Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Clare Clarke @clareclarke.bsky.social · 8h

Lead the Curran Index as Our New Editor – RSVP

RSVP seeks a new Editor or Editors to lead the Curran Index! Applications should be sent to VP Alison Chapman by October 15.

rs4vp.org

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Ben Davies @bendavies.bsky.social · 8d

Pleased to announce @univeng.bsky.social small funding scheme now open to members. UE will fund up to 20 projects up to £250 each to support research/pedagogy/continuing professional development activities in Lit, Lang, Creative Writing. See details here: universityenglish.ac.uk/englishcreat...

University English Funding

universityenglish.ac.uk

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Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 22h

It is always the Reading Room of the Special Collections where the magic happens.

Mark Nixon @fatbadger442.bsky.social · 22h

As a historian of the 19th century, I regularly think about who might have sat next to each other in the Reading Room of the BL without either knowing who the other one was, while both were researching and writing world-changing texts.

rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 1d

you ever think about those real weird overlaps. like tennessee williams might have listened to the ramones

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James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 21h

Lords Heseltine & Kinnock seem more alive to these self-evident truths than most members of the Commons. Similarly, I find thinkers with direct lived experience of far right dictatorship, Greeks of a certain age for example, crystal clear about what’s happening now.

BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 1d

“You described Reform and other parties across Europe today as among the 'right wing equivalents of the fascists in the 1930s'. Why?”

“Because that’s what they are”

@vicderbyshire.bsky.social asks Lord Heseltine about remarks he made at Conservative Party Conference.

#Newsnight

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Andy Marshall @fotofacade.bsky.social · 1d

🚴John Betjeman said that it was worth cycling 40 miles in a headwind to see them.
🪽The early C16th Angel Roof at St Wendreda in Cambs is adorned with over 100 oaken angels.

View along the nave of St. Wendreda’s Church, March, showing the magnificent medieval angel roof with carved wooden angels soaring above the slender stone arcades.

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Will Tattersdill @tattersdill.bsky.social · 7d

This should also be how universities reply to the AI thing btw

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 7d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 7d

I didn't know Jane Goodall, but it's pretty clear the world is a poorer place without her, and that she wished and worked for a better world than the one we're making.

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 8d

“An example of the town of the future is Coventry.... Traffic and pedestrians are kept apart and the roads are planned to let traffic flow smoothly”

(Our Land in the Making, 1966)
Artist: Ronald Lampitt

Illustration of the precinct shopping centre in Coventry, with its shiny 1960s architecture, walkways and colourful flower planters

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Prof Nisreen Alwan @nisreenalwan.bsky.social · 8d

Can we all just shout about how despicable it is to scapegoat migrants for everything? Can we just stop being too polite or shy about it? Can we condemn it at work, with friends, family, on SM, everywhere? Can we just not keep calm & carry on until it’s too late?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Stop blaming migrants and tackle UK’s real problems, 100 charities tell home secretary

A letter warns Shabana Mahmood that ‘targeting refugees will do nothing to tackle’ problems with housing and the NHS

www.theguardian.com

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University of London Press @uolpress.bsky.social · 13d

Out today: British Working-Class and Radical Writing Since 1700 edited by John Goodridge & @adambridgen.bsky.social.

This book is published #OpenAccess, with funding from @acls1919.bsky.social 👏

'Workers, Radicals, Environmentalists and Feminists, Unite!'

uolpress.co.uk/book/british...

British Working-Class and Radical Writing Since 1700 - University of London Press

At a time when working-class writing is gaining long-overdue recognition and radical ideas may be more important than ever, this timely collection of eighteen essays examines the powerful intersection...

uolpress.co.uk

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Illuminatus @illuminatus.bsky.social · 14d

Credit where credit's due. If the Catholic Church can understand and articulate these basic things, then why can't some other organisations (including governments) we could mention?

