iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

All this talk about AI 'alignment' sidesteps the fact that capitalism is misaligned with humanity; panicked calls to 'align' AI only serve to further entrench a hegemony teetering on the edge of catastrophe. Long live Luddite thought 💥🔨

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

but yes, narratives of linear, homogeneous evolution... these never produced any problems, did they...?

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

i dunno, sounds like half-remembered Hobbes with a hint of Freud. either way, deeply unhelpful

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Maybe a Marx origin story now?

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026

This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.

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Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
ÄIO
Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

'Eugenics' - I'm not going to say anything 🤐 The whole thing is sickening

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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

From this review- “Think of all the diligent, decent black academics who have been lumbered with the embarrassment of having Arday as a figurehead” - no, think of *why* black academics are held collectively responsible in ways that white academics are not

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

timely reminder of a gem of a song

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

lol do they mistake a Liverpool top for an Egyptian one?

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

2. A letter from the passport office of the Bangladeshi government in exile in India asking Indian authorities to help my nana get to the UK 'temporarily'. 55 years later, he's still in the UK... Looking at the state of Bangladesh now, was it worth it? Of course it was. Joy Bangla জয় প্রাণ আদি-অন্তহীন

First page of a letter from the Bangladeshi authorities asknig India to facilitate the travel of Dr Asadullah to the UK

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

1. Pakistani embasssy letter impounding my nana's passport and telling him to take a one-way trip to Pakistan because he had been being a naughty boy in support of Bangladeshi independence

A letter telling Dr Asadullah to return travel to Pakistan

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

On the eve of the anniversary of Operation Searchlight - the beginnning of the Pakistani genocide in Bangladesh - and the offical date of Bangladeshi independence, letters that my nana recently found:

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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Dear Shabana, Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

Dear Shabana,
I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank.
You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to
make a perilous crossing on small boats.”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton
and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government
who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division.
When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there
to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done
in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the
flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney.
As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking
points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I
filled water tanks and picked up litter.
What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop
the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country.
Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it.
It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping
migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and
croissants to refugees and food parcels.
When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She
said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for
refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers
whilst risking death on the seas.”
She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on
the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

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Reading Museum @readingmuseum.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Ludus latrunculorum, you say? Archaeologist Tim Penn from @uniofreading.bsky.social gives some background on this popular Roman game, whose name means the Game of the Little Soldiers. Come see our example, on display in the Silchester Gallery! #romangames #ancientgames #archaeology #rdg

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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Charlie Stayt, "A lot of people think those leaflets are the nasty side of politics" Zack Polanski, "Genocide is quite nasty"

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Astyanax Classics Journal Reading @astyanaxjournal.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Just three days remain before the deadline of Astyanax Journal's Undergraduate Composition Competition and our Year 10-13 Essay Competition! Entries must be submitted before 23:59 on Friday 27th February. For more information, visit astyanaxjournal.com/competitions/

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Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 11/02/2026

this is also the logical (unfortunate) endpoint of an education system hyper-focused on STEM! when you don't read books, think about the past, experience other cultures, you don't have resources to deal with grief! the humanities help! but James Baldwin said it better

James Baldwin in Life Magazine: ""You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who ever had been alive. Only if we face these open wounds in ourselves can we understand them in other people."

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

On this MLK Day, one particular passage from his address at the March on Washington seems especially relevant.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

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Amnesty International UK @amnestyuk.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

We urge David Lammy to immediately authorise a senior official to meet with the legal representatives of Heba Muraisi & Kamran Ahmed - both on prolonged hunger strike & at extreme risk of death. Their representatives have repeatedly requested this meeting & it is now critical to prevent a tragedy.

Photos of Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed and David Lammy with copy that says: Amnesty UK urges David Lammy to act now to stop the deaths of hunger strikers.

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Defend Our Juries @defendourjuries.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Palestine Action hunger strikers near death ‘intent’ on continuing protests Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed, Palestine Action-linked British activists on the brink of death, are determined to keep up their prison hunger strike until their demands are met. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/...

aljazeera.com

Palestine Action hunger strikers near death ‘intent’ on continuing protests

Prisoners remaining on rolling hunger strike are suffering with dangerous symptoms, loved ones and a doctor say.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 07/01/2026

Jacob Frey: "To ICE -- get the fuck out of Minneapolis"

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Nessan Vaughan @nessanvaughan.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

A fine piece here from Allison Morris.

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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Teuta Hoxha (29) has been in prison without trial for 13 months so far. This is her Birthday. bsky.app/profile/hill...

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

"Michael Kast (1924-2014), German official during WWII and Chilean sausage maker"

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Very excited to be part of the next iteration of the amazing Res Diff series!

