Andrew Thacker

'The number of academics leaving their jobs...[rose] from just over 1,500 in 2023 to just over 2,800 in 2025. Across the three-year period, there were nearly 9,600 confirmed redundancies across the institutions, with more than 6,300 reported to be on academic contracts.' Fixed term excluded. 2/3

'Research Professional News made FOI requests to all 24 members of the Russell Group and 10 members of the ResearchPlus mission group of universities.' 24 institutions responded: their redundancies increased from just over 2,200 in the 2023 calendar year to nearly 4,400 in 2025. 1/3

Call for book review essays - book list C21 is inviting scholars and researchers to contribute book review essays for upcoming issues. We currently have a selection of titles published in 2025 available for review, spanning film and …

We are looking for review essays! You can see some of our selected titles at the post below. Get in contact with our review editors @heyitsdenisew.bsky.social and @olihaslam.bsky.social to request some or for further info

YouTube video by Kermode and Mayo's Take Mark Kermode reviews Melania

This could be the greatest film review I've come across. Tremendous youtu.be/DTyUni8dbkE?... #melania

At the RBO to see Woolf Works. Fabulous!

Last chance to submit your application

Looking for a new challenge in 2026?

Join SUP and support not-for-profit academic publishing.
We have three vacancies for editorial board members.

Submit your application by Monday 2 February 2026
https://www.sup.ac.uk/news/editorial-board-vacancies

Sign the Petition Hold a Parliamentary Debate on Palantir’s Role in UK Defence, Security & Public Services

c.org/Zn2c8tjnVg

“Many Little Wildernesses”: Harriet Monroe, Poetry, and the Reader as Tourist ABSTRACT. This article seeks to understand readerly experiences of the little magazine Poetry in the context of Harriet Monroe’s commitment to the American wilderness, combining insights from both per...

Delighted to see that my article, '"Many Little Wildernesses": Harriet Monroe, Poetry, and the Reader as Tourist' is out in the latest issue of the Journal of Modern Periodical Studies! doi.org/10.5325/jmodeperistud.16.2.0107

A magical musical moment amidst the madness.

"I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting," writes a woman now in hiding from the federal government for witnessing a state-sanctioned street execution

Why are UK universities failing? - Impact of Social Sciences The HE sector in the UK faces the prospect of a university going into administration. How have universities fallen so low and is change possible?

The UK university sector has gone beyond the red line and is now in a stage of rapid decomposition. Only a fundamental reset could save whole chunks of it. Probably too late for large parts.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

Digest Submission Archive - British Association for American Studies Promoting, supporting and encouraging the study of the United States since 1955

The BAAS website has been updated with news of a whole host of new books in American Studies 📚

No, private schools aren’t victims of ‘reverse discrimination’ – and Cambridge should know better | Lee Elliot Major Trinity Hall’s plan to target elite schools sends the message that privilege equals talent, when the reality is that poorer students are already on the back foot, says professor of social mobility at ...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

join @modernistudies.bsky.social! 3 PGR Rep roles are available, see below for a blog post from @lilyvmartin.bsky.social & yours truly about our time as reps so far.

Not the main thing ofc, but indicting a foreign head of state for conspiring to possess a machine gun is low key hilarious.

Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year

University students facing course 'cold spots' as enrolments fall New data analysis suggests courses like artificial intelligence are surging in popularity as languages fall.

British Academy's pioneering 'cold spots' work now replicated by HESA.

'University "cold spots" are developing in some parts of the country, new data analysis suggests, with courses in some subjects no longer available to students in certain regions.' 1/2

Very welcome news today that the UK will join the Erasmus+ programme in 2027. This will enable greater opportunities for study abroad and contributions in UK universities, and is something we called for in our most recent Manifesto.

NEW on Wonkhe: The abolition of the binary divide in HE made visible the wealth of research excellence in what became known as the post-92 part of the sector. Katie Normington worries that forcing specialisation risks eroding longstanding research ecosystems buff.ly/a2Lusby

University of Nottingham students fight 'insane' cull of courses Traitors composer Sam Watts is among those against plans to cut University of Nottingham courses.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Invading the American Canon Through case studies of émigré literary translators and editors, this open access book traces how Russian literature kindled the American imagination in the 20t…

Open-access and in print - Muireann Maguire (@muireanndinosaur.bsky.social), Invading the American Canon: Translators of Russian Literary Fiction, 1863-1984 (@bloomsburyhist.bsky.social, @bloomsburylit.bsky.social, 2025; h/t @jrdwrrn.bsky.social, #skystorians) www.bloomsbury.com/us/invading-...

Postdoc Opportunity!

University of Rochester - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Digital Humanities

networks.h-net.org/jobs/69418/u...

University of Leicester moves forward with plans to cut 150 jobs A 'large number of staff' across several schools could be impacted

“Four years ago, we suffered an earlier redundancy programme that we were told would secure the future of the university. That clearly was not true."

#UKHE

www.leicester.news/university-o...

A story in Private Eye, headlined "Minority representation on TV causes outrage". The article reads: "There has been widespread support for prominent Reform MP Sarah Pochin after she complained about the over-representation of minorities on television. Said one angry viewer, "She's right. Every time you turn on the telly there's another Reform MP being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg." She added, "I respect their way of life and their strange customs, but Reform MPs comprise only 0.7 percent of the House of Commons. Yet Nigel Farage is on Question Time more than Fiona Bruce." "I'm not prejudiced. Some of my best friends are swivel-eyed loons, but enough is enough. There are too many people with angry red faces on television."

Private Eye nailing it.

Relectures féministes de Michel Foucault. Colloque International (2025)

Feminist Re-readings of Michel Foucault, Hybrid, 7–8 Nov 2025, Sciences Po, Paris Registration link for anyone who might wish to attend online   Friday, November 7, 2025 (room K011) 9:15–10:00 – Introduction Judith Revel…

Southampton Solent pensions row ‘sets concerning precedent’ Union claims that professional service staff have been told to move on to subsidiary firm with less generous pension scheme, or face losing their job

Southampton Solent University accused of “unprecedented” attempt to move staff on to “inferior” pension schemes, with those not complying facing losing their jobs www.timeshighereducation.com/news/southam... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

New at Print Plus: "Virginia Woolf in Circulation: The Hogarth Press Order Books, Modernist Bookselling, and Digital Practice" by Alice Staveley et al sheds light on the business of modernism and reads order books as digital portals for literary history

modernismmodernity.org/articles/sta...

Are you a grad student, untenured faculty member, or an independent scholar doing research in Romantic-era literature and culture? There's still time to apply for a Pforzheimer Award!

Apply by Nov. 1 to be considered.

Find more information here: www.k-saa.org/pforzheimera...