Jonathan Potter

Reposting as still relevant. And pondering May Mailman’s extraordinary attack on universities on behalf of Trump captured in the NYT.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/o...

#9
If we want universities to defend society against pseudoscience & conspiracy (ever more needed), they need sustained support rather than caricatured takedowns.

#8
Lazy claims about squeamishness or bias obscure the real bind: govt frameworks + financial erosion + political hostility particularly from the right. That is what’s crippling UK universities.

#7
It’s glib to sneer at “VR caves” or gender theory syllabi. The real crisis is a system trying to do more with less while navigating hostile policy & public misunderstanding.

#6
Staff precarity, casualisation, and burnout don’t come from “fashionable taboos.” They come from impossible workloads, insecure contracts, and too much compliance paperwork.

#5
The gap has been filled by international students. Now govt policy in the form of visa restrictions, and hostile rhetoric is driving them away. This is financial self-sabotage.

#4
Meanwhile central funding has been hollowed out. Domestic fees frozen since 2017 while costs rise steeply. Govt support shrinks year by year.

#3
REF, TEF, KEF aren’t abstract acronyms. They tie every university to govt metrics: research outputs, teaching “excellence,” knowledge exchange. All policed, all audited. They are good and bad, but any serious criticism of universities in the UK needs to address their role.

#2
Marriott paints universities as indulgent, decadent, and squeamish. But the reality is very different: an over-regulated, underfunded system caught between REF, TEF, KEF, and shrinking resources.

#1
Following on from my earlier thread about claims of “bias” in universities (link below 👇), I was struck by James Marriott’s column in today’s Times. It’s full of anecdote & caricature. The real story of UK universities is structural, financial, and political. 🧵
👉 bsky.app/profile/prof...

There is no unified self | Kenneth Gergen Throughout history the West has promoted the unified self. Whether it is the Christian emphasis on inner purity or the rationalist focus on eliminating contradictions in thought and reason, we have lo...

“With deep roots in Western history, and blossoming in the 20th century, we find a widely shared belief in the ideal of what can be termed a unified self,” writes Kenneth Gergen. | https://bit.ly/4n5Rfm2

Gergen argues that the desire for self-unity is ultimately mistaken.

#socsky #philsky

Wonderful!

Excellent thesis! Now the publications! 😊

Why do people riot? An expert in crowd psychology explains why some peaceful protests turn violent, and why riots can spread.

'Why do people riot?'

New from me in @theconversation.com, summarizing our recent work funded by @ukri.org & @behaviourresuk.bsky.social

theconversation.com/why-do-peopl...

Aija kicks off the conference.

Aija Logren kicks off the Finnish Social Psychology conference. An exciting group!
@alexahepburn.bsky.social

Will do!

Potter & Hepburn in Kuopio’s central square.

In lovely Kuopio getting ready for the Finnish Social Psychology Conference. Exciting!
@alexahepburn.bsky.social
@darg-sessions.bsky.social
@rucalteam.bsky.social
#emotionography

To save UK higher education, start talking about knowledge - Research Professional News Until debate on universities foregrounds their core purposes, their woes will deepen, says Margot Finn

'Universities exist to foster and disseminate research, learning and critical analysis.' But this rarely comes across in recent media discussions of higher education says @eicathomefinn.bsky.social - a Vice President of @britishacademy.bsky.social
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

There is an increasingly common and very lazy notion that universities are left biased. That needs countering as universities are under attack in the US but also elsewhere.

I wrote a thread about it.

Thank you. There is much more to be said, of course!

Universities aren’t “biased” because they care about inequality or social justice.
They’re biased toward evidence. Toward facts.
Especially in the US, careless talk of “left-wing bias” invites real damage.
Thoughts from US/UK experience here: 👇

Delighted to be speaking at this event on 13 May!

Do sign up

"Technically, AI is a field of computer science that uses advanced methods of computing. Socially, AI is a set of extractive tools used to concentrate power and wealth."

Yes - but why?!
As I said:
It’s not surprising that being through higher education correlates with support for parties addressing inequality and diversity. It reflects informed engagement with the world, not partisan bias.

"Scale isn't a substitute for scrutiny" resonates with Schegloff's (1993) "quantification is no substitute for analysis” (p. 114) in conversation analysis #EMCA

Universities aren't biased toward left-wing politics — they're biased toward knowledge. Thoughts here 👇

Serious conservative arguments are always welcome — but like everything in universities, they must meet the same standards: evidence, coherence, and rigor.

Calls for 'balance' between evidence and populist denial don't protect free speech — they undermine intellectual rigor. Universities thrive on serious, evidence-based challenges, not superficial parit

DEI hiring has strengthened universities. In both the US and UK, there’s a highly qualified, historically excluded pool of scholars. Hiring them raises the quality of academic life – it doesn’t dilute it.

It’s not surprising that being through higher education correlates with support for parties addressing inequality and diversity. It reflects informed engagement with the world, not partisan bias.