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Les Back is a professor of sociology at the University of Glasgow and former Director of the Centre for Urban… more

H-index: 33
Political science 44%
Sociology 38%
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Be lovely to be in touch again, Pat. Hope you are well x

Reposted by Les Back

rachelmalik.bsky.social
I met her when we were both studying the Linguistics MLitt in 1988-9 at Strathclyde and we were friends ever since. Brilliant writer and undervalued in the UK but not elsewhere. A truly wonderful friend
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by Les Back — Reposted by Pat Thomson

academicdiary.bsky.social
@patthomson.bsky.social I stumbled on the review you wrote of Academic Diary, Pat. Thanks for such a thoughtful take. I have been thinking again about form working on a new project. Feels like the world of HE is a very different place now. Be great to be in touch again. Warm best wishes.
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
This is such a thoughtful review by Pat Thomson - have been a huge admirer of Patter for a long time. patthomson.net/2016/07/21/o...
on form and function – and Les Back’s Academic Diary
So you want to write a book which examines everyday life in the contemporary university. You want to show the ways in which academic work is constrained, but also what freedoms are still possible. …
patthomson.net
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
@kirsteen-paton.bsky.social amazing tips as always, Kirsteen.
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Reposted by Les Back, Martin Paul Eve, Nicola Carr , and 2 more

karl-jacoby.bsky.social
History faculty at Columbia & Barnard decrying the harassment of @mark-bray.bsky.social: "This is the first case in recent memory of a historian who has fled the country after receiving death threats on account of the history that they teach."
40 670 1.8K

by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...
The art of the chant | The Observer
Funny, insightful and sometimes abusive, the contributions from the stands are key to football’s live appeal, but they also tell us about society and cul...
observer.co.uk
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
This is such a huge complement that so many took so much care over this special issue - deep thanks to to Emma & Kirsteen @kirsteen-paton.bsky.social @emmakjackson.bsky.social
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Reposted by Les Back

thesociologicalreview.org
OUT NOW: The Sociological Review journal 73.5, featuring 13 new papers (11 #openaccess).

💡 Includes a Special Section on the legacy of @academicdiary.bsky.social and Nirmal Puwar’s Live Methods, published in 2012 as part of our monograph series.

buff.ly/bJQXWs6 @journals.sagepub.com
The Sociological Review Journal Vol 73 Issue 5 Kirsteen Paton Emma Jackson Les Back Nirmal Puwar Andrea Doucet Eva Jewell Jessica Falk Rebecca Coleman Dawn Lyon Chloe Turner Thomas Wadsworth Zoe Walshe Beth Bramich Shamser Sinha Sophie Woodward Brenda Herbert Irene van Oorschot Sophie van Balen Andreas Folkers Susie Scott Nina Lockwood Theresa O’Keefe Aline Courtois Jérémy Vachet https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/SOR/73/5/
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Lovey piece from Stephanie and George on filming as sociological practice. thesociologicalreview.org/image-maker-...
Image-Maker in Residence: Verbatim Filmmaking for Social Justice: An abolitionist approach to where, how and why Black men live where they live
Stephanie Guirand, our autumn 2025 Image-Maker in Residence and activist, sociologist and co-founder of The Black Response, shares her film and research on the housing injustice that Black men face.
thesociologicalreview.org
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Great sociological listening - thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/sep...
You heard it here first: Uncommon Sense podcasters share some home truths
Podcast Uncommon Sense reveals sociological surprises on burnout, fat, Europeans, anxiety, performativity and TV’s Fleabag. By producer Alice Bloch.
thesociologicalreview.org
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
The province of tyrants” - paramilitary policing of black and brown Us communities as America turns on itself.
chrislhayes.bsky.social
Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 13d
youtu.be/vOXOWAhFz0A
‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building
YouTube video by MSNBC
youtu.be
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Reposted by Les Back

timeshighered.bsky.social
‘Life-saving’ Gaza student evacuations need ‘collective effort’: Gazan students due to begin studies in Ireland and Italy but efforts in other countries remain blocked
https://ow.ly/zzqE50X5Inu
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Reposted by Les Back, Sanford F. Schram

chrislhayes.bsky.social
youtu.be/vOXOWAhFz0A
‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building
YouTube video by MSNBC
youtu.be
600 4.3K 8.6K

by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Tragic scenes at Heaton Park Synagogue and loss of life there, and the need in our time for vigilance against all forms of racism and violence www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Manchester synagogue attack: What we know so far
Two Jewish people died in a car and stabbing attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.
www.bbc.co.uk
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Just about to record a conversation with Tom Spare about this extraordinary programme. Stuart Hall was 47 when he made it in 1979 with Maggie Steed It Ain’t Half Racist Mum for Open Door www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
Open Door - It Ain't Half Racist Mum
In a programme from 1979, Stuart Hall and Maggie Steed of the Campaign Against Racism in the Media examine their charge of bias on television against black and Asian communities.
www.bbc.co.uk
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Will send x
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Reposted by Les Back

identitiesjournal.bsky.social
Our latest #Identities issue is now published!

