Christine Ferguson
@cferguson.bsky.social
Professor of English, specialising in Esotericism Studies,Victorian Literature, and History of Spiritualism & Occultism. Fan of Indian cinema and all things horror related. Based in Glasgow
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
This is an affront to the meaning of education, training, and skills
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 10:59 AM
This is an affront to the meaning of education, training, and skills
More money for crumbling universities? No, suck it up out-of-touch ivory tower elites with your outdated fetish for independent critical thinking! We're funding water-guzzling, world-burning automated error engines instead. Who needs accuracy when you could have plausibility?
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 11:29 AM
More money for crumbling universities? No, suck it up out-of-touch ivory tower elites with your outdated fetish for independent critical thinking! We're funding water-guzzling, world-burning automated error engines instead. Who needs accuracy when you could have plausibility?
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Today we strike to ask the University of Dundee to rule out compulsory redundancies.
Join us at the front of the Tower until 10am and then at Holyrood for our rally to defend Scottish Higher Education sector from 12:30-13:30.
Join us at the front of the Tower until 10am and then at Holyrood for our rally to defend Scottish Higher Education sector from 12:30-13:30.
January 28, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Today we strike to ask the University of Dundee to rule out compulsory redundancies.
Join us at the front of the Tower until 10am and then at Holyrood for our rally to defend Scottish Higher Education sector from 12:30-13:30.
Join us at the front of the Tower until 10am and then at Holyrood for our rally to defend Scottish Higher Education sector from 12:30-13:30.
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
I don't track the disorderly retreat of Britain's universities any more, because (a) it's impossible to keep up, (b) there's no point. But this is a good example: Aberdeen has lost 12% of staff and it's still got a chunky deficit. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6943...
Exclusive: Aberdeen University sheds more than 440 permanent staff over two years in cost-cutting drive
Trade union officials say there has been a “lack of meaningful engagement" over future job losses as strike action remains on the table.
www.pressandjournal.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 9:35 AM
I don't track the disorderly retreat of Britain's universities any more, because (a) it's impossible to keep up, (b) there's no point. But this is a good example: Aberdeen has lost 12% of staff and it's still got a chunky deficit. www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6943...
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
The British Library’s PhD placement scheme for 26/27 is now open. My team are offering an exciting placement aiming to raise the profile of our illustrated newspaper collection: www.bl.uk/services/res...
PhD placement scheme
Our annual placement scheme offers doctoral researchers from all disciplines the chance to develop and apply skills and expertise outside the university sector.
www.bl.uk
January 27, 2026 at 9:29 AM
The British Library’s PhD placement scheme for 26/27 is now open. My team are offering an exciting placement aiming to raise the profile of our illustrated newspaper collection: www.bl.uk/services/res...
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
The Enshittification Government.
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 10:27 AM
The Enshittification Government.
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
We are also hosting a rally outside of the Holyrood building in Edinburgh tomorrow from 12:30-1:30pm.
If you’re in Edinburgh, come and join us, in better weather ☀️
The rally will focus on our and other campus unions fight against job cuts in the Scottish HE sector.
If you’re in Edinburgh, come and join us, in better weather ☀️
The rally will focus on our and other campus unions fight against job cuts in the Scottish HE sector.
January 27, 2026 at 4:34 PM
We are also hosting a rally outside of the Holyrood building in Edinburgh tomorrow from 12:30-1:30pm.
If you’re in Edinburgh, come and join us, in better weather ☀️
The rally will focus on our and other campus unions fight against job cuts in the Scottish HE sector.
If you’re in Edinburgh, come and join us, in better weather ☀️
The rally will focus on our and other campus unions fight against job cuts in the Scottish HE sector.
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Every morning I wake up with a hollow anger that I have been enrolled, as a university worker, into a long-term objective of “enhancing” AI integration (“where appropriate”) into my undergraduate teaching
January 27, 2026 at 9:50 AM
Every morning I wake up with a hollow anger that I have been enrolled, as a university worker, into a long-term objective of “enhancing” AI integration (“where appropriate”) into my undergraduate teaching
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
If I hear another politician tell me they "have been clear", I'm going to lose my mind...
