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Grant Macaskill

@grantmacaskill.bsky.social
1K followers 418 following 102 posts

Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, Durham University. Honorary Co-Director, Centre for Autism and Theology, Aberdeen

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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here's today's column on the astonishing, ongoing mistreatment of people with #ME/CFS. Please spread it far and wide: the only thing which can break the media's wall of indifference is seeing an article about the issue go viral. Thank you. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George Monbiot
Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Delighted to see @durhamtheology.bsky.social at @durham.ac.uk ranked #4 in this year’s QS World Rankings by Subject. www.topuniversities.com/university-s...
topuniversities.com
QS World University Rankings for Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies
Discover the world's top universities for Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies 2026. Explore the QS World University Rankings by Subject in various disciplines.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
bbc.co.uk
Samhradh air Sàl - Episode 1
Join Angus Mackay as he prepares and launches his small boat for a summer’s fishing off the Isle of Lewis.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
durham.ac.uk
Art and the Critical Medical Humanities new book - Durham University
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
My colleague Douglas Davies, director of the Centre for Death and Life Studies @durhamtheology.bsky.social @durham.ac.uk was involved in this process, sitting on the advisory panel. The topic has also been the subject of doctoral research here. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Scotland becomes first UK country to allow water cremations
The process - called alkaline hydrolysis - will offer families a third option instead of burial or traditional cremation.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
The capacity for this event has been increased (again!), so do register to join tomorrow if you are able. The Neurodivergent Humanities network includes strong representation from @durham.ac.uk, particularly through @louisecreechan.bsky.social
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
One of the many things that drew me to work at @durham.ac.uk was the quality of genuine interdisciplinarity that marks the institutional culture, particularly in the area of Medical Humanities. Join us for the launch of this book, edited by Adam Powell. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-routle...
eventbrite.co.uk
The Routledge Handbook of Spirituality, Religion, & The Medical Humanities
Join the Institute for Medical Humanities for this hybrid book launch, featuring a panel interview, followed by an opportunity to network.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
For those able to access the article, this is a good piece on the neurological effects of covid. It would be nice if some of those who have published books that argue for a predominantly psychogenic cause would read the research cited. neurosciencenews.com/covid-flu-br...
neurosciencenews.com
COVID-19 Uniquely Rewires the Brain Compared to the Flu - Neuroscience News
Researchers discover that COVID-19 uniquely causes brain inflammation and disrupts serotonin/dopamine pathways, explaining "brain fog" in Long COVID.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Some more info about the Addison Wheeler postdoctoral fellowship scheme @durham.ac.uk. There will be up to 6 positions across all subjects, and each department can only nominate 3 candidates, so we will need to run a preliminary stage to make our selection. 1/3 www.durham.ac.uk/research/ins...
durham.ac.uk
addison-wheeler-fellowship - Durham University
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
I wonder if anyone else has found that the display on a Macbook is making their eyes swim since upgrading to Tahoe. I’ve done everything to minimise liquid glass, but still find it hard to use for more than a few minutes at a time.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Respectfully, @theguardian.com : the island is only “remote” to those who assume that the capital city is the basis for all perspective. To islanders, London is the remote place.
theguardian.com
How a TV interior designer is helping revive a remote Scottish island
On Ulva, in the Inner Hebrides, Banjo Beale and his husband are transforming a rundown mansion into their dream hotel, while another adventurous couple have created a charming bothy for hardier folk
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Day 1 of “The ‘Other’ and ‘Empire’ in Christianity: Postcolonial Readings of Late Antique Literature,” a small conference/workshop organised by Classics and Ancient History at Durham University (www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...). This has been a superb meeting so far.
durham.ac.uk
16-dec - Durham University
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Good to see our Head of Department, Simon Oliver, here, representing @durhamtheology.bsky.social and @durhamcathedral.bsky.social as Durham joins UNESCO’s Network of Learning Cities www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...
durham.ac.uk
Durham joins UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities - Durham University
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
Miriam De Cock @miriamjane5.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Two fully paid PhD positions at Lund University! One in Hebrew Bible and the other in Jewish studies, focus late antiquity. Gorgeous location and gorgeous colleagues. Don't sleep on this! (Set filter to HT to access these two in particular.) lunduniversity.lu.se/vacancies
lunduniversity.lu.se
Vacancies | Lund University
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The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Are you an established or senior researcher in the humanities and social sciences? Our British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowships allow successful award-holders to concentrate on bringing a major piece of research to completion. Find out more: bit.ly/3VMeTZ9
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
rollingstone.com
Long Covid Is Real -- And It's Changing an Entire Generation
Long Covid is affecting hundreds of thousands of kids in America, and many doctors and schools refuse to recognize their illness.
