Christine Ferguson

When the Gillies report was published, the expectation was that governance at the University of Dundee would improve.

In all truthfulness it’s got worse. Much worse.

4 panel comic Panel 1: A group of people just having a lovely time. Everyone is laughing Panel 2: An absolute Federal Agent appears in the middle of the group laughing like an obnoxious robot Panel 3: The group quickly disperses, leaving the gross creepy agent by himself Panel 4: The agent touches his ear and says “arrest their moms”

the US government has arrived on bluesky

Yvonne Rosalind Barlow's 1983 painting of Nora Barlow, Charles Darwin's granddaughter, in the @theul.bsky.social. Living from 1885 to 1989, Nora was already nine during the Oscar Wilde trial and could (in theory) have played Castlevania II on the NES.

What every Vice Chancellor should be offering with genuine contrition

21percent.org?p=2757

Reminder that my interview with David Szalay - whose novel Flesh has since been shortlisted for the Booker Prize - is out in @englishstudies.bsky.social!

Good morning. It turns out that heads of universities can still be changed.

Cosey Fanni Tutti reveals all | The Observer An exhibition in the pioneering artist's hometown sees the Throbbing Gristle co-founder celebrating 50 years of baring her soul

I've long felt that the generosity of Cosey Fanni Tutti's work is overshadowed by the 'transgressive' reputation of TG, and that her art / porn actions and music have been rather siloed. It was a pleasure to try and put that straight in this profile for The Observer

observer.co.uk/culture/inte...

'Fascinating' personal library of 'forgotten scholar' rediscovered It is hoped that Zachary Boyd's collection at the University of Glasgow will help shed light on 17th century Scotland and a tumultuous time in European history.

A wee bit of news.

news.sky.com/story/fascin...

If Labour doesn't intend to adhere to its human rights obligations anyway, there's little point in us being signatories to the ECHR. Better, more honest, for Mahmood to join Reform in campaigning to leave it.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court just rejected Alex Jones' appeal and left in place the $1.4 billion judgment against him by the Sandy Hook Elementary School families

University of Staffordshire proposes to cut nearly 70 jobs The university says the proposed reduction in staff comes are in response to financial challenges.

Job losses at Staffordshire University for third year running while the senior management claim “student experience remains paramount”

We note the precision of cutting 66.7 people to “save” education

The remaining 0.3 of a person picks up all the extra workload?

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

'Our University would do well to stop neglecting the threats to humanities education, and start publicly taking up the banner of the humanities.'

Could (and should) be said of so many universities, across the globe.

Prince Andrew told Jeffrey Epstein ‘we’re in this together’ in 2011 email Royal sent email after Virginia Giuffre photo emerged but later claimed he had ceased contact with Epstein in 2010

Release the Epstein files. All of them. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Four books. "Extinctions: How Life Survives, Adapts and Evolves" by Michael J. Benton. "The Map That Changed the World" by Simon Winchester "Ghosts of the Tsunami" by Richard Lloyd Parry "Ein Riss durch die Welt" by Simon Winchester

I'm looking for recommendations for more books like these - about the history of geology or connected to major geologic events from the past in any way. ⚒️ #Geology

UK universities cut back on crucial research because of reduced funding One in five institutions spending less, including in areas such as cancer and heart disease, says report

UK universities are facing 10,000 to 20,000 redundancies and funding cuts for research are hurting scientists who have kept their jobs.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Pretty outrageous tbh

Universities of Dundee, Kent, Brunel, Coventry & Swansea defer pay rises

Kent’s “review in the coming months” is temporal evasion at its finest, while Coventry’s “break even position” heroically rebrands “we won’t pay” as “fiscal courage”

The academic austerity opera continues

NEW OPEN CALLS 2026-27 | Humanities Fellowships - bsr.ac.uk The British School at Rome is pleased to invite applications for the 2026-2027 academic year for the following award competitions, all with a deadline of 14 November 2025.  References will be due on…

2026-27 Humanities Fellowships, British School at Rome, Italy. Fixed term: 3 or 9 months. "Any aspect of the social, religious, political, & economic cultures of the Italian peninsula", etc. Deadline 14 November. nt4ox.link/bsr-fell26

A picture of the title page of Sarah Lewis's "Woman's Mission"

I might have solved the mystery of Sarah Lewis, author of *Woman's Mission*, key text of Victorian separate spheres ideology. The ODNB states nothing is known about her, but I have evidence to suggest she was Sarah Lewis (1807-1878), headmistress of a girls' boarding school in Putney in the 1840/50s

From flying ointments to healing herbs: the forgotten chemistry behind historical witchcraft practices The unusual concoctions of village witches have historically been dismissed as nonsense hocus pocus - but is this the whole story? Victoria Atkinson investigates the chemistry behind the myth and…

The unusual concoctions of village witches have historically been dismissed as nonsense hocus pocus, but is this the whole story? Victoria Atkinson investigates the chemistry behind the myth and whether there was more to witchcraft than ritual and superstition. www.chemistryworld.com/features/fro...

Where now for Britain’s Universities? UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.

ICYMI on Tuesday, here's my *new* and *free* short-form summary of what's gone wrong in our universities. This is something of a last word really, because unless the Budget and White Paper do something really radical, the fate of much HE is already sealed.
politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/where-n...

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

Every few months now I re-read this "Who Goes Nazi?" piece from 1941 and am blown away by how it captures the people we are dealing with 80 years later.

harpers.org/archive/1941...

An office toaster, you say? I know whose door il be knocking on with some Hovis slices…😀

A stack of some research I did for Hocus Pocus.

I very much feel like Rincewind, in that I cannot perform magic but in my bones I know I’m a magician.

John Curtice gives damning verdict as poll finds Keir Starmer 'least popular PM' ever JOHN Curtice has offered a damning assessment of Labour’s first year in power ...

“Asked whether there was any hope that Labour could turn things around, he [Sir John] initially remained silent, leading to laughs across the room. Then he replied: ‘The honest answer to that is no.” www.thenational.scot/news/2550267...

Starmer allies hired investigators to look into author of McSweeney book

EXCLUSIVE: Keir Starmer's allies hired private investigators to explore the background of an author whose book led to the resignation of the Prime Minister's director of strategy, The National has learned

I woke up this morning to see a video of a healthcare worker colleague in Gaza be shot in the head while working in the hospital. Shot in the head by the Israeli military. While working in the hospital. Israel continues to target healthcare workers with impunity. Fuck this world.

Live from "war ravaged" Portland