Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Margot Finn

Caroline Dodds Pennock @carolinepennock.bsky.social · 44m

God bless The Church Times for their ongoing insistence on responding moderately but forcefully to the Reverend Canon Nigel Biggar’s nonsense. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

Even given all that Biggar writes about the universality of slavery and the complicity of Africans, three things might be said. First, Britain played a key part and, however others may want to respond to their own history, it is morally responsible to face up to our own heritage. Second, as a Tory, he might have made more of Burke’s view that society is a partnership not just between the living, but between the living, the dead, and those still to be born. Third, guilt is not the only spur to action. There are the obligations that we owe one another irrespective of any personal responsibility for atrocities in the past.

1 15 54

Reposted by Margot Finn

UCU Commons @ucucommons.bsky.social · 1h

The first issue of our fortnightly newsletter has landed!

Featuring @markpendleton.bsky.social’s discussion paper to this Friday’s HEC, @hagenilda.bsky.social’s plea to Frances Corner’s successor and other interesting links and news. #UCU #UKHE #AcademicSky

ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

UCU Commons newsletter #1

A new fortnightly round-up of union and sector specific news

ucucommons.substack.com

2 3

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h

But other than that…..

1

Reposted by Margot Finn

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 2h

She's nothing if not predictable, is she? I know the Tories aren't keen on anything Green these days, but pretty much all they've done this week is recycle stuff they've been banging on about--for the most part fruitlessly--for the last decade and a half. And today it's "Mickey Mouse" degrees. 🙄

Badenoch: Curb students taking 'rip-off' degrees such as English

The performing arts, sociology and anthropology are among the subjects the Conservatives would like to cut

inews.co.uk

19 26 110

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 1h

It's as coherent a policy as one could expect from a person who believes (or, at least, asserts) that she was offered a place at Stanford to study medicine at 16.

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h

'The vote was triggered by the announcement of £30m-worth of cuts at the university this academic year, £25m of which will come from staff costs.'

Vote of no confidence in Swansea University vice chancellor over job cuts

UCU members at Swansea University pass a vote of no confidence in its vice chancellor due to job cuts.

www.bbc.co.uk

6 11

Reposted by Margot Finn

Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 2h

Contrasting headlines

4 7 21

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h

It shows what large lashings of cash can enable, but if it sets a precedent that encourages more modest philanthropy in Humanities elsewhere that would be a very good thing.

1 7

Reposted by Margot Finn

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3h

A reminder that this week the Conservatives announced they want a “British ICE”

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 7h

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 9h

Here’s video of the incident

1 83 160

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h

'obliging different areas to bid against one another and then leaving the ultimate say-so down to Whitehall has proven hugely misguided in all sorts of different levelling-up-adjacent funding opportunities in recent years.'

So this is what devolved research funding looks like

A couple of recent policy announcements show how the government is attempting to navigate the niceties of regional funding distribution

wonkhe.com

2 5

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 2h

'The gleaming palace to the humanities – the single largest building project ever undertaken by the University of Oxford made possible by the largest philanthropic gift it has ever received – stands in stark contrast to the beleaguered, shrinking state of the rest of the sector.'

Oxford’s largest-ever project ‘shows what the humanities can do’

New building which brings together disciplines for the first time will also open its doors to the public to engage with big questions facing the world

www.timeshighereducation.com

2 5 22

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3h

'The party would introduce caps on funded courses that consistently “lead to poor graduate outcomes”, allowing it to invest further in the “apprenticeship revolution” it started, it said. Remaining funding will be used to support high-quality courses at research-intensive British universities.' 3/3

3

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3h

'The MP for north-west Essex will use her first conference speech as leader to promise “radical reforms” of higher education, labelling it a “rigged system propping up low-quality courses”.' 2/3

1 1 3

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3h

'Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut the number of UK university places by about 100,000 annually by reintroducing student number controls.' 1/3

Badenoch’s number caps plan would cut 100,000 university places

Tory leader to use conference speech to attack ‘debt trap degrees’ and pledge more money for apprenticeships

www.timeshighereducation.com

8 6 5

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3h

'At a moment when the world is desperate to comprehend Russia, journalist Julia Ioffe seeks to explain it through the eyes of women, some of them historical figures, some from her own family.'

Motherland by Julia Ioffe review – the matriarchs who built mother Russia

A journalist uses family and political history to paint a portrait of a country in turmoil through its women

www.theguardian.com

1 5

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3h

Worth reading. And a sharing link for 3 non-subscribers: on.ft.com/3IYbvaK

The Royal Society should be protecting science, not Musk

The esteemed club risks becoming a bystander as reason and rationality come under attack

www.ft.com

1 5 17

Reposted by Margot Finn

Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social · 23h

MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

2 100 220

Reposted by Margot Finn

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 16h

"Any university leader who signs on to this compact would betray everything good and solid about the university and would do deep and permanent harm to the United States and the world."

Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 18h

newrepublic.com/article/2013...

Why This Essay Could Cause the University of Virginia to Shut Down

How Linda McMahon’s latest “compact” would do deep and permanent harm to American higher education

newrepublic.com

24 88

Reposted by Margot Finn

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 15h

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

30 500 1.5K

Reposted by Margot Finn

Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 12h

Breaking: Tories would slash university places by 100k.

Student numbers cap plan billed as saving £3 billion to invest in apprenticeship funding.

Tomorrow, Badenoch will unveil plans to limit student numbers across all subjects.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

Tories would slash university places by 100,000 - Research Professional News

Student numbers cap plan billed as saving £3 billion to invest in “doubled” apprenticeship funding

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

4 6 6

Reposted by Margot Finn

BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 16h

“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

99 570 1.7K

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12h

Quite interesting.

Tilda Martin @matildamartin.bsky.social · 12h

I spoke to former schools minister Nick Gibb @politicshome.bsky.social
-Tories focusing too much on culture wars
-& not enough on “real lives of people & their challenges”(all mainstream parties guilty of this)
-UK should be leading reform of ECHR not leaving it
www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Nick Gibb: The Tories Are Too Focused On Culture Wars

Former schools minister Sir Nick Gibb has accused the Conservatives of focusing too much on culture wars and not enough on “the real lives of peopl...

www.politicshome.com

4

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 18h

Perhaps universities and REF should focus first on diversity of researchers, something for which (unlike diversity of outputs) there is a statutory duty in each of the 4 nations and something for which we have (quite horrifying) meaningful evidence. The avoidance of these data shouts eloquently.

1 8

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 18h

'Writing in The Times, Starmer had urged students to avoid taking part in protests two years on from the day when more than 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas.'

If he's writing in The Times, he's not actually addressing students.

Students defy Starmer’s call not to hold Gaza protests

Hundreds gather in London despite the prime minister telling them to stay at home on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel

www.timeshighereducation.com

1 3 39

Reposted by Margot Finn

Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · 19h

I've responded to Robert Jenrick's vile comments in @thetimes.com

www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

I sang Jerusalem with Robert Jenrick at school — he’s wrong about race

The Conservative MP has complained that, visiting Handsworth in Birmingham, he didn’t see ‘another white face’. You can’t judge whether someone is integrated by skin colour, argues fellow Wulfrunian S...

www.thetimes.com

41 160 590