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James Welker

@jameswelker.bsky.social
1.6K followers 432 following 252 posts

ジェームズ・ウェルカー(he/him) I research queer cultures, feminisms, and popular culture & media in and beyond Japan・クィアスタディーズ、フェミニズム、グローバリゼーション、日本文化史を研究しています More: linktr.ee/james.welker

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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Here's my semi-annual Kanto fan event list for Sept to Jan. I hope it's useful. drive.google.com/file/d/1H42M...
Screen shot of page one of the list. The full list can be found in PDF format at the link.
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Resistbot @resist.bot · 28/06/2026
Roughly 5 million Americans live overseas and still owe U.S. taxes—yet have no dedicated voice in how those policies get written. This bipartisan bill would create the first federal commission to study the banking, voting, and double-taxation problems they face and report fixes back to Congress.
resist.bot
Pass HR 8561, The *Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act*
Join 2,056 people. Pass HR 8561 — support Rep. Dina Titus’s bipartisan bill to create a commission studying the challenges faced by U.S. citizens living abroad. Sign and Resistbot delivers your letter in minutes.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 03/06/2026
Leftwing US pair refused entry to UK will address Oxford Union remotely
theguardian.com
Leftwing US pair refused entry to UK will address Oxford Union remotely
Home Office barred Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker on grounds their visit was ‘not conducive to the public good’ Two leftwing US political commentators who were banned from entering the UK will still speak at the Oxford Union via livestream. The Home Office told Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker their presence in the country was “not conducive to the public good” when they attempted to come to London to attend this week’s SXSW London event. Continue reading...
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Deb Aoki @debaoki.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Interested in "alternative manga" creator Akino Kondoh's "Noodling in NYC" comix? @mangasplaining.bsky.social has it in English on our MSX newsletter! mangasplaining.substack.com/p/manga-akin... "Box Garden Beetle" is available now from @glacierbaybooks.com - glacierbaybooks.com/product/box-...
mangasplaining.substack.com
MANGA: Akino Kondoh's 'Noodling in New York'
A selection of stories from Kondoh's decade-long manga memoir of life in New York City.
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Lecture: Tokyo 1968 Sources & Stories: A Historian Writes a Graphic Novel Chelsea Szendi Schieder (Aoyama Gakuin University) Wed., 17 June, 3:30–5pm Room 8018 Kanagawa University, Minatomirai Campus In person only: Please preregister at least a day in advance
Lecture: Tokyo 1968 Sources & Stories: A Historian Writes a Graphic Novel

Chelsea Szendi Schieder
Professor
College of Economics, Aoyama Gakuin University

Wednesday, 17 June 2026 (in person only)
15:30–17:00
Room 8018
Kanagawa University, Minatomirai Campus
Yokohama

Abstract
What is the difference between writing a graphic novel and writing a history? In this talk, the presenter will discuss her experience working with artist Helene Aldeguer on writing a fictionalized graphic novel based on the research for her book, Coed Revolution: The Female Student in the Japanese New Left (Duke UP 2021). The resultant work, Tokyo 68 (Libertalia 2025; U of Toronto, forthcoming), attempts to foreground the lived daily experiences of young women participating in a social movement. She will explain the collaborative decisions about theme and character, the risks involved in fictionalizing history, and also the challenges a historian trained in thematic and textual analysis faced working in a narrative and visual medium. The talk thus invites the audience to think about how we tell history, and what sources and stories become privileged or erased, depending on the medium we tell it in.

To Attend

Preregistration via the link below at least a day in advance for those coming from outside the KU community is greatly appreciated. If you are coming from off campus, please also register as a Guest at the Information counter near the entrance before coming up to the room.

ご来場の⽅: 神奈川⼤学関係者は事前登録不要です。学外の⽅は前⽇までに下記のリンクにて事前登録をお願いします。当⽇は1FのInformationカウンターでGuest登録を済ませてから、部屋までお越しください。Zoom でのご参加は事前登録不要です。

