Sophia Woodman
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sophisteria.bsky.social
Sophia Woodman
@sophisteria.bsky.social
140 followers 90 following 150 posts
She/her. Interdisciplinary tourist, gardener, now-settled nomad, committed to building real solidarity across difference through unions and other forms of bottom-up organising.
Views my own, not representing my branch or uni.
Member of UCU Commons.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
nation.cymru
Cardiff University students are demanding that the university authorities answer a series of searching questions following a traumatic year in which more than 1,800 academics were originally put ‘in scope’ for redundancy ✍️Martin Shipton
Students call on Cardiff University to 'open the books' as cuts concerns continue
Martin Shipton Cardiff University students are demanding that the university authorities answer a series of searching questions following a traumatic year in which more than 1,800 academics were origi...
wp.me
December 30, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
21group.bsky.social
Top trolling

A knighthood is given to Vice Chancellor Canagarajah for advancing "inclusivity" while Leicester University reels from soaring executive pay, successive scandals and governance chaos

Medals for optics 🤮

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/new-yea...
New Year Honours 2026: knighthood for Leicester vice-chancellor
Professors from UCL and Plymouth Marjon University receive damehoods, while four vice-chancellors commended
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
joycewhitevance.bsky.social
18 years for having a stillbirth. Medical testing showed meth but a med examiner testified he couldnt say it was the cause of death. She’s 1 of at least 20 Alabama women who suffered miscarriage/stillbirth then faced sentencing as severe as for murder, rape or kidnapping. www.al.com/news/2022/09...
She lost her baby, then her freedom. ‘When the judge said 18 years, I couldn’t believe it.’
Brooke Shoemaker suffered a stillbirth in Auburn in 2017. Although a state medical examiner found the cause of death to be undetermined, the county coroner blamed her methamphetamine use. After she lo...
www.al.com
December 30, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
mehdirhasan.bsky.social
This is an act of war and illegal under both US and international law, let’s just be clear about that:
C.I.A. Conducted Drone Strike on Port in Venezuela
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
rotster.net
Their idea of ‘free speech’ is always interesting. Apparently it now means being given the room you want, the audience you want, the security you (erroneously) think you need, the free advertising you want. And, of course, freedom from anyone who disagrees with you expressing an opinion.
goodlawproject.org Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 9d
Total gaslighting. Anti-trans activist; chooses to speak in person, provoking students who want to protect trans rights; they exercise their freedom of speech to tell her she isn't wanted; she gets to speak anyway; the BBC dutifully platforms her again; and now she threatens to sue everyone.
University threatened with legal action after protest at event
Prof Alice Sullivan says her talk at the University of Bristol became like a
www.bbc.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 4:35 PM
sophisteria.bsky.social
'Now the target is the [education] system itself. Its value as a public good is being redefined as a matter of parental choice... and its commitments to principles of equality and justice—to say nothing of truthful accounts of history—are being trashed.'

www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-g...
A General Air of Anxiety - Boston Review
The Red Scare targeted my father. He taught me the meaning of resistance.
www.bostonreview.net
December 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
chrishavergal.bsky.social
A cross-party review of the financial sustainability of Scotland’s universities will go ahead after months of initial talks between university leaders and politicians, reports @helenpacker.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/scottis...
Scottish HE funding review to start in January despite election
Scottish National Party minister says financial challenges go ‘beyond party political boundaries’ as official talks set to begin
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
bparsia.bsky.social
I vividly recall a conversation with a guy a year ahead of me in grad school who claimed that affirmative action for women was why he had had to “settle” for our school. I asked which of his or my female classmates was he so much better than that he was the he wildly obvious preferred choice.
ceaubin.com C. E. Aubin @ceaubin.com · 12d
I used to teach an undergrad historical methods class and their favorite day was always the one where we listen to @drmatthewsweet.bsky.social telling Naomi Wolf (live, on air on the BBC) that she misinterpreted her data and based her whole book around something that didn’t happen
nkalamb.bsky.social Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 13d
You’ll never guess who else experienced ‘racism’ on the job market despite their unimpeachable academic credentials.
December 19, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
matildaf.bsky.social
Well done to @cardiffucu.bsky.social. This is huge progress from where things were not long ago.
December 19, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
danmcquillan.bsky.social
We need a Russell Tribunal to investigate universities' complicity in AI-led crimes against education
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell...)
December 18, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
matildaf.bsky.social
Our final newsletter of 2025: BDM report, UCU Congress timing survey, news from UCU, UK HE and Australian HE!

See you all in 2026!
ucucommons.org UCU Commons @ucucommons.org · 14d
Edition 6 of our newsletter has dropped! Including BDM report, news from UCU, the UK HE sector and the Australian HE sector feat @markpendleton.bsky.social !

We're taking a break for the holidays but we will be back with our first newsletter of 2026 on 14th January.

ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...
UCU Commons newsletter #6, 17 December 2025
Dear subscriber  Welcome to the UCU Commons newsletter, a curated set of links and information about what's happening in UCU Commons, our union, and our sectors more generally. As always, we welcome ...
ucucommons.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
ucucommons.org
Edition 6 of our newsletter has dropped! Including BDM report, news from UCU, the UK HE sector and the Australian HE sector feat @markpendleton.bsky.social !

We're taking a break for the holidays but we will be back with our first newsletter of 2026 on 14th January.

ucucommons.org/ucu-commons-...
UCU Commons newsletter #6, 17 December 2025
Dear subscriber  Welcome to the UCU Commons newsletter, a curated set of links and information about what's happening in UCU Commons, our union, and our sectors more generally. As always, we welcome ...
ucucommons.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
milesklee.bsky.social
Academics and technologists are sounding the alarm about a growing crisis in scholarship as we know it: AI-generated citations of nonexistent papers that have infested real journals. Despite being fake, the sources are widely assumed to be authentic the more they appear in published literature.
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
werkoderko.bsky.social
The women of the Kenwood Ladies' Pond Association voted overwhelmingly to be inclusive. Another "listen to women, no, not these women" by Terfs
danielsohege.bsky.social Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 14d
When people push for trans and non-binary individuals, or any marginalised community, to be denied their actual rights, discriminated against and demonised there is a more commonly used term for the type of group they are, and it doesn't tend to be "rights group"

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Rights group challenges trans-inclusive swimming policy at Hampstead Heath
Allowing entry on the basis of self-identification of gender is unlawful, high court is told
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
naomiohreally.bsky.social
‘It’s surreal’: US sanctions lock International Criminal Court judge out of daily life.
My interview with Canadian judge Kimberly Prost, who was sanctioned by the US for ruling to authorise an investigation into war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘It’s surreal’: US sanctions lock International Criminal Court judge out of daily life
Canadian judge Kimberly Prost, is unable to use credit cards, transfer money or book everyday services in what she calls an attack on the independence of the judiciary
www.irishtimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
benpatrickwill.bsky.social
Learning management systems also of course lock in institutitions to multi-year budget-raiding subscription contracts, enforce templates that restrict pedagogic autonomy, and claim extra value from turning usage data into feature upgrades, *in addition* to being major time and labour drains
lutzfernandez.bsky.social Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 19d
This recent study found learning management systems sold to schools since the 2010s as time-savers (e.g. Google Classroom, Canvas) tend to be burdensome and contribute to burnout.
December 12, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
ryanboyd.bsky.social
There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom
December 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social
Reminder that the ECHR prevents people being expelled to face torture, inhuman treatment, slavery or death, and prevents splitting of families unless there's a strong enough public interest.

European leaders are evidently comfortable with at least some of those things, at least for foreigners.
European leaders back ECHR plan to tackle illegal migration
Countries in treaty - including the UK - will negotiate a "political declaration" to make it easier to deport migrants.
www.bbc.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
southamptonucu.bsky.social
✊ It was an honour to join friends at Southampton Solent #UCU Branch (not on BSky) this pm to lobby their university's Board of Governors. The Governors were meeting to decide if to 'fire and rehire' staff using a subsidiary company, to deny staff a decent pension.
#SouthamptonSolent @ucu.org.uk
UCU members, at dusk, outside Southampton Solent University, holding banners reading 'UCU' and 'SAVE SOLENT'.
December 9, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
danielsohege.bsky.social
It would appear that Baroness Falkner is somewhat flexible with her opinion of when it is or is not acceptable to question the judiciary. It could almost appear that she chooses depending on whether they align with her own gender critical beliefs.
EHRC Chair Says Questioning Integrity Of Supreme Court Is "Unacceptable" Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chair Baroness Falkner has said it is "unacceptable" for people to "question the integrity of the judiciary, or indeed the regulator, as some have done" in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex
December 10, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
johnlees.bsky.social
When are we to expect newspaper front-page interview features with Dr. Beth Upton about her two-year ordeal of having her right to anonymity removed and her name dragged through the mud and being decried as a sexual predator only for a tribunal to clear her and find SHE was discriminated against?
December 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
uonucu.bsky.social
Solidarity with our colleagues at Coventry! Their fight is our fight as we all push back against the collective and individual attacks on higher education. Please sign and share!

#StopTheCuts #SaveHE

speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...
Vote of no confidence in the vice-chancellor at Coventry University
Why sign this petition? An unhealthy workplace The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has demanded answers from CU about workload and stress management. A recent UCU workload survey revealed that 74%…
speakout.web.ucu.org.uk
December 8, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Sophia Woodman
bparsia.bsky.social
People should resign from the Royal Society.
dereklowe.bsky.social Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 24d
The latest from an honored member of the Royal Society. Every week he attacks the foundations of society in the UK and the EU and @royalsociety.org is apparently too worried about retribution to do anything about it.
A screenshot taken by someone on Twitter/X of Elon Musk agreeing with a tweet that shows the EU flag being peeled back to reveal a Nazi one. For Elon’s purposes here Nazis are apparently bad, but you can’t rely on that with him, of course.
December 7, 2025 at 7:43 PM