Matt Charles

Gripped to the very marrow by a wonderful few days at KU Leuven for the workshops on Benjamin's theory of fascism. A wonderful bunch of participants keen to discuss Benjamin's politics and amazing organising by Vincent and everet. Hoping we can continue the arguments soon.

...and to "elevate qualities of dignity, care, and concern among faculty, so that they may be able to continue to have spaces and feel valued by their peers and senior leadership"

...in order to "define what it means for faculty members to matter at work and to further define the role of faculty members in supporting student mental health in higher education"...

- solutions should be focused on "the value of speaking to faculty members directly and hearing their stories about their experiences in supporting student mental health" and "foster[ing] inclusive environments where faculty who are struggling feel heard and included....

- Murthy's notion of “mattering at Work" rests on "the human needs of dignity and meaning” but this lack of value, recognition and consultation from senior leaders contributes to feelings of indignity that can itself "be related to anger, frustration, and higher rates of burnout"

- there are questions over the extent to which HE leaders "value the added responsibilities placed on faculty regarding the faculty members’ role in supporting student mental health" and are "addressing the needs of the faculty to do this work"

- "35% of faculty and staff agree that supporting students in mental and emotional distress has taken a toll on their own mental and emotional health" and "emotional factors such as stress, burnout, and feeling overworked have affected faculty" and led to "increased burnout among faculty members"

In summary:
- academics are increasingly required "to invest time in non-teaching responsibilities such as mental health support and student well-being without proper training or compensation"e spaces and feel valued by their peers and senior leadership"

Erica B. Riba's article (lnkd.in/eexu79An) is a really important read. Although focused on the US context, I know from my own recent experience of burnout and from the lack of recognition or support I received from my institution how the issues raised are also often lacking in UK higher education

"this entrance was assigned only to you. I’m going now to close it."

Reading the late Nigel Dodd's compelling account of The Social Life of Money' for some research on Simmel (and Benjamin) and decided to take advantage of the heat wave and do so from the top of a hill rather than the bottom of my garden.

An angled photograph of The Palgrave Walter Benjamin Handbook on a desk, showing the cover and the thickness of the book

A photograph of the first page of a chapter entitled in the handbook 'Walter Benjamin, Antifascism and Mimetic Education'

Didn't realize this was such a unit until it arrived in the post; even more respect to Nathan for his patience editing. Happy to say, after a difficult few years, this is my first publication since pre-Covid and proud to be amongst such illustrious thinkers.

As soon as I get some time, I'll try to edit and upload some of the talks from the Current Directions in Walter Benjamin Studies conference last month.

Walter Benjamin, Antifascism and Mimetic Education There has a been a growing scholarly interest in Walter Benjamin’s writings on education over the last decade, much of which has sought to recover its renewed political relevance not only with t...

Following on from a wonderful two-day conference we organized at the University of Westminster on 'Current Directions in Walter Benjamin Studies', the handbook with my contribution - a chapter on Walter Benjamin, Antifascism and Mimetic Education - is now available: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Selfie of me in a pink UCU NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY hat, black jacket, black dress

Day ten of strikes at Newcastle University against proposals to cut 300 jobs

YouTube video by Dundee UCU We Are The 632: University of Dundee staff speak out

632 job cuts have been proposed by the executive team at the University of Dundee.

Today we launch our first full-length video that highlights the devastating impact this news is having on staff, and how this will affect Dundee.

Please share to amplify our voice. #WeAreThe632

youtu.be/oXkCu-bruiI

You can read Rene Girard or you can just listen to Don McLean's 'American Pie' (this is not an endorsement of either)

This article is good on the long run effects of Covid re university sector. www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/did-pa...

It’s implicit in the screenshot, but I’m interested in the “student as customer [is always right]” limit being tested by demands for f2f teaching in early pandemic.

Final reminder this takes place tomorrow. Register and see updated schedule here: www.eventbrite.com/e/current-di...

Liverpool and Edge Hill universities both plan staff cuts Academics at Liverpool say ‘unexpected’ announcement has left people ‘shocked’

Grimmer and grimmer. Voluntary Leavers Scheme opens at Liverpool with July departure date for an unspecified number of staff. 'Academics have also been told there is no money to attend conferences'. 1/2

Breaking: Joseph Wheeler sacked by the University of Greater Manchester He’s gone “with immediate effect” following our reporting last week

"Breaking: Joseph Wheeler sacked by the University of Greater Manchester"

Cuts to the Arts and Humanities have been going on for years in the UK. Several great departments were closed down. But in most places, the erosion was more gradual. /1

Very pleased to announce the schedule for this upcoming conference on some Current Directions in Walter Benjamin Studies: Education, Technology, Politics, which coincides with the book launch for the Palsgrave Walter Benjamin Handbook coming out next month:
www.eventbrite.com/e/current-di...

Conferences as motivation to write Committing to a conference presentation is a common way to help motivate you to make progress on a larger writing project. It can work really well but you also risk feeling worse about your project an

While many of you are attending worldwide conferences, I decided to share a handy tip for using conferences to help you write. Listen to the audio version while you're traveling or waiting for the next session to start!

Becoming one university – a staff perspective: Jennie Blake, Siobhan Cartwright and Steve Jones Few colleagues would claim that we’ve all been on the same journey together over the last few years, so the goal of becoming one university is self-evidently an important and justifiable one. However,...

Manchester colleagues: a diplomatic but critical view on UoM institutional change projects from @unabridgedopinions.com, Siobhan Cartwright and @profstevenjones.bsky.social. Definitely worth a read. blogs.manchester.ac.uk/viewpoint/20...

Alt Text: MA students reacting to the essential reading list on their module

And connected to the political economy of time in HE, with its pay spine & workload allocation modellers, where such innovations get managers, given the time expected to develop them, promoted only by exploiting the time of frontline staff who aren't allocated the time and don't get promoted

You can register to attend the conference here and we'll post more details of the schedule and confirmed speakers on this event page shortly:
eventbrite.co.uk/e/current-dire…

The event will coincide with a book launch for the forthcoming Palgrave Walter Benjamin Handbook and will include contributors from the handbook along with the editor Nathan Ross. It takes place at University of Westminster (309 Regent Street, W1B 2HW)

Schedule & confirmed speakers tbc soon but advance notification of an upcoming one-day conference on 'Current Directions in Walter Benjamin studies: Education, Technology, Politics' in London on Friday 28th February (details in replies below)