‘News has a much more capacious definition across early modern Europe. It’s news if there washes up in Denmark a giant fish that looks like a bishop – that’s news, in just the same way as a recent battle.’ @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social on the podcast. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

We are advertising 4 jobs at York for historians (1 year medieval, 2 years modern Britain and public history, 3 years modern China, and open ended modern Middle Eastern) features.york.ac.uk/history-jobs/

Culture is not an industry… so what is it for? Join Professor Justin O’Connor (University of Adelaide), author of Culture is Not an Industry, for a live talk and conversation that challenges the default story in cultural policy. UK folks: grab your coffee and feel free to join: bit.ly/4aX4Dpf

Misconduct in public office. Gets you a fired or jailed in the UK. Gets you re-elected in the US.

🚨 The deadline for submitting papers for the AGS conference is fast approaching 🚨 If you are intending on submitting an abstract, do so by Friday!

David Squires on … Jim Ratcliffe’s comments and his need for some home truths

Taking the opportunity of a winter break to catch up on some “long reads” features. Far from vanishing, millions of Maya people and cultures endure today — recasting the story not as apocalypse, but as continuity long obscured by colonial historiography. www.theguardian.com/news/2026/fe...

Real Madrid, Man Utd and a World Cup: Football’s wild coaching landscape and hiring dilemmas. Excellent piece by @jameshorncastle.bsky.social

As a former external examiner I know Heriot-Watt to be a national centre of excellence for many years in interpreting and translation. Please consider signing.

PERSON OF THE DAY. 10 February 1923. German-born Wilhelm Röntgen died (aged 77). He produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays which earned him the 1st Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. It’s one of the greatest diagnostic medical advances of all time.

Two grant schemes from the School of Advanced Study are now open for applications: Being Human Festival 2026 and the Centre for Public Engagement Practice in Arts and Humanities’ new Collaboration and Innovation Grant. Go to bit.ly/3ZoolUq for details on how to apply

YOU SIGNATURE MATTERS! Help us save Modern Languages at Leicester. Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/save-moder...

A study at U Mass Amherst finds that Elon Musk manipulated Twitter to bolster the voice of the Neo Nazi Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) before the German 2025 parliamentary elections. No surprises here. groups.cs.umass.edu/equate-ml/20...

German at Leeds and International Writers at Leeds are thrilled that acclaimed author Julia Franck will be in Leeds on the 6th of February to give a reading from and talk about her newly translated novel, Worlds Apart. ahc.leeds.ac.uk/languages/ev...

A practice much loved by generations of British exchange students in Germany — now getting an airing on Tik Tok #ShoutOutForGerman

Have you heard the recent House of Lords debate led by Baroness Coussins (Chair of the APPG for Modern Languages), which addresses language education across schools and universities in the UK? Baroness Coussins’ intervention is at 15:37 and can be viewed here: parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

📢 Calling all PhD students in German Studies! It’s still time to submit your proposal for the annual Sylvia Naish Postgraduate Student Lecture. Application deadline: 31 January 2026. The Lecture, to be held at ILCS on 14 May, comes with a prize of £400. Further details 👇 #ShoutOutForGerman

Good news from @ukri.org for creative industries and the cultural economy www.gov.uk/government/n...

The University of Vienna @univie.ac.at invites applications for at least 40 fully funded, 4-year doctoral positions. I am one of the potential supervisors. If you have an exciting, innovative PhD project on modern #JewishHistory, please feel free to apply: careers.univie.ac.at/en/praedoc/p...

It's German Week! 19-24 January 2026 There are activities here for everyone - you don't have to be teaching German to take part! buff.ly/7nxS6aP #ShoutOutForGerman

You can find me in the Times flying the flag for humanities and social sciences in this story about changes to funding at @ukri.org www.thetimes.com/article/be92...

Happy #ShoutOutForGerman week! Learning #German has lots of benefits, it’s fun and not as hard as some may think: theconversation.com/learning-ger... @uk.theconversation.com @goethe-institut-uk.bsky.social @daad-uk-ireland.bsky.social @uk.diplo.de @ags-gbi.bsky.social @britgerassoc.bsky.social

Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research. We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...

