Such a brilliant resource - and there’s more to come

#EnglishCreates: Futures continues with this post by Francesca Mackenney and Jamie Castell (Cardiff University): 'How do representations of sound in literature shape our awareness of the natural world?' Read the full post here: universityenglish.ac.uk/englishcreat... #EnglishStudies #Ecocriticism

New #EnglishCreates post. @ies-sas.bsky.social @englishassociation.bsky.social

#EnglishCreates: Futures Our 'Environments' month continues with Prof Ralph Pite's latest piece on bringing nature into the teaching of English Studies: 'How can you make the natural world an everyday, "natural" presence for students?' Full post: lnkd.in/ewQk7pDB #EnglishStudies #Ecocriticism

To mark Joyce's birthday this week and the final chance to see our 'James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles' exhibition, Fiona Melhuish, Librarian (museums and collections), introduces some of the early editions of Joyce's publications. Check out the blog post!👇 collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

Have you completed a PhD in the last 10 years? Applications are open for our Postdoctoral Visiting Fellowship in Sustainability and Environment. Funding covers an £8000 bursary for part-time (0.5) research over 8 months, plus travel expenses. Apply by Monday 9 February. link.bl.uk/VisitingFellowship

#EnglishCreates:Futures continues w/ Prof Ralph Pite's brilliantly insightful reflections on how English Studies seeks to address contemporary climate crisis: 'THE GRAPHS DON'T WORK' Full post: universityenglish.ac.uk/englishcreat... #EnglishCreates #EnglishStudies #HigherEducation #Ecocriticism

#EnglishCreates: Futures continues this week with a focus on the 'Blue Humanities': 'Oceans have always seemed mysterious, vast and invulnerable... Until recently, that is...' universityenglish.ac.uk/englishcreat... #EnglishStudies #HigherEducation #Ecocriticism #bluehumanities

#EnglishCreates: Futures delves into the Blue Humanities with a post by Dr Laurence Publicover (University of Bristol): 'The language we use to talk about the ocean floor reveals our (often misplaced) assumptions about it...' universityenglish.ac.uk/literary-stu... #EnglishStudies #Ecocriticism

NB EngLit #CloseReading

Excellent start to 6 months of showing how and why English Studies matters so much to all of us #EnglishCreates from @univeng.bsky.social and lots of our brilliant colleagues

I do think this is true. I'm often guilty myself of underplaying what the work I do looks like or how much time and effort it takes. Research isn't 'just reading' or a question of sucking up summaries others have created. It's knowledge creation. So let me go through the process with an example 1/

Feels like the right day to repost this brilliant tweet from @lewisgoodall.com #Trump #BBC #EpsteinFiles #CauseAndDeflect

Who is more likely to be unemployed 15 months after graduation the Philosopher or the Physicist? The answer may not be what you think

So kid, in your heart you want to study humanities but you worry about your job prospects? Let’s play a game. On the latest data, who is more likely to be unemployed after 15 months after graduation. The English Lit grad or the Maths grad? WRONG!

How about Languages v Computer Science? Hmm…

www.theguardian.com/education/20... Excellent news

Brilliant opportunity here to work with excellent colleagues - and their amazing collection - at MERL

One of the finest software engineers I've ever had the pleasure to work with had a degree in music. Another had a degree in Egyptology. The important thing was that their degrees taught them how to think. Their love of the subjects just made things better.

My latest: "Numerous studies show that majors in the humanities—typically, in departments of English, history, philosophy, religious studies, classics and languages—lead students to employment and life satisfaction outcomes as positive as those for majors traditionally championed as 'practical.'”

“Prioritising a narrow set of disciplines could mean we lose talented arts, humanities and social sciences graduates who help drive innovation and tackle huge societal challenges. Student choice is vital.” bit.ly/3KAReIQ

📚Join us on 30 Oct 2025 at Senate House for The History of English Studies in Britain symposium 🎤 Speakers include Carole Atherton, Gail Marshall, Ronan McDonald, Christopher Stray, Stuart Jones, & Stefan Collini Free (booking required)👉 tinyurl.com/43z9mxnc #EnglishStudies #Humanities #Literature

The Ronald Blythe Fellowship is John Clare Society's new scheme awarding a PhD student focusing on Clare a £1000 bursary to support their work. Please pass on - &/or contact me or Honorary Secretary of the Society, Karen Lakey, for further information: johnclaresociety.wordpress.com/contact-us/

I’ve documented protests for decades. The asylum hotel protests I’ve photographed have all been very small. When I first turned up at the Newcastle protest, and asked the police where the protesters were, they pointed to one man and said he’s over there.

