Steven Wilson

Hello and welcome to our Francophone Friday thread, where we come together to highlight research being conducted in or about the Francophone world! These threads are created with help of our members, so if you want to advertise events, publications, etc about Francophone research, do reach out! 1/9

Thank you for this lovely welcome to the @asmcf.bsky.social committee!

Between jabs, sleep regression, and falling down a Kristeva-on-Bakhtine rabbit hole, I nearly didn't get round to today's thread, but I'm trying to get back into a routine and it was for a good cause: learning more about @profstevenwilson.bsky.social's work and introducing him to our members!

Hello and welcome to our first Meet the Committee Monday in a while! Today we are introducing our new president @profstevenwilson.bsky.social who was elected in September having previously served as a member of the Editorial Board of the Association's journal @francemodern.bsky.social since 2020.

Check out this thread highlighting new work by @asmcf.bsky.social members ⬇️. Please do send the Web Officers a message if you would like us to give a Francophone Friday platform to your research.

While we do have some new members of the Executive Committee to introduce, soon our Meet the Committee Mondays will become Members’ Research Mondays, so if you are a member and would like to share a new publication, event or anything relating to your research, do not hesitate to reach out. 2/8

With our team of Web Officers once again complete, we are delighted to resume our weekly threads! As a reminder, on Fridays we have our Francophone Friday thread, where we highlight research being done in or about the Francophone world. 1/8

Training: Engaging with Policy and Policy Papers from a Languages, Cultures and Societies Perspective

Training: Engaging with Policy and Policy Papers from a Languages, Cultures and Societies Perspective, hosted by @ilcs.bsky.social
3 Dec, 2pm GMT
ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Terrific opportunity to see this thought-provoking film at QUB yesterday, thanks to the Centre for Documentary Research, and with introduction by my colleague Maeve McCusker.

We are delighted to share details of the 16th Douglas Johnson Memorial Lecture, organised by @frenchhistory.bsky.social & @asmcf.bsky.social to be held on Monday 12th January 2026, at the Institut Français, London.

My talk was titled: ‘“The hospital requires treatment in order to treat” (Jean Oury): healing the hospital with contemporary French philosophy, literature and film’ 🏥

Wonderful to see Steven Wilson, Maeve McCusker, Sarah Bowskill, and Emma Humphries! Thanks for such a warm welcome!!

Excellent letter. Can confirm that @asmcf.bsky.social has written in similar terms. Solidarity with all colleagues affected across the Department.

savenottinghamlanguages The University of Nottingham has suspended applications to all languages degree programmes, with a view to permanent closure of all of its undergraduate languages degrees. Under the proposals, it…

Colleagues and UCU members from UoN's Department of Modern Languages have put together this wonderful guide on supporting their programmes. A lot of what they suggest is also helpful in challenging the 48 courses at risk across the university

www.savemlcatnotts.org.uk

A pleasure to welcome Ben to QUB yesterday and to hear his brilliant talk on ‘healing the hospital’ with contemporary French philosophy, literature and film.

The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists

"Given that the UK needs more graduates with languages qualifications, the task of universities is not to accelerate the decline of language learning but to find ways to bolster their student intakes"

New piece in THE on #Nottingham and #Leicester proposals to close MLs.

@ucflangs.bsky.social

The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists

Every university should renovate the disciplinary framework of its courses and ask whether it is responding to its global responsibilities. But no university should recognise any merit in withdrawing from the study of other languages, cultures & societies
www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...

The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists

The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...

The effects of the proposed cull of languages provision at the University of Nottingham and the University of Leicester will be massive: for the wonderful staff, for current students, and for future budding linguists. Esp those who, like me, come from working-class backgrounds in the East Midlands.

We Can Make an Impact. Save Modern Languages courses at the University of Leicester

Please sign this petition to save modern languages courses at the University of Leicester.

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

We all know the difficulty the HE sector is in. But let’s work together to come up with solutions. The nuclear option damages our students & the reputation of our institutions. @ucflangs.bsky.social & @artsandhums.bsky.social
are supporting colleagues www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Max Hegarty, who is studying aerospace engineering, said the proposals also affect students on other courses. He has taken modules in German, and said this enabled him to do an internship in Germany. "So much of our European engineering is based in Germany," he said. "While a lot of people are willing to learn English, not returning that effort to them is not great for that collaboration, for that international co-operation that we need. "Cutting funding for modern languages courses serves only to paralyse our growth as a country."

Such a key point about cutting back on language provision - it’s not good for science and it’s not good for growth
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The University of Nottingham has announced the suspension of all Modern Languages and Cultures (MLC) programmes from September 2026.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We Can Make an Impact. Stop the removal of Modern Languages courses at the University of Nottingham!

Please sign the petition below in support of colleagues at Nottingham, where courses in the highly respected Dept of Modern Languages & Cultures have been earmarked for suspension.

Check our this piece on the representation of the Irish revolution in the French press - coauthored with @siobhraaiken.bsky.social and Mark O’Rawe !
@cecille-ulille.bsky.social @irishstudiesqub.bsky.social @meshs.bsky.social @labnf.bsky.social @ccirlandais.bsky.social

Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities Charles Forsdick concludes the Reading Bodies takeover and discusses how this project on historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contributes to rethinking the medical …

Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities

thepolyphony.org/2025/10/24/m...

Grateful to all of you for your stewardship of this momentous project!

Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities Charles Forsdick concludes the Reading Bodies takeover and discusses how this project on historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contributes to rethinking the medical …

@cforsdick.bsky.social concludes the @readingbodies.bsky.social takeover and discusses how this project contributes to rethinking the medical humanities in ways that are simultaneously multilingual, transnational and translational.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/24/m...

Languages, Medical Humanities and Policy: Intersections in Research and Practice In Part 2 of the Reading Bodies takeover, Olivia Glaze considers the policy and impact potential of research on languages, identity and culture within the medical humanities.

In Part 2 of the @readingbodies.bsky.social takeover, @oliviaglaze.bsky.social considers the policy and impact potential of research on languages, identity and culture within the medical humanities.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/21/l...

Historical Narratives of Illness in the Multilingual Medical Humanities Katharine Murphy introduces the Reading Bodies takeover and discusses what historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contribute to the medical humanities.

@katharinemurphy.bsky.social introduces the @readingbodies.bsky.social takeover and discusses what historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contribute to the medical humanities.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/20/h...

Thanks to Jordan McCullough for editing this week's Reading Bodies takeover of @the-polyphony.bsky.social!