Tim Causer

After nearly six wonderful years together, last week Samson fell asleep in my arms. He was the greatest, most handsome little mate I could have wished for. I was so lucky I got to rescue him.

Time to get a grip, before a genuinely world-leading higher education slips from our grasp.

'The University of Nottingham has confirmed that it will close its music and languages departments as it presses ahead with more than 500 job cuts despite widespread opposition from staff and students.' A blight on East Midlands and UK higher education.

"Don't bring your union rep" means, incidentally, you should DEFINITELY bring your union rep. It's one of those sentences like "Don't discuss your salary with your coworkers" that means you absolutely need to do the opposite, immediately.

So it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)

Dystopia www.news.com.au/technology/o...

We are really sorry to let you know that UCL Open Days on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2026 have been cancelled. Please do not travel to campus for these events. For the latest updates, please visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/study/prospective-students/open-days/undergraduate-open-days

We have two new 12-month postdoctoral fellowship opportunities at the British Library! Applications open soon to co-design projects in the following areas: - Colonial Deposit and our Newspaper Collection - Local Large Language Models and Personal Born-Digital Archives www.bl.uk/services/res...

'Transcribe Bentham began in 2010, and another 20,000 or so manuscript pages require transcription. We’d like to invite your readers to help us complete the project and to explore the writings and correspondence of a figure of enormous historical importance.' #Skystorians

Help us turn Transcribe Bentham into Transcribed Bentham www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

MARC BLOCH COMIC BOOK. This is not a drill. MARC BLOCH COMIC BOOK!!! www.tallandier.com/livre/marc-b... #MedievalSky #Skystorians

Peter Mandelson was asked for his Whatsapp messages on his phone but refused to hand them over. A legal minefield: @vmantouvalou.bsky.social and I have written about it here in 'Bring Your Own Device — Now Hand It Over!' digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cllpj/vol45/...

In light of closures of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences courses and departments across the UK in the past 2 years, what does that commitment mean? The University of Hertfordshire's announced closures of Humanities offer a case study for hard-edged reflection. 2/9 @victoria-collins.bsky.social

And there it is

Publication Day 📖🍾🪩🎉: 'The Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 14: Supplementary Letters', ed. P. Schofield, T. Causer, and C. Riley, is now available in open access from UCL Press (@uclpress.bsky.social). Available in hard/paperback, or free .pdf: uclpress.co.uk/book/the-cor...

Published today in open access: The Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 14: Supplementary Letters, edited by. P. Schofield, T. Causer (who he?), and C. Riley Featuring tales of JB's uni days and dozens of letters from Samuel Bentham during his Russian sojourn uclpress.co.uk/book/the-cor...

'It was a glittering event and an impressive achievement – but unfortunately, detectives claim, the award itself was entirely fake and part of a complex international hoax worthy of a film script.' 1/3

One aim of the Society on BlueSky is to highlight organisations and opportunities that support historians and the humanities. One to promote is @britishacademy.bsky.social's UK-wide Early Career Researcher Network bit.ly/4f2H3tF which offers training, funding, peer support and events #Skystorians

University of Hertfordshire closes a swathe of Humanities courses, accelerating the sweeping tide against Human-centred disciples in the UK. Because understanding humans is so yesterday today. With such happy consequences, as we see when we look around us.

'Universities across the UK have reported more than 1,000 job losses in the first four months of this year, with the actual number likely to be far higher as institutions continue to roll out cost-saving initiatives.' 1/4

no one is doing it like jd vance, a loser across three continents in a single weekend

I can't stop laughing at this post. It's perfect.

It's me in the Financial Times, detailing the deep and pernicious influence of one-size-fits-all management consultancy in our universities... Take a look! 👇 www.ft.com/content/5032...

It's the most wonderful time of the year

The Government will more than double support for the Daphne Jackson Trust from £1.7m to £4m per year, which will help to unlock the talent of many more researchers whose careers have been paused. Find out more in our joint-statement with @ukri.org daphnejackson.org/2026/03/ukri... #ResearchReturners

Congratulations to Professor Ioannis Lianos (UCL Laws), elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences for his contributions at the intersection of law, economics and the social sciences.👏 Find out more: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ma... #UCLLaws @acadsocsciences.bsky.social

Our #UCL200 celebrations began in spectacular style last week with the 75th Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner. 🎤 🥳 Prof Sir John Baker KC delivered an inspiring Address on ‘Sovereignty of Parliament and Legal History’. 🔗 Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/20...

In which people CHOOSE TO VOTE for a female plumber representing a party with broadly liberal values and an unelected life peer declares it to be the end of liberal democracy.

Well, the plumber fixed the drip

Turns out (says @jburnmurdoch.ft.com) it's not so much an oversupply of graduates in the UK (the same would be true of other similar countries but it's not) as an undersupply of the kind of jobs that a better-performing, more productive economy would supply.

Just found out about Tap Social and placed an order. An unexpected benefit of presenting a paper to colleagues on work in prison and post-release. Thanks @timcauser.bsky.social! Great initiative to support prisoners and prison leavers. tapsocialmovement.com

There is now author access to my co-written article on curating programmes around historic eugenics @royalsociety.org I did this work 10+ years ago. It is tragic that eugenic ideas moved to the mainstream, in part due to a fellow of my publisher - the RS 🤷🏻‍♀️ royalsocietypublishing.org/rsnr/article...

Today, UCL turns 200. 🎉 For two centuries, our community has opened doors, challenged convention and pushed the boundaries of knowledge across every discipline. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the UCL story, here’s to the next century. ✨ #UCL200 #LoveUCL

Scrapping REF should be “serious’ option”, says Manchester VC. Duncan Ivison questions “usefulness” of “massive, bureaucratic” research assessment exercise. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

BREAKING NEWS: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that the Southbank Centre - the Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and skaters undercroft - has finally been Grade II listed by DCMS after a 35 year long campaign. ➡️ c20society.org.uk/news/southba...

Coming soon from UCL Press (@uclpress.bsky.social), 'The Correspondence of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 14: Supplementary Letters', edited by P. Schofield, T. Causer, and C. Riley. ✉️📖 ft. 252 letters written to/from Bentham, and 19 others of biographical interest: uclpress.co.uk/book/the-cor...

On the journal blog, author Steven Sverdlik discusses his two articles: Bentham’s Utilitarian Penal Code journals.uclpress.co.uk/jbs/news/146/

First in a series, I fear www.theguardian.com/environment/...

(soon to be) not even a real fish

Not just a national asset but an international asset. Trashed, ignored, diminished.

The death of Dr Paul Ayris is huge loss to UCL, to @uclpress.bsky.social and to the open access/scholarly communications community more broadly. His open access Thomas Cranmer’s Register A record of archiepiscopal administration in diocese and province is published by the Press in January. 1/2

'An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the Russell Group university “does not have appropriate arrangements in place” for managing workplace stress and was unable to demonstrate that it is managing the risks associated with excessive workloads.' 1/2

25 years gone and still no justice youtu.be/FD-CJnDMcv4?...