BBC Today is reporting that “at least 94” data centres will be built in the next 5 years in the U.K. How can we possibly justify doing that when we can’t get a full electric car charging network built, & the power infrastructure is insufficient to connect new wind farms, never mind water shortages

At the risk of sounding like a character from the ‘Fast Show’ - isn’t this brilliant? A brilliant novel sure to be brilliantly illustrated by the brilliant @rickardsisters.com This is just, well, brilliant!

@robertsaunders.bsky.social I was just reading your excellent book on the 1867 Reform Act. It was really helpful. Thank you!

Footballer Héctor Bellerín’s reading list

I just signed this petition calling for better cooperation with the EU on the environment. Will you add your name, too? www.europeanmovement.co.uk/uk-eu-enviro...

#EnglishCreates English, History, all the arts and humanities subjects are critical for all of our futures universityenglish.ac.uk/englishcreat...

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.

Huge thanks to Helen Smith wordsmith.bsky.social for an excellent English: Shared Futures conference. It was inspiring, exciting, and fun, and especially moving to hear so many friends and colleagues speaking about why and how English matters to them

Excited to chair an online discussion this Thursday, hosted by @englishassociation.bsky.social, on why boys in the GCSE / A level system (not so much in Scotland) are drifting away from study of English. Featuring some brilliant speakers from across our subject: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/boys-and-e...

@drclaireocall.bsky.social is the keynote speaker at this ‘Violence, Health, and the Health Humanities’ workshop @uniofreading.bsky.social’s Centre for Health Humanities. It’s tomorrow 1-5pm @sophiefranklin.bsky.social

We're really sorry to hear of the death of our dear colleague Professor Simon James. From 2016-19, Simon was PI on the Arts Council England and Durham University collaboration, the Durham Commission on Creativity which investigated the benefits of creativity for young people.

He was a well-known scholar of the late-19th century, publishing especially influentially on Wells and Gissing. Simon was one-time editor of The Wellsian journal, and edited Vile Bodies for OUP’s landmark Collected Works of Evelyn Waugh.

Above all, Simon was the essence of generosity, an engaging and wonderful speaker, the person you’d be delighted to see at any conference or seminar, a rich and very present presence. University English sends its condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

"the antidote to our overlapping crises is not just better data or smarter technologies—it is expansive imagination. And that imagination is cultivated not in labs or spreadsheets, but through the critical, creative, and interpretive work of the humanities." wonkhe.com/blogs/our-fu...

More impact stories from #EnglishCreates including this project based in www.reading.ac.uk/english-lite... building local pride and championing working-class writers More great work at: www.reading.ac.uk/english-lite...

Championing Scots, influencing public policy, and working with communities and creatives

How English at www.aber.ac.uk/en/english/ is helping the NHS #EnglishCreates

More great impact from www.aber.ac.uk/en/english/ bringing literature and literary opportunities to new groups

And yet more: creative writing colleagues at www.aber.ac.uk/en/english/ help patients with long covid. More evidence that English can help to create a better, healthier world #EnglishCreates

Stop cuts to Modern Languages at Bangor University 👉Sign the petition: chng.it/K2zRY6Jqqt 👉Share the petition with family/friends/networks. 👉Send emails outlining your objections. For details and templates visit the website: www.stopcutsinmlatbangor.uk/home/

Be more Ken.

Tim Leunig here, with a warning to all those MPs who want to just allow universities to implode: in 100 constituencies the university is one of the top three exporters. Take Huddersfield: the uni there easily outstrips in turnover the biggest local company. timleunig.substack.com/p/internatio...

Calendars at the ready: it's just over a month until our Romany and Traveller History Day on 14 June! Come for a special day celebrating the stories of our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities + music, blacksmithing, talks, our new GRT gallery launch, & more. merl.reading.ac.uk/event/romany...