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
David Clough @dlclough.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Here’s my brief introduction to the Race & Class in UK Religious Studies and Theology project I’m co-convening with Dulcie McKenzie and Caroline Starkey. Do join us for the project launch on Wed 1st October to hear more.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
The last week has seen the release of three U.K. university league tables and @durhamtheology.bsky.social has been ranked 1st in all of them. www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-table...
thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk
Theology & Religious Studies Subject League Table 2026
Theology & Religious Studies focus on the world's major religions from a non-biased, academic perspective
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
James F. McGrath (ReligionProf) @religionprof.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Now available: my new book co-authored with computer scientist Dr. Ankur Gupta. The title is REAL INTELLIGENCE: Teaching in the Era of Generative AI. The book is open access (i.e. free), published by PALNI Open Press.
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
Gerard Loughlin @gerardpatrick.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Ranked first for T&RS.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Good see @durham-university.bsky.social ranked at #5, up a place from last year. www.theguardian.com/education/ng...
theguardian.com
The Guardian University Guide 2026 – the rankings
Find a course at one of the top universities in the country
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
It is wonderful to see Douglas Davies from @durhamtheology.bsky.social @durham-university.bsky.social honoured for his incredible work. www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...
durham.ac.uk
Durham professor honoured for pioneering contributions to death studies - Durham University
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
New digs (or, really, the view from my new digs). @durhamtheology.bsky.social (also, not sure if “digs” translates for non UK readers …)
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
I’m sorry that I couldn’t be at this year’s @bntsoc.bsky.social in person, with such a great line up of papers, many representing important interventions and disruptions in the field. This week is my first in post @durham-university.bsky.social @durhamtheology.bsky.social and I have to be in Durham
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Time for a reality check: Britain cannot be a big player on the world stage unless we speak more languages | Sophia Smith Galer
For all the talk of addressing the problem, things have got worse. Which is criminal when there is so much we could do, says journalist Sophia Smith Galer
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
Iona Fyfe @ionafyfe.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Anyone here living in New Hampshire? I'm looking to fill a show in or near Portsmouth NH on Friday 17th October for Iona Fyfe! If you know any halls, concert promoters, venues or bars looking for a Scottish folksinger and pianist, please comment! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸
Iona Fyfe stands with a blue background with MG ALBA logo. Iona is wearing a blue dress and holding an award for the Scots Trad Music Awards
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
Prof Brendan Crabb AC @brendancrabb.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
What an opening session line up! www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
Dr. med. Hank Schiffers @leanhealth.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
UK: What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has the answer: "Respirators would have dropped the rate of COVID transmission by an estimated factor of 9, compared with 0.6 for surgical masks. A factor of 9 is enough to put SARS-COV-2 into exponential decay! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has an answer
Modelling study based on almost 250,000 positive COVID-19 tests in the United Kingdom shows that universal masking could have cut transmission markedly.
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
sarah boothby @swastrosarah.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
Thanks to Emily Dugan and the Sunday Times for exposing this aspect of how Maeve died from ME. A Devon County Council cover up. Maeve was taking them to judical review, dying in the attempt. Devon County Council may have learnt nothing from the inquest. I have learnt a lot about them. 1/4
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Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
The Scotsman: “Charities quit SNP Government's Long Covid network over 'broken promises' as £4.5m fund not spent” ‘Long Covid Scotland and Long Covid Kids have quit a Scottish Government network’ www.scotsman.com/health/chari...
scotsman.com
Charities quit SNP Government's Long Covid network over 'broken promises' as £4.5m fund not spent
Long Covid Scotland and Long Covid Kids have quit a Scottish Government network.
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
So many of us living with long covid have no idea if this is our soon-to-be fate. One of the reasons we talk about it so much is we don’t know how long we’ll have to do so. Saddened to hear of yet another advocate losing their life.
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H-Net Job Guide @h-net-job-guide.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
New job: Associate/Full Professor, Endowed Chair in the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Times and Contemporary Media University of California - San Diego jobs.h-net.org/jobs/68946
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Annette Yoshiko Reed @annetteyreed.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Reupping this job ad too - applications due 9/1!
