Reposted by Lucy GrigSvetovid @svetovid.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Well, that's a hell of a thing to leave next to a statue of Joan of Arc.😏 502723523
Reposted by Lucy GrigKatherine McDonald @katherinemcdon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Looks like this would interest lots of @womeninclassicsuk.bsky.social and #wccwiki people! 1119
Reposted by Lucy GrigDurham Classics and Ancient History @durhamclassics.bsky.social · 30/09/2026✨ Call for papers! 👉 Language and Labour in the Ancient World 📅 📍 15–16 April 2027 ⏰ Submit by Saturday 31st October 2026 🔗 Find out more: www.durham.ac.uk/departments/... 087
Reposted by Lucy GrigNeville Morley @nevillemorley.eurosky.social · 29/09/2026Choose made-for-Netflix movies and Spotify playlists. Choose matching towel sets and easy answers from the magic autocomplete machine. Choose letting your brain rot away in endless scrolling. I chose something else. Who needs reasons when you’ve got Thucydides? thesphinxblog.com/2026/09/29/t...thesphinxblog.comTake It EasyAn academic friend on Facebook posted a link to a news story this morning and commented, “I’m feeling extremely low, as if everything noble and good I’ve devoted my life to is meaningle… 0123
Reposted by Lucy GrigCharles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Crikey, hadn't realised this was already happening. 21913
Reposted by Lucy GrigCaroline Dodds Pennock @carolinepennock.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I so much want to love the BBC, but then they do this kind thing. The headline here should be ‘anti-migrant protestor attacks RNLI boat’, but they don’t even mention that, in a report. He merely “shared a livestream”. (And it was updated an hour ago, so this isn’t an issue of confirmation.)bbc.co.ukMigrants taken to Dover after more than 30 hours at seaProtesters gathered in Gosport after initial reports the small boat would be brought further west. 76022
Reposted by Lucy GrigNeville Morley @nevillemorley.eurosky.social · 23/09/2026First they didn’t do anything because they thought it was a marginal problem. Then they didn’t do anything because they thought they might be able to use it for electoral advantage. Then they didn’t do anything for fear of suggesting that potential voters were racist.theguardian.comFar-right activist Daniel Thomas slashes dinghy in Channel with blade while rescue worker onboardThomas called followers to protest against arrival of asylum seekers in Gosport, but Border Force instead transported them to Dover 13512
Reposted by Lucy GrigMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026'Put simply, in the UK choice is abundant between programmes at the age of 17, and then scarce within them at 20. Lots of systems run that the other way round – big degree titles, core first semesters, endless track and pathway choice after, and “off subject” credit acquisition allowed throughout.'wonkhe.comWhose degree is it anyway?The other day I was talking to an international student leader enrolled on a Business Analytics degree. 072
Reposted by Lucy GrigRebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The playing field is not level: “According to analysis by Newscord, 163 articles were published on Jason Arday in the week after he resigned – compared to 13 articles by the same media outlets on James Orr in the week after the broadcast of the undercover filming he was featured in”bylinesupplement.comThe Two Professors and a ‘War On Ideas’The different stories of the Cambridge academics Jason Arday and James Orr reveal the wider cultural and ideological forces around hierarchies and structural power – and who gets to belong 212956
Reposted by Lucy GrigJohn Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 20/09/2026Instagram appears to be showing me headlines from 1642. 1345470
Reposted by Lucy GrigCharles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 19/09/2026I'm sad about the end of the MSc in Medieval History at Edinburgh, but it's worth saying that the postgrad medieval history courses aren't affected, and will still be available to students on the History MSc programme. 4549
Reposted by Lucy GrigCharles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 19/09/202621,627 applications for the Marie Curie early career fellowships. 712044
Reposted by Lucy GrigAlex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Well done to the picture editor who captioned this delightful snap of a black pig swimming off the west coast of Greece “swine-dark sea” www.theguardian.com/environment/... 72545501
Reposted by Lucy GrigMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026'A “larger, fewer grants” model that concentrates research on established UK institutions would be a “huge mistake” and could risk hampering Andy Burnham’s ambition to drive prosperity across the nation, academics have warned.' Not to mention its impact of researchers who are female and/or black.timeshighereducation.com‘Larger, fewer grants’ could harm Burnham’s regional agendaChanges to grant system suggested by Chris McDonald could ‘mistakenly’ further concentrate funding in the golden triangle, academics warn 38337
Reposted by Lucy GrigLaurence Totelin @ltotelin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Chris McDonald studied chemical engineering, which is by no means safe in the current HE climate. Like many subjects that are expensive to teach, it was cross-funded by the Arts and Humanities, until the collapse that we are witnessing. 073
Reposted by Lucy GrigGreg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 11/09/2026I’m a historian, and I would be utterly flummoxed by this question 4619922
Lucy Grig @lucygrig.bsky.social · 10/09/2026(and normally I go for history without too many proper names and dates to keep in order in all honesty...) 140
Lucy Grig @lucygrig.bsky.social · 10/09/2026It was fun! But the history of the Tetrarchy and the Constantinian Dynasty is certainly not for the faint-hearted, in more ways than one... 140
