Des Fitzgerald

I've seen it (not fully complete) in the flesh and it is no more impressive.

Like, obviously Oxford is an awful institution and can do whatever it wants, but there's something grotesque about yoking what the humanities 'can do' to the infrastructural whims of an obscenely wealthy one-time Trump appointee. Maybe the humanities can do better than this actually??

Oxford’s largest-ever project ‘shows what the humanities can do’ New building which brings together disciplines for the first time will also open its doors to the public to engage with big questions facing the world

Lol it shows what a £200m gift from the Blackstone group can do.
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/oxfords...

It does - thanks!

TuneIn appears to have killed BBC radio in Ireland which means I might make it to 8am without hearing two British people have an unexpectedly transphobic conversation.

Text from an article by Renewal. It reads "Remember that guy who put little flags in dog poos? This is the essence of Mr Blobby Patriotism. A grudging but somewhat uplifting patriotism that is housed in the smallest actions of our fellow citizens."

Guys I think the UK might be done

Entirely this!

There was obviously a moment when not dismissing self-evidently bad popular art - such as the music of Taylor Swift - was original/interesting, but surely that moment is now long gone, and an insistence on seriousness, judgement, aesthetic value &c. has become the useful or unconventional position.

"of course we saw King Charles lay on the plámás with a trowel during trump's visit to the UK* lol #aras25

People can kid themselves all they like that the flag is inclusive and about national pride but who is using it and how is important. When cheap replicas are being placed high up poles it feels not very far from my experiences of growing up in the North and similar gaslighting about what it meant.

Title of Post: Assistant Professor in Sociology (Racism(s), Criminology, Cultural Sociology) JOB SYNOPSIS The Department of Sociology at the University of Limerick (UL) invites applications for an Assistant Professor in Sociology. The Department of Sociology is a dynamic and collaborative environment that delivers excellence in research, teaching, and societal impact. Our faculty members’ teaching and research interests span the breadth of the discipline and have expertise in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches. The Department’s research profile is distinguished by its dual commitment to rigorous scholarly enquiry and meaningful social impact, supported by a robust track record in securing competitive funding from both national and international sources, including Research Ireland and EU funders. Our strong publication and citation record is complemented by faculty members’ active engagement with local, national, and supranational bodies, and policy and practice-oriented impact work. Interdisciplinary Research Centers linked to our department include the Centre for the Study of Popular Music and Popular Culture (CSPMPC) and the European Centre for the Study of Hate (ECSH). The Department of Sociology is committed to providing our students with an intellectually stimulating educational experience that cultivates disciplinary knowledge and transferable skills. We offer high-quality curricula designed to foster critical thinking, methodological competence, and deep engagement with pressing social issues. Our teaching is research-driven, and our pedagogical practices are designed to empower students as active and reflective learners. In addition to our undergraduate programmes, we support a growing community of postgraduate students across taught Masters and PhD pathways. This thriving academic community provides an excellent foundation for developing the next generation of Sociological researchers. If you are passionate about advancing in the field …

Screenshot with alt text because those links are always bad/weird

Unfortunately I discovered this because today is "national potato day" in Ireland.

Assistant professor (permanent post!) in sociology at the excellent University of Limerick. Expertise sought in one of soc of racisms, cultural soc or criminology. my.corehr.com/pls/esbsheul...

ah no, that would have ruined it.

A post from James Ball. The text is: "The Church of England have taken more than a year to replace the Archbishop of Canterbury – getting somewhat out to shame on the speed front by the Catholic Church on that front. But they’re definitely ahead of the Catholics here: it’s a woman! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0r0201jgdlt"

"definitely ahead of the catholics here" is an instance of such pure, undiluted england-brain that you can really only stop and admire it.

A screenshot of a website that says "DISCOVER THE TASTY VERSATILITY OF POTATOES! Europe's favourite since 1536." banner ads say "funded by the european union" and "enjoy - it's from europe."

So there's an EU-funded campaign to get millenials to eat potatoes and - I swear to Jesus I'm not making this up - it's slogan is: "Europe's favourite since 1536."

Lol this is actually almost certainly going to be the case!

Well there is that!

This is like if the Duke of Westminster was called, like, Shaymie Dennehy or something, and they just tried to casually style it out.

It's at least a bit funny that the head of the Anglican communion is going to have as extraordinarily Irish a name as *Mullaly.*

Don't worry, they got you

Nice one lads, Airt Uí Laoghaire's widow is crying

Yes enya, no kneecap.

A list of terrible songs including tracks by U2, snow patrol, the script and Westlife.

There's a deezer playlist called "Irish essentials" where the music is so shocking it might genuinely be a hate crime.

Andy Bartlett and I have a book coming out in November called Bigfooters and Scientific Inquiry. Combing an STS analysis with cultural sociology we hope this contributes to the burgeoning field of the sociology of mystery. Below I include a list of abstracts for the main substantive chapters

My thoughts are with my party colleague Senator Chris Andrews and all others aboard the Sumud Flotilla tonight who have seemingly been kidnapped by the Israeli state.

The Irish government must speak out.

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share.google/1d4seIVRhh3J...

Anyway, advocating for population control through the chaos and violence of the 2020s is *really* bad, and is not something that should be unmentionable in the context of an otherwise important, pioneering career that meant a lot to many people.

Haha, this is new to me - love it.

This is like when I spent four years interviewing neuroscientists and the conclusion of my thesis was "actually they know their field sucks"