Mark Pendleton
@markpendleton.bsky.social
Historian (mostly of Japan) and trade unionist (mostly in UCU). Also into queer stuff. Uk-wide elected HE rep - UCU NEC. He/him
Interesting appointment and more evidence of the revolving door between Australian and #UKHE. The APPI was key in developing future funding models for Australian unis. Might this be one thing the Russell Group have in mind with this appointment? www.education.gov.au/australian-u...
January 21, 2026 at 8:42 AM
Interesting appointment and more evidence of the revolving door between Australian and #UKHE. The APPI was key in developing future funding models for Australian unis. Might this be one thing the Russell Group have in mind with this appointment? www.education.gov.au/australian-u...
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
“You can’t cut one in ten staff without damaging students and teaching.”
85% of University of Essex staff have voted for strike action over plans to cut 400 jobs and close the Southend campus.
Show your support and solidarity as they prepare to fight back.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1432...
85% of University of Essex staff have voted for strike action over plans to cut 400 jobs and close the Southend campus.
Show your support and solidarity as they prepare to fight back.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1432...
University of Essex staff vote for strike action in fight against job cuts
Staff at the University of Essex have voted to take industrial action in a dispute over plans axe 400 jobs, the University and College Union announced today
www.ucu.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 4:43 PM
“You can’t cut one in ten staff without damaging students and teaching.”
85% of University of Essex staff have voted for strike action over plans to cut 400 jobs and close the Southend campus.
Show your support and solidarity as they prepare to fight back.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1432...
85% of University of Essex staff have voted for strike action over plans to cut 400 jobs and close the Southend campus.
Show your support and solidarity as they prepare to fight back.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1432...
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
Disgraceful from @sheffielduni.bsky.social
Punishing staff twice for taking strike action, and pushing a resolution further from reach. Terrible for staff, terrible for students
Please donate to the hardship fund. But know that the union is fully behind Sheffield and supporting them through this
Punishing staff twice for taking strike action, and pushing a resolution further from reach. Terrible for staff, terrible for students
Please donate to the hardship fund. But know that the union is fully behind Sheffield and supporting them through this
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
January 20, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Disgraceful from @sheffielduni.bsky.social
Punishing staff twice for taking strike action, and pushing a resolution further from reach. Terrible for staff, terrible for students
Please donate to the hardship fund. But know that the union is fully behind Sheffield and supporting them through this
Punishing staff twice for taking strike action, and pushing a resolution further from reach. Terrible for staff, terrible for students
Please donate to the hardship fund. But know that the union is fully behind Sheffield and supporting them through this
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
This "any work undertaken will be regarded as voluntary" comes across as especially cynical, given how much routine academic work is already essentially voluntary even though UK universities 100% depend upon it...
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
January 20, 2026 at 10:01 AM
This "any work undertaken will be regarded as voluntary" comes across as especially cynical, given how much routine academic work is already essentially voluntary even though UK universities 100% depend upon it...
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
Which histories are meaningful to you?
Ten illustration students from Nottingham Trent University consider their personal connections to the past and what it means to practice history from below.
Ten illustration students from Nottingham Trent University consider their personal connections to the past and what it means to practice history from below.
Illustrating History From Below
What does it mean for history to be public? Which histories are meaningful to you? Ten illustration students consider their personal connections to the past and what it means to practice history from ...
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
January 20, 2026 at 7:26 AM
Which histories are meaningful to you?
Ten illustration students from Nottingham Trent University consider their personal connections to the past and what it means to practice history from below.
Ten illustration students from Nottingham Trent University consider their personal connections to the past and what it means to practice history from below.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
Solidarity with everyone at @sheffielducu.bsky.social. We were locked out at Liverpool for a few weeks in 2021… the university came to regret that.
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
January 19, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Solidarity with everyone at @sheffielducu.bsky.social. We were locked out at Liverpool for a few weeks in 2021… the university came to regret that.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.
#UKHE is setting a terrible example of enabling horrendous employers' practices which destroy #WorkersRights. That #EmploymentRightsBill cannot come soon enough.
Sending much solidarity @sheffielducu.bsky.social, and DO DONATE TO THEIR HARDSHIP FUND
#UKHE is setting a terrible example of enabling horrendous employers' practices which destroy #WorkersRights. That #EmploymentRightsBill cannot come soon enough.
Sending much solidarity @sheffielducu.bsky.social, and DO DONATE TO THEIR HARDSHIP FUND
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
January 19, 2026 at 7:27 PM
ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS.