Reposted by Lucy GrigCaroline Dodds Pennock @carolinepennock.bsky.social · 08/09/2026In news that will surprise absolutely no one in HE... ‘It notes that institutions “routinely” hire consultancies for these restructures as well as change management specialists, however, these processes often introduce additional management layers, “adding cost rather than removing it”…’timeshighereducation.comRestructuring ‘too often adding cost rather than removing it’Universities are ‘underestimating’ the challenges caused by outsourcing services amid major professional services staff redundancies, report warns 829277
Reposted by Lucy GrigSam Wilson @samwilson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Damning silence from Labour on their Napoleon III exhumation policy 1641009189
Reposted by Lucy GrigGreg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Our episode of #YoureDeadToMe about Emperor Constantine the Great is now on YouTube & podcast apps worldwide Featuring comedian Ivo Graham and Professor @lucygrig.bsky.social — it’s a very funny, wildly chaotic romp through one of the messiest and most consequential biographies in ancient history 5639
Reposted by Lucy GrigExeter UCU @exeterucu.bsky.social · 03/09/2026The University of Exeter has confirmed that it won’t proceed with compulsory redundancies “at this time”. This means colleagues do not need to complete the pro forma, and there will be no selection process. 431288
Reposted by Lucy GrigHenry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 03/09/2026Cambridge university was ordered to pay £5,000 compensation to a former PhD student who was found to have been bullied by Professor James Orr, who is also Reform UK's head of policy as.ft.com/r/c0b319f3-2... 20546257
Reposted by Lucy GrigJosephine Quinn @josephinequinn.bsky.social · 27/08/2026I am VERY EXCITED to see the ad come out for post-doc positions associated with my Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies: please pass on to anyone who might be interested and works across ancient regions/languages/worlds... www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...cam.ac.ukResearch Associate (Fixed Term)Applications are sought for three Research Associates to join the Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies (CLAWS), directed by Professor Josephine Quinn. Starting no later than 1 October 2027, you wil... 05146
Reposted by Lucy GrigDuncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 27/08/2026I kind of knew this, but Ed sets it out brilliantly here in an accessible way. There's a whole story needing to be told about a shift we desperately need to make from price as the defining factor in food production to security / reliability / quality. 153
Reposted by Lucy GrigStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 27/08/2026'Essentially everyone in the book trade knows loads of memoirs are fake and there are near-zero checks' is one of those stories I keep expecting to tank that part of the industry, yet it never does. 511317239
Reposted by Lucy GrigKJ Shepherd @kjshepherd.bsky.social · 25/08/2026there will be many ways to celebrate dolly parton and the one I want to point out is that she was a friend of Miss Piggy 34104282557
Reposted by Lucy GrigGreg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Men, what’s preventing you from dressing like this? Our new episode of You’re Dead To Me is about Henry Cyril Paget, the ‘Dancing Marquess’ of Anglesea who has become an LGBTQ icon Listen on BBC SOUNDS or watch it on BBC iPlayer 2017231
Reposted by Lucy GrigKatherine Ibbett @eparpillee.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Historian-as-investigator: here's @arthurasseraf.bsky.social on the problem of couscous in London and, beautifully, on the toxic sauces of nostalgia. An essay that makes you want to eat, read, gather. www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-curiou...vittlesmagazine.comThe curious case of the missing couscousWhy, in a city that has everything from tacos to tteokbokki, is it hard to find couscous? Arthur Asseraf investigates. Illustration by Sing Yun Lee. 1199
Reposted by Lucy GrigAsh @queerash.bsky.social · 24/08/2026actually most archaeologists believe that lanyards may have been used for ritualistic purposes 410522
Reposted by Lucy GrigAndy Arthur💃🏰⚓🦌 Threadinburgh 🧵 @threadinburgh.scot · 21/08/2026The Embassy is a largely forgotten suburban cinema that once served north Edinburgh. Its life was short and rather unremarkable, apart from that one time when the world's greatest… threadinburgh.scot/2026/08/21/when-…threadinburgh.scotWhen Yehudi Menuhin came to Pilton: the thread about The Embassy cinemaThe Embassy is a largely forgotten suburban cinema that once served north Edinburgh. Its life was short and rather unremarkable, apart from that one time when the world's greatest violinist put on a cheap concert for the locals 52511
Reposted by Lucy GrigDuncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 20/08/2026This is one of those sobering moments for fans of polling. London's air quality has been measured and assessed very closely over the last decade, and we know for a fact that it has improved, yet, as with crime, public perception stands in stark contrast to reality. Voters are in fact often wrong. 1915467
Reposted by Lucy GrigGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 20/08/2026On BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze tonight: “Slavery - Right or Wrong?” Some people say it’s morally wrong. On the other hand, it makes a tonne of money. On the panel: Edward Colston, King Leopold II, Tommy Robinson and Matt Goodwin. Join us as we discuss one of the great moral dilemmas of the day. 1182256356
Reposted by Lucy GrigAylwyn Scally @aylwyn-scally.bsky.social · 19/08/2026In my experience quite a few colleagues are simply finding it impossible to get their heads around the fact that a written coursework essay, the basis for assessment their entire lives, is no longer any guarantee of effort or engagement by students. 53013
