Thea Pitman

Delighted to be publishing this with @uolpress.bsky.social and a big thank you to everyone involved in the project and the publication.

Excellent statement setting out the risk government is taking through its non-intervention in #UKHE spinning into oblivion. Could you make sure your MP reads it? With the change in leadership we can try to get some political momentum before it's too late. Here's a template if you'd like a hook.

We look forward to a day of reflection and discussion examining the significant reshaping of the HE sector and research environment over the past year together. Thank you to all our member associations for their continued support and contribution. #SHAPE #Mythbusting

The Arts and Humanities Alliance is proud to sponsor the 2026 @britishacademy.bsky.social SHAPE conference. Our session is Myth busting for the public with @ritagardner.bsky.social @jennyrichards.bsky.social & @sebgordon1.bsky.social Chair @emmacayley.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/shape-conf...

Very happy to be publishing with @uolpress.bsky.social !

"The study concluded...investing in #humanities contributes to preparing generations that possess technical competence alongside cultural and ethical awareness, thereby strengthening the path of comprehensive and balanced development": bit.ly/4sMLLQV

blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducat...

**New article** on The Conversation UK about languages and the government's national curriculum review - theconversation.com/englands-nat... - @uk.theconversation.com @ilcs.bsky.social @sas-news.bsky.social

Opinion: “More than ever before, we need British diplomats, spies and soldiers to speak the language of our adversaries. We need universities like Nottingham to be pumping out Russian and Mandarin graduates each year, to work across Whitehall.” 🖊️ Ian Proud https://ow.ly/N6yw50XwM3X

"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe

AHGBI, led by Professor Sarah Wright, opposes the University of Nottingham’s move to suspend—and effectively close—all Modern Languages degrees. SRUK/CERU, led by Dr Carlos Soler Montes, has also raised concerns. AHGBI urges immediate reconsideration. #SaveNottinghamLanguages

Delighted to see one of the images from the ORIGEM project showing Brendo Tupinambá and taken by photographer Laryssa Machada on the front cover of @lonelyplanetesp.bsky.social Brazil 2025. Original project funded by @universityofleeds.bsky.social more information at origem.hotglue.me.

'Nottingham will be the only Russell Group university not to teach modern foreign languages degrees if it approves plans to close a swath of courses including Spanish and French as well as music and dozens of others.' 1/3

'The prospect of hundreds of job cuts at Lancaster University could damage the city's economy, students have warned.' 'Could'? Surely 'will'.

@extinctionleeds.bsky.social is an interdisciplinary doctoral training programme focusing on topics relating to extinction and its meanings, histories and legacies. Watch the whole🎬👉 media.leverhulme.ac.uk/video/extinc... @katatrepsis.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social

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

Please consider signing against this nonsensical absurdity! c.org/vGgNqmXhNx

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

New Post: Think Like a Linguist: It’s time for a national conversation about the value of languages  www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/10/14/t...

Just to be clear, an English degree - learning to critically assess texts - is actually one of the most dangerous for people such as Badenoch. An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.

“Prioritising a narrow set of disciplines could mean we lose talented arts, humanities and social sciences graduates who help drive innovation and tackle huge societal challenges. Student choice is vital.” bit.ly/3KAReIQ

This week the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, announced the return of maintenance grants for students in greatest need. In a new blog post, RHS President Lucy Noakes considers the state of access to history and the humanities in UK HE bit.ly/3KP5WMe #Skystorians @artsandhums.bsky.social

"The best way to get audiences to care about the humanities is by making humanities content they like. Early testing shows how engaging with videos that show the practice of the humanities can move some audiences to support the humanities." bit.ly/3KuZ32K

Friends, I'm currently writing up a methodology chapter and would love your help. Are there any recent projects that use AI or large language models (LLMs) as a direct entry point into Latin American literary texts? I'd be delighted to spotlight innovative work I may have missed. Feel free to share!

'Warriors and Weavers: The Poetics and Politics of Indigenous Appropriations of New Media Technologies in Latin America' by @theapitman.bsky.social is popular this week. Read it #OpenAccess via MLO: bit.ly/Pitman-MLO

#CFP for Debates in Digital Humanities edited by Gabriela Baeza Ventura, María E. Cotera, Annemarie Perez, and Carolina Villarroel. Deadline for 500-word abstracts, including proposed title and short bio: May 15, 2025. dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/page/debates... #digitalhumanities #usLdh

Wonderful to see this in print! Congratulations, Lou!

A response: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/mode...

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

@extinctionleeds.bsky.social PGR Trina Flesher in action here.

Congratulations to #Extinction Studies PhD student (now Dr) Jonathan Roberts on successfully defending his thesis yesterday on "Biological and Social aspects of human #hookworm #infection and eradication". Many thanks to @rohandroy.bsky.social for being a thorough and constructive external.

Jonathan's brilliant work has, like the rest of the @extinctionleeds.bsky.social projects, absolutely zero respect for the niceties of disciplinary boundaries. It's a wonderful exploration of the social, cultural and biological aspects of hookworm eradication. History, philosophy, epidemiology.

'The deep cultural cost of British university job cuts" bit.ly/4gnDCuE An excellent letter, in today's @theguardian.com, by the co-chairs of @artsandhums.bsky.social, a collective of subject specialist organisations representing and advocating for arts & humanities subjects in UK HE. #skystorians

The Arts and Humanities Alliance have written an open letter to Bridget Philippson, Secretary of State for Education, on the recently announced cuts across the sector. We are concerned that these measures disproportionately affect our disciplines and call for an urgent government review.

Quarter of leading UK universities cutting staff due to budget shortfalls Up to 10,000 redundancies or job losses feared as institutes undergo restructuring www.theguardian.com/education/20...

💾 Working with born-digital collections? 💽 Seeking inspiration for ways to collect, preserve, analyse, and curate them? 💾 Want to hear @dorothyjberry.bsky.social's keynote? Join us online or in person at this fabulous conference www.sas.ac.uk/about-us/ins...

Please help us to save Modern Languages at Cardiff University: chng.it/Hmtvvdtptg

This is a national scandal. When will the government wake up and realise they are presiding over the rapid implosion of the UK's world-renowned university sector?

Come and see some of the work we’ve been doing… SPIRIT: an exhibition of nature photography from the Scottish Small Isles. Parkinson Court, 4-6 Feb.

This episode has been released today! Listen to me with host @k8lister.bsky.social on the history of love letters and erotic letters, primarily in antiquity but looking at modern developments too. The episode is titled "The Origins of Sexting": listener discretion is advised!

www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Three Leeds Opportunity Research Scholarships (LORS) @universityofleeds.bsky.social are available to prospective postgraduate researchers from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic groups for study in any Faculty in 2025/26. Details here. Please spread the word: phd.leeds.ac.uk/.../234-leed....