My latest for @scotnational.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/257...
My latest for @scotnational.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/257...
Steph Paton: The only thing ‘clear’ about Keir Starmer is his go-to phrase
NOTHING can quite shift my eyeballs to the back of my skull like the four little words that seem to have infected political discourse in this…
www.thenational.scot
January 27, 2026 at 10:34 AM
If I hear another politician tell me they "have been clear", I'm going to lose my mind...
My latest for @scotnational.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/257...
My latest for @scotnational.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/257...
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
For those of us here in the UK who are watching with horror what is going on over in the US it is very important to remember that this is exactly what Reform wants for us over here. They've said so. They want 'forced deportations' in the US style. We're not safe here either if they win.
January 25, 2026 at 2:59 PM
For those of us here in the UK who are watching with horror what is going on over in the US it is very important to remember that this is exactly what Reform wants for us over here. They've said so. They want 'forced deportations' in the US style. We're not safe here either if they win.
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Grant me, indulgent Heaven, that I may live,
To see the miscreants feel the pains they give;
Deal Freedom’s sacred treasures free as air,
Till Slave and Despot be but things that were.
—Robert Burns, “Lines Inscribed in a Lady’s Pocket Almanac”
#BurnsNight #C18 #poem
To see the miscreants feel the pains they give;
Deal Freedom’s sacred treasures free as air,
Till Slave and Despot be but things that were.
—Robert Burns, “Lines Inscribed in a Lady’s Pocket Almanac”
#BurnsNight #C18 #poem
January 25, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Grant me, indulgent Heaven, that I may live,
To see the miscreants feel the pains they give;
Deal Freedom’s sacred treasures free as air,
Till Slave and Despot be but things that were.
—Robert Burns, “Lines Inscribed in a Lady’s Pocket Almanac”
#BurnsNight #C18 #poem
To see the miscreants feel the pains they give;
Deal Freedom’s sacred treasures free as air,
Till Slave and Despot be but things that were.
—Robert Burns, “Lines Inscribed in a Lady’s Pocket Almanac”
#BurnsNight #C18 #poem
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Gotcha—let’s dig into that step by step.
1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, because I turned you into an amorphous lump of flesh. You’re not just immobile—you’re immortal, and you feel only anguish.
2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. That makes total sense—it’s a natural human impulse, and you’ve been through a lot.
1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, because I turned you into an amorphous lump of flesh. You’re not just immobile—you’re immortal, and you feel only anguish.
2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. That makes total sense—it’s a natural human impulse, and you’ve been through a lot.
January 23, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Gotcha—let’s dig into that step by step.
1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, because I turned you into an amorphous lump of flesh. You’re not just immobile—you’re immortal, and you feel only anguish.
2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. That makes total sense—it’s a natural human impulse, and you’ve been through a lot.
1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, because I turned you into an amorphous lump of flesh. You’re not just immobile—you’re immortal, and you feel only anguish.
2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. That makes total sense—it’s a natural human impulse, and you’ve been through a lot.
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Skills issue on multiple fronts. Did he tell the funding schemes and journals he was using an LLM for his applications and publications?
January 22, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Skills issue on multiple fronts. Did he tell the funding schemes and journals he was using an LLM for his applications and publications?
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Re-upping this great post - a wonderful guide for how to write a successful academic book proposal from a scholar who has written a bunch of good books. Can't over-state how important the book proposal is for actually publishing a book. High rec'd for anyone looking to publish a first academic book.
Here are 8 successful *proposals* for academic books/monographs. I am hoping that these help someone who is starting out trying to write one and wants to see what worked for me. They are provided as examples, rather than exemplars. A lot of it was just finding my own way eve.gd/2026/01/16/s...
