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Elizabeth Elliott

@elizabethelliott.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.2K following 299 posts

Medieval literature, history of emotion and medievalism. UCU rep. She/her

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Reposted by Elizabeth Elliott
Simon is on strike ✊🏻 @simonxix.com · 7h
Since I'm on strike, I haven't checked my work emails but I've heard about this email that HR have sent asking us to be nice to senior management. Tell me, is it nice of them to make staff redundant? Is it nice of them to cut Scottish literature and Gaelic courses? Are these nice behaviours?
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Dundee UCU @ducuuo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
No surrender until the University of Dundee rule out making colleagues compulsory redundant. Donate to our campaign as we seek crowdfund support for a Judicial Review of the governance decisions that led the University Court to approve staff and programme cuts www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/judicial-r...
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Elizabeth Elliott @elizabethelliott.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Solidarity to Dundee staff! #saveDundeeUni
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Angela Cassidy @angecass.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
"On September 3, the university announced that enough of us had opted for voluntary redundancy for the threat of compulsory job losses to be retracted. But we are a skeleton ship of summer-long insomniacs, missing indispensable faces and cherished expertise."
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Daniel C. Blight @danielcblight.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes:
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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 11/09/2026
Every worker facing redundancy at the University of Birmingham is from a migrant or minority ethnic background. UCU members will meet on 17 September to decide whether to ballot for strike action. No compulsory redundancies. Release the equality impact assessment. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1463...
ucu.org.uk
University of Birmingham staff to consider strike ballot over redundancies that fall entirely on minority ethnic staff
Staff at the University of Birmingham will meet next week to consider potential strike action in a battle against redundancies, the University and College Union (UCU) said today (11 September).
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
British universities are both thinner and greedier now. They’re thinner in that they’re doing less and offering less (fewer courses, fewer modules, fewer assessments, fewer staff, far less student and staff support). They’re greedier in that they demand more of both students and staff: more money…
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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Oh wow, nobody saw that coming. If you let yourself be entranced by the same three snake oil salesmen who have captured the entire sector and who only understand "staff cost" as an entry in a spreadsheet, not all the contributions we make that don't fit that silly excel box, this is what you get.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
'It notes that institutions “routinely” hire consultancies for these restructures as well as change management specialists, however, these processes often introduce additional management layers, “adding cost rather than removing it”, while “productivity drops".' Hollow laughter across the sector.
hepi.ac.uk
The invisible majority: Professional and support staff and the future of UK higher education - HEPI
Universities are cutting the skills they need most, then paying to rebuild them. Universities are cutting the skills and capabilities they need most, only to pay to rebuild them later, according to ne...
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Julia Laite @julialaite.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Anyone working in the sector already knows, but still good to see it in black & white. Professional services *people*--not just interchangeable hubs of administration--are essential to a good university. Their institutional knowledge has been consistently undervalued & their loss is catastrophic.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I once worked at a university that gutted an entire (very popular and useful) learning center and replaced it with two guys who would teach you how to host blogs. every student had to have a blog. Every single one. Our syllabus had to mention blogs. We had to teach WITH blogs.
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Dr Basil Arnould Price @basilaprice.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
You have just over a month to apply to the sessions Hunter Phillips and I organised at @kzooicms.bsky.social on either DISENTANGLING ECOCRITICISMS ( tinyurl.com/ICMS2027-S1) or DISAPPOINTING ECOCRITICISMS (tinyurl.com/ICMS2027-S2). (Sponsored by Medieval Ecocriticisms) Join us! #medievalsky
CALL FOR PAPERS: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES 2027 (MAY 13-15). RETHINKING ECOTHEORY, SPONSORED BY MEDIEVAL ECOCRITICISMS This pair of sessions questions 'entanglement' as the predominant idiom of ecocritical thinking, arguing that the medieval past both yields and necessitates alternative ways of thinking about our ecological investments, both affective and ontological. Drawing upon recent critiques (Swarbick and Tremblay 2024), this pair of sessions interrogates the limits of 'enmeshment' as the predominant idiom for ecocritical approaches to the premodern past. Although the (specifically European) premodern past is often identified as 'The Green Middle Ages' (e.g. Chavannes- Mazel 2023, Kehnel 2024), these sessions question the recuperation of this period as one of ethical, reciprocal, and harmonious relations between humans and the natural world. SUBMISSION DEADLINE: SEPT 15 Organised by Hunter Allen Phillips (hap48@cornell.edu) and Basil Arnould Price (basil.price@oneonta.edu).
