Tim Watson
@timwatson.bsky.social
English professor in Miami. British-American. London > Bishop's Stortford > Brighton > Brooklyn > Miami. Subtropical gardener. Florida Mangos: A Cultural History, forthcoming from U of Florida Press. Posts are my own and do not represent my employer.
Reposted by Tim Watson
Not trying to be greedy but I’d like to see full throated calls to abolish ice paired with path to citizenship for all
January 14, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Not trying to be greedy but I’d like to see full throated calls to abolish ice paired with path to citizenship for all
I'm in awe at the bravery and organization of people on the ground in Minneapolis and Chicago and everywhere protecting their communities *and* changing political reality so fast that abolishing ICE and supporting more immigration are now mainstream demands and a winnable future.
January 14, 2026 at 2:03 AM
I'm in awe at the bravery and organization of people on the ground in Minneapolis and Chicago and everywhere protecting their communities *and* changing political reality so fast that abolishing ICE and supporting more immigration are now mainstream demands and a winnable future.
i really think we deserve a good reply-allpocalypse this week for some light relief, anybody currently experiencing one?
January 13, 2026 at 11:24 PM
i really think we deserve a good reply-allpocalypse this week for some light relief, anybody currently experiencing one?
let me ask my chair how large the allocation of national championship tickets is for the English & Creative Writing Department
January 13, 2026 at 5:26 PM
let me ask my chair how large the allocation of national championship tickets is for the English & Creative Writing Department
Reskeet this with your home river:
The Everglades / Pa-Hay-Okee = grassy water (Seminole)
The Everglades / Pa-Hay-Okee = grassy water (Seminole)
Reskeet this with your home river:
The Appomattox, mostly, but the James too
The Appomattox, mostly, but the James too
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.
Mine is the Patuxent.
Mine is the Patuxent.
January 12, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Reskeet this with your home river:
The Everglades / Pa-Hay-Okee = grassy water (Seminole)
The Everglades / Pa-Hay-Okee = grassy water (Seminole)
for those about to teach tomorrow, I salute you
January 12, 2026 at 2:02 AM
for those about to teach tomorrow, I salute you
according to this list, the University of Leeds is the only major Anglophone university to have quit X?! (Several leading Francophone and German universities have done so.)
Trying to persuade your institution, employer, news source, school, etc., to quit X? Looking for a list of organizations & individuals who've already done exactly that to help with the persuasion? Well, here you go! Excellent and useful initiative from @eloquence.bsky.social 🙏
Spread it around:
Spread it around:
January 11, 2026 at 3:17 PM
according to this list, the University of Leeds is the only major Anglophone university to have quit X?! (Several leading Francophone and German universities have done so.)
Reposted by Tim Watson
In cities across the US, regular people have mobilized to protect their neighbors, showing up with whistles to oppose secret police with guns.
There is not a single US police force that has put the same effort into protecting their immigrant neighbors.
Who keeps us safe?
There is not a single US police force that has put the same effort into protecting their immigrant neighbors.
Who keeps us safe?
January 11, 2026 at 1:34 PM
In cities across the US, regular people have mobilized to protect their neighbors, showing up with whistles to oppose secret police with guns.
There is not a single US police force that has put the same effort into protecting their immigrant neighbors.
Who keeps us safe?
There is not a single US police force that has put the same effort into protecting their immigrant neighbors.
Who keeps us safe?
Reposted by Tim Watson
Palestine Action activist Heba Muraisi, 31, said to be “near death” after 70 days on hunger strike,
Palestine Action activist's body 'could fail at any moment' after 70 days on hunger strike | LBC
The three prisoners' demands include immediate bail, with lawyers saying the activists are expected to spend more than twice the standard six-month custody time limit laid out in UK law.
www.lbc.co.uk
January 10, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Palestine Action activist Heba Muraisi, 31, said to be “near death” after 70 days on hunger strike,
In the 80s I thought Duran Duran were ridiculous and Morrisey was brilliant and now I would like to go back and dance on the sand of time to tell 1980s Tim a thing or two
January 10, 2026 at 11:59 PM
In the 80s I thought Duran Duran were ridiculous and Morrisey was brilliant and now I would like to go back and dance on the sand of time to tell 1980s Tim a thing or two
Reposted by Tim Watson
'Say her name': Hundreds of protesters gather near Boca Raton after ICE killing of woman in Minneapolis www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/01/10/s...
‘Say her name’: Hundreds of protesters gather near Boca Raton after ICE killing of woman in Minneapolis
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside of the West Boca Raton Home Depot on Saturday to protest ICE following the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
www.sun-sentinel.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:53 PM
'Say her name': Hundreds of protesters gather near Boca Raton after ICE killing of woman in Minneapolis www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/01/10/s...
wikipedia editors working fast today
January 10, 2026 at 2:26 PM
wikipedia editors working fast today
Reposted by Tim Watson
On this day, the hallowed birthday of COMMON SENSE, by Thomas Paine, I present to you some lesser known quotations (and some blockbusters) -- to help us understand what he hated about kings, and what he loved about the people.
