « Faire taire le passé », une autre approche de l’Histoire

Trente ans après sa parution en anglais, Silencing the Past de Michel-Rolph Trouillot (1949-2012) paraît enfin en français sous le titre Faire taire le passé – Pouvoir et production historique (Lux Éd...

www.amitiefm.ht

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Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 3d

Congratulations!

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Ryan Cordell @ryancordell.org · 4d

If you work with historical newspaper data, check out @matthewkollmer.com’s tutorial for generating image clippings—sections of the full page—based on text & coordinate data. Matthew’s been doing yeoman’s work figuring this in for a forthcoming exhibit for our Virality of Racial Terror project

Matthew Kollmer @matthewkollmer.com · 4d

If you, like me, sometimes need to generate thousands of clipping images from Chronicling America, then you may find this post helpful.

It provides my pipeline (code and explanatory text) for programmatically generating newspaper clipping images via the Chronicling America API.

How to Create Newspaper Clipping Images in Chronicling America, Programmatically – Matthew Johannes Kollmer

matthewkollmer.com

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Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 10d

Are you interested in the history of rivers? Do you wonder how historians and environmental scientists can work together? Join the EDHS seminar to hear from the ARTEMIS team about their amazing project exploring the histories and ecologies of the Scheldt. #envhist #histsci #skystorians #dh

Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 12d

The Environmental #DH Seminar (EDHS) is back!

Co-organised by Lancaster & Manchester w/support from @n8cir.bsky.social, our first event features the ARTEMIS project.

Join us ONLINE at 12pm (UK) on Oct 15 to hear about this digital historical investigation of the Scheldt River Valley.

RSVP 👇

Artemis Project: A Digital Bridge to Historical Landscapes and Maps

Join us for a discussion with Iason Jongepier (University of Antwerp) & Vincent Ducatteeuw (Ghent University)

www.eventbrite.com

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Jackman Humanities Institute @jhievents.bsky.social · 4d

📢 The JHI invites applications for the 2026–27 Critical Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship, a 1 year fellowship supporting a recent PhD.

Theme: Doubles, Doppelgangers

📅 Apply by Nov 25, 2025 | 4pm EST
🔗 More info: uoft.me/cdh26-27

#digitalhumanities #DH #postdoc #postdoctoral

A long hallway flanked by a series of floor to ceiling mirrors that reflect infinitely. The text overlay is Call for Applications: 2026-27 Critical Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship. The deadline is November 25, theme is Doubles, Doppelgangers.

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Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 5d

The brilliant Kelly Summers (MacEwan Uni) will be speaking on Frances Burney & Napoleonic France @lancasteruni.bsky.social in November.

www.lancaster.ac.uk/global-affai...

History Research Seminar: Dr Kelly Summers (MacEwan University, Canada), ‘Burney Abroad: Writing and Resistance in Napoleonic France’, Tuesday 4 November, 5:00pm - Lancaster University

The History Research Seminar welcomes Dr Kelly Summers of MacEwan University, Canada, to present her current research.

www.lancaster.ac.uk

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Erin A. McCarthy @erinannmcc.bsky.social · 6d

Last day to apply! Applications must be submitted online by 5 pm Irish time.

Erin A. McCarthy @erinannmcc.bsky.social · 26d

Join the @stemma.bsky.social team! We've just advertised a two-year postdoc on WP2, "Networking Early Modern Poems." Apply by 30 September; details at link below. #earlymodern #dh #postdoc #jobfairy

www.universityofgalway.ie/human-resour...

011345 - University of Galway

www.universityofgalway.ie

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Briony Neilson @brionyneilson.bsky.social · 6d

Attention French historians and researchers in adjacent fields: the call for papers is now open for the next George Rudé conference. 8–10 July 2026, in Perth, Western Australia. Generous funding ($3300AUD) is available to support research students' travel. Deadline for proposal is 15 December 2025.

George Rudé Society @georgerudesociety.bsky.social · 10d

We're very excited to announce our Call for Papers for the 25th George Rudé Seminar, the largest gathering of scholars of French history & culture in the southern hemisphere! Taking place in beautiful Boorloo/Perth at the Uni of Western Australia 8-10 July 2026. Pls share!
h-france.net/rude/cfp/

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Máiréad Enright @maireadenright.bsky.social · 7d

"We honestly feel the whole institution could crash. You can’t cut and cut and then bring in extra students and even more pressure.”