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G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 06/08/2026
THERE IS NO WAY
IKEA Advertisement for a wicker bench that reads “husband material,” clearly making reference to the spicy discourse surrounding the film Wicker
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Lisa Rullsenberg @rullsenberg.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
UKHE - despite all its bosses are doing - has brilliance in research+ teaching, sustains communities+ understanding, and offers opportunities to staff + students that go far beyond the (actually massive) contribution to local employment + development. The losses are human. We keep challenging 💪🏼
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Definitely the case here. In two weeks we find which 9 of 12 in my group will be gone. The other 3 will then have a month to prepare and find hourly-paid replacements for all the classes across two degrees. And supervise 25 PhDs. Plus admin and pastoral care and research. Management doesn’t care.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Thinking through the unedifying, un-evidence-based rush to an undefined, apparently unmodelled paradigm of 'specialisation, what's being lost/threatened? Herts History was an excellent example of performing to a top standard in REF, but also much more than that. Questions to think with include: 1/4
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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 02/08/2026
Where's the righteous anger the news about Exeter has engendered? Where are the think pieces about learning loss and unconscionable redundancies? The problem will never be understood or *addressed* if we do not, collectively, respond to the full scale of it.
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Daniel de Kadt @dandekadt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Yes, the relative silence of UK university leadership amidst what can only be described as a (self-destructive) assault on the sector by this government is quite astounding. Good on Larry for speaking out with clarity and force.
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Duncan Stibbard Hawkes @dstibbardhawkes.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I've never seen a more incredible series of own goals than the last fifteen years of UK higher education policy. If the stupidity of the decade-long annual funding freeze/real-terms cuts had been properly communicated I think people would be rightly horrified.
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Pavithra Suryanarayan @pavisuri.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
There are 2 constraints on academics: the cuts in funding & restrictions on how universities manage their finances combined with a growing demand for more reporting of how they spend the monies. The 1st restricts the pie, the 2nd raises bureaucratic costs. Both stem from a deep suspicion of academia
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Glad someone senior from the sector is pushing back. Labour MPs need to understand the serious real anger from graduates and the people who produce them. And the dangerous financial situation they have allowed to fester, or indeed worsened, in one of Britain’s leading sectors.
ft.com
Labour has harmed universities as much as Trump, London School of Economics head says
LSE vice-chancellor Larry Kramer points to domestic student fees freeze, international student limits and rise in employers’ national insurance
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Greg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Please sign this UK government petition to compel AI companies to reveal whose books they used to train their data petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
petition.parliament.uk
Petition: Protect creators' rights: require AI firms to disclose training data
We ask the Government to introduce a statutory duty requiring AI developers to disclose the copyrighted works used to train generative AI in enough detail for creators to identify use of their work, e...
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Natalia Cecire @ncecire.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
"Fifty-two per cent of students have noticed cost-cutting, and 83 per cent of those say it changed the experience they were promised."
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Stephen H. Jones @stphnhwrdjns.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
"The one instrument that forced a provider to commit, in a published document, to a substantive statement of the risks its students face [...] is being retired at the exact moment the risks are highest, and replaced with process text that nobody outside the institution can verify."
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
“Of the promises made when OfS was created, the ones that protected the sector’s reputation & the Treasury’s balance sheet have been kept meticulously. The ones that protected students have been dropped one by one, & this week’s response is the first document in which that is not drift but doctrine”
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
My dept is about to be reduced to 3 people covering 3 separate disciplines. The 25 PhD students will be left bereft of adequate supervision numerically and in terms of expertise. The government has decided that they should have no recourse (music to my university’s ears).
