Finally some good news!!

Very welcome news — and not before time!

Hello and welcome to our Francophone Friday thread, where we come together to highlight research being conducted in or about the Francophone world! These threads are created with help of our members, so if you want to advertise events, publications, etc about Francophone research, do reach out! 1/9

"If I talk about myself, it has been seven years since I last met my mother. I always dream about reuniting with her and think about how and when it can happen. Under the new law, family reunions now seem impossible."

📣 Applications are open for our 2026-27 Medical Humanities in Practice Research Fellowship scheme! The scheme supports professionals and researchers from health or voluntary and community sectors to develop research within the medical humanities. Apply by 30 Jan:

A very comprehensive and informed analysis (as usual) from the Wonkhe team, helpfully putting the pieces of the English jigsaw in one place.

Are you worried about the devastating cuts we are seeing to arts, humanities & social sciences in UK universities? Last call for my lecture in Leicester this Thurs 27th Nov on the value of these subjects and how they support UK security, cohesion and prosperity www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shaping-a-...

Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81 www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

RIP. A legend gone, but the music lives on…

What's available online from the British Library? This guide lists resources including digitised books at Google Books, items from the Endangered Archives Programme, International Dunhuang Programme and the Qatar Digital Library https://bl.libguides.com/currently-available

Why study Humanities? Delving deep into the complexities of the human makes you more likely to understand the needs of others and be empathetic to their concerns. Think of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: in the end, do you empathise with the charismatic scientist, or the revenge-seeking Creature?

What effect do school policies have on uptake and achievement in languages at Key Stage 4? If you are interested to learn more, read @karenforbes.bsky.social article as well as Zhu Hua, Elin Arfon and Ann-Marie Hunter’s article www.tandfonline.com/journals/rll...

AI is reshaping how we get news – but not always how we want. A BBC/EBU study found AI assistants often blur fact and opinion, invent quotes, or get context wrong. New standards aim to fix that.

I cannot tell you how many tech journalists at prominent media organizations do not understand this

The conversation about immigration has taken a sinister turn. It’s no longer just about policy; it’s about race. I won’t stand for it. We can’t let hate and division decide who belongs in Britain. This country is stronger, kinder, and better than that 🇬🇧 #immigration #race #sarahpochin #british

The 2026 SSHM Conference will be @universityofleeds.bsky.social. The theme will be In/Out and we are inviting papers that consider experiences of being in and/or out of health or health care in any period or geographical location. #HistMed #HistSTM sshm.org/sshm-2026/

Cambridge University Press and the @lingsocam.bsky.social are proud to announce the new Journal of Black Language and Culture (JBLAC), launching in 2027. JBLAC fosters a transdisciplinary conversation through a global, diasporic lens. 📢 Learn more: cup.org/3KA2i9a #linguistics #LangSky

Ready for a new academic year? Let's start on a high note by kicking off the brand-new CTIS Research Seminar Series 2025-26 together! Here is the Semester 1 programme. Zoom links for individual sessions will be shared in the comments.

The situation with Blackboard - now its owner is bankrupt and it's coming under new private equity ownership and control - is serious enough the UK agency for HE tech is advising all affected universities to seek assurances regarding data security inspiringlearning.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2025/10/s...

Disadvantaged students ‘more likely to miss out on GCSE foreign languages’ www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

I made a lil game inspired by the Wordle universe. It's called Versedle (pronounced Verse-a-dle). You guess who wrote famous lines of literature. As my parents can attest, it's hard! I made them an Easy Mode, but it's still kinda hard. Maybe you'll like it! ▶️ 📚: melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/

📢 The #InternetArchive is celebrating an extraordinary milestone: 1 trillion web pages preserved by the #WaybackMachine. 🎉 Join us! 📆 Weds, Oct 22 🎟️ IN-PERSON: 5–10 PM PT (SF) ⤵️ www.eventbrite.com/e/1626438133... 💻 ONLINE: 7–8 PM PT ⤵️ www.eventbrite.com/e/1626431011... #Wayback1T

21 November ILCS event on thinking strategically about the challenges faced by language educators. Don't miss it, sign up now! university-council-for-languages.org/2025/09/24/t...

Politicians may avoid mentioning it – but the people know what's up. "When Labour voters were asked why they believed things were getting worse, they overwhelmingly cited Brexit, with 69 per cent naming the decision to leave the European Union as the main reason behind the country’s problems."

A very interesting approach to Jean-Paul Sartre’s screenplay Typhus, by Steven Wilson liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...

