Sign in

Matthew Bell

@matthewgbell.bsky.social
232 followers 660 following 182 posts

Prof of German and Comp Lit, KCL. Fellow of the British Academy. I do: Goethe, the classical tradition, histories of the human sciences. And for pleasure: cricket, birds, German wine, Cornwall.

PostsRepliesMedia
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Or: this was important stuff he always believed in but there’s no point in saying it over the summer when everyone’s having a nice time and not thinking about politics.
030
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.maptap.gg September 26 99🔥 99🔥 100🎯 95🏅 97🔥 Final score: 974 Solid work.
maptap.gg
🎯MapTap Daily Geography Game
Play MapTap - the daily geography game! Find 5 world locations on a 3D globe with historical stories. Free browser-based daily game for geography lovers.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It’d be a high-risk move — likelihood of nerves causing you to spill coffee all over yourself.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Big agree. Vinyl LPs are bought as much for the cover art as for actual use. They’re effing expensive. And as anyone who has the faintest acquaintance with information science will tell you, vinyl is a rubbish medium compared to Red Book (CD-quality) digital.
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Does a pedophile desire what’s measured by a pedometer. Or am I being a paedant?
120
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Do it, get the tattoo, just choose wisely where you have it put.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The Wigmore Hall is one of London's cultural treasures. Consistently brilliant music-making in a wonderfully atmospheric space. @wigmore-hall.org.uk
030
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Gorgeous Monteverdi by Vox Luminis at the Wigmore Hall www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/202...
wigmore-hall.org.uk
Vox Luminis; Lionel Meunier artistic director, bass
Vox Luminis; Lionel Meunier artistic director, bass Monteverdi Vespers
120
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Lycaon pictus — painted dog
110
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Absolute highlight of a trip to Tanzania we did in 2012 was finding a pack of these beautiful dogs on our last day — in the Selous near the Rufiji river.
120
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Situation report: not ideal. Huge queues and they had to turn the lights off before people were finished. Lots of people getting v angry at the poor BM staff. Still, nice embroidery.
030
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
And yes, cycling on pavements etc is wrong and should be punished. I just get off and walk!
130
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
As a regular car driver who's spent years doing a 6-mile cycle commute into central London, I feel rather angrier about bad driving than bad cycling. Bad driving is simply more dangerous. That's why the Highway Code, correctly I think, puts more responsibility on vehicle drivers to prevent harm.
190
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My book is celebrating its first birthday.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
www.maptap.gg September 9 98🎯 97🔥 98🎯 99🎯 99🎯 Final score: 985 Very much benefited from having actually been to Puntarenas!
maptap.gg
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Me too. The overly telegraphed plot explanations were embarrassing. It's fine to mess with Homer, but at least credit your audience's understanding a bit more.
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Some are a bit more plausible: the literary festivals that charge speakers for the privilege of performing. No doubt they're real festivals, but the business model just wouldn't work for an academic author like me.
040
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Yep, lots of these. Most of them are just scams: you pay us some money to 'promote' your book among our 'members', ker-ching, thank you very much!
130
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Introduce yourself with ten acts you’ve seen live: Led Zeppelin David Bowie Bruce Springsteen Heaven 17 Misty in Roots Elvis Costello Counting Crows Alabama Shakes Cowboy Junkies Dope Lemon
000
Reposted by Matthew Bell
Jane Rosenzweig @janerosenzweig.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Also: a lot of decisions have been made about AI in ed by people who had not tried LLMs, did not understand how they work, were not in the classroom, did not really understand how students were likely to use them, and were driven by FOMO rather than by data/knowlege/understanding/learning.
621357
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Late summer in Cornwall: crayfish and Riesling
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
It’s raining. www.maptap.gg August 25 95🏅 96🔥 97🔥 97🔥 97🔥 Final score: 967
maptap.gg
🎯MapTap Daily Geography Game
Play MapTap - the daily geography game! Find 5 world locations on a 3D globe with historical stories. Free browser-based daily game for geography lovers.
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Exciting! We had a nice migration moment two days ago. We found two Dotterel on the Porthgwarra moors near Land’s End. Every year a couple of these birds stop over at this spot on their way south to the Atlas Mountains. A very rare treat.
120
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Post a perfect album from the 2000s (2000-2009)
110
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
One of the great things about getting old and grey is not worrying so much about people seeing me squirming and fidgeting during meetings.
