Berthold Schoene
@profberty.bsky.social
500 followers 480 following 60 posts
Lit Prof Manchester Met UK | interested in trees doing the human (or indeed just themselves at their own sweet pace) | the ruderal imagination | degrowth aesthetics | the Anthropocene novel | pursuits involving Marnie & Grace and their sighthound pals …
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profberty.bsky.social
Blown over (!) by HELM. (Porter’s is next.) I love this Prize which rediscovers the novel afresh every year.
goldsmithsprize.bsky.social
We are delighted to announce the #GoldsmithsPrize2025 shortlist.

Congratulations to our six brilliant novelists!

Find out more about the shortlist: www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-p...
profberty.bsky.social
I “migrated” to this slightly offshore country 35 years ago today — one day before German Reunification, which I watched on TV in a bedsit on Glasgow’s Great Western Road. I remember my mouth being sore from speaking English all day 😂
profberty.bsky.social
With anonymised marking, any meaningful pedagogical engagement or intervention went out of the window. Frustrating for tutors who can no longer delight in a student’s learning as they mark their work & a sad loss for students who are deprived of the personal touch they so clearly continue to crave.
Reposted by Berthold Schoene
brianklaas.bsky.social
With classes underway, I’ve switched from essays to exams. But with the death of the student essay (RIP, slain by ChatGPT), there’s a larger human tragedy: an erosion of critical cognition and the creation of two sharply divided classes of people: those who learn how to think and those who don’t:
The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition
One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.
www.forkingpaths.co
profberty.bsky.social
Marnie, optimising summer’s long goodbye
profberty.bsky.social
Never read anything by Pym before: is this what’s meant by “middle brow”?!
profberty.bsky.social
We’ve renamed the house in honour of these two blue wonders 🤩🥰❤️
profberty.bsky.social
How kind of you to say so — much appreciated, thank you! 🤩
profberty.bsky.social
Thank you for engaging with my work at all! It’s refreshing to hear it’s been of some use. ANITA AND ME is a cracker!
profberty.bsky.social
Wrote about this over 25 years ago & it continues to be one of my absolute favourite Bildungsroman novels journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Berthold Schoene
goldsmithsprize.bsky.social
'If you're experimenting with things, you're always writing against the culture'

Goldsmiths Prize 2017 winner Nicola Barker talks to @tanjilrashid.bsky.social about piecing the novel back together again after H(A)PPY, and much else . . .

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...
Author Nicola Barker:
Podcast Episode · The New Statesman: politics and culture · 30/08/2025 · 38m
podcasts.apple.com
Reposted by Berthold Schoene
ianduhig.bsky.social
"Can I read you some of my poetry?"
Reposted by Berthold Schoene
dinostalgia.bsky.social
In the spirit of syllabus season, here’s a link to an extinction studies course of the #envhist #envhum variety. From the dodo to dire wolves...Please borrow, adapt, share!

drive.google.com/file/d/1SzKp...

cc: @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social!
A screenshot of the ANTI-EXTINCTION syllabus cover page with a dodo representing extinct beings. The text reads: "Though extinction is a natural phenomenon, human activity has hastened species loss in recent centuries. What factors led to the loss of the dodo, the passenger pigeon, and thylacine? What brought the American bison and California condor back from the brink of extinction? What are the promises and perils of de-extinction projects that aim to recreate dire wolves and woolly mammoths? These case studies (among others!) offer critical context for understanding ongoing biodiversity and social justice crises. Organized around questions of multispecies justice, with an emphasis on the significance of stories, this course invites students to consider what kind of existence they want for themselves and for other beings amidst the Sixth Mass Extinction."
Reposted by Berthold Schoene
profberty.bsky.social
Vetch — what an odd and ugly name for a very beautiful flower!
Reposted by Berthold Schoene
profberty.bsky.social
Aberffraw Beach at dawn
profberty.bsky.social
Interesting — like you, I’ve started to appeal to the uniqueness of their personal learning experience, which I’m asking them to spell out: what was it like for them reading a particular text? How did it impact them? What did they learn from class discussions? Etc.