https://forms.gle/cxVhm5SeJT3Mbu758

Inquiries・お問い合わせ

James Welker jrwelker@kanagawa-u.ac.jp

Info on future lectures can be found here: http://human.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/kenkyu/symposium/index.html#20260422
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Modern Japan History Association @modernjapanhist.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
In a week! Sayaka Chatani (National University of Singapore) on her new book “A Nation Within: North Korean Zainichi in Postimperial Japan”, in conversation with Yumi Kim (University of California Berkeley) and Joseph Seeley (University of Virginia). Register for Zoom here: mjha.org/event-6602790
A screenshot of the MJHA webpage with the event details typed out, featuring a blue and red book cover with old photographic images plus bold red and white circular designs.
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Mechademia @mechademia.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Looking forward to seeing you in Singapore next weekend!
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Mechademia @mechademia.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Registration for Mechademia 2026 in Singapore is available through Eventbrite! General attendees are welcome and we offer reduced registration rates for students and people who are not employed full-time. www.eventbrite.com/e/traversing...
Fantasy-style image featuring a scholar creature wearing a mortarboard, various Singaporean food items, and a book with magical signs. Text reads: Mechademia International Conference Singapore 2026. Traversing Trans-Asian Imaginaries: Anime, Manga, and Media Cultures. 29th & 30th May 2026 at UTown, National University of Singapore
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Mynameis...Miro @zg4ever.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The Epstein files were legally supposed to be released 146 days ago. If citizens ignored court orders and federal law for 146 days, they’d be in jail. When the government officials do it, nothing happens.
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Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
This is Maria, she was only 15 years old.🕯💔 Killed by a russian missile strike on a Kyiv residential building on May 14. Witnesses report that Maria’s mother, Natalia, is now in the hospital. Her father and grandmother died alongside Maria under the rubble of their own home.
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Hybrid Lecture: Transgender Bodies in Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece and Its Fandom Nemo Madeleine Sugimoto Martin Wednesday, 20 May 2026 15:30–17:00 Kanagawa University, Minatomirai Campus, Yokohama Details: human.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/kenkyu/sympo...
Flier for the event. The same details are at the link.
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Trans-Asian Transcultural Fandom @transasianfan.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
♿Is our campus accessible? The #TATF Symposium is located at AS7 Shaw Foundation Building, which is accessible by car. Depending on where you are coming from, there are a few barrier-free routes by foot. #Fandom #FanStudies #TransculturalFandom #KPop #kpopfandom #fandoms #asianfandom
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Northumbria UCU Branch @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Please sign and share this petition - c.org/Wh2NJg5dpc. Prevent mass course closures at yet another apparently financially stable university. Solidarity and strength to @uhertfordshireucu.bsky.social! @ucu.org.uk
c.org
Sign the Petition
Save the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
This book has been out in paperback since February but I only now got my hands on a few copies. Also, if you’ve been waiting for a paperback version, wait no longer.
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Mechademia @mechademia.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Registration for Mechademia 2026 in Singapore is available through Eventbrite! General attendees are welcome and we offer reduced registration rates for students and people who are not employed full-time. www.eventbrite.com/e/traversing...
eventbrite.com
Traversing Trans-Asian Imaginaries: Anime, Manga, and Media Cultures
Join us for the Mechademia International Conference on Asian Popular Culture in 2026 at UTown, the National University of Singapore.
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Mechademia @mechademia.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Mechademia in Singapore Official Website and Program Schedule www.mechademia.net/conferences/...
mechademia.net
Annual Conference
Theme: Traversing Trans-Asian Imaginaries: Anime, Manga, and Media CulturesDates: 29-30 May, 2026Location: National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Under the theme “Traversing Trans-Asian …
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Unusual Whales @unusualwhales.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
BREAKING: Just 20 minutes before Trump's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz was open, massive trades hit the market. Investors sold a combined 7,990 lots of Brent crude futures, ​a $760 million bet that oil would go down. These orders were much larger than anything else at the time. Unusual.
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
This is a very cool study abroad program in Seoul and Tokyo that starts up this autumn. The deadline passed but they're reopening applications and will accept completed applications until the end of the day 23 April, Chicago time. Check it out! www.iesabroad.org/programs/mul...
iesabroad.org
Multi-Location - Seoul & Tokyo: Influence & Innovation | IES Abroad
Experience a dynamic blend of tradition and innovation by spending six-to-seven weeks in Seoul followed by the remainder of your semester in Tokyo. From Hongdae’s lively scene to Shibuya’s neon street...
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Waiyee Loh Littoral Literature and Port Cities: Kelly and Walsh’s _It Happened in Japan_ 15:30–17:00 Wed 22 April 2026 Kanagawa University, Minatomirai Campus Preregistration requested. Details at the link. drive.google.com/file/d/1gsU2...
Flier for talk. The same info is in the machine readable PDF at the link in the post.
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
I'll be speaking online about my monograph, focused on the BL parts, hosted by Gesshin, a Japan focused student group at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. April 7, 11:30 am–12:30 pm CET (Western Europe time) To join, register by April 6, 8 pm CET.: forms.gle/zw2QrridKuNT...
Flier for the event. Contact me if you need more info.
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Here's my semi-annual list of fan events in the Tokyo area and beyond covering March to August. (The full document is 8 pages long.) drive.google.com/file/d/1t1b7...
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Kathryn Hemmann @kathrynthehuman.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
I wrote a review of @jameswelker.bsky.social's book on manga and feminist history! As a queer artist myself, this is something I’ve wanted for years – a reading of classic shōjo manga that takes the lives and politics of the creators into account. 🌟 studiesonasia.scholasticahq.com/article/1548...
The front cover of James Welker’s monograph Transfiguring Women in Late Twentieth-Century Japan. It’s a beautiful cover, right? Much love to University of Hawaii Press for going the extra mile to create such thoughtful and eye-catching covers.
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dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
NEW: ICE is planning to build a shadow deportation network in Texas. A proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine. My latest @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/ice-is...
Early planning documents reviewed by WIRED describe a statewide transport grid designed for steady detainee transfers across Texas, with ICE estimating each trip to average 100 miles. Every county would have its own small, around-the-clock team of contractors collecting immigrants from local authorities deputized by ICE. It is a subtle transfer of the physical custody process into the hands of a private security firm—authorized to carry firearms and perform transport duties “in any and all local, county, state, and ICE locations.”
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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 30/10/2025
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House. Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity. They are not the same.
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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
California – this Election Day, vote yes on Prop 50. California’s Prop 50 says that if Republicans are going to abuse the system to try and hang onto power, we’re going to counteract that abuse and create a level playing field in the midterm elections. Make a plan to vote yes on Prop 50.
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Jamie Schler @lifesafeast.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Bastards! Can’t believe any of them would’ve accepted the job of destroying the White House. www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/som...
cbsnews.com
Some White House ballroom contractors go underground
Some firms involved in the White House ballroom project appear to be trying to lower their online profiles.
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 19/10/2025
BREAKING: The Israeli military says it has begun a wave of air attacks on southern Gaza as the precarious ceasefire comes under threat. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/7g8svh
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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Whoa. Chicago mayor calls for a general strike; now we're talking www.huffpost.com/entry/chicag...
huffpost.com
Chicago Mayor Issues Defiant Call For A General Strike
It was an audacious proposal, given that the U.S. has never held a true, nationwide general strike.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20/10/2025
Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre review – a devastating exposé of power, corruption and abuse
theguardian.com
Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre review – a devastating exposé of power, corruption and abuse
Giuffre’s posthumously published memoir lays bare the life-wrecking impact of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes – but it is also the story of how a young woman becomes a hero
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University of Michigan Press @uofmpress.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
"Queer Throughlines" by @dotorious.bsky.social is now available! Trace contemporary transnational Korean LGTBQ+ activism with this new addition to our Global Queer Asias series. Start reading: buff.ly/xfJIUR5
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 19/10/2025
BREAKING: At least 51 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire came into effect less than two weeks ago, medical sources have told Al Jazeera. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/z1q2d3
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knitty® | editor, Amy Sadler @knitty.com · 18/10/2025
Toronto showed up! #NoKings #NoTyrants
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Chelsea Szendi Schieder @chelseaszendi.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
On November 29, I will host the following online event. I would appreciate if you could share it with your networks! In Japanese and Italian only but hoping to publish English transcription.
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Reportedly a 6th lawless US strike in the Caribbean. This time reportedly with survivors. If true, will the US military rescue the survivors? Will the US military seek to detain the survivors, and if so, on what legal basis? A phony war with real violence. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Exclusive: US carries out new strike in Caribbean and there are survivors, US official says
By Phil Stewart
October 16, 2025 11:06 PM UTC · Updated ago



WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. military carried out a new strike on Thursday against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, and in what appeared to be a first, there were survivors among the crew, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer additional details about the incident, which has not been previously reported.
Sign up here.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prior to Thursday's operation, U.S. military strikes against suspected drug boats off Venezuela killed at least 27 people, raising alarms among some legal experts and Democratic lawmakers, who question whether they adhere to the laws of war.
The Trump administration argues the United States is already engaged in a war with narcoterrorist groups from Venezuela, making the strikes legitimate.
Videos presented by the Trump administration of previous attacks showed vessels being completely destroyed, and there have been no prior accounts of survivors.
The strikes come against the backdrop of a military buildup in the Caribbean that includes U.S.-guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops as President Donald Trump escalates a standoff with the Venezuelan government.
On Wednesday, Trump disclosed he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, adding to speculation in Caracas that the United States is attempting to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
SOUTH CAROLINA… “Judge Goodstein was walking on the beach when the fire started. Her husband, Arnie, was in the house with children and perhaps grandchildren. The family had to escape by jumping from a window or balcony...” www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
I’m horrified by Trump’s order to send 300 National Guard troops to Chicago. We’re only nine months into a four year term and already the president is trying to invade an American city. If you’re in the Guard, you can and should refuse these orders.
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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.com · 06/10/2025
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson: "Private establishments can partner with us to make it clear that private property is private property and ICE cannot enter establishments without a valid warrant ... If Congress will not check this administration, then Chicago will."
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
It's a pretty big deal that the NYC Bar Association--one of the most prominent and respected bar associations in the country--is accusing the President of ordering the "unlawful summary execution," i.e. murder--of civilians in violation of US and international law. www.nycbar.org/press-releas...
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Online lecture (book talk): James Welker Reimaginging “Women” in 1970s–1980s Japan: Feminists, Lesbians, and Queer Manga Artists and Fans Thurs, Oct 16, 7 pm New York/Toronto (8 am Friday in Tokyo) Open to the public. (It will not be recorded.) Zoom info is in the attached flier.
Flier for talk. Here are the full details.

