Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jon Piccini

@jonpiccini.bsky.social

4.3K followers 800 following 600 posts

Senior Lecturer. Reviews editor. Union Thug. ADHD haver. Writing a history of Australian empire. Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will. Tweets mine. He/him

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · Nov 21

Excited to see this, the first output of our ARC project on Vietnam war R&R in Sydney, live at Journal of Contemporary history. We look at how the scheme awkwardly positioned white Australia within an emerging neo-colonial tourist economy. And it's OA! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Tourism, Americanization and the Vietnam War R&R Scheme in Sydney, Australia, 1967–71 - Chris Dixon, Lisa Featherstone, Jon Piccini, 2024

Australia's addition to the Vietnam War R&R scheme in September 1967 brought some 280,000 short-stay tourists to Sydney, and particularly its notorious ‘red lig...

journals.sagepub.com

1 9 31

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Jonathan Healey @jonathanhealey.bsky.social · 10h

It was two OUP books.

18 100 640

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 10h

Exactly. The messiness of teaching is good actually!

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 10h

In my classroom, there is always a delay. Between question and answer. That space—the stutter, the pause, the gesture—is where actual teaching happens. Not in the bullet points or the Google Doc comments, but in the moment someone says, “I don’t know if this makes sense, but—” and suddenly it does.

Human Error Is the Point: On Teaching College During the Rise of AI - The Rumpus

My syllabus is a mess of half-remembered intentions. I re-use icebreakers that I know don’t work. I forget to grade the first assignment until Week Four. I write emails that begin with “So sorry for t...

therumpus.net

1 12 37

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Margot Tudor @drmargottudor.bsky.social · 4d

Interested in the transitory nature of academia and how this shapes scholarship on internationalism? Come along to our virtual conference, 'Blind Spots and Buzzwords in Internationalism' on 5th and 6th Nov 👁️. Get your tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/blind-spot...

1 9 15

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Ria Kapoor @riakapoor.bsky.social · 1d

I have a new article out.

TLDR: Actively courting deportation by air is a way to claim rights as a stateless person and even as a refugee.

academic.oup.com/past/advance...

Air Travel, Statelessness, and the Rights Claims of Ugandan Asians, c.1973*

Abstract. In the aftermath of Idi Amin’s expulsion of Uganda’s South Asians in 1972, some of those made technically stateless arrived in India unsupported

academic.oup.com

2 18 39

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Maggie Blackhawk @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social · 1d

New essay in the Atlantic today: How Native Nations Shaped the Revolution by Ned Blackhawk (with many lessons on how we ended up where we are as a nation, and a gift link) www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

How Native Nations Shaped the Revolution

The Founders were inspired—and threatened—by the independence and self-governance of nations like the Iroquois Confederacy.

www.theatlantic.com

4 80 170

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 1d

So I submitted the complete manuscript of my new book to the publisher. Hope it'll be out in the world late next year. It's about why Australia's role as an overseas coloniser was strikingly obvious to all and sundry till the 1970s, then was abruptly (and conveniently) forgotten.

11 19 150

Reposted by Jon Piccini

John Avocado 宇杰 @supercroup.com · 1d

Can't even send mass murderers to prison now because of woke.

3 11

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Pat Simons @patsimons.bsky.social · 1d

China is installing the wind and solar equivalent of five large nuclear power stations every week shows new research by Climate Energy Finance. The rest of the world must learn from China's incredible doubling down on clean energy. www.abc.net.au/news/science...

'Winning the race': How China plans to meet its 2030 renewables target by the end of this month

While Australia debates the merits of going nuclear and frustration grows over the slower-than-needed switch to solar and wind power, China's renewables rollout is breaking all the records.

www.abc.net.au

4 32 74

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Peter Anderson @zerogeewhiz.bsky.social · 1d

I feel like this encapsulates the social media ban’s motives. It’s not actually about doing something it’s just looking like you are.

