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Lizzy Williamson

@lizzywilliamson.bsky.social
1.1K followers 516 following 37 posts

Early Modern Literature and Digital Humanities. Keen on C16th letters & archives and their digital manifestations. Author of Elizabethan Diplomacy and Epistolary Culture. experts.exeter.ac.uk/26759-elizabet…

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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I’ve taught fantastic, bold, hard-working students, I’ve worked with so many people from so many disciplines on so many fascinating projects, I’ve written things I’m genuinely proud of, I’ve fought for things I believe in and for all of these experiences I’m very thankful. Here’s to what’s next.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
After 9 years, 2 babies and 2 job changes, I’m taking a break to rest and reset before looking to the horizon. I feel so privileged to have worked with so many exceptionally talented, generous, and downright fabulous people, in DH and in early modern studies, both at Exeter and beyond.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Today I’m leaving Exeter Uni. It was a really tough decision, but I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved as research fellow in the DH Lab and as senior lecturer in the English and Creative Writing department, and I will miss my colleagues hugely.
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Charlotte Weatherill @ckweatherill.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
The point isn't to produce essays, it's to teach students how to think for fuck's sake. The minute you automate that, it's over. You might as well close the course. Which they're also doing. This is an attack on learning, and everyone is just shrugging.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I agree wholeheartedly with open access, but this is not the way.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
These groups - Springer Nature, Elsevier, Informa, etc - are robbing the sector blind and contributing to it's spiralling decline
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Thanks Niall 🙏
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Thanks Philip
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
open.substack.com/pub/lizzywil...
open.substack.com
On Redundancy
Four weeks ago, the university that I have been working at for 9 years announced massive, unjustified, reckless job cuts, predominantly targeting the humanities, arts and social sciences.
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Philip Schwyzer @philipschwyzer.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
New on the Shakespearean Graves blog, @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social writes about shared commemorative language and the value of the humanities -- under threat at the University of Exeter and so many institutions worldwide. #ShaxEpitaphs #DefendExeterUni shaxepitaphs.exeter.ac.uk/2026/07/15/j...
One of the reasons I am continually drawn to this project is that it is concerned with one of the most basic, shared human drives – that of memorialising and of memory, where in moments of acute individual pain and grief we reach for shared words, a common register, and whether we adapt those words or not they become individualised in their use. It is this movement between individual and communal expression that gets to the heart of what it is to be this social animal. I look at a chart of those inscriptions appearing 1,000 or more times and I don’t see uniformity, I see community. To remember this, and not just see numbers and spreadsheets, we desperately need to support the humanities – and each human who works within them.
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Professor Whittle is one of four colleagues in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Faculty at the University of Exeter elected to Fellowship of the British Academy this year. 🗃️ ALL FOUR of these outstanding scholars were placed at risk of redundancy last month. Here's their statement:
A written statement from from University of Exeter scholars just elected to the British Academy Fellowship 2026. There are photos of each scholar at the side of the text.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
When your excellent union re-phrases the VC's fear-mongering all-staff talk:
Confirmed Exeter Uni is still in surplus for 25/26. No shortage of cash at Exeter, no rationale why these cuts are necessary.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
#DefendExeterUni
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
We are against these unjustified, cruel and ideologically founded attacks on our University. Exeter is not in financial deficit and the 153 job losses are overwhelmingly directed at the humanities and social sciences. Please sign, share and shout #DefendExeterUni: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
change.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Elsa Devienne @elsadevienne.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
📣 People are understandably up in the arms about this (it is horrible). But just want to wave a hand out there 👋 as we're going through the same thing in Humanities at Northumbria (1 out of 5 staff need to go by end of July). 1/?
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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
If you asked me, off the top of my head, to name a non-Oxbridge university in England synonymous with excellence in the Humanities - I would probably think of Exeter first. This feels like a very deliberate, targeted and ideological Bonfire of the Humanities
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
There's no attempt to convince, because the decisions have been made (though they claim otherwise). Almost all the teaching in HASS brings in more money than it costs (is at over 100% teaching cost recovery). We have felt the utter disregard for non-stem subjects by upper management for a good while
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This is so spot on.
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Exeter Green Party @exetergreens.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Exeter Green Party stands in solidarity with the Exeter University and College Union in condemning the University of Exeter’s announcement of sweeping job cuts. These plans will recklessly imperil the University’s vital contributions to the social, cultural, and economic life of the city. 1/4
Graphic which reads: Statement of solidarity with Exeter University and College Union.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Humanities, arts and social sciences prop up stem - we cost less to run but are modelled as costing the same. Exeter does not have a financial deficit. This is ideological.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
We were told if you hadn't received an email by 5pm yesterday, you weren't at risk. A few of my colleagues who didn't receive the email yesterday have now received it this morning, with a 'whoops' apology. Absolute shambles.
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
The University of Exeter has become the latest Russell Group university to announce major job cuts, insisting it “must” take action to reduce financial pressures. Juliette Rowsell reports #highered #jobcuts ow.ly/K8bq50ZfYlY
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Independent Social Research Foundation @isrfoundation.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Another 500+ people facing months of uncertainty. As part of our ongoing Dispatches series, Glen O’Hara asks “What does it mean to live under a constant cloud of uncertainty?” isrf.org/blog/what-do...
isrf.org
What Does It Feel Like to Live Under the Threat of Redundancy?
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
(I deleted the previous message and re-posted because my phrasing was slightly unclear. Thanks for the support.)
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
...and just received the 'at-risk' email, along with c.500 of my colleagues ('change@exeter' - perfect).
