Alex Bryne
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Alex Bryne
@alex-bryne.bsky.social
Historian of U.S. foreign relations and imperialism.
Lecturer in History at De Montfort University.
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252:

Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email.

Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk
December 11, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Graduate of the American Studies programme that the University of Nottingham wishes to close wins 2025 Wolfson History Prize for Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

History, it's a long game. Divest in haste, repent for the longue durée.
The Wolfson History Prize - Celebrating Outstanding History
The Wolfson History Prize is awarded annually to promote and recognise outstanding history written for a general audience.
www.wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk
December 3, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
This is shameful. The University of Cambridge has a duty to stand against the disgraceful anti-intellectualism of the right.

www.varsity.co.uk/news/30787
Cambridge cosies up to Reform UK
Leaked recordings of a University Council meeting, obtained by Varsity and The Sunday Times, show the VC fearful of Trump-style recriminations if Reform were to win power
www.varsity.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really.

US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...

UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
November 26, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I would not be the historian I am today without the American and Canadian Studies Department at the University of Nottingham. My time studying for a PhD in this department was an incredible experience.
We Can Make an Impact.
SAVE AMERICAN STUDIES TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
c.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
We were thrilled to host former congressmen Mike Ross & Jeff Duncan at DMU today for a dynamic talk on leadership, global affairs and much more.

Thanks to everyone who joined! 🌟

#DMUPolitics #Congress @usainuk.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 4:07 PM
November 6, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Furious at this indefensible decision.
Music and modern languages courses suspended at University of Nottingham
In a statement the institution also says it is
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Episode 4 of 'Glimpses of German History' is now LIVE!

In this episode @profpanayi.bsky.social shows us a picture book depicting the work of German missionaries in nineteenth century India.

Check out the video on our YouTube channel here: youtu.be/IPHH-uPr8KA
October 29, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Another story about university leadership appears in the Leicester Gazette:

www.leicester.news/de-montfort-...
De Montfort University threatened to report staff to Prevent in response to online meeting
Exclusive: the troubled university is facing allegations of stifling free speech, in yet another spat over job cuts
www.leicester.news
October 24, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Solidarity to all our nottingham colleagues as they continue strike action! ✊
Strike action continues this week! Please join us for the following events as we withhold our labour from a university that continues to unnecessarily threaten our livelihood:
October 20, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
🚀 Dr. Luis da Vinha (DMU Politics & IR) co-authors a new International Relations (Q1) article:
“‘Active Non-Alignment’ in Outer Space: Brazil’s Hedging Strategy in the Sino-American Space Race.”

It explores how Brazil balances between the U.S. and China in the new space race!
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Our Senior Lecturer, Dr. Simon Stevens, was interviewed by The Big Issue on hostile architecture — and how it even appears in the world of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

A fascinating take on how politics, design, and culture intersect.

Read here:
www.bigissue.com/culture/poke...
Pokémon Legends Z-A features anti-homeless hostile architecture
Pokémon Legends Z-A has sparked conversation on social media over anti-homeless benches in the Nintendo game's Lumiose City.
www.bigissue.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
October 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Private Eye once again reporting on the DMU leadership. Credit to the Leicester Gazette @leicestergazette.leicester.news who first broke the story.
October 1, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Been saying this repeatedly - it's not a 'bit', I genuinely don't understand why we waste our time teaching students about research ethics if we're encouraging them to use tools that ignore every single one of those requirements. If we support skipping ethics why just for genAI? sheer hypocrisy.
This point hasn’t been given nearly enough attention. If you applied actually existing research principles to genAI, it would never be allowed anywhere near a university, research project or classroom.
Loved how I got to clarify that the 5 principles in section 4 of the paper were nothing new. They came straight out of The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, that every scientists in The Netherlands already ought to know. All we did is apply them to AI. www.nwo.nl/en/netherlan...
September 28, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Our branch is proud to stand with our colleagues at @leicesterucu.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The link might be tenuous, but I believe my position on the dangers of GenAI is partly influenced by my own historical research. Back in 2020 I published an article that explored the ways in which the development of early aviation in the U.S. was partly guided by Pan-Americanism. [1]
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
A *permanent* US history job! Goes without saying that this will be highly competitive, but the US history faculty at Cambridge are some of the most supportive colleagues you can ask for. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT902/a...
Assistant Professor, History of the United States since 1920 at University of Cambridge
Explore an exciting academic career as a Assistant Professor, History of the United States since 1920. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
www.jobs.ac.uk
September 22, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
Fresh from the September Passport issue: We are honored to publish a roundtable on the Cold War International History Project and the many wonderful things it has done! www.shafr.org/assets/docs/...
www.shafr.org
September 15, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
“Unfortunately, we have a Labour government seemingly determined to outflank Reform on immigration . . .These attacks are having a severe impact on the financial health of the sector” - @drjogrady.bsky.social in the @theipaper.com today

inews.co.uk/news/flag-wa...
Why ‘flag wars’ are scaring overseas students and risk deepening unis’ cash crisis
‘It’s mad in Britain. Will I be ok?’. International students about to study in UK universities are alarmed by the country's new political climate
inews.co.uk
September 15, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I contributed to a roundtable review of Tore Olsson's book Red Dead History in SHAFR's latest issue of Passport.

shafr.memberclicks.net/passport-sep...
Passport September 2025
shafr.memberclicks.net
September 15, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
The first annual CSE Midlands Group Conference is happening on Tuesday 16 Sept at the University of Birmingham:"Britain’s financialised capitalism & the politics of change". Free, in-person, no registration. DMU Politics' Pinar Donmez is one of the contributors: Full programme: tinyurl.com/ytvk54p5
September 2, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Alex Bryne
A reminder that the Leicester Branch's first free talk of the year will take place online at 6pm on Tuesday 9th September.

Andy Chapman, the Hon. Secretary of the Northamptonshire Archaeological Society, will be speaking about Excavations at St James’s Abbey in Northampton.
September 1, 2025 at 11:54 AM