#UKHE is setting a terrible example of enabling horrendous employers' practices which destroy #WorkersRights. That #EmploymentRightsBill cannot come soon enough.
Sending much solidarity @sheffielducu.bsky.social, and DO DONATE TO THEIR HARDSHIP FUND
#UKHE is setting a terrible example of enabling horrendous employers' practices which destroy #WorkersRights. That #EmploymentRightsBill cannot come soon enough.
Sending much solidarity @sheffielducu.bsky.social, and DO DONATE TO THEIR HARDSHIP FUND
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
We're in Employment Tribunal about this. And a civil case has been filed. It's just so terribly slow in getting to a conclusion to erase that grey area that VCs are so gleefully exploiting.
Community Legal Knowledge Project
Our branch has been challenging punitive policies aimed at chilling the right of association via various routes. A key component in these strategies is our collective legal work. This page brings t…
qmucu.org
January 19, 2026 at 7:29 PM
We're in Employment Tribunal about this. And a civil case has been filed. It's just so terribly slow in getting to a conclusion to erase that grey area that VCs are so gleefully exploiting.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
Sheffield merely the latest university to claim that legally withdrawing your labour should actually be postponing your labour, and punishing people further. Here’s how strikes work:
1. You legally stop working for a period of time. You don’t get paid.
2. Win or lose you go back to work.
1. You legally stop working for a period of time. You don’t get paid.
2. Win or lose you go back to work.
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
January 19, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Sheffield merely the latest university to claim that legally withdrawing your labour should actually be postponing your labour, and punishing people further. Here’s how strikes work:
1. You legally stop working for a period of time. You don’t get paid.
2. Win or lose you go back to work.
1. You legally stop working for a period of time. You don’t get paid.
2. Win or lose you go back to work.
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
January 19, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Well that’s me locked out. No pay for the foreseeable future, all because I refuse to reschedule lost teaching, for which I have already lost pay as part of the strike. Please donate to support @sheffielducu.bsky.social members like me at www.gofundme.com/f/heubvb-sup...
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
New research maps the campaign to erase trans people from UK data 🔢
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
January 19, 2026 at 1:42 PM
New research maps the campaign to erase trans people from UK data 🔢
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
So many of HE’s problems are the product of these efforts to generate market structures that just simply don’t work because the conditions that markets need to work really aren’t there, and all they do is create uncertainty (and financial problems) for students, staff, and institutions.
The single biggest thing (in cost terms) I’ve changed my mind about is UK tuition fees. Dreadful system, need to scrap it.
This is clearly depressing and radicalising in a way a tax wouldn't have been.
January 15, 2026 at 10:29 PM
So many of HE’s problems are the product of these efforts to generate market structures that just simply don’t work because the conditions that markets need to work really aren’t there, and all they do is create uncertainty (and financial problems) for students, staff, and institutions.
Excellent news - UCU must continue to open up our UK-wide structures so we can be more of a democratic, member-led union. Look forward to the disabled members, Black members and migrant members committees having a chance to input next week and hopefully progress this initiative.
We are delighted to report that this motion passed unanimously at both the Women Members' Standing Committee and LGBTQ+ Standing Committee meetings this morning. Three more standing committee meetings take place next week where the motion has been tabled. So pleased to have such wide support #UCU
We've written a motion to open up the nomination process to UCU's advisory equality standing committees, which is long overdue. This would bring it in line with that for our decision-making NEC. More details of the process and our reasons at the link. #UCU #UKHE
ucucommons.org/rule-change-...
ucucommons.org/rule-change-...
January 16, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Excellent news - UCU must continue to open up our UK-wide structures so we can be more of a democratic, member-led union. Look forward to the disabled members, Black members and migrant members committees having a chance to input next week and hopefully progress this initiative.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
Tomorrow, we strike.
This week, several college leaders have come to the table but for many staff the fight continues.
Our members will be on picket lines bright and early! Show your support and solidarity. ✊
This week, several college leaders have come to the table but for many staff the fight continues.
Our members will be on picket lines bright and early! Show your support and solidarity. ✊
January 13, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Tomorrow, we strike.
This week, several college leaders have come to the table but for many staff the fight continues.
Our members will be on picket lines bright and early! Show your support and solidarity. ✊
This week, several college leaders have come to the table but for many staff the fight continues.
Our members will be on picket lines bright and early! Show your support and solidarity. ✊
Solidarity to all the FE branches and members taking action tomorrow. If you can get to London on Friday for the rally in support of a New Deal for FE, please do!
