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Dr Fran Melhuish

@fransplains.bsky.social
750 followers 1.1K following 55 posts

Postdoc @sotonpolitics.bsky.social, interested in nostalgia, visual politics and the gothic. "Needlessly polemical" www.southampton.ac.uk/people/65lr7v…

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Reposted by Dr Fran Melhuish
Charlie Lynch @charlielynch.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
“I’m afraid there is a chance this child may become an academic.”
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
A year of building community, advancing research, and driving conversations on gender and inequalities. Our 2025–26 annual newsletter is now available, reflecting on GAIN's first full year at Southampton. Thank you for being part of it! Read it here: generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk/gain/2026/06...
generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk
GAIN Annual Newsletter 2025–26 – Gender and Inequalities Research Centre, University of Southampton
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Happening today! @johannarickne.bsky.social presents a study of ~25k Norwegians, which finds people are less likely to recognise sexual harassment when stories are framed as “accusations,” involve male victims, or describe verbal rather than physical behaviour. Join us in Bldg 100 Room 8011
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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Accurate
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
📢 Join our next seminar at the University of Southampton with Professor Johanna Rickne (SOFI, Stockholm University), whose research explores gender inequality, labour economics, political representation, and diversity in politics & the workplace. 🗓 11 May 2026 ⏰ 1–2.15 pm 📍 Building 100, Room 8011
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
But you better not kill the groove
History Today magazine cover: Servants on the Grand Tour
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Ralph Scott @ralphscott.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
🚨 NEW REPORT! 🚨 What is the state of the UK academic job market in politics, and what does this mean for the field and #highered? In a new @psaecn.bsky.social report, @lawrencemckay.bsky.social @williamlallen.bsky.social and I find worrying trends in job adverts and HESA data from 2012-25 #PSA26
psa.ac.uk
Academic Job Market Trends in Politics and International Relations - Political Studies Association
Academic Job Market Trends in Politics and International Relations: Evidence from the UK, 2012-25 Authored by: Dr Ralph Scott, Dr Lawrence McKay, and Dr William Allen Read the full report here   Execu...
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Join us for our Spring Into Methods event! How does intersectionality frame methods in Gender Research? PGRs and PhDs are encouraged to attend. Thursday, March 5, 2026 from 14:30-16:00 (building details below!) Speakers include @emiliabelknap.bsky.social @silkeroth.bsky.social and Dr Matthew Hunt
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Emilia Y Belknap @emiliabelknap.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Delighted to share my first single-authored article, now published in Parliamentary Affairs: “Targeting the cereal woman: Campaigns, gender & Scottish independence” 🆓 Open access: tinyurl.com/85cxsefm @hansardsociety.bsky.social @academic.oup.com #GenderPolitics #BritishPolitics (🧵👇)
tinyurl.com
Targeting the cereal woman: Campaigns, gender, and Scottish independence
Abstract. How do political campaigns construct and mobilize voter identities in high-stakes constitutional contests? This article examines the 2014 Scottis
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
'Universities are communities of people and those within Scotland’s universities play a critical role in shaping our regions, our nation and our international reach and impact.' Devolution dividend: staff matter too. A huge contrast to DfE/Jacqui Smith approach in Tuesday's testimony. 3/3
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
📢 CFP for: GAIN Gender and Inequalities Workshop — Tue 9 Dec, 10–12, Bldg 100/7013. A supportive space for PhD & Postdoc in the School of Economic, Social and Political Science to share work-in-progress & get feedback. Submit title + 250-word abstract to GAIN@soton.ac.uk by 14 Nov 2025.
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Robert Heinze @rheinze.myatproto.social · 09/11/2025
This Anglofuturism shit is literally the opposite of Afrofuturism
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
If you take a longer view then Anglofuturism is *already* mainstream doi.org/10.1177/0263...
doi.org
A new Elizabethan age: The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and the nostalgic politics of Anglofuturism - Francesca Melhuish, 2025
Anglofuturism promises to deliver Britain from an age of crisis into one of hope, creativity, and technological revolution. This article uses the United Kingdom...
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Today is the day! Join us at 10:00 a.m. to discuss applying for funding in Gender and Inequalities at the University of Southampton. Building 100 in Room 8013 on Highfield Campus. We have ☕ coffee, tea 🍵, and pastries 🥐🍩! www.southampton.ac.uk/politics/new...
southampton.ac.uk
The Gender and Inequalities Research Collaboration Event
Are you interested in applying for funding in Gender and Inequalities? We want to hear from you!