I'll be giving an online lecture next week about my monograph, Transfiguring Women in Late Twentieth-Century Japan: Feminists, Lesbians, and Girls' Comics Artists and Fans (2024), hosted by Rutgers University Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Global Asias.
 
Thursday, October 16 at 7 pm New York/Toronto time
(or Friday, October 17 at 8 am Tokyo time)
The lecture is open to the public. Please join if you missed one of my in-person talks over the past year. (It will not be recorded.)
Zoom Meeting ID: 9181599714
Password: 446539
(Or DM me for the link.)
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Abstract: In the early 1970s, Japan saw the emergence of three dynamic and overlapping communities of women and adolescent girls who challenged Japanese gender and sexual norms: the women’s liberation (ūman ribu) movement, the lesbian community, and a sphere comprised of artists and fans of queer shōjo manga (girls’ comics). In this talk, James Welker will discuss Transfiguring Women in Late Twentieth-Century Japan: Feminists, Lesbians, and Girls’ Comics Artists and Fans, which examines these communities and their cultural import. As he shows, individually and collectively, they found the normative understanding of the category “women” untenable and worked to redefine and expand its meaning by transfiguring ideas, images, and practices selectively appropriated from the “West.” They did so, however, while remaining primarily focused on the local. Welker argues that their transfiguration of Western culture into something locally meaningful had tangible effects far beyond these communities.
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Mechademia @mechademia.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
The Mechademia 2026 CFP is now available! Join us at the National University of Singapore, 29-30 May 2026! Conference theme is "Traversing Trans-Asian Imaginaries: Anime, Manga, and Media Cultures" and ABSTRACTS ARE DUE 15 OCTOBER 2025. Full info at the link: www.mechademia.net/conferences/...
mechademia.net
Annual Conference
Call for Papers: Mechademia 2026 Conference Theme: Traversing Trans-Asian Imaginaries: Anime, Manga, and Media CulturesDates: 29-30 May, 2026Location: National University of Singapore (NUS), Singap…
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Lindsay Brown @lidsville.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Text from a friend just now: "Why are “travel disruptions” the only part of this Air Canada story the CBC deems worthy of coverage? What about union busting & expecting a whole cohort of women workers to perform unpaid labour? WTF. How do these people think strikes work?" #cdnpoli #aircanadastrike
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 15/07/2025
Francesca Albanese addresses delegates from 30 countries to discuss ways nations can try to stop Israel’s offensive.
bit.ly
UN rapporteur demands global action to stop Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Francesca Albanese addresses delegates from 30 countries to discuss ways nations can try to stop Israel’s offensive.
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Emily @suika.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
"The Japanese government's plan to end financial support for foreign doctoral students has drawn criticism from students and academics who have labeled the step unjust and counterproductive to fostering a diverse, inclusive and thriving academic environment."
mainichi.jp
Cut to foreign PhD student support deals blow to Japanese academia - The Mainichi
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese government's plan to end financial support for foreign doctoral students has drawn criticism from students and academics
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Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · 15/07/2025
Bye forever, WeTransfer.
WeTransfer TOS says they can use all your uploaded content for genAI
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James Welker @jameswelker.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Lecture: Julia Bullock, “Beauvoir in Japan: Japanese Women and The Second Sex” Kanagawa U. Minatomirai Campus Wed 23 July 3:30–5pm (hybrid) Pls preregister to attend in person. Preregistration & Zoom details: human.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/kenkyu/sympo...
Flier for talk. Details in the flier can be found in text form via the link.
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
UPDATE through Fox News' 4 p.m. hour: Biden: 85 mentions Epstein: STILL ZERO Fox is following Trump's marching orders and shutting up about the story currently consuming the MAGA movement. bsky.app/profile/did:... ·
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Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley @pressley.house.gov · 14/07/2025
Trump & Republicans' Big, Ugly Law is disastrous for Massachusetts. —300,000 could lose healthcare —175,000 could lose food assistance —Higher energy & education costs —More ICE kidnappings in our communities —& much more. We won't forget who did this. www.wbur.org/news/2025/07...
wbur.org
How Trump’s big law impacts Massachusetts
From health insurance to immigration enforcement and higher ed taxes, the WBUR newsroom took a look at how some key provisions may have an impact on residents and programs in Massachusetts.
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