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Les Back

@academicdiary.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.9K following 472 posts

I teach sociology at the University of Glasgow and my interests are learning, teaching, books, ideas, culture and music.

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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is going to be a great event if you are in London on 23rd October. Early bird tickets available.
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Harvey Humphrey @harveyhumphrey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
First week of in person teaching. @academicdiary.bsky.social gave our methods students an excellent guest lecture on research questions. & I’ve just had 2 groups of seminars alive with students’ engaged reflections on fieldwork fables videos (referenced in this: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...)
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This is such a beautiful programme - I love the image of Robert Louis Stevenson doodling in his lectures dreaming of anything else other than his engineering studies but also never dishonouring his family of lighthouse builders - gorgeous song from Louis Abbott too. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Sunday Feature - Keepers of the Light - BBC Sounds
Robert Louis Stevenson, the lighthouse dynasty he left behind and the sea that shaped him.
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@nasarmeer.bsky.social @nasarmeer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
1/ A slightly strange and lovely thing to be able to say, my book The Social Life of Justice is published tomorrow... www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
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BSA Mid-Career Forum @bsamcf.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What a great way to begin the teaching year. Four tutorials on a sentence that still gives students plenty to argue with! Welcome back to everyone studying sociology this term. Here’s to asking questions about the world, and what we might change. @britsoci.bsky.social #Sociology #AcademicSky
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The Sociological Review Foundation @thesociologicalreview.org · 21/08/2026
📣 Final call! We’re looking for a new Trustee with marketing & communications expertise to join the Sociological Review Foundation Board. ⏰ Applications close Monday 24 August. Know someone who might be a great fit? Please share! Find out more: buff.ly/fh6oMPd
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Have been teaching Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach today which contains the sentence voted by BSA members as the in sociology - “Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” 4 tutorials back to back the best of days.
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sign up below for this online workshop, the first in a new series organised by the Gambling Harms Research UK Centre. Prof. Joht Singh Chandan (Oxford) will be asking what an equitable public health approach to gambling harms might look like, and how it can be developed.
eventbrite.co.uk
Building an equitable public health approach to gambling harms
Insight into an interdisciplinary collaboration spanning public health, law, data science, outcome methodology and lived experience.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I have been writing little field notes from getting out and making the case for sociology in schools and FE colleges. This one is from Prince William School in Oundle. @bsaecf.bsky.social
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Beginning of term blues… losing things, finding things. Was saved by an elderly guardian angel who handed my wallet into the main gate of the University of Glasgow! You saved me. Wish you’d left your name so I could thank you in person.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There were bouquets of flowers floating on the dirty old river this morning. Imagining who might have tossed them into the Clyde. I love crossing on my way to work so much. Beginning of the semester always a time of anxiety and anticipation.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Very important session on the sociology of education - needs to be constantly restated why this field matters and the machine where differences that make a difference are manufactured.
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Delighted to see this new edition of The Sociological Review, including a special section on Sociology in the Times of Genocide, co-edited by our own @kirsteen-paton.bsky.social
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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A chance to discuss research concepts in the field of Sociology of Emotions. Submit an abstract by 9 October for ‘Sociology of Emotions: Unpacking Concepts’, a @bsa-emotions.bsky.social‬ online event, 11 November tinyurl.com/msxbeah9
Image text refers to submitting abstracts for ‘Sociology of Emotions: Unpacking Concepts’, online event
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
At the anti-fascist counter demo on Glasgow Green this weekend. Walked into the middle of ‘Pink Ladies’ anti-immigration demo. Stayed for about 15 minutes before my ears were painfully full of their hate. As I walked out a Policeman said “like your t shirt pal”! Had forgotten I was wearing it! Oops
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wonderful new resource from the Independent Social Research Foundation on the crisis in UK Higher Education isrf.org/search?q=&ta...
isrf.org
Search
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Out now: a special issue focused on the question of public oversight of digital surveillance in Africa, co-edited by @duncanjane.bsky.social and Sarah Chiumbu.
tandfonline.com
Journal of Contemporary African Studies
Watching the Watchers: Public oversight of digital surveillance in Africa. Volume 44, Issue 3 of Journal of Contemporary African Studies
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Great to see this excellent event underway; well done to Maureen McBride and Gareth Mulvey for their work organising and arranging things.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Wonderful to be at the BSA Scottish Sociology at the Roma Centre on Glasgow’s Southside. Inspiring and very high quality papers.
