Margot Finn
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eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social
17K followers 4.5K following 9.9K posts

Historian of Britain and colonialism, material culture, the EIC. Also works on equalities, museums, open access & research policy. Download the EIC @ Home open access volume here: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/88277 (or individual chapters via JSTOR) .. more

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Margot C. Finn is a British historian and academic who specialises in Britain and the British colonial world during the long nineteenth century. She has been Professor of Modern British History at the University College, London (UCL) since 2012. Finn was previously the President of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum. .. more

Political science 31%
Economics 26%
Posts Replies Media Videos

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
Badly conceived line management by your line managers. The ESRC news is good news, both relative to recent STEM RC news and in absolute terms.

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'The ground-breaking study from the University of Stirling will examine the educational, economic, social and cultural factors that impact on language learning, analysing the different approaches and outcomes in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.'
University launches major study into languages in schools
Researchers at the University of Stirling have secured funding for a multi-national project exploring the 'cultures of language learning'.
www.heraldscotland.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'“With some exceptions,” Hegseth added, “the Ivy League as a whole has pervasive institutional bias and a lack of viewpoint diversity, including the coddling of toxic ideologies that undercuts our mission.” Presumably he is referring to a bias toward the rule of law. 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said the Pentagon is ending all military training, fellowships and certificate programs with Harvard University, marking the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the Ivy League school.' 1/2
Pentagon to cut ties with Harvard over ‘wokesters’, ending training, programs and fellowships
Move by Pete Hegseth marks latest escalation by Trump administration against the Ivy League school
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

jdportes.bsky.social
Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 1h
Five years on: Hong Kong migrants to the UK under the HK BN(O) visa scheme.

Findings from our @ukri.org funded survey,led by Tak Wing Chan (UCL), with me, @msumption.bsky.social @benbrindle.bsky.social

Wed, 2pm, at UCL

Register here:

www.eventbrite.com/e/hong-kong-...
Hong Kong BN(O) Migrants Panel Survey Wave 2 Result Seminar
Discover Wave 1 & 2 findings of the BN(O) Panel Survey on 11 Feb 2026. Panels on community and research findings. Join us for insights!
www.eventbrite.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'Though there are no plans to stop applications to the existing schemes, Westlake said they would be “refreshed” towards the end of 2026 and into 2027..... “we want to keep on supporting people at all stages of their careers”.

Reposted by Dave O’Brien

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'Westlake highlighted that there will be no hiatus or new submission deadlines in the ESRC’s existing applicant-led schemes: research grants, new investigator grants and secondary data analysis.' 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'Launching in April and running until October, they will each offer researchers the opportunity of between £50,000 and £100,000 funding.' 1/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
I did read the article and recognise that he had a stroke in 2023 and had not been in a condition to apologise since that point. That does not affect the period before that and his statements while he was in a condition to make them (including the one I quoted).

Reposted by Dave O’Brien, Margot C. Finn

resprofnews.bsky.social
Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 1h
ESRC to pilot two new applicant-led calls.

Existing schemes will remain open, says leader of Economic and Social Research Council Stian Westlake.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
ESRC to pilot two new applicant-led calls - Research Professional News
Existing schemes will remain open, says leader of Economic and Social Research Council
www.researchprofessionalnews.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h
'Where authenticity shapes the nature of the task...accountability addresses the nature of the evidence. An accountable assessment focuses on the extent to which students can substantiate, explain, and take responsibility for what they produce, regardless of whether AI tools were involved.'
What does authentic assessment mean in the context of AI?
To weather the AI storm, Charlotte von Essen argues that assessment needs to be both authentic and accountable.
wonkhe.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'Analysis by Times Higher Education has found that more than a quarter of Universities UK members changed vice-chancellors in 2025 or are set to do so in 2026. This intensifies a trend seen in 2024, when about a fifth of the sector made a change.' 2/2

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'The high rate of turnover of UK university vice-chancellors has been compared to the “managerial merry-go-round” of top football clubs amid warnings that some leadership positions are becoming increasingly unattractive.' 1/2
Leadership ‘merry-go-round’ at universities as v-c vacancies grow
Quarter of UK universities changing vice-chancellors after several retire and some forced out, with experts predicting continuing challenges mean churn at the top will only continue
www.timeshighereducation.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
'“I’ve watched the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public. It’s painful to say, but I think the best way to proceed is to ignore it,” Chomsky wrote in a message signed “Noam” that Epstein shared in email with an associate.'

That it is his wife apologising says everything.
Noam Chomsky’s wife apologizes for their ‘grave mistake’ in Epstein ties
Valeria Chomsky says Epstein had deceived them and they were ‘careless’ not to thoroughly research his background
www.theguardian.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h
A rare recognition on the part of DfE that universities are not simply 'big schools' and are instead institutions that combine high-level teaching and research in ways that matter on a global political and scientific stage. With a sharing link for 3 non-subscribers.
UK universities told to step up defences against intimidation by China
Security services to launch advisory scheme for threatened academics in wake of Sheffield Hallam row
giftarticle.ft.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

wonkhe.bsky.social
Wonkhe @wonkhe.bsky.social · 2h
NEW on Wonkhe: England’s student loan system died gradually, then suddenly bit.ly/4r3uqSa

