Daniel Katz
@danielkatz.bsky.social
University of Warwick, reposts not endorsements.
When I was finishing my PhD in 1993, my advisors told me the job market "had never been so bad."And there's hardly ever been a time in the 32 years since when that statement was not correct.
November 17, 2025 at 9:37 AM
When I was finishing my PhD in 1993, my advisors told me the job market "had never been so bad."And there's hardly ever been a time in the 32 years since when that statement was not correct.
Vote Green, vote Green!
November 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Vote Green, vote Green!
Labour are so bad. So, so bad!
November 15, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Labour are so bad. So, so bad!
Yes, everyone already knows Starmer is done and going on as if this might last until 2029 clearly feels like an empty charade to everyone--the media, the MPs, the cabinet....maybe even to Starmer himself.
November 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Yes, everyone already knows Starmer is done and going on as if this might last until 2029 clearly feels like an empty charade to everyone--the media, the MPs, the cabinet....maybe even to Starmer himself.
I don't the think the so-called populist left blames ills on shadowy others, they blame it on capitalism, and their intellectuals have extremely complex, frequently differing analyses about how to remedy things. It's simply ignorant to refuse to accept that.
November 13, 2025 at 9:01 AM
I don't the think the so-called populist left blames ills on shadowy others, they blame it on capitalism, and their intellectuals have extremely complex, frequently differing analyses about how to remedy things. It's simply ignorant to refuse to accept that.
It is often used dishonestly--deployed as part of the "there is no alternative" arsenal. And, as in the piece that prompted this, it almost always implies that people who question conventional wisdom and entrenched power do so because they are uneducated or stupid. That's false.
November 13, 2025 at 8:13 AM
It is often used dishonestly--deployed as part of the "there is no alternative" arsenal. And, as in the piece that prompted this, it almost always implies that people who question conventional wisdom and entrenched power do so because they are uneducated or stupid. That's false.
Populism is a dishonest, useless term. Its purpose is to assert that all opposition to established power is essentially identical and interchangeable. This is simply not true. Farage and Polanski are not the same thing, and losing faith in the Tory-Labour establishment is a sign of intelligence.
November 13, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Populism is a dishonest, useless term. Its purpose is to assert that all opposition to established power is essentially identical and interchangeable. This is simply not true. Farage and Polanski are not the same thing, and losing faith in the Tory-Labour establishment is a sign of intelligence.
My immigrant paternal grandfather, Ben Katz, also served in the US army in WW1. Just a few years after arriving in New York from Lithuania.
November 11, 2025 at 4:48 PM
My immigrant paternal grandfather, Ben Katz, also served in the US army in WW1. Just a few years after arriving in New York from Lithuania.
I lived in France for 20 years. This statement has as much validity as "English football since 1998: We're not perfect, but at least we're not France."
October 27, 2025 at 9:02 AM
I lived in France for 20 years. This statement has as much validity as "English football since 1998: We're not perfect, but at least we're not France."
Less than nothing.
October 26, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Less than nothing.
When I saw the description "Jamaican journalist" I at first didn't realise they were talking about McKay. I'm not saying he wasn't a journalist, but if you had to pick one term to present him.....
October 17, 2025 at 5:43 AM
When I saw the description "Jamaican journalist" I at first didn't realise they were talking about McKay. I'm not saying he wasn't a journalist, but if you had to pick one term to present him.....
But that's the challenge of our time, Natalia.
October 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM
But that's the challenge of our time, Natalia.
Another way to solve this problem is to make universities free. If you want a democracy, you can never have "too many" people who are "too educated." Now more than ever, when misinformation is rife in ways we couldn't have imagined 20 years ago.
October 6, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Another way to solve this problem is to make universities free. If you want a democracy, you can never have "too many" people who are "too educated." Now more than ever, when misinformation is rife in ways we couldn't have imagined 20 years ago.
That is absolutely right. And I'm only half-joking when I say that soon that will apply to people who have written on the French Resistance or the Heydrich assassination.
September 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
That is absolutely right. And I'm only half-joking when I say that soon that will apply to people who have written on the French Resistance or the Heydrich assassination.
I wonder what percentage of actually existing HE teachers in the UK think the TEF has improved teaching, and what percentage think TEF has made it worse. This would be an interesting study.
September 23, 2025 at 6:31 AM
I wonder what percentage of actually existing HE teachers in the UK think the TEF has improved teaching, and what percentage think TEF has made it worse. This would be an interesting study.
The TEF is specifically designed NOT to punish universities for putting staff in exploitative conditions which affect their ability to teach properly. For the TEF, excellence in teaching = 1) hiring more bureaucrats, 2) increasing the number of pointless meetings, 3) filing stupid paperwork.
September 23, 2025 at 6:16 AM
The TEF is specifically designed NOT to punish universities for putting staff in exploitative conditions which affect their ability to teach properly. For the TEF, excellence in teaching = 1) hiring more bureaucrats, 2) increasing the number of pointless meetings, 3) filing stupid paperwork.
Abolish the OFS, the single biggest enemy of higher education in the UK.
September 19, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Abolish the OFS, the single biggest enemy of higher education in the UK.
Outstanding! My alma mater, Reed College, is famous for refusing to cooperate with US News and World Report's rankings, and nothing could make me prouder than to see my employer, @warwickuni.bsky.social , also withdraw from all ranking schemes.
September 16, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Outstanding! My alma mater, Reed College, is famous for refusing to cooperate with US News and World Report's rankings, and nothing could make me prouder than to see my employer, @warwickuni.bsky.social , also withdraw from all ranking schemes.