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Ashley Nova — Unfiltered, Unhinged, Uncaring @ashleynova.space · 20/07/2026
So much misinformation being spread on tiktok about the new EHRC Code by seemingly well meaning cis people who simply have not read a single thing trans people have been saying about this code or bathroom bills in general, and it's all being amplified by terrified and misinformed trans people.
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frank n furter @mxfrankduffy.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Church in Wales says trans rights. I did not see this coming, brought me to tears & I'm not even a christian
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Felicity Callard @felicitycallard.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Vice-Chancellor of University of Bristol (salary £312,251): “I take a really personal view on this. My oldest daughter is the only child in my family who really is making a very significant amount of money.”
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Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele @drdragases.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
"[N]early 4,000 academic posts in social sciences, humanities and the arts have been axed in one year alone. In the 12 months to December 2024, just under 3,000 social sciences, 820 humanities and 240 arts jobs went. All but 110 were in non-Russell Group universities, reducing student choice..."
tinyurl.com
Humanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universities
Exclusive: Experts fear rise in education ‘cold spots’ and social immobility as 4,000 academic posts lost in one year
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 15/07/2026
In addition to today's data on staffing in UK HE, @britishacademy.bsky.social has produced several briefings, including one on the very significant decline in early career academics, 2012-24: bit.ly/4wGBTcl History has seen a 32% decline in early career staff numbers since 2012/13 #Skystorians 1/2
he British Academy
Mapping SHAPE academic staff briefing:
Pathways for early career
SHAPE
academics are in decline
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
See also this new research which shows the vital role universities play in supporting place-based growth and innovation around the creative industries pec.ac.uk/state_of_the...
pec.ac.uk
Creative Clusters, Geography and University-Industry Links - Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre
This new report provides updated estimates on the spatial distribution of creative industries activity at the regional and cluster level.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
So a key question now is whether the new @andyburnham.bsky.social led administration will take the higher education funding crisis seriously as a threat to his aspirations around regional growth and skills…
"Universities will be central to achieving the regional growth aspirations of our new prime minister, but they are suffering a major financial emergency," Shah said.
"The result is greater inequalities, fewer opportunities for students and the gradual erosion of the world-leading research our economy, democracy and global standing rely on.
«The alarm bells are ringing, and policymakers should treat these findings as a wake-up call before more lasting damage is done."
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
‘The British Academy’s analysis also found that regional cold spots were accelerating, and some subjects were now virtually impossible to access at less selective universities... With more than 1,000 further job losses proposed at Russell Group universities… these cold spots will only increase.’
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
‘Thousands of university job cuts in humanities and social sciences are creating widespread cold spots for languages, classics and theology degrees, the British Academy has warned’ www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Humanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universities
Exclusive: Experts fear rise in education ‘cold spots’ and social immobility as 4,000 academic posts lost in one year
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12/07/2026
Amnesty International put out a major report documenting the influence of UK based anti trans gender critical organizations and their funding. Within hours, GC groups threatened defamation lawsuits and Amnesty was forced to pull it down. Proving the point they're anti rights. Anyways, here it is.
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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Think it's now fair to say that Britain's Higher Education system has descended into complete chaos. If it were a nation-state the IMF and the World Bank would be in and politics would be in a clearly pre-revolutionary situation. Instead nothing is done, and no-one even cares really. (1/2)
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What The Trans?! 🏳️‍⚧️ @whatthetrans.com · 10/07/2026
TERFs are attempting to infiltrate Mermaids by applying for their Trustee vacancies, in an attempt to sabotage the organisation from within. Please apply if you are able to, to prevent this: mermaidsuk.org.uk/jobs/
mermaidsuk.org.uk
Jobs - Mermaids
Please do not send speculative CVs. Any vacancies will be updated here. See our Candidate Privacy Notice here. We’re Mermaids. We’ve been supporting trans, non-binary and gender-questioning children a...
