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Charles Forsdick

@cforsdick.bsky.social
533 followers 274 following 146 posts

Drapers Professor of French, MMLL, Cambridge; Professorial Fellow, Murray Edwards College; Lead Fellow Languages, @britishacademy.bsky.social; Hon. Professor Centre for the Study of International Slavery (CSIS). Researches travel, empire, Haiti, comics..

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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Liverpool University Press @livunipress.bsky.social · 13h
What can translation do? To mark #InternationalTranslationDay, World Writing in French series editors Charles Forsdick and Martin Munro reflect on translation's role in sustaining linguistic and literary diversity. Read the blog post 👇️ @cforsdick.bsky.social #AcademicSky
liverpooluniversitypress.blog
What Can Translation Do?
In a new blog post to mark International Translation Day 2026, World Writing in French series editors Charles Forsdick and Martin Munro reflect on translation’s role in sustaining linguistic …
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Ian McDonald obituary
Trinidad-born author and poet whose novel The Humming-Bird Tree is a classic of Caribbean literature
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
theconversation.com/gender-neutr...
theconversation.com
Gender-neutral pronouns in French exams: how language classrooms respond to linguistic change
Should language teaching describe how a language is used, or how it should be used?
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Modern Humanities Research Association @themhra.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
📣 Postdoc opportunity! @ucflangs.bsky.social is recruiting a MHRA-funded postdoc to implement recommendations from the Languages & Policy report and and strengthen research–policy collaboration. Supervised by @wendya-b.bsky.social and @cforsdick.bsky.social. www.mhra.org.uk/news/2026/06...
mhra.org.uk
Postdoctoral Researcher — Building Policy-Research Bridges in Languages
A new postdoctoral researcher is sought for policy work, in association with the UCFL: applications close 30 June.
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
UCFL - University Council For Languages @ucflangs.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Languages are not in decline - access is. Our colleagues Marcela Andrea Cazzoli and Ana Medeiros show that the problem is not student aspriation, but structured access. Don't miss this very important read: wonkhe.com/blogs/modern...
wonkhe.com
Modern languages has a future – and it’s all about access
Contraction of modern languages provision is often painted as a response to falling demand. For Ana de Medeiros and Marcela Cazzoli, if you look across the whole education system then HE starts to loo...
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
'What appears as declining demand is more accurately understood as the result of uneven access to language learning across the school system.'
wonkhe.com
Modern languages has a future – and it’s all about access
Contraction of modern languages provision is often painted as a response to falling demand. For Ana de Medeiros and Marcela Cazzoli, if you look across the whole education system then HE starts to loo...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
‘Being human helps’: despite rise of AI is there still hope for Europe’s translators?
A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing – but they could be needed for a while longer yet
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/commen...
theguardian.com
AI will make language barriers disappear – and diminish our understanding of other cultures
Machines may soon translate every conversation flawlessly. But language is more than information – it is curiosity, intimacy and cultural discovery
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Nicki Hitchcott @nickihitchcott.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Registration is free 👇
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
French man, 86, issues historic apology for family’s role in transatlantic slavery
Pierre Guillon de Prince believed to be first in France to formally apologise for ancestors’ connections to slavery
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
"The issue is the system, not the subject.” Professor Charles Forsdick FBA on higher education funding cuts hitting language courses hardest and the wider risks to skills, research and opportunity in Times Higher Education: bit.ly/4tFzJbD
bit.ly
UK job cuts hit English and modern languages staff hardest
‘Vicious cycle’ of course closures means system ‘gradually losing breadth and depth of expertise’
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
UK job cuts hit English and modern languages staff hardest. ‘Vicious cycle’ of course closures means system ‘gradually losing breadth and depth of expertise’ www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-job-...
timeshighereducation.com
UK job cuts hit English and modern languages staff hardest
‘Vicious cycle’ of course closures means system ‘gradually losing breadth and depth of expertise’
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Neil Cooper @neilcooper.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
My story in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social On how poet Kenneth White, who left his house in France to the local council on the proviso they use it for writers residencies, has had his legacy overturne www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2... Petition against the move www.change.org/p/non-%C3%A0...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Jürgen Habermas, German philosopher and sociologist, dies aged 96
Habermas’ political consensus-building theory argued formation of public opinion vital for democracies to survive
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Where Duolingo falls down: how I learned to speak Welsh with my mother www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Where Duolingo falls down: how I learned to speak Welsh with my mother
The long read: Once violently defended from extinction, Welsh is still a part of daily life. By learning my family’s language, I hoped to join their conversation
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Cambridge University History Faculty @camhistory.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
1/ Explore the NEW website for the Legacies of Enslavement Special Initiative ⬇️ A central online hub for all research, collaboration and public engagement exploring @cam.ac.uk's historical links to slavery & the wider afterlives of enslavement and colonialism. 🔗 www.hist.cam.ac.uk/news/new-web...
Thomas Malton the Younger, 1748–1804, King's Parade, Cambridge, between 1798 and 1799, Oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1996.22.25.