020
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
My mum said she had tea with Barbara Hepworth in BH’s garden in St Ives. OK, that’s possibly the least interesting thing I could say about Hepworth.
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This is amazing. Ends 7 September, so get your skates on courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/exh...
courtauld.ac.uk
Hepworth in Colour
This major exhibition will be the first to explore Barbara Hepworth's lifelong fascination with colour.
110
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
But I think the OP has misread the (rather confused) article and made it sound even worse than it is. 3/3
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
... though what Adamou is quoted as saying has been poorly pieced together by the journalist. For instance, there's no attempt to explain why Adamou thinks both that (a) ADHD is becoming a social construct and (b) it's underdiagnosed. 2/3
110
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Agreed. And as you say in your previous post, Pemberton isn't quoted in the article. The 'experts' referred to in the article's headline are presumably represented in the article by Marios Adamou, who genuinely is an expert in ADHD and is quoted at length by the article ... 1/3
130
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Super piece: brilliantly to the point.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My experience of serving as an external on a senior promotions cttee at another very high-profile uni (which I won’t name as these things are confidential) has been that the other externals and I have been treated as full equals in every respect.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The weight given to externals' opinions will depend on how the recruitment committee is chaired. It can range from simply giving a nod to the question "would this bod be hireable at your place?" to having full equality with all other academic members of the cttee.
240
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Trafalgar Square
Vigil for Jason Arday in front of the National Gallery Vigil for Jason Arday in front of the National Gallery
0159
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
And TALL PAUL's stats need to be celebrated. He was only introduced after Aiden Markram had to return to SA. He then played five matches, scoring 247 runs at an average of 61.75 and a rate of 178.98. Legend.
001
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Likewise, I had no non-white or female lecturers (as you’d expect in Oxford in the mid-1980s). When I joined the German Department at King’s in 1993, all the permanent staff were male. But now I’m the only male lecturer in German. Quite a change.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Very happy to troll you, as an honorary Lancastrian and fan of TALL PAUL, if that helps.
110
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
… because neurotypicality is deeply baked into everything that academics do. Feelings of bewilderment and not belonging are just the start. 2/2
030
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Excellent thread on the stresses of an academic career. To which I’d add that things can be especially challenging for neurodivergent academics 1/2
100
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Excellent quiz, but I’m surprised by how bad I am at it 🤷🏻‍♂️
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
👏👏👏 www.maptap.gg August 9 100🎯 100🎯 100🎯 99🎯 99🎯 Final score: 994
maptap.gg
🎯MapTap Daily Geography Game
Play MapTap - the daily geography game! Find 5 world locations on a 3D globe with historical stories. Free browser-based daily game for geography lovers.
020
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Indeed, and in a number of senses: e.g. a disorder that has social causes is no less a real disorder.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
www.maptap.gg July 28 99🎯 100🎯 92🏆 99🎯 91👑 Final score: 953
maptap.gg
🎯MapTap Daily Geography Game
Play MapTap - the daily geography game! Find 5 world locations on a 3D globe with historical stories. Free browser-based daily game for geography lovers.
000
Reposted by Matthew Bell
King's Arts & Humanities @kingsartshums.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Congratulations to Professor @matthewgbell.bsky.social from @kingsdllc.bsky.social, who has been elected as a @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow 🙌 He was recognised for his work on the history of the literature and ideas of modern Europe, especially Germany 👇 www.kcl.ac.uk/news/kings-a...
kcl.ac.uk
King's academics elected to prestigious British Academy Fellowship | King's College London
Professor Katherine Brickell and Professor Matthew Bell from King’s College London have been elected as British Academy Fellows in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the humanities and ...
023
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Yeeeeeeeeees!
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Watching the match with an old friend. We agreed that instead we ought to have watched a full replay of #FRAENG
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Garez le bus!
000
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Thank you so much! Definitely excited about getting involved in the Academy’s work.
010
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
And to you, Will!
110
Matthew Bell @matthewgbell.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Delighted and honoured to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy.
381