Reposted by Malcolm MacLean, Margot C. Finn, Jason Dittmer , and 2 more

finnarne.me
Finn Arne Jørgensen @finnarne.me · 4h
Some colleagues in my old department in Trondheim are recruiting a PhD candidate in Gender Studies and/or STS on the "Imagining Positive Energy Futures" project. 3 years, fully funded. Norway's a good place to do a PhD and Trondheim's a nice place to live!
PhD candidate within Gender Studies and/or STS: Imagining Positive Energy Futures (294972) | NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Job title: PhD candidate within Gender Studies and/or STS: Imagining Positive Energy Futures (294972), Employer: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Deadline: Sunday, March 15, 2026
www.jobbnorge.no

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

thierryaaron.bsky.social
Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 19h
Miguel Angel Perez, of the farmers organisation COAG in Andalusia's Cadiz province, told Spanish television TVE on Saturday: "It is raining without stopping. Crops like broccoli, carrots and cauliflowers are under water. Thousands of hectares inundated. We have a real natural catastrophe."
Farmers report 'catastrophic damage to crops as Storm Marta hits Spain and Portugal
Farmers in Spain warned on Saturday that torrential rains and high winds had left fields submerged and caused millions of euros worth of damage to crops, as Spain and Portugal braced for more extreme ...
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

scurry.bsky.social
Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 21h
There is so much to savour and appreciate in this fantastic, forensic essay from @williamcb.bsky.social.
open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
AI and the destruction of democracy
Can we, should we, tame the beast?
open.substack.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 21h
Join us on Wednesday for Philippa Hellawell (The National Archives), 'The Ship Bedford: Atlantic and Archival Crossings in the Long Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade', at the Institute of Historical Research, London and on Zoom, 11 February, 5:30 pm. Free and open to the public. Booking link below.
The Ship Bedford: Atlantic and Archival Crossings in the Long Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade
www.history.ac.uk

Reposted by Steve Peers, Lesley A. Hall, Peter Holmes , and 1 more

mrrobertbob.bsky.social
Mr RobertBob @mrrobertbob.bsky.social · 21h
This is not a sane person.

fortune.com/2026/02/04/p...
Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example | Fortune
The Gen Z Swedish climate activist is a legionnaire of the Antichrist, Thiel claims, a “Luddite” who wants to halt technological progress in its tracks.
fortune.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

wonkhe.bsky.social
Wonkhe @wonkhe.bsky.social · 21h
Last week on Wonkhe: Doris Ruth Eikhof offers lessons from the film and TV industry on the use of data on equalities, diversity, and inclusion in REF wonkhe.com/blogs/what-n...
What not to do about diversity data and REF
Doris Ruth Eikhof offers lessons from the film and TV industry on the use of data on equalities, diversity, and inclusion in REF
wonkhe.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

martindbbrown.bsky.social
Martin D.B. Brown @martindbbrown.bsky.social · 23h
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters
Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism
www.theguardian.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
A telegram?

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich, Margot C. Finn

philipcball.bsky.social
Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d
In @theguardian.com Robin McKie thinks Adrian Woolfson underestimates the risks of building genomes from scratch in his new book. In my forthcoming review in @thelancet.com I argue that he underestimates the scientific obstacles to doing this in the first place.
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
On the Future of Species by Adrian Woolfson review – are we on the verge of creating synthetic life?
A genomic entrepreneur’s guide to the coming revolution in biology raises troubling questions about ethics and safety
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Tom Clark, Diane Ravitch, Iveta Silova , and 2 more

timothysnyder.bsky.social
Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 1d
We are deciding right now whether we want to be a country with ethnic cleansing and concentration camps.
willbunch.bsky.social Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 3d
The banality of evil is shocking. An ex-Big Lots warehouse for cheap consumer junk is bought by ICE to ship as many as 7,500 handcuffed human beings, as the Trump regime builds a U.S. gulag archipelago

The unthinkable comes to Pa. coal country. My special report www.inquirer.com/opinion/ice-...
From Big Lots to warehousing humans: ICE plan sparks fear in Schuylkill County | Will Bunch
A massive warehouse in Tremont. Pa. that once moved cheap goods will now detain migrants in an $119 million ICE deal.
www.inquirer.com

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
Alt text: Allister Heath's 'Ledger' in the Telegraph:

'Trump is the last chance to save the decaying West. from terminal decline.' (27 November 2024).

'Trump's imperial delirium could trigger a catastrophe' (21 January 2026).
pickardje.bsky.social Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 1d
the perils of being a commentator

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

niemanlab.org
Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · 1d
A new bill in New York would require disclaimers on AI-generated news content

www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/a-ne...
A new bill in New York would require disclaimers on AI-generated news content
A new bill in the New York state legislature would require news organizations to label AI-generated material and mandate that humans review any such content before publication. On Monday, Senator…
www.niemanlab.org

Reposted by Peter Holmes, Margot C. Finn, Michael H. Whitworth

pickardje.bsky.social
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 1d
the perils of being a commentator

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1d
At this AI transcription event, attendees worked with '"some of our trickiest primary sources: handwritten letters, complicated ledgers, cross-hatched documents, Spanish and Arabic texts, hand-drawn maps, and even a shoe".'

Copilot hallucinated & was scored lowest; Gemini was the 'clear winner'.
A red woman's slipper with a chunky high heal. The toe is to the right and the heal to the left. It's on a surface, waiting to be scanned. It's the 'ruby slipper' referenced in the article, donated by UVA President Teresa Sullivan after her firing and rehiring by the Board.