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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Join us in paper session 5 (11:00-12:30) where WES Editors will discuss and reflect on questions linked to the ethics of publishing and authoring. We’ll be in Room 0.13 – bring your questions! #2wescon26
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The Sociological Review Foundation @thesociologicalreview.org · 20/08/2026
Which podcasts do you enjoy? In the Sociological Review magazine, Alice Bloch, Executive Producer of the Uncommon Sense podcast, quizzes her colleagues and shares their recommendations for further compelling, engaging listening. Share your favourites in the comments. buff.ly/XREoAqa
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The Sociological Review Foundation @thesociologicalreview.org · 24/08/2026
Karen O’Reilly, Deputy Chair of our board of Trustees, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and highly experienced ethnographer, shares why she’s looking forward to our Public Lecture with Angela Saini. 📅 2 September | SOAS Gallery We’re just ONE WEEK away! 🎟️ Book your place: buff.ly/p2Jpni3
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Brendan McGeever @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The Battle of Cable Street ninety years on: the struggle against fascism and antisemitism, then and now. With Nadia Valman, Liam Liburd (@liamliburd.bsky.social) and Joseph Finlay (@josephfinlay.bsky.social). Join us at @bisa-bkk.bsky.social on 6/10. More info below: bisa.bbk.ac.uk/event/the-ba...
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Jas Nijjar @jasnijjar.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Pubs for the People: An Evening with Amit Singh and Sivamohan Valluvan Thursday 22 October 2026 19:00 at Waterstones, London - Trafalgar Square www.waterstones.com/events/pubs-...
waterstones.com
Pubs for the People: An Evening with Amit Singh and Sivmohan Valluvan | Events at Waterstones Bookshops | Waterstones
Events at Waterstones get you closer to the books and authors you admire most. Find information and tickets about Pubs for the People: An Evening with Amit Singh and Sivmohan Valluvan today.
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Out now, from our own Isaac Hoff, this chapter in a new edited volume from @routledgebooks.bsky.social, explores the way 'crisis' is conceptualised by and in the media, and the political implications of these framings.
taylorfrancis.com
Sensing, Thinking, and Articulating Crises and Their Mediated Endings
This chapter presents nascent conceptualisations of the relationship between the visibility and incipience of contemporary crisis, the ‘feelings’ this
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
We were delighted, last week, to host a conference in honour Prof. Bridget Fowler, with speakers from across the UK and Europe. Many thanks to everyone who travelled in order to present, or just to be there for this celebration of Bridget's lifelong contribution to critical intellectual work.
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Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Our latest Sociological & Cultural Studies blog has just been published. In it, Les Back (@academicdiary.bsky.social) reflects on his experiences teaching Sociology in Nelson, Lancashire, and on the town’s significance as a site of anti-imperial and socialist struggle.
gla.ac.uk
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
So lovely to see this published. A little field note of hope from the work I have been doing as BSA President - I love those young Hijabi women from Nelson and their dedication to F1! Ordinary miracles.
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Reader of Banned Books @readerofbannedbook.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Art by Pat Bagley @bagleycartoons.bsky.social
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Thrilled to be doing this… this will be the shortest commute of all time for me. Thank can see the Roma Centre from my bedroom, where I work and write x
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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
How is sociology being done in Scotland? Find out by booking on ‘Sociology in and Sociology of Scotland’, a BSA Scottish Sociology Study Group event in Glasgow, 11 September. tinyurl.com/jzm6bpcb
Image text refers to 'Sociology in and Sociology of Scotland' event
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 25/08/2026
Breaking News: Dolly Parton, the country singer, songwriter, entertainer and entrepreneur known for her outsize persona and prodigious vision and talent that placed her in a class by herself, has died at 80. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/a...
A black-and-white portrait of Dolly Parton with big blonde hair, sitting in a chair and smiling. A headline reads: "1946-2026: Dolly Parton." Photo by Jack Manning/The New York Times
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 25/08/2026
This is truly heartbreaking. Dolly Parton was an extraordinary person and an irreplaceable champion of the working class. We are a better country because of her.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is going to be a wonderful celebration of one of my very favourite people, Professor Lez Henry, sociologist, author, reggae deejay, and martial artist! If you are in London on 23rd October this is going to be special tickts.co.uk/events/whatt...
tickts.co.uk
WHAT THE DEEJAY SAID 20th Anniversary of Publication Event
A Panel discussion and Dance. Panel will be Prof Les Back, Prof Paul Gilroy, Prof Kimani Nehusi, Dr Sireita Mullings-Lawrence ,Prof Lez Henry. Chaired by Prof Gus John.DJs on the night: DJ Hurtz, Lad....