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Exeter announces compulsory redundancies, overwhelmingly targeting the humanities and social sciences - 153 FTE people to be cut, 114 of which from our faculty. At-risk colleagues to be notified today.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
To clarify, 153 FTE to be cut across the uni, 114 of which from hums/social sciences. 445 of 523 in our faculty will be in the at-risk pool, according to ucu numbers.
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OldRailwayAccidents @rwldproject.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
UK historians! Please could you help with this survey about AI use? Open to all doing history professionally (independent, uni-based, etc); it's the work of a lovely friend (& brilliant former colleague at @uophistory.bsky.social), @alexandraortolja.bsky.social: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Survey on AI use by historians
You are invited to participate in a research survey exploring how historians in the UK use artificial intelligence (AI) in their work. This study is being conducted by researchers at the University…
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Mel Andrews @bayesianboy.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
When utilized in literature review, LLMs consistently 1. fail to mention female authors in female-led literatures, 2. insist that men are more influential or more heavily cited when this is contradicted by objective citation counts, and 3. attribute women’s work to hallucinated male scholars.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Ooh this looks good 😊
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Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Recently, FamilySearch digitized and uploaded tons of microfilmed records, including many from 18th-century Massachsuetts. They're using some sort of AI to transcribe/summarize the handwritten documents. I've noticed that the AI strips out references to race and enslavement in 18thc documents.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Oh no! Hope you feel better soon.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Particularly enjoyed the thoughtful and provocative paper by Tushar Kant just now: 'Against Visibility: Design, Restraint, and Sustainability'. (When) should we consider 'designed restraint' rather than automatic openness? Sometimes permanence is not the goal - visibility can have a lifecycle #susDH
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Listening to some great papers online at the #susDH conference @ukiedh.bsky.social - wish I could be there in person, maybe next time...
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Thanks Heather! :D
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Adam Crymble @adamcrymble.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
My team is hiring a permanent lecturer: -> Lecturer Digital Culture & Society Deadline 28 June 2026. Please share with friends. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I wrote a thing on (commercial) digitized archives, digital provenance and slow scholarship: doi.org/10.1093/llc/...
doi.org
Digitized archives, content providers, and slow scholarship: why archival researchers should care about digital provenance
Abstract. Recent research has stressed the importance of recognizing the political nature of the digitization of primary sources, but how much do we really
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
📢Considering a PhD in History?📢 Find out more about what funding is available, and what to include in a PhD research proposal 👇 🗃️ #PhDChat
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
🎺ANNOUNCEMENT!🎺 STORIES & SONGS: WILLS AS WINDOWS ONTO PAST LIVES Join Chris Hoban and I at #Exeter Phoenix for a unique performance of history & original music inspired by #Tudor, #Stuart & Georgian wills! 🗃️ FREE! Claim your ticket: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1738865536...
eventbrite.co.uk
Stories and Songs: Wills as Windows onto Past Lives
A unique performance of history and original music inspired by Tudor, Stuart and Georgian wills.
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
...and one on Shakespearean epitaphs (with @philipschwyzer.bsky.social). Exciting times! news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h...
news.exeter.ac.uk
New research project will explore the influence Shakespeare had upon how we remember the dead
The influence and inspiration that William Shakespeare has had upon the practice of writing epitaphs is to be the focus of a new research project. English Literature experts at the University of Exete...
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
...Happily I'll still be working with DH colleagues in 2 new research projects - one on AI & bias in new media and archives (with Gabriella Giannachi) gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref... ...
gtr.ukri.org
Gateway to Research (GtR) - Explore publicly funded research
The Gateway to Research: UKRI portal onto publically funded research
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
I'll really miss being in the fantastic DH team @dhlabexeter.bsky.social - it has been a wonderful home to me since 2017 and I am excited to see them continue to succeed...
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
As of today, I am moving from Senior Research Fellow in DH to Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Literature and Digital Humanities! I'm still based at Exeter, in the excellent English & Creative Writing dept, and I'm really looking forward to this new chapter!
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
The police (wrongly) inform a peaceful protestor that holding a Palestinian flag and signs deploring genocide is an offence under the Terrorism Act. This is the deranged policing environment the government has created.
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QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
*really not funny at all. Those loans these managers are taking on bind universities to a high cash reserve (hundreds of millions) for years, leading to more cutting in running cost just to meet the covenant. This is why we need a governance review alongside a financial structure reform. #UKHE
ft.com
East London university strikes deal for major life sciences investment
Queen Mary plans to develop £750mn biomedical campus after buying site from government
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Anna-Lujz Gilbert @annalujz.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Hello Bluesky, in September I'll be out of contract and would be grateful to hear of any potential teaching (early modern lit) or research (with archives, rare books, humanities data) work. I'm based in SW England. Thank you!
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Another stimulating day at #RenSoc25: rich keynote by Subha Mukherji; I especially liked panel on bibliographic data science (unsurprisingly!) Good discussion of potential and pitfalls of data-led approaches to incomplete em sources by @fredschurink.bsky.social, @annalujz.bsky.social, Pete Morris
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
My personal fav panel from yesterday was John-Mark Philo's project on Global Libraries, check it out if you like books, travel, knowledge exchange, and putting the past in dialogue with the present (in this case forced migrants' lack of/access to libraries) #RenSoc25 www.globallibrary.net/about
globallibrary.net
About | Global Library
The Global Library Project (1500–1700) reconstructs the journeys made by Anglo-Scots visitors to libraries across North America, Europe, and the Middle East during the early-modern period. By reconstr...
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Rounding off yesterday's #RenSoc25 panels with a hybrid lecture/concert with David Bednall was gorgeous, what conference wouldn't benefit from a little choral inspiration?
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Lizzy Williamson @lizzywilliamson.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Totally fabulous paper just given by Lucy Havens on gender bias/archives/ML, recording will be available with RLUK for those who missed it
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