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Michael H Whitworth

@profmhwhitworth.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.3K following 839 posts

Oxford, U.K. Prof of Modern Literature and Culture. Literature & Science, Modernism, Book History, Virginia Woolf, 1920s & 30s poetry. Also found on IG under the same name. All posts in a personal capacity.

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Reposted by Michael H Whitworth
Tim White @twmcltd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Back to the breaking story in Kyiv. Traumatic scenes as people cling to ledges inside the Science Uni, trapped by the flames after Russia's drone strike. Moscow's sickening lies of "we don't strike civilians" exposed again. An attack on a university, daytime, during term time.
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Lyndsey Stonebridge @lyndseystonebri.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
You're going to be needing specialists in: languages, narrative, history, psychology, information, mythology, conspiracies, etc, etc. then? #humanities #socialscience
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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I think it’s fair to say that the student journalists at Cornell are braver than the news networks who just gave up on their WH pool ban even though CNN is still being denied access. www.cornellsun.com/article/2026...
cornellsun.com
EDITORIAL | Cornell Won’t, We Will
The Editorial Board demands that Cornell stops protecting the alleged Chi Phi rapists through the University's opaque sexual assault policies.
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Melissa Johnson, PhD @ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I am tired of having to pretend that the value of studying my discipline solely rests on the "marketable skills" we teach. Sometimes things are just worth knowing and doing because they make your life bigger and richer.
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Andrew Frayn @afrayn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We're having an online launch event for Beyond Modernism: noncanonicity in early-twentieth-century British literature, at 6pm UK on Monday 12 October. Speakers will include the editors, @nicholasbirns.bsky.social, @rsazzad.bsky.social, Chris Hopkins, +... Sign up: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/Mjsn26ZMek
The cover of Beyond Modernism: Noncanonicity and early-twentieth-century British literature.  At the top, the title is in white on dark blue, with the subtitle below in dark yellow.  The image is a hand taking a blank-spined book from a shelf; the other spines have the names of classic novels crossed out.
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Final point on this. There’s nothing new to HO wanting lower numbers and HMT wanting higher numbers. Was ever thus (eg May vs Osborne). What is more surprising is that Mahmood never gets asked about this and the relative silence of Govt ministers (other than Rayner) on positive side of immigration.
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✨🌊 s e a 🦇 w i t c h✨ @infiniteishq.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
THIS IS NOT OKAY.
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Jay Geller @jaygeller.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"AfD, CDU ban new Holocaust 'stumbling stones' in Heidenau [ . . . ] The initiators of the Heidenau ban argue that, while remembering Holocaust victims is an essential task, the placement of stones leads to 'passersby walking over or even stepping onto the names of the victims.'" My thoughts below.
dw.com
AfD, CDU ban new Holocaust 'stumbling stones' in Heidenau
Activists, politicians and representatives of Holocaust victims reacted with anger after the center-right CDU party joined forces with the AfD to ban new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in the easter...
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
One from the archives In 1984 Dunnes shop worker Mary Manning refused to handle South African goods & was backed by her shop steward, Karen Gearon. Both were suspended. 9 colleagues came out in support. The strike lasted 3yrs & forced the Irish govt to ban the import of all SA goods. All heroes
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Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Every time someone links to this film, I have to repost it. It's one of the most significant bits of British 20th century art. Everything about it is incredible. Groundbreaking music production by Daphne Oram. Amazing camera work by Wolfgang Suschitzky (who later filmed Get Carter).-
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Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
2yrs after I finished my MA History at Goldsmiths, my research rights were bought and I was hired to work as historical consultant on this TV show. It's had BAFTA and International Emmy nominations. I got a book deal, too. Goldsmiths: "No point in MA History, let's fire everyone and delete it."
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner stands by her criticisms of the Home Secretary's settlement proposals. The govt was consulting on the proposals. The pre-consultation reforms have little support in government (and the Home Secretary had signalled some kind of retreat on care workers at least)
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Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.
A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with 
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future
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Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The youngest person his pager attack killed was 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, who had just started 4th grade. The pager was on a table when it went off and she picked it up to take to her dad. It exploded in her face and reports said it covered the room in her blood. She wanted to learn English.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Stephen Miller’s Office of Remigration was deliberately named to announce to the world that white nationalism is now the basis for US immigration policy. If Dems win power, they should defund it. They should also defund third-country deportations. New from me: newrepublic.com/article/2157...
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Sadiah Qureshi 🦈 @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Absolutely appalling.
