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Josh Bowsher

@jbowsher.bsky.social
546 followers 621 following 312 posts

Capitalism Hater, Sociology Lecturer: the cybernetic and the computational, STS, critical human rights studies. Author of The Informational Logic of Human Rights (Edinburgh University Press) (he/him)

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Reposted by Josh Bowsher
Dan Rosen @danrosen.xyz · 21h
The Tenderloin plays such an important role in the economic and symbolic logic of American tech culture
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"The growing mobility of capital increasingly allowed it to avoid making concessions that might have supported legitimation, while the marginalization of parties, elections...weakened the state’s capacity to secure popular consent for accumulation." nonsite.org/triumph-of-c...
nonsite.org
Triumph of Capital, Crisis of Democracy
We argue that Trumpism arose from a political and social crisis generated by the success of accumulation. This crisis resulted not from the decline of capitalism or the exhaustion of accumulation b…
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Reposted by Josh Bowsher
Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Right so the war against social science. Yes it’s ideological. It’s also a termination letter from the state saying it no longer needs legitimation. that’s the public crisis — ask yourself why it doesn’t need legitimacy.
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The LPE Project @lpeproject.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
This bold version of legal institutionalism ends up reifying both law and political economy: the fundamental plurality of legal claims and institutional forms is erased and so is the question of which ideological and material factors lead some legal arguments and institutions to prevail over others in particular historical conjunctures. One need not adopt the historical materialist answer to this question, which prioritises social relationships of production and reproduction, to nevertheless accept that the inability of legal institutionalism to even raise this question in its own terms is a major weakness of Pistor’s theoretical framework.
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Reposted by Josh Bowsher
Historical Materialism Journal @histmat.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
It is with immense sadness and grief that we share the news of the death of our comrade, friend and long-standing member of the Historical Materialism Editorial Board Peter D. Thomas. We are still processing the news but wrote a short text in tribute to his life and work.
historicalmaterialism.org
Remembering Peter D. Thomas (1973–2026) - Historical Materialism
It is with immense sadness and grief that we share the news of the death of our comrade, friend and long-standing member of the Historical Materialism Editorial Board Peter D. Thomas. Peter passed awa...
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Reposted by Josh Bowsher
Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Announcing our critical philosophy of AI seminars for 2026-2027: ‘Yet Another Machine For Producing Gods’ cpct.uk/2026-2027/ Each week pits a philosophical text and a technical document against each other to interrogate presuppositions and provoke radical reflections.
cpct.uk
2026/2027
‘Yet Another Machine For Producing Gods’ Image: UBahn station in Essen, Germany, artwork by anonymous students at the Hochschule der bildenden Künste, 2026 Time: Wednesdays, 4:00-6:00 p…
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Archive of @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Stuart Hall is now live. Includes looking at his impact on the history of communication theory, culminating in the architecture of contemporary AI models www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
theguardian.com
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Easily done!! I appreciate that we were able to chat about it. So thanks for that.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I completely agree with you that there is clearly an incompatibility between antisemitism and left wing values. As someone probably considerably further to the left than you, and with lots of friends at the "far left" I think it would be a big mischaracterisation to suggest antisemitism is endemic
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
And you don't see the slippage between your first claim "leftists" are antisemitic (all of them, or some of them, a representative number or outliers?) and the fact that some particular leftists might be. I wonder if maybe a bit more care was perhaps needed in the OP.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Sorry but this is a massive generalisation and I think you really ought to clarify what you mean before you make general accusations about "leftists".
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UCU Edinburgh @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Raucous, joyouse scenes at the demo of the UCU workers and students of Dundee and Edinburgh University, protesting the cuts to thousands of jobs: "Management has already pushed through hundreds of hidden redundancies, with some classes doubling in size over the past couple of years as a result."
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I can only set aside my feelings about Amol Rajan for a very very short time. Hoping for good news in the next 24 hours
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University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Strike action begins this week! Wednesday: meet on the steps outside Portland at noon to collect and then distribute flyers. Thursday: picket from 8:30-11:30 on University Park's West Entrance and then walk to a 12 PM Rally at Trent's South Entrance. See you there and solidarity.
JOIN US ON THE PICKET LINE

