Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · 13h

History can tell us about the forces that structure our lives and the ways people have acted together to change them

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The fledgling UN tried to rein in mass-scale misinformation. The world turned its back and is now paying the price | Roland Burke

The ruinous result of the US approach to freedom of information and media has made anti-democratic contagion impossible to ignore

www.theguardian.com

1

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Stuart Jones @stuartjones.bsky.social · 1d

Published 30 Oct ... I'm in vol 5, expertly edited by @heatherlwellis.bsky.social and @capandgown.bsky.social
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cultural-...

A Cultural History of Higher Learning

How has higher learning been shaped by people, ideas and knowledge? In a work that spans 2,500 years, 67 experts chart across the social and cultural dynamics o…

www.bloomsbury.com

4 7

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · 1d

“Being kicked out of the club for raising concerns around gambling lobbyists buying access to the club shows the influence vested interests have here in parliament and just how normalised this has become,” Pocock said. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Former Wallabies star David Pocock booted from parliamentary sports club

Exclusive: Senator accused of bringing social club into disrepute after raising concerns about its association with betting lobby

www.theguardian.com

2 1

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · 10d

Important research here from Joel Barnes tracing the origins of philanthropic wealth in Australia. How should institutions reckon with these legacies?

theconversation.com/the-dixson-f...

The Dixson family were great Australian philanthropists, but their wealth was built on slave labour

The legacy of the Dixson family reveals a complicated history of interconnected global capital and racialised exploitation.

theconversation.com

1 12 15

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

UCL Institute of Education @ioe.bsky.social · 13d

Can schools bear the weight of a warming world?

Student teacher Jaren reflects on the power of citizenship education to inspire student action against the climate crisis 🌎🌡️ @citizenshippgceioe.bsky.social

blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ioe-student-...

4 2

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 24d

Action against the slave trade from 1807 enabled British colonisation, but Jane Lydon shows here how achieving the abolition of slavery in 1833 and expanding territory through conquest were also interrelated, not separate, processes. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

‘Forced Free Labour’: Connecting the Abolition of Slavery and Settler Colonisation in the Thought of Henry George Grey

This article investigates the connections between emancipation in Britain’s slave colonies and settler colonisation through the policies of Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey (styled Viscount Howick ...

www.tandfonline.com

1 37 75

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Johan Östling @johanostling.bsky.social · Sep 11

“Universities and the Public Good”. That is the title of a conference on research, education and democracy since 1945 in Hanover this week. Most of the researchers here are historians, but the questions raised are highly relevant for us today.

ghiworkshops.hypotheses.org/universities...

Universities and the Public Good

Universities and the Public Good: Research, Education, and Democracy since 1945 September 10 – 12, 2025 | Herrenhausen Palace Conference Center, Hanover, Germany Supported by the Volkswagen Foundation...

ghiworkshops.hypotheses.org

2 11

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · Sep 4

Yes this is shocking.

Warwick Anderson @wombatscholar.bsky.social · Sep 4

Shocked to see this. An indictment on @mupublishing.bsky.social My father first published in Meanjin around 1950; I published there from 1983....

1

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Warwick Anderson @wombatscholar.bsky.social · Sep 4

Shocked to see this. An indictment on @mupublishing.bsky.social My father first published in Meanjin around 1950; I published there from 1983....

1 4

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Institute of English Studies @ies-sas.bsky.social · Sep 1

📣Only two weeks left to apply for the Senate House Library Visiting Fellowships 📣

In 2025-6 up to two awards of £1500 will be allocated to support a fellowship of up to two weeks.

Deadline: 15 September 2025

More info 👇
https://tinyurl.com/ykudv9tn

Senate House Library announces relaunch of Visiting Research Fellowship

Senate House Library and the Friends of Senate House Library are delighted to report that the Visiting Research Fellowships programme has been relaunched.

tinyurl.com

15 9

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · Sep 2

Oooh this is so interesting. I’m becoming interested in soldier settlement schemes in Australia and relationship to land reservation and indig dispossession.

Dónal Hassett @donalh.bsky.social · Sep 1

Today I am reading and thinking about post-World War I settlement schemes for veterans and where they should sit in colonial histories of the war and its legacies. It makes for a really interesting comparison within and between different imperial polities.

3 1 4

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Craig Barker @drcraigb.bsky.social · Aug 30

Sydneysiders, join us at the Chau Chak Wing Museum for the 2025 Antony McNicoll Lecture delivered by Prof Lloyd Weekes (UNE) speaking on archaeological work in the UAE in 'Saruq al-Hadid: Cult, Craft, and Community in the Rub’ al-Khali'. 4 September, 5.30pm
events.humanitix.com/2025-mcnicol...

1 1

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · Aug 29

“Over the past 20 years, Paris has undergone a major physical transformation, trading automotive arteries for bike lanes, adding green spaces and eliminating 50,000 parking spaces.

Part of the payoff has been invisible — in the air itself.”

