Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Nick Barker

Eto Buziashvili @buziashvili.bsky.social · 3d

It’s been hard 24h for Georgians. Grave mistakes were made. Yesterday, Georgia lost a battle against Russian takeover - but the fight for freedom &democracy continues. If there’s one thing yst proved, it’s that resistance hasnt disappeared. They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds. 1/12

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · 3d

"staff are being called back from redundancy".

The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 3d

Grade deflation, overcrowding and ‘chaos’ as colleges scramble for fees trib.al/Rl13Hxg

Grade deflation, overcrowding and ‘chaos’ as colleges scr...

Russell group hoovers up international students to stave off budget deficit fears

trib.al

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Sep 6

Love this: "Do not submit to anyone, including the plagiarized digital detritus called “AI.” Read and think on your own terms with your own words. Do not take your ability to do so for granted." sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-end-ti...

The End Times of Academia

"It was the non-existent future that I was working toward that was the problem."

sarahkendzior.substack.com

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Sep 6

Finding inspiration from the brilliant @sarahkendzior.bsky.social: "If you are a student, a professor, or a self-taught intellectual — fight. Fight by refusing to abandon your humanity, your originality, and your will to explore."

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · Sep 5

New article! On the authoritarian attack on higher education and the exploitative practices that preceded it: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-end-ti...

The End Times of Academia

"It was the non-existent future that I was working toward that was the problem."

sarahkendzior.substack.com

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Reposted by Nick Barker

Olga Onuch @oonuch.bsky.social · Aug 15

There has never been a better time to support Ukraine. Donate now u24.gov.ua

UNITED24 - The initiative of the President of Ukraine

UNITED24 was launched by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine. Funds will be transferred to the official accounts of...

u24.gov.ua

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Eugene Finkel @efinkel.bsky.social · Aug 15

Public Service Announcement: if what's happening in Alaska makes you sick, a donation to Ukraine would improve your health

UNITED24 - The initiative of the President of Ukraine

UNITED24 was launched by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine. Funds will be transferred to the official accounts of...

u24.gov.ua

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Reposted by Nick Barker

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · Aug 7

sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/soul-strip...

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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · Jul 13

Decades of mechanistic talk about university degrees as if they were bundles of 'skills' and 'prep' are about to be proved completely wrong (obviously). Want to get a real boost? Do History or English.

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Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · Jul 9

George Orwell warned: bad writing leads to bad thinking.

Academia trains us to write for journals, not the public.
Clarity feels risky, because it exposes us.

But clear communication is essential for democracy.
So how do we do it?

🧵

New post 👉 catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/why-clarit...

Why Clarity Feels Dangerous (Especially If You’re an Academic)

The Hardest Work in Writing Is Saying What You Really Mean

catherineeunicedevries.substack.com

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Jun 29

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It’s true that my fellow students are embracing AI – but this is what the critics aren’t seeing | Elsie McDowell

Those turning to ChatGPT aren’t lazy. My generation has found itself stranded in a rapidly changing and, since Covid, badly mishandled education system, says student Elsie McDowell

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Nick Barker

Civil War Paths @civilwarpaths.bsky.social · Jun 26

Newly published on the @civilwarpaths.bsky.social blog, @ashesterinina.bsky.social shares updates from the past year, including exciting insights from recent events, new publications from the team, and the range of contributions from our Fellows. Read more 👇

Year Four of Civil War Paths: Taking Stock - Civil War Paths

Professor Anastasia Shesterinina is Chair in Comparative Politics at the University of York. She currently holds a £1.2m UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship and direct the Centre for ...

www.civilwarpaths.org

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Yaroslava @strategywoman.bsky.social · Jun 21

I guess that posts with war interest people more.

But I am determined to show you that Ukraine is more than the war:
rich history, art, culture and fantastic nature.