Vol 32 No 5, including a #Symposium on Michèle Lamont's 'Seeing Others'

Explore the issue:
www.tandfonline.com/...

@nasarmeer.bsky.social @aaronwinter.bsky.social @mlamont.bsky.social @tandfresearch.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

#LatestIssue
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Reposted by Les Back, Matthew Waites

britsoci.bsky.social
Don’t miss out! Abstract submissions invited for the BSA’s 75th anniversary conference, 8-10 April 2026, University of Edinburgh – a fixture in the sociological calendar unlike any other.

Submission deadline: TOMORROW, Friday 3 October 2025 tinyurl.com/23sjk4nh #sociology
Image text: Don’t miss out! Abstract submissions invited for the BSA’s 75th anniversary conference, 8-10 April 2026, University of Edinburgh – a fixture in the sociological calendar unlike any other. Submission deadline: THIS FRIDAY, 3 October 2025 tinyurl.com/23sjk4nh #sociology
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Reposted by Les Back

identitiesjournal.bsky.social
Have you read our latest symposium?

'The Asian Gang Revisited: Changing Muslim Masculinities' by Claire Alexander, with contributions from Natasha Warikoo, Shamim Miah & Marcus Anthony Hunter

Published in issue 32.4:
www.tandfonline.com/...
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Reposted by Les Back, Brooke Harrington

robertbohan.bsky.social
This woman is on fire in the EU parliament.
27 310 930

by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
I never really thought I had the literary chops for writing fiction, but @awtsn.bsky.social persuaded me to do this for her SO-Fi magazine for the Glasgow special.
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Wonderful essay from Karolina Benghellab on the haunted borders of Europe. www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci... @uofglasgow.bsky.social
Tracing migration journeys in empty squats along the Balkan Route.
Karolina Benghellab discusses the real consequences of Europe's increasingly militarised border regimes.
www.gla.ac.uk
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Reposted by Les Back, Matthew Waites

uofgsociology.bsky.social
Our latest Sociological & Cultural Studies blog has just been posted. In it Karolina Benghellab discusses the hidden forms of violence and detention that are a deliberate consequence of Europe's increasingly militarised, and hugely costly, border regimes. Please read and share...
Tracing migration journeys in empty squats along the Balkan Route.
Karolina Benghellab discusses the real consequences of Europe's increasingly militarised border regimes.
www.gla.ac.uk
3 3

Reposted by Les Back

thesociologicalreview.org
JOIN US: The Sociological Review journal is recruiting 15 new Editorial Board members who will take up post in February 2026.

Our aim is to recruit a cohort of globally minded scholars reflective of the richness and diversity of the sociological community.

➡️ Deadline 5 December buff.ly/wQQwoHU
JOIN OUR JOURNAL: THE SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW IS RECRUITING 15 NEW MEMBERS TO ITS EDITORIAL BOARD Apply by 5 December 2025 The Sociological Review logo
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Thanks Ben, will read with great interest. Would be lovely to catch up x
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Reposted by Les Back

thesociologicalreview.org
“The backbone of our academic community”: in the September issue of the Magazine, journal editors @carinrunciman.bsky.social Sweta Rajan-Rankin @silkeroth.bsky.social and Maud Perrier celebrate the institution of #peerreview and demystify the editorial decision-making process.

buff.ly/fekw1xq
Collage featuring a person in a red dress with gears, lightbulb, book, and laptop — representing knowledge sharing and peer review – and held aloft on a paper airplane by a giant hand.
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by Pat Thomson — Reposted by Les Back

patthomson.bsky.social
Dealing with a toxic review? Write a Dear Reviewer letter… patthomson.net/2025/09/27/d...
Dear Reviewer
Every academic writer knows the sting of a harsh review. Every one. Including me. We’ve all had them. The review that is scathing, brutal and toxic. The immediate impulse is often to fire bac…
patthomson.net
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Thank you, interesting to make
an inventory of those changes. I wanted to do a second edition but the publisher wanted an entirely new book. I have written my first bit of scan if fiction for Ash Watson’s So Fi magazine… it’s a horror story and was cathartic. Have a good weekend, Liz.
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by Les Back

academicdiary.bsky.social
Thank you Liz, really kind.
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References

Fields & subjects

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