The latest JRS special issue explores multilingual & transcultural narratives of health and illness in European literatures (1870s–1960s+). Read the introduction to the issue #OpenAccess. ➡️ bit.ly/JRS-Reading-Bodies @ilcs.bsky.social @katharinemurphy.bsky.social @profstevenwilson.bsky.social

Popular this week: 'Ethnography and Modern Languages' by @naswells.bsky.social, @cforsdick.bsky.social, Jessica Bradley, Charles Burdett, Jennifer Burns, Marion Demossier, Margaret Hills de Zárate, @svshh.bsky.social, Shirley Jordan, @theapitman.bsky.social & Georgia Wall ⬇️

Lost in translation - the case for learning modern foreign languages www.ft.com/content/c9f3...

Here's a write-up of my keynote from #DH2025, since academic publishing is slow and this was written for right now. roopikarisam.com/talks-cat/dh...

Rights & Publishing Services Assistant at @livunipress.bsky.social Salary: £25,000 (LUP Salary Band 1) plus discretionary annual bonus. Location: Hybrid schedule with 2 days at LUP’s office in Liverpool, 3 days remote. Closing date: 18 July 2025. For more details visit bit.ly/2Zt85SE

@salomeietter.bsky.social and I are very happy to share the call for papers for this year's PSA French Politics Specialist Group annual workshop. This will be held on 14th November at the University of Glasgow; the deadline for abstracts is 14th August. Please get in touch with any questions!

Macron is right – let's revive the school French exchange to secure a future together www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

📣Important podcast on the value of speaking other languages 👇 The conversation looks at how the languages we speak influence how we think & affect how we relate to others. It explores how multilingualism can foster social cohesion, support cognitive flexibility, & even boost economic opportunities.

Anyhoo, this will be the last post preceding actual publication at the end of this month. Please order it for your libraries. It's been a long-drawn process but totally worth it. A preview is available on the site, under the rubric 'major work' in cultural theory. uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/th...

🧐 A sneak peek at the introduction to "Explorations in Digital interculturality" www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-7... It will be available soon! Stay tuned!

Tonight. Share everywhere. 🙏

For those who missed it yesterday, Nathan's wonderful @ihr.bsky.social Digital History talk 'TechnoMnemonics (vol.1): Navigating the Middle Passage Across Algorithmic Undercurrents' is now up on our youtube channel www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ7X...

What does it really mean to think like a linguist? Charlotte Ryland argues it's time to move beyond grammar drills and embrace creativity, culture, and collaboration in language education. 🔗 www.lspjournal.com/post/think-l... ✍️ Collection Edited by @wendya-b.bsky.social & @cforsdick.bsky.social

Curriculum and Assessment Review: ILCS, ALL and UCFL issue a statement. 'The development of a sustainable model for language provision across the whole of the educational sector is of the highest concern to all members of the subject community' Read the statement: ilcs.sas.ac.uk/research-pol...

🔊 Tomorrow at midday (BST) join the @ihr.bsky.social Digital History seminar live on Zoom for Nathan Richards on 'TechnoMnemonics (vol.1): Navigating the Middle Passage Across Algorithmic Undercurrents'. Details here: ihrdighist.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2024/09/tues...

Registration for the 2025 conference "Resistance/Résister" organized by The Global Consortium for French Historical Studies is now open. Have a look at our stunning program. We can't wait to see you in Paris in a few weeks! www.sfhsconference.org

I am looking for a postdoc for my ERC WEB CHILD project. 2,5ys. Aarhus, Denmark. Well paid. Amazing team. You don't need a PhD in history or prior knowledge of digital methods 😄 You do need fluent Korean and English and interest in collaborative work. www.au.dk/om/stillinge...

💬 What if stories—not grammar drills—were the key to unlocking language learning? Jonathan McBride explores how storytelling can transform language lessons, boost motivation, & help every learner succeed. 📚✨ @wendya-b.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social Read more: www.lspjournal.com/post/the-pow...

Daniel Gordon and I have released a new podcast episode which revisits LA HAINE - which is 30 years old! rss.com/podcasts/fre... Very useful for French A-Level students/teachers - special thanks to @ilotem.bsky.social, Florence and Louisa for their insights @wminhumanities.bsky.social

Sign up now for our UCFL Summer Plenary on 4 July! You can join online or in person - registration closes on 18 June! Secure your place here: ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Panels will look at - Developments in the Modern Languages Curriculum in HE - Sustainability and Entrepreneurship in Modern Languages - Diversification of languages and levels offered For full details of the programme: university-council-for-languages.org/2025/06/06/u... @ilcs.bsky.social

Stop cuts to Modern Languages at Bangor University - Sign the Petition! chng.it/9vtymFBVFh

Academia.edu just sent me an AI-generated podcast of one of my research papers. Eerily good to begin with, but got the central argument completely wrong. The tech has a long way to go - if we want it to go there. Worrying how many people are using it uncritically as a reliable and effective tool 😱