“It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
“It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
January 9, 2026 at 5:52 PM
On this day, the hallowed birthday of COMMON SENSE, by Thomas Paine, I present to you some lesser known quotations (and some blockbusters) -- to help us understand what he hated about kings, and what he loved about the people.
“It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
“It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
Common Sense: 250 years old today, and appearing in my Literature and Law syllabus on Monday when my class meets for the first time.
"In America, the Law is King," Paine famously wrote in COMMON SENSE.
What would he think of us now?
What would he think of us now?
January 9, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Common Sense: 250 years old today, and appearing in my Literature and Law syllabus on Monday when my class meets for the first time.
the bare minimum we need
January 8, 2026 at 2:55 AM
the bare minimum we need
So I'm unexpectedly teaching an undergraduate class on literature and law next week. I'm looking for a queer detective novel to add: have any of you taught Margot Douaihy's Scorched Grace or Devil's Chew Toy by Rob Osler or have another recommendation for a short novel that teaches well? Thanks!
January 6, 2026 at 11:43 PM
So I'm unexpectedly teaching an undergraduate class on literature and law next week. I'm looking for a queer detective novel to add: have any of you taught Margot Douaihy's Scorched Grace or Devil's Chew Toy by Rob Osler or have another recommendation for a short novel that teaches well? Thanks!
It's astounding that YouGov ran a survey on British attitudes to the British empire but *did not include the Caribbean* in its breakdown by region. Did we just forget about that slavery thing *again*?
I agree 100% with Alan Lester's analysis of the survey results: please read his whole thread here.
I agree 100% with Alan Lester's analysis of the survey results: please read his whole thread here.
2. But what interested and pleased me most is this: when those benefits and costs are broken down by region there's a general recognition that the empire's effects need to be disaggregated between its metropolitan centres / settler offshoots, and its colonies of exploitation.
January 5, 2026 at 5:17 PM
It's astounding that YouGov ran a survey on British attitudes to the British empire but *did not include the Caribbean* in its breakdown by region. Did we just forget about that slavery thing *again*?
I agree 100% with Alan Lester's analysis of the survey results: please read his whole thread here.
I agree 100% with Alan Lester's analysis of the survey results: please read his whole thread here.
look I know it just means I'm too many generations removed from my Suffolk/Essex agricultural labourer forebears, but I will never not see compost as essentially magical
January 5, 2026 at 1:48 AM
look I know it just means I'm too many generations removed from my Suffolk/Essex agricultural labourer forebears, but I will never not see compost as essentially magical
I can't be the only one who read this wild piece—about Venezuelans in South Florida recognizing the army officer who abused them because he appeared in a telenovela—and imagined Greg Bovino being brought to justice in the future? (gift link)
He Is Being Sued in the U.S. for Human Rights Abuses. He Could be Deported First.
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:28 PM
I can't be the only one who read this wild piece—about Venezuelans in South Florida recognizing the army officer who abused them because he appeared in a telenovela—and imagined Greg Bovino being brought to justice in the future? (gift link)
which means oh shit today is they're schedule-sending tomorrow's circle back emails already
oh shit tomorrow is circle back day already
January 4, 2026 at 5:47 PM
which means oh shit today is they're schedule-sending tomorrow's circle back emails already
This is why I think Suez 1956 may be as useful an analogy as Iraq 2003 (or Aristide, Noriega, etc). A dying empire hastening its own demise fighting the wrong battle while imagining it's reclaiming global power.
Battleships and oil fields. Last century’s wars for last century’s prizes.
Trump is trying to force US oil companies to rebuild Venezuelan oil fields that are too expensive to invest in at current crude prices while a full blown energy revolution is happening with cheap solar and electrification growing exponentially.
This is a dying empire shit.
This is a dying empire shit.
January 4, 2026 at 4:25 AM
This is why I think Suez 1956 may be as useful an analogy as Iraq 2003 (or Aristide, Noriega, etc). A dying empire hastening its own demise fighting the wrong battle while imagining it's reclaiming global power.
I shouldn't be spending more time thinking about this than the DHS staffer who image searched "palm trees surf vintage car", but as I'm researching C19/C20 Florida development history, it's hard to avoid the similarities.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
January 2, 2026 at 11:07 PM
I shouldn't be spending more time thinking about this than the DHS staffer who image searched "palm trees surf vintage car", but as I'm researching C19/C20 Florida development history, it's hard to avoid the similarities.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
instigate a reply-allpocalypse
How else can professors prove "merit" besides SAT scores? Wrong answers only. I'll go first: ability to do sixth-grade geometry homework (two professors in my house fail)
January 2, 2026 at 8:27 PM
instigate a reply-allpocalypse