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Present & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Cat pumpkin hybrid www.instagram.com/p/CkTNgpprCsl/
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BISA Critical Alternatives for World Politics Working Group @cawpbisa.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
ONE WEEK LEFT UNTIL THE DEADLINE Make sure to submit your excellent papers, panels, and roundtables to the Critical Alternatives for World Politics Working Group! We can't wait to see you in June! 🥳🥳
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 26/10/2025
"Email has become a crucible. I can no longer say 'Attached is the draft.' I must instead write, 'Enclosed—though, of course, enclosure itself is a problematic modality—please locate a text-in-process, emergent rather than concluded.'”
buff.ly
I Got Tenure and Now I Can’t Seem to Form Simple Declarative Sentences
When I received the email, I was holding a piece of toast. Dry, no butter. I remember this vividly because it was the last thing in my life with a ...
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Are you interested in researching gender and inequalities? Join us for our Gender and Inequalities Research Collaboration Event next month, 5 Nov 2025. More details in our infographic below. If you're interested in attending, please email us at gain@soton.ac.uk so that we can get an idea of numbers!
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
This, from @catherinedevries.bsky.social, is really useful advice for young (and, tbh, old!) academics. Worth passing on if you know any, maybe? catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/fail-bette...
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Roots and Branches I The Podcast @rbpodcast.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
🔊 Episode #3 out now! @whitproject.bsky.social (@politicsoxford.bsky.social) explores how the gender binary shaped the production and reception of international thought and what recovering overlooked voices means for present-day international relations. open.spotify.com/episode/76f2...
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End Sexism In Schools @endsexisminschools.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
We’re launching the results of our research into gender balance in the History curriculum today. The report - The Great History Heist: Reclaiming Women’s Place in the History Curriculum - found only 12% of History lessons feature women as their main focus. 59% featured no women at all.
endsexisminschools.org.uk
Sexism in the History Curriculum - End Sexism in Schools
End Sexism In School’s second crowd research project is looking into the History curriculum taught at KS3 (years 7-9) in England and Wales.
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Why must the framing of this article strike such a disapproving tone, when later it says: RCOG: "Caesarean births are common and the steady increase isn’t necessarily a cause for concern as long as future services are well-prepared..." Report: "there is no ‘ideal’ rate for births by caesarean"
theguardian.com
More than half of UK births now involve medical intervention, audit finds
Caesareans drive rise in assisted deliveries as experts warn of complex pregnancies linked to age, obesity and other conditions
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Many congratulations to Johanna! Well deserved for a fascinating paper.
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Your regular reminder that things can always get worse
33 Politics & Government Jobs listed on jobs.ac.uk
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
medium.com/mastering-th...
medium.com
How to Keep Writing When You Hate Everything You’ve Written
Every good writer goes through their cringe era.
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Emilia Y Belknap @emiliabelknap.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
💻🗳️ I’m presenting today at #ECPRGC25 on the Territorial Politics, National Identity, and Electoral Dynamics: Shaping Party Systems and Political Behaviour panel! Law School, Floor 3, Room 5 ✍️ I’m presenting a paper on how campaigns target 🎯 gender gaps in the event of a constitutional referendum!
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Peace Research Center Prague @prcp.cuni.cz · 21/08/2025
✍️ @zuzanakrulichova.bsky.social just published a new article in @coco-journal.bsky.social: She presents a systematic literature review on narrative approaches in IR, introducing agency-centric and structure-centric approaches. @ims.fsv.cuni.cz
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
in any case, as Jana points out I think it's this same phenomenon at work re: "fascism". there are some whose primary concern with labeling is to try to shape politics (we call x fascism to help defeat it) and others for whom certainty is the priority bsky.app/profile/unso...
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Tamara Kneese @tamigraph.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Nothing quite like an academic job rejection email 1.5 years after the last round interview
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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
I'm giving a public lecture, “Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution” on Thursday 16 October 2025, 6-7pm. This is part of UCL's Current Legal Problems lecture series. More details here: lnkd.in/e2AJMzbW
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Prof Dave O'Brien @drdaveobrien.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
This looks really interesting, link to the paper at the end of the thread too
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Charlie Price @charlieprice.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Do you like ketchup? Not only are you wrong, but you may be a fascist. Not really, but in my 🍅New Publication🍅 "Ketchup Is the Whitest Sauce", in International Political Sociology, I argue that memes about ketchup showcase Neo-Nazi solidarity. academic.oup.com/ips/article/...
academic.oup.com
Ketchup Is the Whitest Sauce: Memes as Silly/Serious Bordered Spaces in International Relations
Abstract. This paper draws on previous scholarship on humor, memes, and seriousness in International Relations to produce a novel means for understanding o
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Gender and Inequalities Centre at Southampton @gain-centre.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
📝On our blog, we reflect on the @psawomenpol.bsky.social y.social annual conference we hosted here at @unisouthampton.bsky.social ! We were delighted to bring together scholars from diverse disciplines who study gender and inequalities. generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk/gain/2025/07...
generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk
Reflections from the PSA Women & Politics Annual Conference 2025 – Gender and Inequalities Research Centre, University of Southampton
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Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
The number of grant applications assessed by UK Research and Innovation has almost doubled over the past seven years, while the award rate has almost halved, new data show. Trends prompt warning that system is "overstretched or broken". www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
researchprofessionalnews.com
UKRI grant applications double in seven years as award rate halves - Research Professional News
Trends across research councils prompt warning that system is “overstretched or broken”
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Politics Journal @politicsjournal.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
4/4. It also examines the intersection of nostalgia, race, and the politics of innovation, urging us to critically assess who is celebrated as the 'great men' of science and progress. @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Read the full article here: 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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Politics Journal @politicsjournal.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
3/4. It delves into how nostalgic visions of Elizabethan England and mid-20th-century America shape political aspirations in post-Brexit Britain. It challenges the notion of nostalgia as merely backward-looking, revealing its role in crafting ambitious futures.
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Politics Journal @politicsjournal.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
2/4. The article explores how Anglofuturism, through the lens of the UK's new Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), seeks to transform Britain from crisis to a future of hope and innovation.
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Politics Journal @politicsjournal.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
1/4. We're excited to announce the publication of: "A new Elizabethan age: The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and the nostalgic politics of Anglofuturism", by Francesca Melhuish. @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @fransplains.bsky.social @sagepub.com
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Felicity Callard @felicitycallard.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
'We work in a variety of disciplines...generally known as Holocaust & Genocide Studies..we have witnessed the weaponization of Holocaust memory & accusations of antisemitism to justify genocide in Gaza...— not only by state actors but also by institutions & scholars in our field' www.ghscn.org/about
Genocide and Holocaust Studies Crisis Network
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
My latest article is out #OA in @politicsjournal.bsky.social ‪✍️ ✅ The first academic study of Anglofuturism ✅ Expands our understanding of 'forward-looking' nostalgias 💡 Part of forthcoming special issue on Global Britain @sotonpolitics.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Politics journal article: A new Elizabethan age: The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and the nostalgic politics of Anglofuturism
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
My latest article is out #OA in @politicsjournal.bsky.social ‪✍️ ✅ The first academic study of Anglofuturism ✅ Expands our understanding of 'forward-looking' nostalgias 💡 Part of forthcoming special issue on Global Britain @sotonpolitics.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Politics journal article: A new Elizabethan age: The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and the nostalgic politics of Anglofuturism
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
'Rebecca Harrison, a former lecturer at The Open University, said that the extent of the deterioration of job security in universities was “alarming”, adding that institutions had not been transparent about the extent of the cuts occurring in the sector.' 1/3
timeshighereducation.com
UK university job cuts put at 20,000 after full impact ‘hidden’
Number of roles affected could be almost double previous estimates when voluntary schemes and hiring freezes factored in, say researchers
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
The lowest number I've seen, at any time of year
Jobs.ac.uk screenshot showing 39 jobs in Politics and Government
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
The depressing trend since I got my PhD...And yet the discourse of politicians and UKHE leaders continues to focus on how individual excellence and competitiveness can game these structural conditions. h/t @bymyong.bsky.social
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Daniel Devine @danjdevine.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
At @sotonpolitics.bsky.social we have two positions for Teaching Fellows: 1. EU politics, policy, human rights, gender: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNX849/t... 2. (American) political theory: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNX882/t... Not your specific area? Apply anyway!
jobs.ac.uk
Teaching Fellow in Politics and International Relations at University of Southampton
Apply now for the Teaching Fellow in Politics and International Relations role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
"Alligator Auschwitz isn’t hyperbole. It’s location-specific horror...This is fascism with a swamp aesthetic — cruelty as spectacle, stripped of pretense, staged for applause".
closertotheedge.net
Alligator Auschwitz
Trump built a concentration camp in the Everglades, filled it with tents, barbed wire, and migrants — then laughed about the alligators guarding it.
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Natalia Trujillo @nataliatrujillo.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
I was glad to present my paper at this excellent workshop. Thanks to @cintranatalia.bsky.social @marianaborges.bsky.social and Antje for organising it, and to @fransplains.bsky.social for her generous insights. Congratulations to all presenters for such engaging and rigorous work!
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, concludes that Trump's NIH/HHS "in their haste to appease the Executive, simply moved too fast and broke things, including the law" by cutting grants arbitrarily and capriciously.
storage.courtlistener.com
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Dr Fran Melhuish @fransplains.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Aka we can only imagine the future through competing visions of frontier masculinity
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