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 8d

Finally, an article that at least touches on teaching quality and staff workload issues. Not that it suggests any viable alternatives to the current state of play. (And for 'colleges' in the headline, read 'universities', a telling choice of nomenclature.

Grade deflation, overcrowding and ‘chaos’ as colleges scr...

Russell group hoovers up international students to stave off budget deficit fears

observer.co.uk

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Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 11d

There have likely been 10,000 or more university redundancies in the academic year 2024-25.

@gsoh31.bsky.social, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes, argues that the Higher Education system as we know it is coming to an end.

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

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dan sinker @dansinker.com · 7d

Portland never stops being Portland.

competentposter @competentposter.bsky.social · 8d

wizard frog is insane

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Ryan Benk @ryanbenk.bsky.social · 7d

Seriously though. Where are Fred and Carrie?

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Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 9d

#MedievalSky #EarlyModernists you may not be aware that I offer several services: transcription (no hand too tricky), archival visits and more. I’m happiest in the period 1200-1700 but will consider anything. Get in touch via my website!

joanneedge.co.uk/freelance-wo...

Freelance Work

Transcription, scholarly editing, archival visits Joanne is available for freelance work: transcriptions and editions of late medieval and early modern Latin, English and Anglo-Norman manuscript te…

joanneedge.co.uk

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Philip N Cohen @philipncohen.com · 8d

"Among articles stating that data was available upon request, only 17% shared data upon request." (Or: you keep saying these words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean)

Ian Hussey @ianhussey.mmmdata.io · 8d

My article "Data is not available upon request" was published in Meta-Psychology. Very happy to see this out!
open.lnu.se/index.php/me...

LnuOpen | Meta-Psychology

open.lnu.se

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scott b. weingart @scottbot.bsky.social · 9d

The next Historical Network Research conference will be held in Turin, Italy in July 2026, and submissions are now open.

Proposals due December 1. Bursaries available for early career scholars.

This year's theme is "Networks and their Sources." See you there!

hnr2026.sciencesconf.org

HNR2026: The Historical Network Research Conference 2026 (Turin, Italy) - Sciencesconf.org

Call for Papers – Historical Network Research Conference 2026

hnr2026.sciencesconf.org

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Luca Scholz @lscholz.bsky.social · 9d

Join us online for another instalment of the Environmental Digital Humanities Seminar on October 15:

Iason Jongepier and Vincent Ducatteeuw will present their digital historical work on the river Scheldt.

Artemis Project: A Digital Bridge to Historical Landscapes and Maps

Join us for a discussion with Iason Jongepier (University of Antwerp) & Vincent Ducatteeuw (Ghent University)

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Andy Arthur💃🏰⚓🦌 Threadinburgh 🧵 @threadinburgh.scot · 18d

Look what we have here then.

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 10d

Wtaf? "Software giant Palantir snubs ‘undemocratic’ digital ID scheme". This would actually be funny if we weren't living in an emergent technofascism powered by the likes of Palantir...
archive.ph/MncRd

screenshot of Times headlines reading "Software giant Palantir snubs ‘undemocratic’ digital ID scheme. The US-based company, which had been touted as a potential bidder, said that it would not seek any contracts around it"

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Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 10d

Are you interested in the history of rivers? Do you wonder how historians and environmental scientists can work together? Join the EDHS seminar to hear from the ARTEMIS team about their amazing project exploring the histories and ecologies of the Scheldt. #envhist #histsci #skystorians #dh

Katie McDonough @kmcdono.bsky.social · 12d

The Environmental #DH Seminar (EDHS) is back!

Co-organised by Lancaster & Manchester w/support from @n8cir.bsky.social, our first event features the ARTEMIS project.

Join us ONLINE at 12pm (UK) on Oct 15 to hear about this digital historical investigation of the Scheldt River Valley.

RSVP 👇

Artemis Project: A Digital Bridge to Historical Landscapes and Maps

Join us for a discussion with Iason Jongepier (University of Antwerp) & Vincent Ducatteeuw (Ghent University)

www.eventbrite.com

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