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
es.britsoc.co.uk/bsa-presiden...
es.britsoc.co.uk
BSA President and Chair express deep concerns regarding proposed staff reductions at Exeter - Everyday Society - The British Sociological Association
Dear Professor Lisa Roberts, Subject: Urgent Concerns Regarding Proposed Staff Reductions and Impact on Sociology The British Sociological Association (BSA) is deeply concerned by the University of Ex...
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
es.britsoc.co.uk/bsa-writes-t...
es.britsoc.co.uk
BSA writes to London Metropolitan University on Proposed Reductions in Sociology Provision - Everyday Society - The British Sociological Association
Dear Professor Julie Hall, Subject: Urgent Concerns Regarding Proposed Reductions in Sociology Provision We are writing to express our profound concern regarding the proposed redundancies and restruct...
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
es.britsoc.co.uk/bsa-presiden...
es.britsoc.co.uk
BSA President and Chair write to University of Nottingham regarding reductions in Sociology and Social Policy - Everyday Society - The British Sociological Association
Dear Professor Jane Norman, Subject: Urgent Concerns Regarding Proposed Reductions in Sociology and Social Policy Provision We write from the British Sociological Association (BSA) to express our uneq...
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Have juts written something for Darren Chetty on football songs - Choirs of the Unlettered soundslikefootball.substack.com?utm_source=n...
soundslikefootball.substack.com
Sounds Like Football | Darren Chetty | Substack
Exploring the songs behind the chants, one song at a time. Compiled by Darren Chetty & Rhys Owain Williams. Written by everyone. Click to read Sounds Like Football, a Substack publication. Launched 3 ...
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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
...2/2 At this incredibly sad time, our thoughts are first and foremost with Jason’s family, friends, colleagues and all those who knew and cared for him. We will remember him with warmth and gratitude for his contributions.
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British Sociological Association @britsoci.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Professor Jason Arday. As a former Trustee, we knew him as a caring colleague who expressed his gentle kindness in every interaction, and who was passionate about creating more inclusive spaces and opportunities. 1/2...
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Deeply saddened to hear the devastating news of Jason Arday’s death. My sincere condolences to his family and for the terrible ordeal they’ve been through. I hope they can grieve in peace, without any more invasive scrutiny from the media.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Hope all the A-level students who received their grades today achieved what they needed. Wish you well. For those who are disappointed remember the grades are not a defining measure of your intelligence or talent.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I am working on a new book with Mykaell Riley, which is an oral history in the UK. We are recording people’s stories in the four nations and loved meeting Aleighcia Scott from Cardiff, who performs reagge in Welsh language - Diolch, Aleighcia
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I have just written this for Everything Jazz on George Benson’s Giblet Gravy album released in 1968. Has one of the very best covers, was proud of this one. www.everythingjazz.com/story/giblet...
everythingjazz.com
"Giblet Gravy" - George Benson's Early Career Jazz Gem - Everything Jazz
George Benson- Giblet Gravy
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Such an inspiring workshop for the @thesociologicalreview.org on Live Sociology this week. It attracted people from all around the world and different time zones… some getting up in the middle of the night to be part of the conversation. All the fees will go back into supporting The Foundation.
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I am just preparing my talk for this workshop tomorrow for @thesociologicalreview.org and reading a brilliant paper by the Goldsmiths students who turned Nirmal Puwar’s Manifesto for Live Methods into a picket line teach out in 2022 - you can watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPvz...
youtube.com
Live Methods as creative resistance: Crafting a PhD and solidarity in the neoliberal university
YouTube video by Crafting a PhD
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Really looking forward to this workshop next week and meeting those who have signed up. This is a fundraiser for Sociological Review, and all monies go to the Foundation. There are still some places left. @thesociologicalreview.org
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Something new on George Benson’s forgotten album gem Giblet Gravy - enjoyed writing this - love his guitar playing www.everythingjazz.com/story/giblet...
everythingjazz.com
"Giblet Gravy" - George Benson's Early Career Jazz Gem - Everything Jazz
George Benson- Giblet Gravy
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The Sociological Review Foundation @thesociologicalreview.org · 30/07/2026
“I love the plurality of the world. Things placed side by side that are incompatible, that celebration of difference and diversity, of strangeness and oddness.” Thinking Allowed host Laurie Taylor talks to sociologist Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social in our magazine. buff.ly/6cri9pb
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Les Back @academicdiary.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Sometimes all you need to do sociology is a pencil and a notebook
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