Huge congratulations to Prof Piers Forster CBE! 🎉Director of the Priestley Centre, who has been awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours 2026 for his climate science leadership and impact. A brilliant recognition of excellence and action on climate change. 🌍 Read more www.leeds.ac.uk/university-n...

Do you want to start the year with a new opportunity? Are you a @universityofleeds.bsky.social colleague working in movement and physical activity research? Are you interested in co-leading an interdisciplinary network of researchers to help make connections across the field? Details here 👇

Happy New Year!

Catherine Connolly stormed to victory in the Irish presidential election in October. Leeds historian Dr Alan MacLeod discusses the importance of the Irish presidency, and its significant in modern society: https://spotlight.leeds.ac.uk/leeds-magazine-2026/features/irelands-new-president/index.html

„Das Schlimmste, das ich kenne, ist Untertänigkeit oder der Wunsch, sich unbedingt zu unterwerfen, dieses Mitmachen, Mitlaufen, Mitsingen, Mitmarschieren und dabei auch noch in eine peinliche Euphorie verfallen.“ Heinrich Böll,  geboren am 21. Dezember 1917 in Köln.

Happy “the nights are drawing out day” from yesterday’s bike ride along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

Our @saschastollhans.bsky.social has commented on the recent good news concerning our re-entry to the Erasmus+ scheme: theconversation.com/uk-to-re-joi... @euerasmusplus.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @ucflangs.bsky.social #Erasmus

Can studying the past really prepare you for shaping public debate or navigating complex global issues? In this @soashistory.bsky.social podcast, Prof Phil Clark shares what history students can bring to the table. media.leverhulme.ac.uk/podcast/pcla...

Großbritannien ab 2027 wieder im Erasmus-Programm#Erasmus#Großbritannien

News | Overseas entry fees, a new NPO model and a long-term plan for museums: Our breakdown of the Arts Council England review We round up the key implications for museums and reactions from across the sector. #ArtsCouncilReview #ArtsCouncilEngland

Permanent job in the cambridge german department waiting for a specialist in german modernism! First permanent modern german job there in almost a decade - exciting! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPS629/a...

Thank you to Lisa Nandy and the Department for Culture Media and Sport for publishing the Independent Review of the Arts Council today, and to Baroness Margaret Hodge and team for conducting the Review. Access the Review: buff.ly/5rqvntF Read our initial response: buff.ly/zPisSAk

Very welcome news — and not before time!

Congratulations to #pTurnerPrize2025 winner Nnena Kalu. A real pleasure to attend the award dinner last evening with members of the team and board of Yorkshire Contemporary, exhibition co-curators.It continues into February at @Cartwright Hall. #bradfordcityofculture

Surprise Package: ordered a cheese box and this popped out: “satisfying, robust and mature”😆 — and the right spelling, too!

Congratulations @profingrid.bsky.social

"Money is round and can roll away, but education is forever." Heinrich Heine

Great culture can save lives. Literally. Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

🎨 Creativity isn’t a luxury - it’s a lifeline. The final #ChildrenFirst report calls for arts and culture to be embedded in every school, for every child. Because talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t. Read the evidence and join the movement. #ChildOfTheNorth #Health #Inequality #Creativity

Documents of the Nuremberg Trials can now be accessed online via: nuremberg.law.harvard.edu

Colleagues and UCU members from UoN's Department of Modern Languages have put together this wonderful guide on supporting their programmes. A lot of what they suggest is also helpful in challenging the 48 courses at risk across the university www.savemlcatnotts.org.uk

Do you want to have a look at the talks available this week? For more info visit our website leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk @lcsleeds.bsky.social

I think you can get the measure of the deadness of someone's soul from the fact they kick up a stink about [checks notes] autistic kids wearing ear defenders

Please consider signing against this nonsensical absurdity! c.org/vGgNqmXhNx

Before, during and after: an absolutely sensational concert last evening by Junyan Chen for Skipton Music