Thursday 1st October

Picket: 8:30-11:30 AM, University Park, West Entrance

Rally: 12 PM, Trent Building, South Entrance

UONUCU
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Solidarity with everyone going on strike at Edinburgh today. All of us in UCU are with you.
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Reposted by Josh Bowsher
The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 23/09/2026
Emily Robinson from the University of Sussex and Alison Garden from Queen’s University Belfast are winner and runner up in The Conversation Prize for writers 2026.
tcnv.link
Emily Robinson wins The Conversation Prize for writers 2026 for her entry on the lost medieval island of Ravenser Odd
Emily Robinson from the University of Sussex and Alison Garden from Queen’s University Belfast are winner and runner up in The Conversation Prize for writers 2026.
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Karen Gregory @karengregory.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Exceptional Postdoc here in Law @uoe-sps.bsky.social Edinburgh: "how do we wish to live with and alongside algorithmic technologies?" I love the phrasing. elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Postdoctoral Research Associate
We are seeking to appoint a talented researcher to the role of Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to work on The Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life (LCAL). LCAL is a major new interdisciplinar...
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
🥳🥳🥳
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Reposted by Josh Bowsher
Tor Krever @torkrever.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The London Review of International Law Lecture: Climate Change and the Future of the State Professor Anne Orford Thursday 1 October 2026 6.30pm - 8pm LSE, Room MAR 1.04, Marshall Building, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PX www.lse.ac.uk/law/events/p...
lse.ac.uk
Climate Change and the Future of the State
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My RG undergrad degree was already calling them modules when I arrived in 2007.
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Le Ca-ghoul @lecagle.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
you are *not* prepared for what this technology company is called, nothing can prepare you
wkyt.com
UK installs AI facial scanning technology at residence halls
The University of Kentucky is installing artificial intelligence facial scanning technology on several campus buildings.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I'm really pleased to be able to share that my article 'The Human-as-Sensor: Instrumentality, Situatedness, and Human Rights Counter-investigations' has been accepted for publication by Theory, Culture, and Society.
The article title and abstract are sat within a white text box front and centre of the page. The background is an urban landscape illuminated in red, orange, yellow, green and blue.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The article tries to think critically about the ways human sensing is increasingly put to work within digital and computational infrastructures. It deploys the concept of Situatedness as a strategy for critique in contexts where humans are articulated as sensing "components".
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I'm really pleased to be able to share that my article 'The Human-as-Sensor: Instrumentality, Situatedness, and Human Rights Counter-investigations' has been accepted for publication by Theory, Culture, and Society.
The article title and abstract are sat within a white text box front and centre of the page. The background is an urban landscape illuminated in red, orange, yellow, green and blue.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
That's right. Never give to the powers of state regulation what might be achieved by a quasi-fascist militarised software company.
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Dr Margie Cheesman @margchee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Tomorrow - @merltech.bsky.social host the launch of AID & ID. Practitioners will discuss the future of identity governance in humanitarian aid. Join us! Book copies are £10 and all proceeds go to the asylum charity SASS. Order here: www.lulu.com/shop/margie-...
lulu.com
Aid and ID: Making People Matter
Humanitarian aid is undergoing a profound transformation. As budgets shrink, institutions retreat, and digital systems take on ever greater responsibility, identity management has quietly become one o...
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Hmm a culture shift that looks and smells like reheated neoliberal shite, then. Great stuff. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
'Culture shift' needed in how UK does business, Andy Burnham urges
Burnham has said those who take risks should be backed by government, but his government has been criticised for increasing business costs.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Inspired by the von Mises Institute no doubt: mises.org/mises-daily/... Right is wrong, good is bad, let me show you with some economic analysis.
mises.org
Scrooge Defended
His business benefits his employees, society, and himself.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I have not said much about the Jason Arday affair (it goes without saying f**k white supremacy and whoever gives it safe harbour) but it strikes me that Stuart Hall's famous essay 'Spectacle of the Other' remains important and instructive www.scribd.com/doc/24858034...
scribd.com
Client Challenge
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Hey sorry just seen this. It's this place but it's more of a restaurant than a bar balkanyodkuchni.pl
balkanyodkuchni.pl
Karczma Bałkany od Kuchni - Odbiór osobisty
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Quick! Someone run the numbers before I get on the plane! Lives are at stake!
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Since i travelled to the ESA an interesting cultural figure has died every day. Thinking of coming home early just to end this madness.
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Sol Gamsu @solgamsu.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Some pretty telling demographic differences in those supporting ghent University's move against cofnass and those opposing it (and supporting him). ghent-letters.pages.dev
ghent-letters.pages.dev
Two letters: an academic divide
The academics behind competing open letters about Ghent University’s suspension of Nathan Cofnas.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Good to finally be living
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Paper done. Cherry ale in. An excellent day in Warsaw so far #ESA2026
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I feel like I just potentially got a MAGA infection from close contact
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
If you're an American in Poland definitely don't be extolling the virtues of British colonialism and proudly exclaiming you've never read Marx but he's a piece of shit FFS
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
As the great David Gray once sang: post away post away
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I might sign a problematic public letter just to send you over the edge, Des
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A is for Anthropocene #ESA2026
Mans hand holding an apple. Stamped in gold into the apple is the logo.of the European Sociological Association Conference 2026 Warsaw
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Niki Cheong @nikicheong.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
My Dept @kingsdh.bsky.social is hiring for a 1-year fixed term role ahead of the new academic year my.corehr.com/pls/kclrecru...
my.corehr.com
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Fast Capitalism @fast-capitalism.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
CFP: Precarity, Debt, and Control in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
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Tim Christiaens @timchristiaens.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
🚨 New paper out 🚨 “Plebeian cooperativism: Reconciling workplace democracy with the iron law of oligarchy” in @polstudies.bsky.social Grassroots democracy at work is oft criticized for creating new hierarchies, but I argue that contestation from below can arrest the tendency for democratic decline.
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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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Glad I wasted my time doing that.
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Among the many, I have discovered a new kind of academic wound: when a journal editor tells a scholar to basically ignore your review of their manuscript 😶‍🌫️
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Great reporting by @404media.co on Amazon's involvement in buying up and shredding books for AI. The logo for the Amazon bookshredder department has a very unsubtle semiotics. It's definitely giving "are we the baddies?" www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Looks like a brilliant addition to my module next year
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Me, an idiot: you know, since I became a parent I don't really get hangovers because I'm just so tired I always feel hungover. Also me: [pained and incoherent rambling]
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Josh Bowsher @jbowsher.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The world is burning but this exists ... youtu.be/4Qpq6OWrMYs?...
youtu.be
Snail Mail - "Light On Our Feet" (Official Lyric Video)
YouTube video by Snail Mail
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Miriam Tedeschi @mitede.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Critical Legal Conference 2026 - Registration Details criticallegalthinking.com/2026/08/10/c...
criticallegalthinking.com
Critical Legal Conference 2026 - Registration Details
Conference Information Update Registration, Plenaries, and Accommodation deals are now live on the CLC2026 website. Please
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