Dr Val Ananìa

@nickdavie.bsky.social

Over a dark plum background, the letters IJCS in bright pink. Beside it, the title “International Journal of Cultural Studies” in pink and the question “What is cultural studies?” in light gray.

What and where is Cultural Studies today? What is it becoming? What should or could it become? What is its meaning? What is at stake as we assess the ongoing development and maturation of Cultural Studies as field?

A PhD can feel like being dropped in the deep end as throughout school there's often focus on the "right" answer, and that's been your goal for the whole of university, then bam, the PhD comes along. If anyone *knew* the answer you wouldn't be doing it, but then it can feel you are doing it wrong.

Reddit will block the Internet Archive It’s another move to protect against AI scraping.

On another episode of 'AI ruins everything': it's a sad day for internet researchers.

www.theverge.com/news/757538/...

I don't think I've watched the documentary you mention, but Andreas Malm makes a similar argument in "The Destruction of Palestine is the Destruction of the Earth"! It starts with a comparison between Gaza and the damage made by storm Daniel in Libya

what is your favorite short work on pedagogy from the last few years that ISN'T about AI?

In "Afro-Italian voices: Podcasting and sonic resistance", Michela Ardizzoni explores the pivotal role of podcasts in challenging dominant cultural narratives about race, diversity, and identity in Italy. Read it here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Note to self - wanna read!

I’m reposting this to help me get better at alt text. I also like capybaras

A film that takes place where you're from.

"also if they pass as one" according to who exactly? would i, a cis woman, pass as female on a day i'm wearing my shittiest clothes, no make-up and unshaven? this is nothing more than body policing. we're regressing so fucking far back in time

This. Protect trans kids. Protect trans rights. Gender is a spectrum. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people exist. Inter-sex & DSD people exist. Gender-non-conforming people exist. Transphobia is anti-feminist. Laws are often wrong and unjust. We must fight for a fairer future.

Another reason why @dropout.tv is such a breath of fresh air. A constant supply of excellent comedy that never punches down (and never spits out balderdash such as this). Not only is it possible, it also makes my tummy and face hurt with laughter.

The language used in this ruling makes my skin curl. A handy package of insult and injury.

UK supreme court rules definition of woman in Equality Act refers to ‘a biological woman’ – live Transgender women with gender recognition certificates not included in definition of women in the Equality Act 2010, say judges

"A man who identifies as a woman[ACK!!]who is treated less favourably not because of being trans(...)but because of being perceived as being a woman will be able to claim for direct sex discrimination" HOW do you prove this to support groups that want you out??
www.theguardian.com/law/live/202...

An astronomy professor colleague of mine once relayed trying to explain to his students why it was important that they actually write their class reports themselves. “The point is not to teach ME about neutron stars,” he said.

It's not a coincidence that so much of this is tied to families that profited from Apartheid, who have been feeling cheated by the fetters imposed on the free reign they thought they would always have over the world.

And the survivalism of "end times fascists" could be aspirational for 'sovereign citizens' who've been trying to claim independence from govts with pseudo-legal gobbledygook. The main difference being of course that the latter lack the former's wealth to succeed. Plutocracy has been here a while.

I already was not a fan of "Don't Look Up" as a movie, but this sequel is even worse!

All good points, those you make here. I found the celebratory card and the playful BTS at the end quite jarring: until that moment I though I was watching a movie about the pointlessness of war. Puzzling, and maybe a failure of that intention not to be political?

a handshake is available upon request is displayed on a screen ALT: a handshake is available upon request is displayed on a screen

CfP for the edited collection: The Work is Mysterious and Important: Critical Perspectives on Severance.

⭐️ Deadline abstracts 1 June
⭐️ 6-8k essays on the series, its stars and fandom
⭐️ Chapters submitted by December #cfp #severance #academicsky

call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/04/...

Palestinian Oscar winner 'lynched' by Israeli settlers, colleague says Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning 'No Other Land', returned from Los Angeles three weeks ago

He is still missing after soldiers abducted him, injured and bleeding. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers took him from an ambulance.

This is what "No Other Land" is all about. www.middleeasteye.net/news/palesti...

This was me after reading the headlines in bed - a habit I should lose.

In gamedev, we joke about how we shouldn't care so much because "we ain't curing cancer" so chill, right?

But you know what? These last few weeks reminded me that the Arts, esp accessible Art like videogames is incredibly important because games have a big place in sculpting cultural norms.

Screenshot of a BBC Politics tweet shows Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaking at a podium during a live broadcast of her speech. The quote at the top reads, “We are reducing the environmental requirements placed on developers when they pay into a nature restoration fund… they can focus on getting things built and stop worrying about the bats and the newts,” as she addresses the audience. In the background, there are large screens displaying the live stream of the speech, with a banner at the bottom reading “Kickstarting Economic Growth.”

Stop worrying about bats and newts? No Rachel Reeves MP – start worrying about the future of our economy if we tear down the nature it depends on.

Nature isn’t a blocker; it’s the foundation of growth.

Brilliant film. @valanania.bsky.social and I covered There’s Still Tomorrow in our Italian B-Side course at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham. Paola Cortellesi is great as both star and director.

A lot of effort went into making this event accessible, and all screenings will be followed by discussion with members of the local Palestinian community. It's the first time we do something like this, and we are very excited about it. Please come, and help us make this a yearly event!

Nottingham Palestine Film Festival Join us for the first Nottingham Palestine Film Festival!

People in the English Midlands: please join us at the first Nottingham Palestine Film Festival, in celebration of Palestinian creativity! All proceeds will be donated to Defense Children Int'l Palestine + the Freedom Theater in Jenin. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nottingham...

On Thursday 9 January Stephen Gundle will take part a panel discussion at the NFT to launch 'Visconti and His Cinema: Decadence and Decay', a season of the major films by the Italian film director. Ticket information below:

whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/defau...