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buvezcocacola @buvezcocacola.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Seen in Virginia
A bumper sticker reads
I HEAR MIGRANT CHILDREN ALSO HAVE HEARTBEATS
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Richard Morris @ahistoryinart.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Do you have a painting or drawing by Lawrence Bragg? The Nobel Prize-winning scientist appears in the 1927 Solvay photo alongside Einstein and Marie Curie; he was also a keen painter. I’m planning an exhibition about his life and times in 2027, the centenary of this picture.
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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Sounds remarkably like Oxford and the vehement reaction of certain car drivers to traffic/pollution reduction measures
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Nat Guest @unfortunatalie.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
"My house and his house are two different houses, territories overlaid and overlapping. Our topographies don’t yet mesh; we are both creeping around each other’s edges, living together but apart." My first few weeks with a cat. nothingbutawordbag.substack.com/p/where-a-ca...
Substack preview. Art of two black cats, voids against a floral sofa. Text: Where a cat could sit - on learning to live alone together
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Laura McKee @lauramckee.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Poet voice is alive and well. It usually imitates one particular poet and does go through phases of that being different poets. It might have even sounded fine with the original poet. Why do poets do this? Is it a lack of confidence in using one’s own voice? Makes me die a little inside.
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Michael H Whitworth @profmhwhitworth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Excellent introductory essay on J. H. Prynne by David Grundy, which pinpoints better than anything else I’ve read the centrality of contradiction to his poetry. www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/182...
poetryfoundation.org
To Darker Fields We Go
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.
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Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Started watching Sky’s War Game last night where Michael Gove is the PM during the Russian attack and I’m afraid it is just very difficult to watch it without thinking of this, one of the great cartoons ever published
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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Spent a few hours with this old friend last night, thinking especially with Jameson’s analysis of how *models* come & go, always becoming recognizable as metaphors once saturated by history, & the allure of the language model is it might escape such contingency & prove foundational. But it doesn’t.
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Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bike repair is returning to Oxford city centre. A mechanic from Broken Spoke Co-op will be fixing bikes every Wednesday morning at the Handle Bar on St Michael's Street, formerly the location of Bike Zone until it closed in 2024. Repairs start tomorrow from 8.30am to 1pm.
Promotional image for Handle Bar bike repairs
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thousands of university jobs lost too, and barely a peep either.
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Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thinking at work back then: waiting for inspiration while staring into the room, holding your specs, wearing your thinking hat, and ignoring the sticky note you made yesterday. The year is 1653, and this etching is showing a thinking philosopher. #academicchatter
a three-quarter length figure, seated at a desk, turned to right; supporting his head with his left arm, which is placed on the desk covered in papers and a globe at right; and holding spectacles in his right hand. The Dutch etching from 1653 can be found over here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1848-0911-194
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Chris Boyd @paperghost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
there is no sensible reason why a 5 year spouse visa cost us a little over fourteen grand. none whatsoever. and that's before you break it down to the addition of renewals every 30 months, the health surcharge, the endless price hikes, the final kick in the teeth for ILR (three grand! to settle!)
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Ryan Boyd @ryanboyd.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
NEW BRAIN DROPPED
med.stanford.edu
Human brain is two separate organs, Stanford Medicine-led research finds
Stanford Health Care delivers the highest levels of care and compassion. SHC treats cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, primary care issues, and many more.
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Danny Yee @dannyyee.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The route under the Botley railway bridge has fully opened, so I went down to see how the walking and cycling provision works. Summary: the route under the railway bridge is pretty good, the transitions on either side are terrible for cycling (and not that good for walking).
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Jennifer Ashby @jenniferashby.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This #ModWrite I am working on Mina Loy's concept of 'the blind back' or 'the shutter on the fourth dimension.' [Pictured: Ithell Colquhoun sketch, c. 1941]
A white human shape stands in a cruciform position in a primary coloured cube. Photograph taken by Jennifer Ashby at Ithell Colquhoun: Between Worlds (Tate, St Ives, 2025)
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Michael Shallcross @michaelshallcross.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A perfect concrete example of the way managerial choices about how to approach cost-saving are devaluing university courses, in the fullest sense of the word. Ultimately, divesting programmes of the meaningful values instilled by passionate scholars will be commercially fatal for these institutions.
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Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 21/09/2026
The Research Professional 8am Playbook, my favourite read on higher education news, notes that the Lib Dem conference doesn't have a single session on higher education or research. At least, not in the official agenda.
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Prof. Liz Oakley-Brown @earlymodlancs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Solidarity with all UKHEI colleagues trying to protect the future of tertiary education ✊️
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Jim Hawkins @jimallthetime.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Young people aren't snowflakes - mental distress is rising, says head of official review www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Young people are not snowflakes, head of mental health review says
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Prof Fonagy says being young is much harder now than it was.
