Nikki Hessell
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nikkihessell.bsky.social
Nikki Hessell
@nikkihessell.bsky.social
Prof in 18th Century & Romantic Literature at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, she/her, Pākehā/settler scholar, #toitūtetiriti, 🏀
Books on Romanticism + settler colonialism + Indigenous studies
https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/nikki.hessell
Pinned
I've woken up in Aotearoa NZ to a lot of new followers, so hi!👋
My new Marsden-funded project is "The Poetics of Treaties: Settler Treaty-Making and 18C Poetry," which looks at treaties as literature & the influence of poetic modes (elegy, georgic, prospect etc) on treaty writing in the colonies
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
Statement from Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Māori Medical Practitioners Association) expressing its condemnation of the banning of puberty blockers by the NZ government.
mcusercontent.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I feel so fortunate to have been at this talk. Smart, accessible, and the sort of thing that makes you think differently about the texts that you teach (even as a non-Shakespearean)
Nearly time for Patricia Akhimie’s lecture on “Setting Othello,” hosted by @elccprogramme.bsky.social here at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
For 2 years this corner of my whiteboard has been covered with conference organising tasks. Today it is finally blank!

Looking forward to seeing everyone as we kick off "Living / Building"-the 2025 joint conference btw the Romantic Studies Association of Australasia & the David Nichol Smith Seminar
November 24, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Ooooh! I hadn't heard about this, but have registered now. This is the kind of conversation I've been hoping to hear as I'm developing my "Poetics of Treaties" project
It's great to see so many signing up for the @asleuki.bsky.social Online Seminar on Eighteenth-Century Literature and Environment, on 29 Jan 2026, 3-7 pm GMT, but there's still room for more! Further details and registration information at: asle.org.uk/events/semin...
November 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
Greens statement - @maramadavidson.bsky.social says "The Greens affirm our pledge to properly resource and promote clear pathways for timely, free, non-discriminatory access to all forms of gender-affirming healthcare based on informed consent and self-determination."
Our trans whānau deserve better than this Government
We are building a future where we do more, faster, to protect our planet and make sure everyone is treated equally.
www.greens.org.nz
November 24, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
And then, in the second half of this week, we will be welcoming 50 speakers from around the world for a conference on 18th-century and Romantic studies www.wgtn.ac.nz/fhss/about/e...
November 23, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
“The relationships that schools and kura have with Māori endures despite directives from the right-wing.” — Awanui Te Huia.
Schools commit to Te Tiriti anyway | E-Tangata
“The relationships that schools and kura have with Māori endures despite directives from the right-wing.” — Awanui Te Huia.
e-tangata.co.nz
November 22, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Such a disappointing stance from Te Rangi. If players decided they weren't prepared to support the Indigenous round because it conflicted with their beliefs, would he feel the same way? 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360893...
November 20, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
www.raceandregency.org/podcast

The Race and Regency Pod:

New Episode featuring Mathelinda Nabugodi
November 19, 2025 at 12:25 AM
It's hard enough to be a (4-10)🏀Breakers fan without the added homophobia.

If your values can be shaken by a few (anonymous) players in an individual season, then they weren't your values to begin with.

Beyond disappointed, but, as they say, the ball don't lie 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/5...
Basketball: NZ Breakers won't wear ANBL 'Pride' insignia
The Auckland-based team have opted out of wearing rainbow insignia during the competition's 'Pride Round'.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 18, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
If you're doing your holiday shopping and/or thinking about best to celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday, 1 month from today, I have some news: Harvard UP's annotated editions of Austen's fiction (my own edition of Mansfield Park included) are now 25% off.
www.hup.harvard.edu/features/hap...
Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen — Harvard University Press
Celebrate with six gorgeous annotated editions of Jane Austen’s classics. “A sumptuous reading experience…richly illustrated with paintings, museum-quality photographs, and colorful Regency prints. A ...
www.hup.harvard.edu
November 16, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I know that, at some point, the monetization process will switch to "pay extra $ to get this without useless AI cluttering it up."

But for the moment, I'm enjoying the fact that there are online services & products where the free version works well, & the premium paid version is "this but with AI"
a man in a suit and tie is talking to a woman in a room .
Alt: Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) in The Office saying "win win"
media.tenor.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Congratulations @drleith.bsky.social! This is such a richly deserved award. Toasting you from afar 🎉
Sincere congratulations to @drleith.bsky.social on her receipt of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 18th-Century Scottish Studies Society. Leith is a committed and prolific scholar who continues to make major contributions to numerous fields within Scottish Studies.

www.sfu.ca/scottishstud...
Leith Davis receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society
Professor Leith Davis has been recognized with a prestigious award for her outstanding contributions to 18th-century Scottish Studies over the course of her career.
www.sfu.ca
November 15, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Excited to be at the “Dulles Airport is sending me flight updates” stage of conference organising!!

We’re looking forward to welcoming @profchander.bsky.social to the RSAA/DNS conference next week ❤️
So pleased to announce our 1st keynote for the joint 18C & Romantic studies conference that we're hosting in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, this November....Manu Samriti Chander (Georgetown)! @profchander.bsky.social

More details about the conference here: www.wgtn.ac.nz/fhss/about/e...
November 14, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
CfP: Romantic Elements: Rocks, and Stones, and Soil, 1750–1850, Symposium at The University of Manchester, 25–26 June 2026. Deadline 30th January 2026. www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6185
CfP: Romantic Elements: Rocks, and Stones, and Soil, 1750–1850 – BARS Blog
www.bars.ac.uk
October 12, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
My book A FUNNY THING: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE UNDISCIPLINED is now available for pre-order in a paperback priced for humans! Go get it!
A Funny Thing | Cambridge University Press & Assessment
www.cambridge.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
Thierry and Annemarie Jutel, then and now: we’ll miss these two bright sparks at Te Herenga Waka, but wish them well in their ‘retirement’ down south!
November 11, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Can’t wait!!!
November 11, 2025 at 1:57 AM
I find conference organising super stressful, but it is a chance to imagine the field in ways that interest you.

I'm very proud of the programme we have for our joint Romantic Studies Association of Australasia / David Nichol Smith seminar - you can see it here www.wgtn.ac.nz/fhss/about/e...
November 8, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
Always wanted an “academic procedural” show where a prof is seen doing the most routine parts of the job, like grading or ms revisions, but they’re also suffering all the kinds of breakdowns detectives have in their shows
November 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
Not a single university would remain standing for more than a week without administrative assistants who are women 99% of the time
I am trying to imagine any of the workplaces I have inhabited in my lifetime WITHOUT women and dying inside a bit
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
What.
November 4, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
The second episode of The Race and Regency podcast is up!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
Austen, Race and Regency with Devoney Looser
Podcast Episode · The Race and Regency Pod · 11/02/2025 · 26m
podcasts.apple.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Nikki Hessell
Reminder: CfP closes for BARS 2026 'Romantic Retrospection' at the University of Birmingham, UK, and online on 30 November.
Details below:
www.birmingham.ac.uk/events/arts-...
October 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM