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Frank Finlay

@frankjf.bsky.social
388 followers 601 following 116 posts

Emeritus Professor of German, University of Leeds. Former Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures. Chair/Trustee: Word Up North, Skipton Music. #bwfc

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Reposted by Frank Finlay
Association of German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland @ags-gbi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As many of you will be aware, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) awarding body in Northern Ireland is to discontinue GCSE and A-level German. This is a real blow to language education in Northern Ireland, depriving future generations of the opportunity to learn German.
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Excellent explanation for a UK audience of the significance of the AfD’s recent win in Sachsen-Anhalt, with commentary from @annettedittert.bsky.social on @quietriotpod.bsky.social Well worth a listen podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...
podcasts.apple.com
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The @universityofglasgow was a splendid backdrop for last week‘s annual conference of the @ags-gbi.bsky.social
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Association of German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland @ags-gbi.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
As the conference draws to a close, let us thank Dr Stephan Ehrig (@herrehrig.bsky.social) and his excellent te am for their meticulous organisation of #AGS2026, which has run like clockwork. Thanks for having us @glasgow.ac.uk! See you all next year in Cambridge for #AGS2027!
Ornate university buildings seen behind a landscaped garden and wrought iron fencing A path leads away from the camera before forking either side of a stone monument distinguishable only as a human bust on a pediment, behind which a spire is visible rising above thick verduous tree canopies
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Association of German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland @ags-gbi.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
After three years as Vice-President, Prof Anna Saunders (@profannasaunders.bsky.social) becomes the new President of the AGS today. We also welcome Dr Benedict Schofield (@benschofield.bsky.social) as Vice-President. We wish Anna and Ben all the best in their new roles!
A portrait of two people stood next to each other looking at the camera in front of an internal wall with wood panelling to chest height and patterned wallpaper and a light fitting above
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Association of German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland @ags-gbi.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Chairing the business meeting is one of the last duties of outgoing AGS President Prof Peter Davies (@pdavies.bsky.social). Enormous thanks to Peter for all he’s done for the discipline and especially his thoughtful leadership as President of the association over the last three years!
A speaker wearing a grey suit holding a phone in his right hand and his left arm outstretchedA speaker wearing a grey suit holding a phone in his right hand and gesturing with his left
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This was during the last Euros. Hoping for tomorrow that things have finally moved on. “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” - Antonio Gramsci, Prison Diaries. Come on England!
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
At least all my dear German football friends can console themselves with coming up with the word that captures how a lot of other folk are feeling after last night’s historic penalty shootout defeat.
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UCFL - University Council For Languages @ucflangs.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Colleagues at the University of Exeter need your support! ✍️ Sign the petition: c.org/yKcx6Zr29H The University of Exeter is to cut about 150 staff. The proposed reduction is almost exclusively focused on roles in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, among them Modern Languages and English.
c.org
This campaign needs you now
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
First of the many pages devoted to @jonawils.bsky.social A New History of the World Cup in this month’s @lrb.co.uk @liberopodcast.com
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Election Explainer in the New York Times: “There’s a lively tradition of joke candidates in Britain. That explains why Burnham was flanked on stage this morning by one person dressed as a fox and another in a trash can themed costume, who calls himself Count Binface.”
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Mid-Career in academia can be a difficult time to pursue research due to other pressures. I'm pleased to say we've opened the call for @britishacademy.bsky.social Mid-Career Fellowships with funding for 6-12 months to complete a major piece of research www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Mid-Career Fellowships
The Mid-Career Fellowships are designed both to support outstanding individual researchers with excellent research proposals, and to promote public understanding and engagement with humanities and soc...
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DIE ZEIT @zeit.de · 18/06/2026
Erstmals ist in Großbritannien keine Frau zwischen 20 und 24 durch Gebärmutterhalskrebs gestorben. Der Grund: Die Einführung der HPV-Impfung.
zeit.de
Studie zu HPV-Impfung: HPV-Impfung schützt laut Studie vor Tod durch Gebärmutterhalskrebs
Erstmals ist in Großbritannien keine Frau zwischen 20 und 24 durch Gebärmutterhalskrebs gestorben. Der Grund: Die Einführung der HPV-Impfung.
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Philipp Hölzing @philipphoelzing.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...
faz.net
Der Verlag S. Fischer verlässt Frankfurt
Seit heute Mittag steht es fest: Mit S. Fischer verlässt der wichtigste Frankfurter Verlag die Stadt. Vom neuen Standort in Berlin verspricht man sich eine bessere Bewältigung der Buchbranchenprobleme...
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
open.spotify.com/album/2sZDbh...
open.spotify.com
Cape Town Revisited - Album by Abdullah Ibrahim | Spotify
Abdullah Ibrahim · album · 2000 · 15 songs
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Happened to be on Leeds main station last evening and was surprised at the huge numbers of local Arsenal fans off the London train after the big parade. Never seen such a diverse bunch of football supporters in this part of the world, which was rather wonderful @philippeauclair.bsky.social
philippeauclair.bsky.social
Philippe Auclair (@philippeauclair.bsky.social)
Writes and sings for Josimar, The Guardian and Tapete Records
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Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies @ilcs.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
"The future of modern languages will not be secured simply by attempting to reverse falling demand. It will depend on expanding access to the point where demand can genuinely be expressed" by @anademedeiros.bsky.social and @marcecazzoli.bsky.social
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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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
When one of your favourite podcasts features one of your favourite films. Richly informative discussion of TheThird Man @ppfideas.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
A nugget from @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social in @nytimes.com “(…) Abramovich, it was reported in 2019 book The Club, had briefly considered buying Spurs instead, but drove through Tottenham once in his Mercedes and declared that part of London “worse than Omsk” — a city in Siberia)”.
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Jack Pitt-Brooke @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Can Tottenham break their Stamford Bridge curse tonight? My piece on the fixture Spurs find harder than any other www.nytimes.com/athletic/727...
nytimes.com
Chelsea’s painful hold over the Tottenham psyche – anything that can go wrong often does
Spurs go to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday battling for their Premier League lives. It will not be a venue that fills them with confidence
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Alex Bamji @alexbamji.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
We're looking for a Lecturer in Global Medieval History (ongoing) to join us in the vibrant School of History @universityofleeds.bsky.social ! Deadline 1 June. Full details jobs.leeds.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx... #jobfairy #medievalsky #history
jobs.leeds.ac.uk
Job Opportunity at University of Leeds: Lecturer in Global Medieval History
Are you an academic with proven abilities to carry out research and teaching in global medieval history? Do you have an established background in interdisciplinary global medieval studies? Are you est...
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Some worrying figures here www.thetimes.com/article/d758...
But in the 2lst century, the creative industries have re-privileged, a return to the pre-war status quo. The closing of access today starts not with unpaid internships or university courses, but at school. Over the past 20 years, arts education has been downgraded in the state sector; in 2023, 41 per cent of state schools did not have any students sitting drama GCSEs, and 42 per cent had none doing music GCSEs, according to the Cultural Learning Alliance.
University applications now reflect this prioritisation. At four top universities — Oxford, Cambridge, King's College London and Bath - more than 50 per cent of students studying creative degrees come from upper middle-class households; for working-class students, the take-up is as low as 4-5 per cent, according to the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity.
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Some old haunts in Vienna
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Not before time!
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
You need to read this. @timothysnyder.bsky.social has been warning us since 2016 about Trump. He knows: he’s one of world’s leading experts on authoritarianism & always ahead of the game. V proud to publish him in @thenerve.news. He’s an essential voice. www.thenerve.news/p/donald-tru...
thenerve.news
If Trump intends to attempt a coup, here are five ways he could do it
Despite the debacle in Iran, a president at war has several pressure points at his disposal to postpone, restrict and ultimately cancel democracy, writes the historian
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Felix Tamsut @ftamsut.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
The leading ultra groups from both clubs, FCSP's Ultra Sankt Pauli and Bayern's Schickeria München, hold a long-year friendship, also based on both groups' antifascist stance. Schickeria München's full story: medium.com/@ftamsut/unw...
medium.com
Unwaveringly left wing: Meet Bayern Munich’s biggest ultra group
Meet Schickeria München.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Peter Magyar has offered a template which can be used, without too much alteration, in defeating populists worldwide open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...
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Oh God, What Now? – the politics podcast @ohgodwhatnow.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
JD Vance, Marine le Pen, Sergei Lavrov, Geert Wilders, James Orr, Matt Goodwin, Alice Weidel, Frank Furedi, RT, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin… your boy took a hell of a beating.
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David Higgins @davidhiggins.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
My view is that researchers who submit/publish papers with fake citations should face serious sanctions (which is not currently the case). Accurate documentation of sources is really the bare minimum when it comes to research integrity and academic practice. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done?
Tens of thousands of publications from 2025 might include invalid references generated by AI, a Nature analysis suggests.
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
The Hungarian election is about Russian oligarchy and its support of the international far right. That’s why Vance is there. He is a node in that network.
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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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Mika @mikagratzke.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Guess what! I was in both groups at some stage.
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies is running a free course on the Holodomor and asked me to share it to help reach people who might be interested www.coursera.org/learn/holodo...
coursera.org
Famine as Genocide: The Holodomor in Ukraine
Offered by University of Alberta. The Holodomor, one of the major tragedies of the twentieth century, became the subject of serious study ... Enroll for free.