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 15d

I was part of a working group on AI and Fraternity assembled by the Vatican. We met in Rome and worked on this over two days. I am happy to share the result of that intense effort: a Declaration we presented to the Pope and other government authorities

coexistence.global

In this spirit of fraternity, hope and caution, we call upon your leadership to uphold the following principles and red lines to foster dialogue and reflection on how AI can best serve our entire human family:

Human life and dignity: AI must never be developed or used in ways that threaten, diminish, or disqualify human life, dignity, or fundamental rights. Human intelligence – our capacity for wisdom, moral reasoning, and orientation toward truth and beauty – must never be devalued by artificial processing, however sophisticated.

AI must be used as a tool, not an authority: AI must remain under human control. Building uncontrollable systems or over-delegating decisions is morally unacceptable and must be legally prohibited. Therefore, development of superintelligence (as mentioned above) AI technologies should not be allowed until there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and there is clear and broad public consent.

Accountability: only humans have moral and legal agency and AI systems are and must remain legal objects, never subjects. Responsibility and liability reside with developers, vendors, companies, deployers, users, institutes, and governments. AI cannot be granted legal personhood or “rights”.

Life-and-death decisions: AI systems must never be allowed to make life or death decisions, especially in military applications during armed conflict or peacetime, law enforcement, border control, healthcare or judicial decisions.

Independent testing and adequate risk assessment must be required before deployment and throughout the entire lifecycle.
Stewardship: Governments, corporations, and anyone else should not weaponize AI for any kind of domination, illegal wars of aggression, coercion, manipulation, social scoring, or unwarranted mass surveillance.

Responsible design: AI should be designed and independently evaluated to avoid unintentional and catastrophic effects on humans and society, for example through design giving rise to deception, delusion, addiction, or loss of autonomy.

No AI monopoly: the benefits of AI – economic, medical, scientific, social – should not be monopolized.

No Human Devaluation: design and deployment of AI should make humans flourish in their chosen pursuits, not render humanity redundant, disenfranchised, devalued or replaceable.

Ecological responsibility: our use of AI must not endanger our planet and ecosystems. Its vast demands for energy, water, and rare minerals must be managed responsibly and sustainably across the whole supply chain.

No irresponsible global competition: We must avoid an irresponsible race between corporations and countries towards ever more powerful AI.

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John Gallagher @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 16d

I'm very pleased to announce that the call for proposed Special Issues of the Historical Journal is now live, with a deadline of 12th December. Please do spread widely among your networks — @saracaputo.bsky.social and I look forward to reading your submissions! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Historical Journal Call for Special Issues

Welcome to Cambridge Core

www.cambridge.org

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Dr. Katie Sagal @aksagal.bsky.social · 22d

Hello #academicsky! I'm sharing a cfp for an edited collection on "Naming & Classifying," pulled together by me, Kristin Girten, & @aaronrhanlon.com . We'd love to see your work! Please also circulate to anyone you think might be interested. Deadline 10/31. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Naming and Classifying cfp final

CFP: Naming and Classifying in the Long Eighteenth Century Whereas “the nineteenth century can be seen as the century of counting and measuring,” the eighteenth century can be seen as the century of ...

docs.google.com

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Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 21d

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”

Ursula K. Le Guin

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Pete Orford @peteorford.bsky.social · 21d

Victorianists - a little bit of silly joy in all the gloom: take a moment today to vote for this gorgeous Lego set idea of the Great Exhibition so we can all get it for Christmas! beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Front view of the Crystal Palace exterior rendered in Lego complete with megalosaurus and horsedrawn omnibus

Interior view of Lego Crystal Palace showing various details of the exhibition

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Jonathan Potter @drjonpotter.bsky.social · 23d

I don't suppose there is a Guinness world record for longest continuous broadcast of lies but if you're going to have to broadcast this man then framing it as a record-breaking performance of lies seems like a good way to do it.

Text from the Guardian: More than 100 of Donald Trump’s inaccurate statements are to be dissected by Channel 4 to coincide with his state visit, in what it described as “the longest uninterrupted reel of untruths, falsehoods and distortions ever broadcast on television”.