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Adam @abrokenbattery.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Edited version of BBC 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell phone-in (53 mins) on the DecodeME results. Professor Chris Ponting explains the findings, and callers share how stigma, misdiagnosis, and severe illness have shaped their lives with #MECFS. youtu.be/U9mc8lWvF-w?...
youtu.be
5 Live - Nicky Campbell - DecodeME phone in
YouTube video by Broken Battery
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
I hope it is okay to share this version of The Hollow Man by @marillion.com The song has been in my head for the last few weeks, triggered by the cynicism of our politics, especially at the international level (but an optimistic coda below). It is from the 1994 album, Brave. youtu.be/t-tXbVLe8-I?...
youtu.be
Marillion - The Hollow Man - Official Music Promo Video
YouTube video by marilliononline
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Reposted by Grant Macaskill
David Tuller @davetuller1.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I interviewed Dr Rob Wüst about his team's new study comparing effects of exercise on people with ME/CFS and Long Covid vs effects on healthy controls who were deconditioned after 60 days of bedrest: virology.ws/2025/06/04/t...
virology.ws
Trial By Error: Dr Rob Wüst on ME/CFS, Long Covid and Deconditioning | Virology Blog
By David Tuller. DrPH Proponents of psycho-behavioral interventions for ME/CFS and, more recently, Long Covid, have argued--unconvincingly and with a shorta ...
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Music Psychology Lab - Durham @musicpsychologylab.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
@curwen01.bsky.social gave a presentation at #ICMPC18 in São Paulo about her @leverhulme.ac.uk project connecting music-evoked narrative imaginings and synaesthesia! #musicscience
Dr. Caroline Curwen presenting at ICMPC18 in São Paulo
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James F. McGrath (ReligionProf) @religionprof.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Departmental Lecturer in Classical Arabic Literature at University of Oxford www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNY803/d...
jobs.ac.uk
Departmental Lecturer in Classical Arabic Literature at University of Oxford
Apply for the Departmental Lecturer in Classical Arabic Literature role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Nothing says “vacation” like being able to kick back with a good book.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Some important news from the Netherlands on scientific evidence, benefits and #ME/CFS. Let’s hope this gets strong coverage @georgemonbiot.bsky.social : you may be interested in this. youtu.be/2spHCW8Ki8c?...
youtu.be
Historic ME Court Victory: Employee Insurance Agency Must Accept New Science.
YouTube video by Anil about ME
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The Economist @economist.com · 03/07/2025
We are seeking an intern to write about Britain for The Economist. The successful candidate will be given challenging, exciting work straight away. Interested? Apply by July 18th
econ.trib.al
Paid internship on The Economist’s Britain desk
An opportunity to write for The Economist
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
The 3 year post funded by my @leverhulme.ac.uk Major Research Fellowship is now being advertised, now that the transfer of the grant to @durham-university.bsky.social @durhamtheology.bsky.social has been completed. Please share with exceptional candidates. durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
durham.taleo.net
Career Development Fellow in New Testament (3 Years)
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Some wonderful research fellowship opportunities have just been advertised, associated with the collections at @durham-university.bsky. @durhamcathedral.bsky.social @durhamtheology.bsky.social durhamcollections.org.uk
durhamcollections.org
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
A great introduction piece to the work of @katherinemcdon.bsky.social in @durhamclassics.bsky.social. There are close ties between that department and @durhamtheology.bsky.social; reading this highlights how fruitful these might be. www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...
durham.ac.uk
Spotlight on: Dr Katherine McDonald – understanding the ancient world through language - Durham University
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Joyous, clever, quirky rhymes about numbers that are also gorgeously produced (analog heaven, indeed). @riesinclair.bsky.social and The Wonder Club. open.spotify.com/show/4y5GVNF...
open.spotify.com
The Wonder Club: 12 Musical Rhymes About Numbers
Rie Sinclair · Audiobook
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
@durham-university.bsky.social is advertising a professorial position in Pre-modern Heritage Collections. An exciting post in an amazing department, with close connections to @durhamtheology.bsky.social www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNK253/p...
jobs.ac.uk
Professor in Pre-Modern Heritage Collections at Durham University
Discover an exciting academic career path as a Professor in Pre-Modern Heritage Collections at jobs.ac.uk. Don't miss out on this job opportunity - apply today!
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-table...
thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk
Theology & Religious Studies Subject League Table 2026
Theology & Religious Studies focus on the world's major religions from a non-biased, academic perspective
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Dr David Joffe MB BS(Hons), PhD, FRACP @davidjoffe64.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Unfortunately this is paywalled 😡 But the summary will give you the essence... Cövid is terrible for infants💔💔 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Cord blood cytokines/chemokines linked to delays in toddlers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 prenatally - Pediatric Research
Pediatric Research - Cord blood cytokines/chemokines linked to delays in toddlers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 prenatally
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Grant Macaskill @grantmacaskill.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
I shared this news yesterday in my own feed, but here is the post from @durhamtheology.bsky.social @durham-university.bsky.social . Thanks for all the kind messages
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Durham University @durham.ac.uk · 23/05/2025
We announce the appointment of Professor Grant Macaskill as our new Lightfoot Professor of Divinity. He will join our leading Department of Theology and Religion this September. Discover more 👉 www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/... @durhamtheology.bsky.social @grantmacaskill.bsky.social
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