Leadership, strategy, real action, common sense. #Paris

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.

Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

www.washingtonpost.com

40 1.5K 4.1K

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Warwick Anderson @wombatscholar.bsky.social · Aug 19

'Voice' is a wonderfully rich account of how Indigenous scholars and students fought to be heard at the University of Melbourne. Interesting for me to appear in the historical narrative, not always as I remember....

1 1

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · Aug 19

Come and work with us!

Do you believe that research matters? Do you want to use your research skills to drive important public policy debates in Australia?

Apply for our Postdoctoral Research Fellowship!

Applications close Sunday 24 August 2025

Apply here 👉 australiainstitute.org.au/about/jobs/

1 25 27

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Professor Euan Ritchie @euanritchie.bsky.social · Aug 19

"Australia has the second-lowest public expenditure on tertiary education institutions in the OECD…This has resulted in an endless chase for dollars (international students & “the next big thing”) rather than thinking about what an educated Australia should look like” www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Universities such as mine are making poor decisions, and we’re not allowed to know why

UTS has announced a “pause” on enrolments in 100 courses. Vacating these critically important areas diminishes not only the brand of UTS but the state it was designed to benefit.

www.smh.com.au

14 130 230

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Craig Barker @drcraigb.bsky.social · Aug 14

So very excited about the next History Now panel - a collaboration with the Wood Memorial lecture by the Discipline of History at @sydney.edu.au
Thanks @historymatterssyd.bsky.social
Tickets are selling fast

History Council of NSW, Inc. @historynsw.bsky.social · Aug 14

Hear @sophieloywilson.bsky.social sit down with Shauna Bostock, André Dao, and Katerina Teaiwa at the next History Now event!

The panel will discuss the topic of 'Creative Histories' on Wednesday 27th August at the Chau Chak Wing Museum

Register your spot via buff.ly/T05cVQI

@drcraigb.bsky.social

2 4

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Kate Fullagar @kfullagar.bsky.social · Aug 14

@historymatterssyd.bsky.social and I are delighted to see the UNSETTLING PORTRAITS podcast get Highly Commended in these Digital History Awards! www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nsw-h... (link to the podcast in this linked page)

our judges' comments were: A bold and intellectually rich contribution to historical storytelling, this series tackles the inherent challenge of discussing visual sources in an audio format with ingenuity and sensitivity, vividly evoking colonial portraits for listeners without relying on visuals. By combining expert narration with scholarly and Indigenous voices, the series decodes artworks that span continents and centuries, situating Australian examples within the global processes of empire and colonialism.

The series exemplifies original, decolonising historical work, challenging Eurocentric readings and expanding historical consciousness through cross-cultural and transnational perspectives. Particularly striking are the discussions with Indigenous scholars, which reframe the meaning and significance of colonial images and, importantly, ask what use such images are in the present day. The series’ analytical depth, emotional resonance, and imaginative use of sound make it a standout example of how non-print media can powerfully reframe public understanding of the past.

4 10

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

The Saturday Paper @thesaturdaypaper.com.au · Aug 9

The government is under mounting pressure to dump a Morrison-era policy that has drastically cut university funding, saddled many students with debts they will never be able to repay and driven many more away from higher education altogether. satpa.pe/MA6GXR1

Why Labor is stalling on real universities funding reform

The education minister has deferred action to abolish the Morrison-era Job-ready Graduates scheme, which has helped to hollow out tertiary funding and saddled students with lifelong debts.

satpa.pe

1 12 23

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · Aug 5

#skycats “cuddles”

3

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · Aug 3

#marchforhumanity sydney

2 15

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · Jul 31

Winner of the New York festivals gold medal! Well done hey history! Australia’s first history podcast for the classroom www.heyhistory.net

8

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

History Australia @historyaustralia.bsky.social · Jul 30

Your support is needed - sign the petition opposing the Job-ready Graduates Scheme www.openpetition.org/au/petition/...

@austhistassoc.bsky.social

22 22

Tamson Pietsch @capandgown.bsky.social · Jul 13

insidestory.org.au/how-to-disap... this is a great article. Let me point out that major major structural reform has happened in our school system before. In the second part of the 19thC all Australian states abolished all state aid to private schools. #histed

How to disappear a problem • Dean Ashenden

The school system has spent fifty years not fixing one of its central flaws

insidestory.org.au

2 3 7

Reposted by Tamson Pietsch

Warwick Anderson @wombatscholar.bsky.social · Jul 9

The decline of academic history in Australia: an interesting & important article in SMH by @nickbryantoz.bsky.social Much more to be said, but a good start. Includes @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @capandgown.bsky.social @michellearrow.bsky.social Anna Clark et al
#history @austhistassoc.bsky.social

History’s booming in podcasts – but many of its academics are out of a job

We live in momentous times. History podcasts and books are more popular than ever. So why is academic history in crisis?

www.smh.com.au

2 12 24