🚨 FE strike action 🚨
Staff at 25 colleges strike 14-16 Jan over pay and conditions.
📍 National rally: Emmanual Centre, Westminster, Fri 16 Jan, 12pm
UCU is demanding a New Deal for FE , pay parity and national bargaining.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1430...
Staff at 25 colleges strike 14-16 Jan over pay and conditions.
📍 National rally: Emmanual Centre, Westminster, Fri 16 Jan, 12pm
UCU is demanding a New Deal for FE , pay parity and national bargaining.
www.ucu.org.uk/article/1430...
Staff at 25 English college employers to strike for better pay and working conditions
Staff at 25 colleges across England will begin three days of strike action next week after college bosses refused to make fair offers over pay and working conditions, the University and College Union ...
www.ucu.org.uk
January 13, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Solidarity to all the FE branches and members taking action tomorrow. If you can get to London on Friday for the rally in support of a New Deal for FE, please do!
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
This year, History Workshop Journal will celebrate two milestones: its 50th anniversary and its 100th issue.
To mark the occasion, eleven historians share how they've used the journal in their own teaching.
To mark the occasion, eleven historians share how they've used the journal in their own teaching.
HWJ in the Classroom
From histories of the French Revolution, to policing in Early Modern England, to LGBTQ+ histories, these reflections highlight HWJ as a valuable resource across many different classrooms.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
January 6, 2026 at 7:00 AM
This year, History Workshop Journal will celebrate two milestones: its 50th anniversary and its 100th issue.
To mark the occasion, eleven historians share how they've used the journal in their own teaching.
To mark the occasion, eleven historians share how they've used the journal in their own teaching.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
The Society invites applications for the following three funding programmes, with deadlines 23 to 31 January 2026 bit.ly/3LbxDQb
> RHS Workshop Grants
> Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social
> Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR
#Skystorians
> RHS Workshop Grants
> Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social
> Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR
#Skystorians
Calls for research funding from the Royal Historical Society: current programmes - RHS
The Society currently invites applications for the following six schemes — open to historians across a range of career stages and backgrounds — with closing dates from 23 January to 6 March 2026. For ...
bit.ly
January 5, 2026 at 9:47 AM
The Society invites applications for the following three funding programmes, with deadlines 23 to 31 January 2026 bit.ly/3LbxDQb
> RHS Workshop Grants
> Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social
> Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR
#Skystorians
> RHS Workshop Grants
> Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social
> Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR
#Skystorians
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
We are pleased to announce that Japan Past & Present is now accepting proposals for its Spring 2026 Project Funding cycle! 🎉🗾 We offer short-term support to scholars to create public-facing resources on Japan-related topics to be published on JPP's site. japanpastandpresent.org/en/funding/j...
January 2, 2026 at 4:19 PM
We are pleased to announce that Japan Past & Present is now accepting proposals for its Spring 2026 Project Funding cycle! 🎉🗾 We offer short-term support to scholars to create public-facing resources on Japan-related topics to be published on JPP's site. japanpastandpresent.org/en/funding/j...
We don’t mourn non-familial kinship very well, but seven years ago today I had the last of many drinks with my excellent friend Masaki. He was important in my early queer life, and then for 20+ years until he died a few years ago.
He wasn’t a daily presence in later years, but I miss him often.
He wasn’t a daily presence in later years, but I miss him often.
January 5, 2026 at 12:33 AM
We don’t mourn non-familial kinship very well, but seven years ago today I had the last of many drinks with my excellent friend Masaki. He was important in my early queer life, and then for 20+ years until he died a few years ago.
He wasn’t a daily presence in later years, but I miss him often.
He wasn’t a daily presence in later years, but I miss him often.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
So clever of US, UK and European universities, with ample encouragement from their governments, to have been closing down Area Studies, History, Languages and Politics & International Relations programmes, so clearly irrelevant to the world in the second half of the 21st century.
A key question is ‘whether Trump’s appetite for military adventurism will continue to spread. He has advertised designs on Canada, Panama, Greenland and the Gaza Strip. On Saturday, he implied Mexico was also in his sights’
Quick insight from @edwardluce.bsky.social
as.ft.com/r/f047cbcd-9...
Quick insight from @edwardluce.bsky.social
as.ft.com/r/f047cbcd-9...