Reposted by Lucy GrigCharles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 17/08/2026What can relic labels tell us about early medieval nuns' relationship to the holy - and to the written word? Liven up your Monday with the latest EME podcast: @michaelajaneruth.bsky.social interviewing @ana0dias.bsky.social about her brand new EME article: rss.com/podcasts/ear...rss.comWhose bones are these? Labelling relics in early medieval Francia | Podcast Episode on RSS.comEveryone knows the importance of relics for early medieval Christianity. But a relic is only valuable if it's identifiable, otherwise it's just a fragment of bone, cloth or stone. In other words, ever... 03911
Reposted by Lucy GrigLabourHame @labourhame.com · 17/08/2026"And as its vote and its power diminished, so too did its conception of its own purpose. Every election defeat was followed by the promise of change, but the only change that ever seemed to come was an increase in disdain from a voting public which simply couldn’t understand what the party was for."labourhame.comExistentialAs nominations close in the Scottish Labour leadership election, Labour Hame editor Duncan Hothersall finds a party that has so lost its sense of moral purpose that it only feels able to offer its … 172
Reposted by Lucy GrigSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Presenter: [The argument was put that DEI advanced people not on merit] Woolley: "There are 975 Professors at Cambridge. How many do you think are black? Paddy O'Connell: "Its a fair question you're asking me. So I am going to say 30%" Woolley: "I tell you: less than half a per cent" 21928230
Reposted by Lucy GrigMargot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 16/08/2026This thread is a rant about the piece below, & the one above it (about Cambridge's response) on p. 7 of today's Times. Its final posts are also a concrete proposal of what UK (esp. English) media could do if they cared (they won't) to put better journalism on these topics in place by autumn. 1/10 🧵thetimes.comJason Arday was failed by the system — and by meThe academic my sister knew was ‘kind, wise, warm and fun’, if also deeply flawed. The system that overpromoted him should have been the target, not him 24418
Reposted by Lucy GrigGlen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Universities... I've just been sent to the edge today by all this stupid reporting about A-Level results day like everything's fine and dandy. Those 18yos are heading into a proper storm. It's hot, I'm hot, none of us can do anything about it anyway. www.theguardian.com/education/20...theguardian.comUK universities face ‘financial crisis’ amid collapse in international studentsHigher education figures call on Labour to reverse tax on fees and warn institutions at risk of ‘going under’ 28623
Reposted by Lucy GrigDr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele @drdragases.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Featuring the crises of the 3rd century, Constantine & Christianity, Jeremy Clarkson & Byzantium (true story), social mobility, popular culture (elementary name dropping @lucygrig.bsky.social), the significance of Roman law for women in the post-Imperial world, and even rehabilitating E.A. Thompson.ancienthistory101.orgWhat is 'Late Antiquity?' - Ancient History 101with Jeroen Wijnendaele 0114
Reposted by Lucy GrigGreg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 07/08/2026New episode of You’re Dead To Me now available in the UK on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds It’s all about Constantine the Great, who introduced Christianity to the Roman Empire Featuring wonderful comedian @ivograham.bsky.social and expert ancient historian @lucygrig.bsky.social 69416
Reposted by Lucy GrigJohn Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 07/08/2026New from me: Britain’s graduate earnings premium is falling, cue “too many go to university!” But non-university outcomes are also bad, cue “we must reform vocational routes!” Both miss the point: people used to think education drove economic outcomes, but the economy drives educational outcomes. 19535169
Reposted by Lucy GrigChris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 06/08/2026I don't deny the Arday resignation is important news, but to have it as the top item on the Guardian, Times and Telegraph websites says something about the weight they all give to culture wars over substantive news on politics, the economy, the environment, international conflict etc 631238
Reposted by Lucy GrigCharles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Hope they're writing a Gesta about this. 0112
Reposted by Lucy GrigGreg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 10/07/2026NEW EPISODE! This week’s ‘You’re Dead To Me’ is about the cult of saints in Medieval Europe — we chat martyrs, ascetics, miracle workers, pilgrims, shrines, and hilarious relic heists! With expert historian Dr Simon Yarrow and comedian Rachel Parris Listen on BBC SOUNDS or watch on iPlayer 514834
Reposted by Lucy Grigstuart @stuartp.bsky.social · 08/07/2026iron rule of British politics is even if a guy who dresses as a bin becomes prime minister he will have been to Oxbridge 323203798
Reposted by Lucy GrigDuncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 07/07/2026Whatever else this is, it's an absolutely cast iron case for why Nigel Farage simply doesn't have the temperament or abilities to be Prime Minister, or even a junior minister in government. #DisparageTheFarage 0135
Reposted by Lucy GrigPlashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 07/07/2026The new academic year starts in 2 months. The modules to run are set in stone even if the all-new first year ones haven’t yet been designed. All that remains is to decide which 3 of the 23 of us will still be here to teach them. The redundancy selection criteria has not yet been announced… 1313259