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
We're thrilled to be co-sponsoring the 2026 E.H. Gombrich Lecture Series tomorrow, 22-24 September at 6:00 pm BST, with @warburginstitute.bsky.social! Dr. Anthony Grafton of @princeton.edu will deliver this three-part lecture series on the life & controversies of Joseph Scaliger. Details below:
Anthony Grafton
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
There are subjects on which Mr Ratcliffe has some knowledge or expertise. Immigration in society is clearly not such a topic: the BBC had to clarify that his comments 6 months ago were based on a massive mistake + misunderstanding of his key claim. His new comments were entirely contentless.
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The Daily Britain @thedailybritain.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Membership leads in 628 seats. In the other four, “don’t know” comes first.
thedailybritain.co.uk
Rejoining EU is top choice in 628 British constituencies, YouGov poll finds
A YouGov poll finds EU membership is the top UK–EU policy choice in 628 of 632 British constituencies, putting pressure on Labour’s red lines.
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Marijke Valk @marijkevalk.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I'm excited to share the CFP for this year's BSLS Winter Symposium, which I'm absolutely thrilled to be organising with @thebsls.bsky.social! Occult Science: Disenchantment, Re-Enchantment, and the Persistence of Wonder Abstract deadline: 31 October 2026 Full CFP: www.bsls.ac.uk/2026/09/bsls...
bsls.ac.uk
BSLS 2026/27 Winter Symposium Call for Papers – The British Society for Literature and Science
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Kate Phillips @andanotherkate.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
What an absolute mess the new developments around Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms are. So much money spent on a dog’s dinner with no clarity, no sight lines, no character and no atmosphere. There aren’t even any memorable buildings.
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It does say a lot about the current and previous government that they have been less willing to clearly state this than Sunak. Quite why is a mystery for the ages.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
'Student advocates have raised concerns over UK universities’ commitment to introduce work experience into degrees, arguing that students cannot be expected to undertake unpaid placements amid a cost-of-living crisis.' Own goal, UUK.
timeshighereducation.com
Work placements for all plan ‘risks widening student divisions’
If the logistics of mass placements require students to organise their own, those without their own networks will suffer, advocates warn
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Simon Henry Farr-Scott @simonhscotty.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The Govt need to come off X. It needs regulating and / or banning. It is largely bots spewing out anti UK hate with algorithms purposefully skewed towards a right wing fascistic agenda. It can’t be used as a serious metric for public opinion so just leave.
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Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
If you add in £130m losses on “Reform TV” (aka GB News) the effective subsidy of Farage’s party from just four men tops £200m. You just have to join the dots app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/75017/...
app.prospectmagazine.co.uk
Farage and the £130m even his detractors have missed
GB news has provided relentless positive PR for Nigel Farage while racking up tens of millions in financial losses. And now there is a new channel in the offing
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Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Are there any classic thrillers, gialli, or detective novels in which enthusiasts of avant-garde/Modernist art aren't either laughable charlatans or murderers (and probably also perverts)? In which perhaps they're even depicted as quite mundane?
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 18/09/2026
It is incredibly important that political violence does not succeed. The far-right mob that shut down Portsmouth wanted this outcome. If the state wishes to avoid more of these actions, it needs to make sure this RNLI branch reopens *immediately*, or as close to that as humanly possible.
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 18/09/2026
As universities are cutting English degree programmes, Colin Burrow isn't the only one asking ‘what’s the point of literary criticism?’ But he has several answers, and in this episode he joins @moonjets.bsky.social to discuss them. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
What’s the point of literary criticism?
Podcast Episode · The LRB Podcast · 18 September · 37min
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I didn't hold back. These centers are a blight on higher education and we should say so. dailyiowan.com/2026/09/15/u...
“Center for Intellectual Freedom is a really Orwellian name because they’re forcing mandatory classes on students who don’t want it,” Ray said. “Just as a matter of pure consistency, if closing African American Studies was just a financial decision, the center should be closed.” Ray said universities do a better job fostering free thought than any other institution — including churches, workplaces, and the military.

“You can say and do things at universities that you cannot do anywhere else,” he said. “So the notion that universities are a problem when it comes to free speech is just a lie.”
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Useful thread on the cuts at Edinburgh. The tl;dr seems to be that they are (a) less apocalyptic than some commentary suggests; (b) still very bad; (c) even stupider than they look at first sight, since they napalm staff morale and public reputation without actually saving money.
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