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Delighted for colleagues in Linguistics to receive this recognition from their University for their outstanding achievement.
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Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 24/03/2026
Think you know what happened in 1066? Think again. Research by Leverhulme Major Research Fellow Professor Tom Licence @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social has uncovered that King Harold’s famous 200‑mile march to the Battle of Hastings never happened. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Victorians got Battle of Hastings wrong, professor says
A professor's findings claim King Harold's 200-mile march to the Battle of Hastings is a Victorian
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Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
"A stiff drink is recommended". Just read this, need one.
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Jürgen Zimmerer @juergenzimmerer.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
#OTD Heute vor 36 Jahren wurde Namibia unabhängig, wenige Monate später Deutschland wiedervereinigt. Es ist sehr enttäuschend, dass es immer noch keine Anerkennung Genozid Herero Nama durch Bundestag u keine offiz. Entschuldigung gibt, von Wiedergutmachung ganz zu schweigen. /2
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Leo Baeck Institute London @lbilondon.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
History in the GDR is rarely a straightforward story of ‘failure’ or ‘success’. Our new series, LBI Scholars in Conversation, opens by exploring exactly these grey areas with our Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr Alexander Brown. www.lbilondon.ac.uk/research/lbi...
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UCFL - University Council For Languages @ucflangs.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
The University of Essex has proposed to discontinue most of their undergraduate language provisions as well as the Languages for All programme as part of large-scale restructuring. Sign their petition to urge the Executive Committee to reconsider the proposal: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Jürgen Habermas Dies at 96; One of Postwar Germany’s Most Influential Thinkers www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/b...
nytimes.com
Jürgen Habermas Dies at 96; One of Postwar Germany’s Most Influential Thinkers
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DIE ZEIT @zeit.de · 14/03/2026
Jürgen Habermas war ein politischer Denker, der unermüdlich kämpfte: gegen die Irrationalität, für Vernunft und die bedrohten westlichen Werte. Ein Nachruf
zeit.de
Jürgen Habermas: Ein leidenschaftlicher Aufklärer, bis zuletzt
Jürgen Habermas war ein politischer Denker, der unermüdlich kämpfte: gegen die Irrationalität, für Vernunft und die bedrohten westlichen Werte. Ein Nachruf
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
@thegsa.bsky.social @ags-gbi.bsky.social
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Paul Mason @paulmason.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Reds: A Global History of Communism - out in August 2026 geni.us/Redscovrev
geni.us
Reds:A Global History of Communism by Paul Mason
Shop now:
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Martyn Brunt @skybluebrunty.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
You'll get more relevant facts and incisive analysis in this 30 minute episode, than in a whole week of watching the national news. If you prefer your opinions to come from experts, this is the podcast for you.
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Why independent bookshops strike fear in the heart of Germany’s culture tsar | Fatma Aydemir
First he came for Berlin’s film festival. Now it’s books. Wolfram Weimer seems to be on a mission to curb progressive thinking, says Guardian Europe columnist Fatma Aydemir
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
As outgoing Chair I am genuinely heartened and excited to welcome an exceptional group of new trustees.Their appointment leaves me with real confidence in the organisation’s future contribution to the region and the wider cultural landscape. yorkshirecontemporary.org/yorkshire-co...
yorkshirecontemporary.org
Yorkshire Contemporary appoints new Trustees | Yorkshire Contemporary
Yorkshire Contemporary appoints new Trustees
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Frank Finlay @frankjf.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
The Burnden Park stadium disaster (often aka “the forgotten disaster”) was the worst loss of life at an English football ground before the 1980s. Thirty-three people died and around 400-500 were injured in a crush at an FA Cup tie between Bolton Wanderers Official and Stoke City. #BWFC
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John Harris @johnharris1969.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
These days I find that I can't be bothered To argue with them, well, what's the point? Better to take your shots and drop down dead Then they send you home in a pine overcoat With a letter to your mum Saying, 'Find enclosed one son, One medal and a note to say we won'
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Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · 06/03/2026
Our classical columnist, Ian Bostridge, marks the 400th anniversary of John Downland’s death. The English composer was—is—one of the greats. But was he also a spy? A Catholic informer? An agent provocateur at Elizabeth I’s court?
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Classical notes: A trip to Dowland
The composer wasn’t just an English great—but a European one
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Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
A previously unknown species of butterfly which had been discovered in Peru in 2024 is now officially named "Vanewrightia borussiadortmund" after a BvB fan called Peter Klausmeier, struck by its colouring, spent 2,800 euros sponsoring its scientific naming.
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