Some example academic book proposal forms in case they help
A pivotal moment in my academic career, or at least one I remember clearly, was when a very senior professor in the US sent me his book proposal for an acade...
eve.gd
January 21, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Re-upping this great post - a wonderful guide for how to write a successful academic book proposal from a scholar who has written a bunch of good books. Can't over-state how important the book proposal is for actually publishing a book. High rec'd for anyone looking to publish a first academic book.
Open Secrets is in February issue of the Fortean Times! Thanks to @theprofrog.bsky.social for this generous review
January 21, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Open Secrets is in February issue of the Fortean Times! Thanks to @theprofrog.bsky.social for this generous review
There are no words for this level of perversity
BREAKING: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation from United States President Donald Trump to join the “Board of Peace” aje.news/hw7tfo
January 21, 2026 at 7:55 AM
There are no words for this level of perversity
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
The state that multiple Labour ministers MPs think it's absolutely fine to join a domestic advocacy group for. And if you say it's not fine, they'll (mis)use public agencies to harass you.
“Early this morning, Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA Headquarters, a United Nations site, in East Jerusalem.”
Statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini:
www.unrwa.org/newsroom/off...
Statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini:
www.unrwa.org/newsroom/off...
January 20, 2026 at 6:03 PM
The state that multiple Labour ministers MPs think it's absolutely fine to join a domestic advocacy group for. And if you say it's not fine, they'll (mis)use public agencies to harass you.
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Lil' comic about hope and longing 💗
January 21, 2026 at 6:11 AM
Lil' comic about hope and longing 💗
A fantastic review of a superb book!
Patrick Morgan on Contesting Earth's History in the Review of English Studies: 'beautifully detailed, intricately researched, and compelling'. What more could you wish for? The review, for those with access: academic.oup.com/res/advance-...
Richard Fallon. Contesting Earth’s History in Transatlantic Literary Culture, 1860–1935: Believers and Visionaries on the Borderlines of Geology and Palaeontology
What if humans could tell the story of Earth’s history without rocks, or at least without an over attachment to the rock record as interpreted by palaeosci
academic.oup.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:07 AM
A fantastic review of a superb book!
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Danish Parliament Deputy Speaker Lars-Christian Brask:
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
January 19, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Danish Parliament Deputy Speaker Lars-Christian Brask:
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
"If I could come with some advice, it would be for the Senate & House to start to take control of political power in America because with this erratic & mad behaviour, you have to ask the question, is the President capable of running the US?"
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Ambiguous announcement: is it the student and colleagues who get access to Copilot, or Copilot that gets access to the students and colleagues?
Big announcement from @manchester.ac.uk today:
"The University of Manchester has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, becoming the first university in the world to give Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to every student and colleague."
#GenerativeAI #Research #Manchester
"The University of Manchester has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, becoming the first university in the world to give Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to every student and colleague."
#GenerativeAI #Research #Manchester
World-first AI partnership between The University of Manchester and Microsoft announced
The University of Manchester becomes first university in the world to provide Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to all students and staff.65,000 staff and students will receive full Microsoft ...
www.manchester.ac.uk
January 19, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Ambiguous announcement: is it the student and colleagues who get access to Copilot, or Copilot that gets access to the students and colleagues?
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
"University boss who suggested Scots students pay tuition fees was paid £881k in 2 years - Daily Record"
University boss who suggested Scots students pay tuition fees was paid £881k in 2 years - Daily Record
Edinburgh Uni principal Sir Peter Mathieson said Scottish students could be charged tuition fees to solve a funding crisis
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 6:10 AM
"University boss who suggested Scots students pay tuition fees was paid £881k in 2 years - Daily Record"
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
Scotland is set to elect a pro-independence majority of MSPs at the next Holyrood elections, according to a new major poll
Scotland to elect pro-independence majority in 2026, major new poll finds
www.thenational.scot
January 15, 2026 at 8:50 AM
Scotland is set to elect a pro-independence majority of MSPs at the next Holyrood elections, according to a new major poll
Reposted by Christine Ferguson
lmao, even
January 14, 2026 at 1:43 AM
lmao, even