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 1d

4chan unlikely to be included in Australia’s under-16s social media ban, eSafety commissioner says

Julie Inman Grant says message board will need to comply with other codes which will also include age assurance for sites hosting violent and adult content * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The eSafety commissioner is not expected to block children from accessing 4chan as part of the under-16s social media ban, despite it being labelled one of the “darker” places on the internet. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, was asked by independent senator Fatima Payman in Senate estimates on Wednesday night whether 4chan, the message board often referred to as the engine room of the internet, would be considered one of the sites required to prevent under-16s when the social media ban comes into effect from 10 December. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

11 32 110

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Duncan Bell @duncanbell.bsky.social · Aug 21

Duncan Bell, “John Stuart Mill on Federation, Civilization and Empire,” History of Political Thought (2025)

go.shr.lc/4mTZyBp

John Stuart Mill on Federation, Civilization and Empire: Ingenta Connect

go.shr.lc

11 38

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 2d

The Australian equivalent (ARC)

Reposted by Jon Piccini

tom westland @tomwestland.bsky.social · 2d

CALL FOR PAPERS
A workshop at LSE next April on 'Uses and Abuses of the Murdock Atlas in Social Science Research'. We're looking for cross-disciplinary engagement to think critically about what this widely used source means, what it can & can't tell us. Submit by Nov 14
www.lse.ac.uk/economic-his...

Uses and abuses of the Murdock Atlas in social science research

www.lse.ac.uk

1 14 16

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Marc Morris @marcmorris.bsky.social · 2d

37 450 1.3K

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 2d

Gotta be done

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Martin D.B. Brown @martindbbrown.bsky.social · 2d

Off to brainwashed undergrads for a Mickey Mouse degree

3 1 14

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 2d

Good on ya!

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Dr Blair Williams @blairwilliams26.bsky.social · 2d

I'm excited to officially share that I'll be joining UNSW Canberra as a Lecturer in International and Political Studies in January 2026!

#AcademicLife #Academia #NewJob

Wattle with the Black Mountain tower in tje background

17 9 140

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Patrick Stokes @patrickstokes.com · 2d

Habsbuuuurgs iiiiin Spaaaaaaaaaaaaace...

Tombmas Spooks @thomasfuchs.at · 3d

How many trillions of dollars have been invested into this technology so far?

Google search for "austria hungary in space"

Google excitedly tells you about the 1889 orbital flight, and that by 1908 there was a Mars research output with 30 people.

4 14 50

Reposted by Jon Piccini

The Ass is the father of the legs @internethippo.bsky.social · 2d

Sometimes a user will post a joke and then that very same user will post something sincere. And I as the reader am expected to understand this, using my brain?

54 360 3.6K

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Kimberley Crofts 🍉 @ktcita.bsky.social · 2d

Just putting this out into the world. Come March next year I’ll be looking for #PostDoc research assistant work in Sydney (or remote). Please keep me in mind and send any ideas my way. Looking for projects in one or any of #EnergyTransitions #Decarbonisation #EnvironmentalPlanning #HumanGeography

1 5 3

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 2d

The best thing about Grant applications is definitely having to input your budget into three different systems that each require the numbers organized in a different way.

2 2 33

Reposted by Jon Piccini

Tim Lyons @picketer.bsky.social · 2d

"It was not until Othniel Antwi had finished his masters and was looking for work that he realised his degree was not accredited."
This is horrendous from public unis - *I sold you this great car for your commute, but oopsie you can't drive it on a public road, sorry.* www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Careers in limbo after graduates discover university courses were never accredited

Students have been left with HECS debts and careers that are "non-existent" after completing degrees that were not accredited. Class actions have been launched against two Australian universities.

www.abc.net.au

9 20 40

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 3d

It's the same line as ANZUS. No guarantee.

Jon Piccini @jonpiccini.bsky.social · 4d

It's literally exactly the same wording as ANZUS. Gives a huge get out of jail free card (parliament might say no, etc)

1 1