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nickmegoran.bsky.social

@nickmegoran.bsky.social
109 followers 127 following 119 posts
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Very much looking forwards to this conversation with @bethhurd.bsky.social on borders, politics and religion, at St John's College, @durham.ac.uk on Tuesday 13 October.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Well done Reece on what looks like another superb contribution to understanding border violence in north America.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I have always loved the name of our geography department's student football team: own the caricature!
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Some creative pieces on this blog, about finding the geopolitical in unusual places. www.at-commons.com/loc-geopolit...
at-commons.com
Locating the Geopolitical · Anthropological Theory
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Very excited to finally see the cover for my forthcoming McGill-Queen's University Press book in their 'Outspoken' series edited by Santiago Zabala! It's a think piece on how to make sense of - and do something about - violent borders in our world today.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
What does it mean to 'belong' in a borderland that has been subject to increasing control and division? Ritapriya Nandy provides a superb ethnographic account in this fantastic article @ritapriya.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
In-between borders: mapping belonging and citizenship in the Bengal borderland
Recent academic discourses highlight borders as dynamic forces influencing life beyond territorial demarcations. This paper examines belonging and citizenship by looking at the case of Bengali-spea...
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
This is why you should not outsource map-making to AI - always check it yourself! www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/u...
nytimes.com
U.S. Government Mislabels Map of African Countries at AIDS Conference
Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.”
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
To what extent can one person's scholarship influence the subsequent engagement between two countries? In his new article Stuart Horsman tackles this question in relation to UK-Iranian relations www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
tandfonline.com
Faint footprints? Sir John Malcolm’s impact on British historical and political thinking towards Iran: Iran: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access
Browse all journals
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
At a moment when the US is bombing civilian infrastructures across Iran, it is poignant to recall Yves Lacoste's exposure of the US's bombing of Vietnam's waterways in 1972. "far from any military objective" www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/w...
nytimes.com
Yves Lacoste, Who Exposed U.S. Bombing of Vietnam’s Waterways, Dies at 96
He used a geographer’s tools to demonstrate that North Vietnamese civilian infrastructure had been deliberately attacked, threatening millions of lives.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Graduation is my favourite day of the academic calendar- this year with the wonderful poet and Chancellor of Newcastle University, Imtiaz Dharker. @ncl-geography.bsky.social @hassfacultyncl.bsky.social
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Comedy gold. I watched Trump's speech and couldn't stop laughing. And who were those unfortunates in the background who had to pretend to be interested and comprehending?!
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Can geography fieldtrips help us teach students to be hopeful? We think so. And we think this is important. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Teaching hopeful political geographies through field trips
Fieldwork is a pedagogical tool that sets geography apart from most other cognate social science and humanities disciplines. How can it be used to teach hope? This paper discusses this using the ex...
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Geography at Durham @geogdurham.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Our colleague @benandersongeog.bsky.social has just published this piece in 'The Conversation': 'The politics of feeling: why did ‘boring’ prime minister Keir Starmer provoke such visceral reactions?': theconversation.com/the-politics...
theconversation.com
The politics of feeling: why did ‘boring’ prime minister Keir Starmer provoke such visceral reactions?
In the post-2008 world, the political climate is often determined by emotion rather than ideology.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Is religious illiteracy a problem in geographical education? The queston I pose in my new Geography article www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Is religious illiteracy a problem in geographical education?
This paper questions how competent physical and human geographers are at handling religion when they encounter it in passing. It specifically asks whether religious illiteracy is a problem in geogr...
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
What can Indiana Jones teach Putin and Trump? My guest substack post on military hubris and religious virtue signalling johnheathershaw.substack.com/p/virtue-sig...
johnheathershaw.substack.com
Virtue Signalling and Military Hubris
Not long after defeat in Afghanistan, America has failed to win another war. Russia struggles in Ukraine. In a guest post, Nick Megoran asks why great powers struggle to win wars.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
We can successfully fight back against the neoliberal university managers. Newcastle UCU's success proves it: @isrfoundation.bsky.social @vickyblake.bsky.social @hassfacultyncl.bsky.social @ncl-geography.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk isrf.org/blog/target-...
isrf.org
Target culture and how to defeat it
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
'What is perhaps remarkable about the Exeter cuts is that they are targeted at some of the university’s most successful departments, many of which turn over a profit even after they have made enormous and increasing contributions to the central university budget.' Read, rage and weep.
johnheathershaw.substack.com
The Crisis in Britain’s Universities
The cuts that have been proposed at the University of Exeter demonstrates the crisis of purpose in Britain’s universities. Should not universities also be places to prepare for "eternal dwellings"?
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
theconversation.com/uzbekistans-... Let's celebrate the first Central Asian team to make the World Cup (even if the football itself wasn't all we hoped for...)
theconversation.com
Uzbekistan’s World Cup appearance is a moment of pride and shows off central Asia’s peaceful development
Once described as the ‘Balkans of central Asia’, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have managed ethnic and territorial tensions with great success.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Outrageous. Solidarity with you.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
John's email raises a question for all academics: what has been the equivalent figure for the increase in your institution of staff earning over £100K in recent years?
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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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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Strong agree. Don't let the heat go to your head. Instead of being insistently stupid, investigate some smart data today:
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
SHAPE Observatory: Graduates and skills
Understanding SHAPE graduate trends, the skills graduates develop, and how they contribute to the economy and society
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
What happens when borders reopen? In our world of walls and tighter migration controls, Central Asia's experiences offer some hope and sanity. Our research on this has just been assigned an issue and page range so no reason not to cite it accurately now :-) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
What Happens When Borders Reopen? Dematerialising the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan Boundary
Border studies have recently been focussed on what happens when borders close, leaving the question of border reopenings both largely unexplored and unconceptualized. We argue here for a new focus ...