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Khalid Lyamlahy @khalidlym.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
"As always, Ros Schwartz rises to the challenge of providing an elegant translation. #VeniceRequiem was a thought-provoking read that made a great start to my African reading this year" - About my novel, translated by @rosschwa.bsky.social @hoperoadpublish.bsky.social annabookbel.net/two-shorter-...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
What a viral speech in Ireland reveals about colonial history and Caribbean English www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...
theguardian.com
What a viral speech in Ireland reveals about colonial history and Caribbean English
Linguists say reaction to Irish TD’s remarks reflects shared regional English roots and enduring impact of empire
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Arts and Humanities Alliance @artsandhums.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The Arts and Humanities Alliance is proud to sponsor the 2026 @britishacademy.bsky.social SHAPE conference. Our session is Myth busting for the public with @ritagardner.bsky.social @jennyrichards.bsky.social & @sebgordon1.bsky.social Chair @emmacayley.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/shape-conf...
eventbrite.com
SHAPE Conference 2026
The British Academy's annual SHAPE conference will be held in London on 4 March 2026.
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/c... “If Australia has no one doing deep doctoral-level research on China, Russia, Indonesia, and a host of other polities and cultures, how will we grasp the nuances of these nations to craft our foreign policy and safeguard our national security?”
australianbookreview.com.au
‘When universities mattered: Higher education in a country addicted to the plough’ by Stephen Garton
There was a time when Australian universities mattered. Should they again?
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Jennifer Yee @jenwhy.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Who has a right to tell someone’s story? Interesting read on Kamel Daoud’s novel Houris and the woman whose lived experience may have been stolen. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
theguardian.com
‘I felt betrayed, naked’: did a prize-winning novelist steal a woman’s life story?
The long read: His novel was praised for giving a voice to the victims of Algeria’s brutal civil war. But one woman has accused Kamel Daoud of having stolen her story – and the ensuing legal battle ha...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Dissonance patrimoniale, réparation mémorielle : la « Table de désorientation », un contre-monument décolonial à Nancy theconversation.com/dissonance-p...
theconversation.com
Dissonance patrimoniale, réparation mémorielle : la « Table de désorientation », un contre-monument décolonial à Nancy
Le « contre-monument » inauguré récemment à Nancy invite à la réflexion sur le sens que peut prendre aujourd’hui cet emblème de la statuaire coloniale.
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
theguardian.com
My cultural awakening: an Eddie Izzard routine inspired me to learn French – and get a job with the EU
Being able to understand the comedian talking in French in his Dress to Kill show led to me learning several languages and working on the continent
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Khalid Lyamlahy @khalidlym.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Forthcoming in April: "The Essential Senghor: African Philosophy and Black Aesthetics", edited by Doyle D. Calhoun, Alioune B. Fall, and Cheikh Thiam @dukepress.bsky.social. Includes Senghor’s critical & philosophical writings spanning from 1937 to 1985 www.dukeupress.edu/the-essentia... #Senghor
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Liverpool University Press @livunipress.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
We are pleased to share that David Evans is the new General Editor of French Studies, succeeding Martin Crowley after seven years. We thank Martin for his leadership. An interview with Crowley & Evans in French Studies Bulletin is free to read this January➡️bit.ly/FS-Editor @frenchstudies.bsky.social
Graphic to promote the journal 'French Studies': Navy blue text reads ‘Publishing articles and reviews spanning all areas of the subject, including language and linguistics, literature, thought and the history of ideas, and cultural studies’. Journal cover for French Studies sits to the right of the text. The cover is a warm cream with a rich red uppercase font for the journal's title. A red line sits under the title and under that the table of contents is listed in a small black font. The Liverpool University Press logo sits in the left corner, it features a dark red minimalist swoosh which represents the Liver Bird, text underneath reads Liverpool University Press founded 1899. The Society for French Studies logo sits alongside. The logo is made up of a coral-coloured circle, a blue square, and a gold triangle which overlap to create a purple colour. In the background sits a soft lilac graphic with light grey lines running in different directions.
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
“To translate is not just to haul stories across languages, but to help them remain when everything else falls away. It is a quiet, stubborn refusal to disappear.” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated
The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
'One of the most consequential changes [in the September 2025 Immigration White Paper] is the reduction of the Graduate Visa route from 24 to 18 months, which directly undermines the ability of international trainees to complete their Early Career Teacher (ECT) induction.'
