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Greg Walker

@gregmw4.bsky.social

510 followers 110 following 200 posts

Literature Prof at the University of Edinburgh, fan of Prog rock and Nottingham Forest.

Greg Walker is Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He is a graduate of the University of Southampton. His specialist field is the history of literature and drama in the late-medieval period and the sixteenth century. Before taking up the Regius Chair he was the Masson Professor of English at Edinburgh. Before that he was Professor of Early-Modern Literature and Culture and Director of the Medieval Research Centre at the University of Leicester. Between 1986 and 1989 he was a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Southampton and has also taught at the Universities of Queensland and Buckingham. He was the Head of Edinburgh's School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures between 2008 and 2011. .. more

History 48%

Art 24%

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Reposted by Greg Walker

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3d

If that's a step back from actual use to potential use of more-than-double-weighting, that would be a real step backward for the 'book disciplines' in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Hope that the obvious logic of more-than-double-weighting will be respected. 2/2

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Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Anna O. Law, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 24 more Joanna Bryson, Anna O. Law, Gavin A. Schmidt, Tom Clark, Tom Shakespeare, Leigh Sparks, Elizabeth Stokoe, Peter Campbell, Greg Walker, Kelly Smith, Andrew L. Jackson, Elaine Treharne, Smith, James O’Sullivan, Margot C. Finn, Talbot Imlay, Jutta Haider, Fiona Moore, David Rosnick, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Calvin Jones, Banu Özkazanç‐Pan, Thomas Masterson, James Connelly, Catriona Seth, Isabelle Poutrin, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 3d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Wouter Poortinga, Ian Miles, Greg Walker , and 3 more Wouter Poortinga, Ian Miles, Greg Walker, Graham Dutfield, Catherine J. Frieman, Christina Pagel

Tim Worthington @outonbluesix.bsky.social · 3d

How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.

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Reposted by Katie Barclay, Greg Walker, Elaine Treharne , and 1 more Katie Barclay, Greg Walker, Elaine Treharne, Michael H. Whitworth

Sarah C E Ross @sarahceross.bsky.social · 7d

Job alert! University of Auckland, lectureship in English, in the long 19th century:

jobs.smartrecruiters.com/TheUniversit...

Lecturer - English

Company Description: Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of AucklandThe University of Auckland is New Zealand’s pre-eminent University, with a turnover of $1.1bn, including research revenue of over $...

jobs.smartrecruiters.com

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Reposted by Greg Walker, Margot C. Finn, Catriona Seth

Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 8d

Disadvantaged students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Disadvantaged students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’

In 2004, language learning ceased to be compulsory at Key Stage 4, aged 14 to 16.

www.independent.co.uk

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Reposted by Greg Walker

Sara Ellis-Nilsson (she/her), PhD 🕊️ @ellisnilsson.bsky.social · 10d

Report out from Sweden's HUMTANK that shows the vital importance of humanities-based courses/influence in higher education programs leading to a profession. The report is based on a study of programs in engineering, medicine, and police training. Recommendations include:

humtank.se/ny-rapport-f...

Ny rapport från Humtank – humaniora i professionsutbildningar

humtank.se

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Reposted by Martin Paul Eve, Greg Walker, Michael H. Whitworth , and 3 more Martin Paul Eve, Greg Walker, Michael H. Whitworth, Heike Bauer, Diane Watt, Constance Bantman

Ben Davies @bendavies.bsky.social · 11d

Pleased to announce @univeng.bsky.social small funding scheme now open to members. UE will fund up to 20 projects up to £250 each to support research/pedagogy/continuing professional development activities in Lit, Lang, Creative Writing. See details here: universityenglish.ac.uk/englishcreat...

University English Funding

universityenglish.ac.uk

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 13d

´Pope arrives in Oxford to challenge old Exam results.´
‘He just appeared in the quad, announced he was infallible & refused to leave until we’d regraded him to a First’, observed a shaken Dame Eleanor Fitzbadderley, Mistress of Boverille College. ‘& then his attack-deacons drank all the sherry...’

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Greg Walker

Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs) @memorients.bsky.social · 14d

Lecturer in the History of Early Modern Europe and the World (King's College London):

memorients.com/news/lecture...

Lecturer in the History of Early Modern Europe and the World (King's College London) | MEMOs

King's College London - Department of History

memorients.com

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Reposted by Greg Walker

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 16d

Would find this more convincing if the elephant in the room were addressed head on: research cultures develop/are enacted in research (& teaching) structures. The REF2029 cycle has seen extraordinary structural change. Will/how will PCE assess cultures in this context? 1/2

Is research culture really too hard to assess?

Yolana Pringle and Ben Tatler make the case that the REF pause should be the moment to build on the most substantial sector-wide collaboration ever undertaken on research environments

wonkhe.com

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 18d

🥺

Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 22d

‘And if they don’t have the crispy duck; I’ll just take the chicken in black bean sauce...’ (‘Many would argue that Sir Delivier la Roux’s storied career rested on completing one of the easier Grail Quests...’)

Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 23d

‘Some’

Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 23d

I’m pretty sure that that is no comfort in the present shit-storm in academia- especially in the Arts - but it is the situation as I see it. The best of good luck, btw. I hope things will get better at sone point…

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 23d

…have looked at your application before and chosen you, so I’m not going wildly off-road in shortlisting you now.) The problem is, of course, that this this worst time for ECRs in my lifetime. Every entry level job is attracting people who’ve been made redundant from ‘long-term’ posts.

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 23d

Hi Sam, for what it’s worth, in my experience on shortlisting and interview panels, experience of short-term jobs is a definite advantage. It reveals you can do the job, or one very similar, have experience of working in different institutions, and (more subliminally) that other selectors… 1/2

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Reposted by Charles West, Juan Cole, Greg Walker , and 2 more Charles West, Juan Cole, Greg Walker, John Foot, Dolly Jørgensen

will o’the wisp pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 24d

“Cataclysmically bad”

This new series of ECR blog posts on the French History Network makes for grim reading, perhaps grimmer even than some in UK #FrenchHistory might have realised.

1st post, anon ECRs in French History on what it’s like right now out there:

frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/6691/

🗃️

ECR in 2025: Part One- What is it like? – SSFH

frenchhistorysociety.co.uk

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · 25d

OTD in year 650 of the Third Age: Owing to a persistent glitch in the world-leading University of Numenor course allocation software, Galadriel found herself registered for both Troll Studies A and B and ‘Living Under Bridges: New Perspectives/New Directions’ in Semester 2...’

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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 29d

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ .

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ - Research Professional News

Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Sep 9

‘No, he definitely wants it to be called, ‘The Great D’Artagnan and His Three Older, Less Interesting Friends...’’
The little shi…. Look, he’s not here yet; change it to ‘The Three Musketeers’ and there’s a tenner in it for you...
(‘The stories Behind Great Book Titles’ number 15)

Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Sep 8

1.The McKellen-Dench Macbeth
2. The Shrew in Leicester with Josette Simon as Kate
3. Adrian Scarborough as Hamlet in Coventry
4. RSC 12th Night with Derek Griffiths as Feste
5. Robert Stephens as Lear at the NT

Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Sep 7

A fine birthday weekend with old friends and carnivorous plants…

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Reposted by Greg Walker, Adrian Vickers

Laurence Totelin @ltotelin.bsky.social · Sep 6

On HE consultants. Has your course been subjected to red-amber-green ratings? Are you being told to 'consolidate your offering'? Are you told that certain forms of teaching are inefficient (small group teaching)? A consultancy firm such as Nous might well be at play here.

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Reposted by Greg Walker, Kate Fullagar

Laurence Totelin @ltotelin.bsky.social · Sep 6

A good piece about the situation in Australia HE (several years ahead of the rest of the Anglosphere in destroying its sector). Consultants must go - but before that happens, knowledge of what they do must increase among uni communities. Many don't even know consultants are involved in the debacle.

Universities have lost their way, but cost-cutting and consultants are not the answer

Last week in Sydney, we saw a melodrama acted out that could stand in for the state of Australian universities more generally.

theconversation.com

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Sep 5

Indeed. It may be a huge effort, but as soon as you contemplate the implications of all the other methods of distribution for the Arts and Humanities…

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Sep 5

And just give all the money out via algorithms?

Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Sep 3

(‘When Great Writers Met’ 17: George Eliot and H.D.)
Wha?. I thought you’d be a man...
‘Well, I thought you’d be a pencil...’
Hmmm....oh no, here comes Caryl Phillips.
‘Wha...she’s a bloke now? I think I need a drink.’

Reposted by Greg Walker

Patrick Durdel @pdurdel.bsky.social · Sep 2

I'm organizing a seminar on "climate fictions before climate change" for next year's acla in montréal. if you have sth: pls submit; if you know someone: pls share widely!

www.acla.org/seminar/f8b7...

View Seminar | American Comparative Literature Association

www.acla.org

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Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Greg Walker, Catriona Seth , and 1 more Lesley A. Hall, Greg Walker, Catriona Seth, Adrian Streete

Dale Townshend @dalegothic96.bsky.social · Sep 1

Heads up, English Literature types. The newly formed School of English at MMU is looking to appoint a new Head of School, ideally someone who already holds a professorial Chair. Further details here: manmetjobs.mmu.ac.uk/jobs/vacancy...

Head of the School of English (Professor) - (8509) | Manchester Metropolitan University Careers

All about Manchester Metropolitan - an exciting, modern university in the heart of one of the UK's great student cities.

manmetjobs.mmu.ac.uk

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Greg Walker @gregmw4.bsky.social · Aug 31

🤣 Surely not!