Porcelain Blossom. Opishnia, Poltava Oblast

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Andreas Umland @umland.bsky.social · Jun 20

On 13 June, @theguardian.com published a collective letter concerning Russia’s war & attacking Dr #FionaHill, the chancellor of Durham University & one of the principal authors of the UK’s strategic defence review. As UK-based or British-educated experts in matters pertaining to Russia, we disagree.

There is only one warmonger on the European stage: Vladimir Putin | Letter

Letter: Experts on Russia, Ukraine and international security respond to a letter that criticised Fiona Hill for her assessment of the Russian threat to Britain

www.theguardian.com

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Jun 21

Very glad to see a number of good friends and colleagues signing the letter in support of Dr Hill

Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · Jun 20

Dueling public letters in the UK battle over Fiona Hill’s recent “Russia is at war with us” declaration. Hill’s (more numerous) defenders end with a parting salvo at their opponents’ “once – and perhaps still – friendly contacts in Russian officialdom.”

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Jun 15

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI

Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg

www.theguardian.com

Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Jun 13

Might be relevant: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

www.pnas.org

Reposted by Nick Barker

Ken Tremendous @kentremendous.bsky.social · Jun 4

Anyone who uses Chat GPT is insane

Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · Jun 3

This is a hell of a thing to read.

Diabolus Ex Machina

This Is Not An Essay

open.substack.com

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · May 8

www.ft.com/content/1517...

The case for universities

Institutions everywhere are in crisis, but they will survive

www.ft.com

Reposted by Nick Barker

George Kyris @georgekyris.bsky.social · Apr 29

Delighted to share my new article. I explore the relationship between state recognition & state-building through a study of #UN & #EU involvement in #Kosovo to better grasp how states are built/recognised in conflict-affected areas.

Free to access!

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #conflictsky

State-building and the recognition of a right to statehood: international involvement in post-1999 Kosovo

Informed by a novel conceptualization of the recognition of a right to statehood and its relation to state-building, this study explores under what conditions international organizations contribute...

www.tandfonline.com

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Olga Robinson @olgar.bsky.social · Apr 17

Russian authorities are systematically seizing thousands of homes from Ukrainian residents of Mariupol.

BBC Verify has analysed dozens of official documents published since July 2024 that show at least 5,700 homes have been identified for seizure. www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

Russia seizing thousands of homes in occupied Mariupol - BBC News

To save their homes, Ukrainians face a dangerous return through Russia, and pressure to take a Russian passport.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Political Worldview Podcast @politicalworldview.bsky.social · Apr 15

🚨New ep. out now! "Can you say that?"🎙️ @adamjamesquinn.bsky.social chats to @verenakbrandle.bsky.social about #socialmedia and politics: what kind of moderation do democratic societies want, and why do we seem to be getting further away from an ideal that satisfies anyone?

👇Audio links in thread👇

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Reposted by Nick Barker

Timothy Garton Ash @fromtga.bsky.social · Apr 16

@harvard.edu fights back
Time for
1. Coordinated statement by all US top universities spelling out red lines of academic freedom.
2. Message of support for all threatened US universities from all world's leading universities.
@ox.ac.uk @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Read Harvard’s Response to the Trump Administration

Harvard University’s lawyers responded on Monday to the Trump Administration’s letter demanding a series of policy changes, saying the demands were unlawful and that Harvard would not comply.

www.nytimes.com

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Apr 16

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My sister died 10 years ago. Here’s what I wish I had known about dementia when she was alive | Jackie Bailey

I think back to my 20-year-old self and my sister, lost in her imagined worlds, and I feel compassion for us both

www.theguardian.com

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · Apr 15

"the president defied a Supreme Court ruling to return a man mistakenly sent to a gulag... and spoke of sending Americans to foreign concentration camps.
This is the beginning of an American policy of state terror, and it has to be identified as such to be stopped"
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror

State Terror

A brief guide for Americans

snyder.substack.com

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · Apr 14

Thanks!