I haven’t taught an undergraduate tutorial for 6 years (I’ve been quite busy). Not convinced that 2 x 2 hour tutorials between 9am and 1pm today is the ideal re-entry. Wish me luck.

Tense. Wordle 1,386 6/6 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

The #Shax2025 #NextGenPlen was brilliant! Thank you to our early career scholars for sharing their exciting research.

Conference made. Somebody has reserved my little book. #shax2025

I don’t know how to choose between these two things this morning! #shax2025

JK Kazzi reflects on his studies at the University of Sydney and how they paved the way to acting. This weekend JK will make his mainstage theatre debut in Bell Shakespeare's 'Henry 5'. 🎭 👑 sydney.edu.au/arts/news-an...

A journal: kept my article submission for 3 months and then asked for an extension because their reader was sick. Fine. It happens. Now advising me to withdraw because their reader is not contacting them and they don’t know how long it might take them to find a new reader. Less fine, to be honest.

So one of the things that I think is lost on AI proponents is what I call the card catalog effect, a thing I shouldn’t call it because a lot of people probably have no experience with a card catalog.

University of Wollongong vice-chancellor John Dewar has been moonlighting for consultants Korda Mentha — despite claiming he was on unpaid leave. Apparently he’s working a 9-day fortnight in his day job! www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/888402...

Is Pericles having a moment? People writing about it keep popping up in front of me.

CFP is live! Submit a proposal for ‘Shakespeare in spirit’ (whether adaptive, religious, or ghostly, to name just a few possibilities), the 2025 ANZSA conference in Brisbane, 2-4 July. Featuring keynotes from Dennis Austin Britton (British Columbia) & Brandon Chua (Hong Kong) conference.anzsa.org

MLA not as terrible as I was warned; in fact, I quite liked it? Learned a lot; spoke to good people; my session was lively. Pleased, though, not to have been staying in the conference hotel (way too hectic for me!) All together it felt galvanising. Probably won’t do it again! #MLA25

Doing this for a few days. Never been to MLA before. Here goes. #MLA25

I wrote this: www.smh.com.au/national/to-...

Is it even Christmas until the @elrjournal.bsky.social Christmas card has arrived? Thank you!

“Studying literature is inherently a good thing” www.theguardian.com/education/20...

The always wise Liam Semler on how to resist the over-systemisation of education using English literature www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #Books #BookSky 💙📚 #BookChallenge 1/20

If you bring central London to a halt in order to campaign against catastrophic climate change then you're a "barmy" eco "fanatic" who deserves to be locked up. If you do the same to hang on to your multimillion pound inheritance tax exemption then you're a brave freedom fighter defying the odds

We strongly suggest that academic publishers and other platforms that host research rapidly implement a Share to Bluesky button for their articles. Here's how: docs.bsky.app/docs/advance... #AcademicSky #HigherEd #Altmetrics

"Just as universities need the humanities to communicate their value, new challenges will force us to wrestle with questions of what it means to be human and, more importantly, how to survive ourselves" A really insightful and inspiring piece by Kylie Message 👇 www.abc.net.au/religion/kyl...

I don't think I've seen one of these, so: my attempt at an early modern lit starter pack! (Plus some C18 people because I've decided to go on the offence and y'all are part of long C17 now.) Apologies for any omissions / unwanted inclusions -- if you want on or off let me know! go.bsky.app/Qd456bF

OK. I found the Wolf Conservation Center on here; it might work out as a plausible retreat from the other place after all?

Some boys dreamed of one day playing at Wembley or the Carnegie Hall; this one had an ambition to publish in Studies in Philology. And here it is! On how to read Cymbeline as a response to Philaster.

How’s it going? Well, I deleted all of my work emails this afternoon. By accident. It would have been more understandable if I’d done it on purpose.

Adding that the entire viewpoint diversity concept rests on the anti-intellectual presumption that political orientations are preexisting “beliefs” separate from analytic processes & evaluation, & do not instead emerge from the lifelong study of, e.g. history, or other human beings’ experiences

This is wonderful. I am not sure that the reading gets it. But then I’m not sure how easy I would find it to write about this poem, other than to say that I feel I’ve been living inside its understanding of landscape all of my life. www.theguardian.com/books/articl...

Skipping work for 2 hours this morning to go to this. Slightly apprehensive. Sakamoto’s music has meant so much to me over many many years, first hearing his work with YMO and Sylvian when I was about 11 or 12. Anyway, here goes.

Stressful day ahead? I might be 53 but dancing in my office as soon as I get to work is still the best way I know how to deal with it.

Proofs time

I’ve been asked to keep myself to 12 mins within a 15 min conference slot tomorrow. Current thinking: 12 mins is not long enough to say anything meaningful in a conference presentation. Also not long enough to be careful and polite with your audience.

My book/Cambridge Element on “Disavowing Authority in the Shakespeare Classroom” now has a page and a publishing date. I’ll write more about this (for me, quite personal) project when it comes out (April-ish) but, for now, feel free to “pre-order”! www.cambridge.org/au/universit...

I don’t often give myself permission to read all day. But tomorrow (for work purposes) I am going to read ALL DAY (minimal emails; no accessing of online “systems”); just reading.

Doing this again. Please come along if you are in Sydney: www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/maste...

Poor Things was the perfect movie to see at the close of 2023, asking questions about what it would mean if we behaved as if the world could be started all over again, and what would hold you/us up. Loved it.

Amen.

I’ve never organised a big conference before but, thanks to my co-organisers (Anna Kamaralli and Liam Semler) and a host of wonderful delegates, #ANZSASydney was as joyous as I hoped it would be. (Current status: slumped (might be a while before doing it again!))