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Rosanna McGlone @rosannamcglone.bsky.social · 24d

Pretty self-evident, really, but will Starmer do it?

Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 24d

I've written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, urging them to join me in condemning Elon Musk's dangerous remarks inciting violence yesterday.

As leaders, we must stand together and make clear Musk will face serious consequences for these actions.

Letter from Ed Davey to Keir Starmer condemning Elon Musk for inciting violence and urging unity to defend democracy.

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Jonathan Potter @drjonpotter.bsky.social · 24d

The more I hear about ICE the more I'm reminded of the descriptions of the people who became low-level authority figures under the Nazis in Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin.

Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 24d

korean reporting is nightmarish on the conditions Korean workers were contained in

Their waists and hands were tied together, forcing them to bend down and lick water to drink. The unscreened bathrooms contained only a single sheet to cover their lower bodies. Sunlight barely penetrated through a fist-sized hole, and they were only allowed access to the small yard for two hours. Detained by US immigration authorities for eight days, the workers and their families expressed shock, describing human rights violations and absurdities they could not have imagined as ordinary Koreans living in 2025.

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Rebecca Anne Barr @rabarr.bsky.social · 24d

Historians must 'tell...an uncomfortable story & explain why the discomfort is part of the truth we need to live well and live properly. A well-organised society is one in which we know the truth about ourselves collectively, not one in which we tell pleasant lies about ourselves.'Tony Judt

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Jonathan Potter @drjonpotter.bsky.social · 25d

The quote is from David Roberts' introduction in the Oxford World Classics edition.

Jonathan Potter @drjonpotter.bsky.social · 25d

Retreating from the awfulness of current affairs to a nice book... in this case Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year since that's what I'm teaching in a few weeks. Actually strangely comforting. David Roberts describes it as celebrating "the endurance to watch the world fall apart" which...seems apt.

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Evan @evansmithhist.bsky.social · 26d

I will use this opportunity on #digitalfriday to promote the new ad-free website featuring my list of radical online collections and archives. Nearly 1000 open access collections of radical historical documents from around the world are now listed!

hatfulofhistory.com/radical-onli...

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 28d

Bit more coverage of our report today on the loss of provision of arts, humanities and social science courses
www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/uk...

Margot Finn, vice-president for research and higher education policy at the British Academy, said: "We need to call out the fact that what is taught at our universities is dictated by short-term financial concerns and competition for students— at the expense of safeguarding subjects for future generations.
"After more than 10 years of a market experiment in higher education, growing subject 'cold spots' are a symptom of universities in financial distress, and proof that how we fund, regulate and run UK higher education isn't working to protect students, our world-leading research or our universities' ability to serve their local communities."
'Symptoms of wider problems'
The academy is calling for an urgent review of higher education funding, a commitment to monitoring regional subject health and government action to increase collaboration between universities.
Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy, said threats to social sciences and humanities were "symptoms of wider problems".
"Financial pressures in higher education have led to cuts, contractions and closures, and our subjects are acting as bellwether for all," he said.
"If we continue down this road, the consequences are clear: less choice and opportunity for students and the loss of critical knowledge, insight and ideas."

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 28d

We've got a chunky @britishacademy.bsky.social report out looking at the emergence of 'cold spots' where you can't study arts, humanities or social science subjects close to home. We call for an urgent review of HE funding & monitoring of at risk subjects
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/univers...

University course closures leave students unable to study many SHAPE subjects close to home - report

A new report shows that students are shut out of SHAPE education in their home regions, as large swathes of the UK are ‘cold spots’ for humanities, social sciences and arts degrees.

www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk

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Jonathan Potter @drjonpotter.bsky.social · 26d

This is it exactly. If you really want great research outcomes then you really need to focus on creating the conditions for it via supportive, stimulating research environments and processes. But that means less managerialism and bureaucracy, and universities are too invested in both those things.

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