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University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Another week, another round of news stories condemning the choices made by our administration. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Cutting language courses puts social mobility at risk, say UK experts
Exclusive: University moves and falling exam entries fuel concerns about opportunities for working-class pupils
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University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Both The Guardian and Times Higher Education are highlighting the devastating effects that closing our modern languages courses will have on the UK and the midlands. A similar argument can be made for every one of our courses on the chopping block. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/cold-sp...
timeshighereducation.com
‘Cold spot’ fears over Nottingham language cuts
Plans to close courses would have national impact, politicians write in letter urging university to reconsider
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Onni Gust @onnigust.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Nottingham is the only Russell Group university that will have no modern language provision at all. The East Midlands is becoming a language cold spot. It's not too late to reverse the cuts and closures. @uonucu.bsky.social has a fully-costed plan to save our university.
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Viking Comics by Yoav @realmundiriki.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
As is my wont, here is a link to my lecture on Tuesday for accessibility and for people who will miss it. It's a work in progress, so you might see words changing as you read them. Feel free to comment! #IMC2026 @imc-leeds.bsky.social docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Disability and Embodied Difference in Ljósvetninga saga - Yoav Tirosh - Leeds IMC 7th July 2026
Disability and Embodied Difference in Ljósvetninga saga - Yoav Tirosh - Leeds IMC 7th July 2026 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7941-7092 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yoav-Tirosh https://www.linke...
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Daisy Black @daisyeblack.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
On my way to @imc-leeds.bsky.social. Looking forward to attending the MRDS New Voices in medieval drama session (with my PhD student and other excellent scholars doing wildly exciting work). Then giving a paper on using eco criticism in performance storytelling on Tuesday with @jamespaz.bsky.social.
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Alicia Spencer-Hall @aspencerhall.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
It's worth knowing that Medievalists with Disabilities were instrumental in getting these spaces established. We lobbied & advised @imc-leeds.bsky.social on the need for them. Original quiet room supplies were donated by yours truly, from my postdoc #IMC2026 #MedievalSky 🗃️
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Dr Basil Arnould Price @basilaprice.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Join us and the incredible and incomparable @aspencerhall.bsky.social for a day of queer and trans thinking on Tuesday @imc-leeds.bsky.social !
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Kate Clancy @kateclancy.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
What a great article not only on faculty workloads, but how little our salaries actually factor in to most university budgets. A few highlights. First, our salaries are falling:
Third, faculty salaries are falling even if we statistically control for faculty rank and institution. By our analysis of National Center for Education Statistics data, tenured and tenure-track salaries are down 10 percent in real terms since 2016 and are lower today than they were in 2002; nontenured faculty salaries are down 4 percent since 2016 and are at 2002 levels today.

To put this plainly: Suppose sharply increased teaching loads enabled institutions to cut one out of every seven full-time faculty. (That’s roughly what we saw last year in severe cuts announced at West Virginia, Western Illinois, and St. Cloud State Universities.) The associated savings in salary and benefits even through such drastic action would amount to less than 2.5 percent of total institutional expenditures for the typical university.

The upshot? If you think higher education has a cost problem, squeezing more teaching out of faculty is not the first place you should look.
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Jim Dickinson @jimdickinson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Literally no evidence that students want less choice. Research on regret directly points at the opposite.
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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
#UKHE! You know how we're told that 'students want less choice' against what we know to be reality & against pedagogical & disciplinary needs? Finally found the Nous report that supposedly backs that up, & it's based on a survey that asks about the *choice of major* nousgroup.com/assets/docs/...
FIGURE 12 UNIVERSITY STUDENT PREFERENCES AROUND OPTIONS TO SELECT MAJOR(S)
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Lisa Smith @historybeagle.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
This is an excellent thread summarising the state of UKHE and why we should be angry. These intellectual losses have very real effects for UK society as a whole, making us less creative, less intelligent, less healthy, and altogether poorer.
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