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Although I think the process he describes began before Michael Gove.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Depressing but accurate analysis. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVtu...
youtube.com
UK universities are being killed by deliberately designed neoliberal government policy.
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... Wonderful piece by Almira Tabaeva on decolonising gendered histories of Uzbekistan by paying attention to the way that women make and transmit their own stories and understandings of social change over the generations.
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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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Wow - is this in your home?
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
A thoughtful reflection on those mandatory teaching course that university lecturers have to undertake, and the insidious negative effects of the Bologna process. isrf.org/blog/pedagog...
isrf.org
Pedagogical State Apparatus
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Delighted to endorse this wonderful research agenda on Critical Security Studies by Anna Schliehe and Kathrin Hörschelmann
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Thoughtful ISRF despatch from the ever-insightful Glen O'Hara. isrf.org/blog/whats-t... @isrfoundation.bsky.social
isrf.org
What’s the future for our universities?
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Podcast on origins of Canvas system, used in universities across the world: theamericanvandal.substack.com?utm_source=n...
theamericanvandal.substack.com
The American Vandal | Matt Seybold | Substack
Newsletter of The American Vandal Podcast, as well as host Matt Seybold. Get episodes, bibliographies, transcripts, commentaries, and other updates delivered direct to your inbox. Click to read The Am...
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
The RGS-IBG research and higher education team are now on Bluesky!
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/johnheat... - text of great talk by @jheathershaw.bsky.social Heathershaw
open.substack.com
How do we seek security in apocalyptic times?
My talk to the Tearfund conference, Building Just and Sustainable Peace, Lambeth Palace, London, 26 March 2026.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
How do we learn enough about university finance and governance to unruin our great institutions? Great question posed by Chris Newfield of @isrfoundation.bsky.social - isrf.org/blog/the-uni... - and some thoughtful answers.
isrf.org
The University Unruined
What are the practical means by which academic staff can get direct control over budgets and programme planning?
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I read this online when it first came out - a great contribution!
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
@reecejones.bsky.social - thanks for this important intervention.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
In 1997 Zbigniew Brzezinski infamously described the Ferghana Valley as a weak point in the unstable and fractured ‘Eurasian Balkans’ of Central Asia, itself at the heart of “the global zone of percolating violence.” Central Asian states have proved him wrong: uza.uz/en/posts/fer...
uza.uz
Fergana Valley has the potential to become a model of cross-border cooperation, peaceful resolution of complex issues, and sustainable development
This assessment was shared by Murad Uzakov, Head of the Center for Regional Studies at the Institute for Strategic and R
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Superb post from an expert voice on the US border patrol.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
dissentmagazine.org/article/the-... - great piece on the rise and fall of an academic field
dissentmagazine.org
The Demise of Conflict Studies - Dissent Magazine
An entire industry specializing in mediation, peacekeeping, disarmament, and transitional justice has become largely obsolete.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Some embarrassment for West Yorkshire's mayor yesterday when she relied on AI for an unusual map of the 'northern powerhouse' railway system... www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...
manchestereveningnews.co.uk
'Warrington via Manchester Airpont please': Inaccurate railway map deleted
"Good to see Manchester Piccadilly back west of the Pennines again"
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Great News! UEF is one of the great centres of border studies, and Alex is one of the field's great scholars - a match made in heaven! www.uef.fi/en/article/p...
uef.fi
Professor Alexander Diener from the US to strengthen the University of Eastern Finland’s expertise in border studies
The Research Council of Finland has awarded 2.5 million euros in funding for Alexander Diener’s professorship and the establishment of a new research group.
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PolGRG @polgrg.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Attending the 2026 RGS-IBG Annual Conference? 🤔 Don't miss our call for Session Sponsorship! We welcome paper sessions & panels, but also practitioner forums, discussions, workshops, and other innovative formats. More info 👇
polgrg.wordpress.com
Call for Session Sponsorship (RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2026)
The Political Geography Research Group (PolGRG) of the RGS-IBG is pleased to extend an invitation to sponsor sessions at the next RGS-IBG Annual International Conference. The de…
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
"What Happened When My Yale Students Gave Up Their Phones for Four Weeks?" Thoughtful article for all educators. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
nytimes.com
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
If the UK government keeps making it harder and more expensive for overseas students to study here, they will go elsewhere: Uzbekistan in many ways is a more attractive option for Indian students than the UK kun.uz/en/97387923
kun.uz
Uzbekistan sees 51% rise in international students in 2025
Uzbekistan saw a significant rise in the number of international students in the first ten months of 2025, according to data from the National Statistics Committee.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Nice new piece on 'Radio geopolitics' by my colleague Alison Williams. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
‘Good Contact in Spite of Static’: Advocating a Radio Geopolitics Assemblage Approach Through Analysing the Lindberghs’ 1931 North Pacific Flight
In the summer of 1931 famed US aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne, flew their Sirius aircraft from Washington DC, westward across northern Canada, Alaska and the Bering Strait to Japan an...
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
In the meantime, wet December morning photographs of three of my favourite parts of campus…
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
I have no idea how much longer I’ll stay here, but I always thank God that he has called me to work at Newcastle University as a geographer.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
In the big picture, I remain convinced that universities are crucial to the flourishing of good human societies on planet Earth, and am excited to be part of that global community.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
my research on borders, peaceful coexistence, and geopolitics in Central Asia and elsewhere fascinates and enthrals me; and I appreciate having so many great colleagues to do that with. Thank you, all my past and present students and colleagues.
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nickmegoran.bsky.social @nickmegoran.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
I find it utterly exhilarating to teach our smart and engaged undergraduate students; it's an honour to work with the next generation of scholars in PhD supervision;
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