hepi.ac.uk
WEEKEND READING: The 2025 Immigration White Paper and its impact on international teacher recruitment and retention in MFL and Physics - HEPI
This blog was kindly authored by Juliette Claro, Lecturer in Education at St Mary’s University Twickenham and Co-chair of the UCET Special Interest Group in Supporting International Trainee Teachers i...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Migrants are at the heart of our art, our music, our whole history. That’s what the right won’t admit to you www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Migrants are at the heart of our art, our music, our whole history. That’s what the right won’t admit to you | Rowan Williams
From Britain’s medieval buildings to western pop and contemporary art, these creations showcase our interwoven stories, says former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Over 24 years, Louise Cocker has captured almost half a million Norfolk Gravestones. ‘As a result, she has produced a remarkable dataset… which experts consider one of the most comprehensive photographic records of gravestones and memorials in England.’ www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
‘The hidden engine room’: how amateur historians are powering genealogical research
Wealth of datasets compiled as private passions are now a goldmine for those hunting for their ancestors
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
How the French fell in love with family-driven memoirs and autofiction | Anne-Laure Pineau
Matriarchs, absent fathers and troubled childhoods: 2025 was the year French literature focused on family, says writer Anne-Laure Pineau
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
theguardian.com
Ukrainian refugee leaves UK sixth-form college that urged her ‘to study Russian’
Kateryna Endeberia says teachers made the ‘hurtful’ request when she had difficulty with other subjects
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
theguardian.com
Algeria passes law declaring French colonisation a crime
France’s rule over Algeria from 1830 to 1962 is marked by mass killings and large-scale deportation
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Khalid Lyamlahy @khalidlym.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Thrilled to share that "Venice Requiem", the #translation of my #novel by Ros Schwartz is coming out on Feb. 5 with @hoperoadpublish.bsky.social ! Deeply grateful to Ros for her exceptional work & to my publisher Pete Aryton. Many thanks to @oliviasnaije.bsky.social & Raphaël Thierry! bit.ly/4pFcEUY
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
theguardian.com
Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic
More than 1,000 words used as far back as 325BC to be collected for insight into past linguistic landscape
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Actually - based on substantial evidence - perhaps an even better headline would be “Glasgow is a super smart city. Fact.” Majority also speak Scots as mother tongue and first language Read UNESCO report to find out why bilingualism is best for everyone unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p...
unesdoc.unesco.org
Languages matter: global guidance on multilingual education
UNESCO Digital Library
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon? www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
theguardian.com
Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon? | Alexander Hurst
It borders Brazil, but French Guiana is now a remote outpost of the EU. It is home to Europe’s only spaceport, some of the most biodiverse forest on the planet and a military mission that is testing t...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme
Britain quit EU programme after Brexit, when Boris Johnson claimed it did not offer good value for money
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
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-...
eventbrite.co.uk
Shaping a Brighter Future
The first event in our Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series, delivered by Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, The British Academy
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
The uncompromising politics of Jimmy Cliff theconversation.com/the-uncompro...
theconversation.com
The uncompromising politics of Jimmy Cliff
The reggae singer used his music to speak out at issues that mattered.
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
The procession of university language closures will trip up UK diplomacy www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/proc...
timeshighereducation.com
The procession of university language closures will trip up UK diplomacy
The government needs to signal its demand for elite foreign language skills before more universities leave provision to inferior alternatives, says Ian Proud
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81 www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
theguardian.com
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81
Star of The Harder They Come had hits including You Can Get It If You Really Want and I Can See Clearly Now
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Ce que les statues coloniales dans l’espace public racontent de la France theconversation.com/ce-que-les-s...
theconversation.com
Ce que les statues coloniales dans l’espace public racontent de la France
Retour sur l’histoire des statues coloniales, à l’occasion de l’installation à Nancy d’un « contre-monument » face à la statue du sergent Blandan, figure de la colonisation française en Algérie.
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Call for Scottish Government to review foreign language provision www.heraldscotland.com/news/2559839...
heraldscotland.com
Call for Scottish Government to review foreign language provision
Key Scottish companies and young Scots are losing out due to the spiralling decline in school leavers with language qualifications, a leading…
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Reposted by Charles Forsdick
Leeds City of Languages @leedscitylanguages.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
A very insightful article on the recent threats to UK modern languages: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late... Support the petitions to stop the closures at Leicester and Nottingham, to sign click here: www.change.org/p/save-moder... www.change.org/p/stop-the-r... #languages #mfl
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
David Bellos, traducteur et grand spécialiste de Georges Perec, est mort www.lemonde.fr/disparitions...
lemonde.fr
David Bellos, traducteur et grand spécialiste de Georges Perec, est mort
L’universitaire britannique avait publié en 1994 une biographie décisive de l’écrivain français. Il avait aussi retrouvé deux manuscrits que l’auteur lui-même croyait perdus. Il s’est éteint le 26 oct...
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80 www.princeton.edu/news/2025/11...
princeton.edu
David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80
His work grappled with the tricky nature of interpreting between languages and embraced the potential of language itself to help us understand the human condition.
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...
timeshighereducation.com
The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas
Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
theguardian.com
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal pardoned and to be released from prison
Eighty-one year-old, who has prostate cancer, can now be transferred from Algeria to Germany for medical treatment
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Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet observer.co.uk/culture/book...
observer.co.uk
Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet | The Observer
Enslaved as a child, the 18th-century writer became the first published Black woman – and a pioneer of nature poetry whose legacy still inspires
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