Trump now owns Venezuela
[FREE TO READ] The US president has a growing appetite for military adventure
as.ft.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:52 AM
So clever of US, UK and European universities, with ample encouragement from their governments, to have been closing down Area Studies, History, Languages and Politics & International Relations programmes, so clearly irrelevant to the world in the second half of the 21st century.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
Thrilled to be featured in the January 2026 issue of @thenation.com with my colleague David Landes! I argue “no” & draw attention to how the loneliness crisis is a symptom of late-stage capitalism & a society unable to support its youth. I also share insights on digital & youth culture in Japan. 📱
For our latest Debate, we asked David Landes and Kimberly Hassel, "Are cell phones to blame for the youth loneliness epidemic?"
https://bit.ly/4ja9WEv
https://bit.ly/4ja9WEv
Are Cell Phones to Blame for the Youth Loneliness Epidemic?
David Landes argues that cell phones represent an isolated life whereas Kimberly Hassel blames the loneliness crisis on a society unable to support or protect its youth.
bit.ly
December 22, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Thrilled to be featured in the January 2026 issue of @thenation.com with my colleague David Landes! I argue “no” & draw attention to how the loneliness crisis is a symptom of late-stage capitalism & a society unable to support its youth. I also share insights on digital & youth culture in Japan. 📱
Didn’t get my submission in this year unfortunately but a great list again from the HW team.
If I had have, my top read was Polly Barton’s translation of Saou Ichikawa’s award winning “Hunchback”, a short book with a mighty punch as it tackles ableism, sex and agency, all in 100ish pages.
If I had have, my top read was Polly Barton’s translation of Saou Ichikawa’s award winning “Hunchback”, a short book with a mighty punch as it tackles ableism, sex and agency, all in 100ish pages.
Now an annual tradition at History Workshop, members of the team share their "Radical Reads" for 2025.
Radical Reads 2025
History Workshop editors share their reflections on the radical books and films which have compelled them, fascinated them, and moved them throughout 2025.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
December 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Didn’t get my submission in this year unfortunately but a great list again from the HW team.
If I had have, my top read was Polly Barton’s translation of Saou Ichikawa’s award winning “Hunchback”, a short book with a mighty punch as it tackles ableism, sex and agency, all in 100ish pages.
If I had have, my top read was Polly Barton’s translation of Saou Ichikawa’s award winning “Hunchback”, a short book with a mighty punch as it tackles ableism, sex and agency, all in 100ish pages.
Reposted by Mark Pendleton
“Recent decisions have shown that people and organisations can be inclusive and the Court of Appeal has said that pro-trans beliefs are protected. This pattern should give organisations the confidence to stand up to anti-trans bullies.”
https://goodlaw.social/p01y
https://goodlaw.social/p01y
Allison Bailey loses her case against Stonewall – again
Court of Appeal finds that Stonewall did not cause discrimination against ‘gender critical’ barrister Allison Bailey.
goodlaw.social
December 19, 2025 at 1:14 PM
“Recent decisions have shown that people and organisations can be inclusive and the Court of Appeal has said that pro-trans beliefs are protected. This pattern should give organisations the confidence to stand up to anti-trans bullies.”
https://goodlaw.social/p01y
https://goodlaw.social/p01y
This is an excellent article, which I highly recommend. Great to see Roberta Perkins’s beaming face too, alongside greater recognition of her significant contributions to many areas of Australian life.
Here, for @historyworkshop.org.uk I discuss the history of a refuge for trans women.
I show women’s shared experiences of violence across the spectrum of cis and trans.
I highlight histories of solidarity against male violence by feminists and trans women.
academic.oup.com/hwj/advance-...
I show women’s shared experiences of violence across the spectrum of cis and trans.
I highlight histories of solidarity against male violence by feminists and trans women.
academic.oup.com/hwj/advance-...
Reconsidering Violence Against Women through the History of a Refuge for Trans Women
Abstract. Both right-wing forces and gender-critical feminists currently frame cis and trans women’s needs as fundamentally different and conflicting. Viol
academic.oup.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:36 AM
This is an excellent article, which I highly recommend. Great to see Roberta Perkins’s beaming face too, alongside greater recognition of her significant contributions to many areas of Australian life.
Solidarity with Northumbria UCU as they continue their fight against a management hellbent on cutting their pensions and pay. Good to see lots of ballots being sent in!
The only thing cooler than this post box? Posting your vote in the @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social local ballot to stop a pay freeze @northumbriauni.bsky.social!
December 19, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Solidarity with Northumbria UCU as they continue their fight against a management hellbent on cutting their pensions and pay. Good to see lots of ballots being sent in!