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/11/2025

Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."

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Research at Reading @uor-research.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Ancient Rome's legacy looms large in Italy's history, from colonising North Africa to Mussolini's fascist reign and modern anti-immigration movements Historian @samagbamu.bsky.social explains the long, dark shadow cast by the imperial eagle. 🔗 rdg.ac/467hym7 #AncientSky

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

it's eye-catching and encourages reading on, I suppose?

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Nice of the anti-refugee nationalists to ensure that St. George's flag is trampled underfoot

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Classics@UnivReading @uorclassics.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Congratulations to everyone getting their #Alevel results today! We look forward to welcoming our new Classics Department students in September. If things didn't quite go to plan but you're interested in coming to @uniofreading.bsky.social you can call Clearing on: +44 (0) 118 402 0900

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Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Letter of the day (in the Times)

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Join Workers for a Free Palestine at Pelican House, Fri 8 Aug, for an evening of live music, dancing and solidarity. All ticket sales support legal fees for the WFFP9, our friends who got arrested protesting arms sales to Israel, and who will go to court soon. ra.co/events/2223482

ra.co

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

happy les aristocrats à la lanterne day to all who celebrate

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Essential viewing on what Palestine Action do, why they do it, and why they must have our unwavering solidarity tokillawarmachine.com

tokillawarmachine.com

To Kill a War Machine

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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

I can't believe Staten Island is Hamas

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Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

We are all Palestine Action. 🇵🇸

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

What a weekend of fascistic parades in DC and warplanes flying over my street to finish @profdanhicks.bsky.social ’s breathtaking new book. Such a clear articulation of the tenacious, cold grip of the death cult of ‘militarist realism’. Will be returning to this a lot. Also big up Sylvia Wynter.

Red arrows fly over a London residential street

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Housmans Bookshop @housmansbookshop.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

THE RAYMOND WILLIAMS FOUNDATION TARGETED GRANTS SCHEME 2025 The RWF invites applications for up to eight grants of max £1,500 to support self-organised adult learning activities to help realise social justice aims. Deadline: 29 June 2025. More info at:

raymondwilliamsfoundation.org.uk

Grants | Raymond Williams Foundation

Home

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Patrick Bigger @pmbigger.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Today the guardian is debuting our new calculations of climate damage caused by Israel's genocide in Gaza. Greenhouse gases are not the most important reason to demand a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but this data shows yet another way that genocide harms us all.

theguardian.com

Carbon footprint of Israel’s war on Gaza exceeds that of many entire countries

Exclusive: The climate cost is more than than the combined 2023 emissions of Costa Rica and Estonia, study finds

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Faisal فيصل @faisalhamadah.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Oh wow, RIP Ngugi wa Thiongo!! A brilliant writer with so many faces

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Council of University Classical Departments @cucd.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

In the light of recent news from Cardiff University it seems timely to re-post this letter championing the work of colleagues in Ancient History and Religion from CUCD, CA, FIEC, @ics.bsky.social @theromansoc.bsky.social @hellenicsociety.bsky.social Update at: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Cardiff University backtracks on plans to cut music and languages

Music and modern languages will still be offered at Cardiff University, the vice chancellor says.

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Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literatures @mediumaevum.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

If your medieval studies project has been impacted by the NEH cuts and you would like your fundraising project amplified by SSMLL, please contact us at ssmll[AT]history.ox.ac.uk. SSMLL stands in solidarity with our colleagues. (5/5)

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The Institute of Classical Studies @ics.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Combined Classics Library Bursaries (up to £300) now accepting applications to assist unfunded scholars who wish to visit the Combined Classics Library in summer 2025 in order to advance or complete a project of research or scholarship. Details here: shorturl.at/XRjqg

shorturl.at

Combined Classics Library Bursaries

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Sam Agbamu @samagbamu.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Looking for reading on the term "Amerindian". Seeing it being used in recent scholarship by great scholars whose judgements I trust, but intuitively - from a place of ignorance - it seems outdated? Any tips much appreciated!

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BigRedDiver @bigreddiver.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

This is what a leader does. This is what a leader sounds like. THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM DO NOT OBEY. SPEAK YOUR MIND.

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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Draft of an AI statement for future syllabi (building on what others have done & shared)

Generative Al Statement:

The goal of this course is to help you improve as thinkers, scholars, and community members. The use of generative Al and LLMs (including Chat GPT) is antithetical to these goals. I strongly encourage you not to use generative Al to complete readings or assignments. There is growing evidence that the use of generative Al facilitates labor exploitation of workers in the Global South, causes severe local and global environmental damage, relies on stolen labor of writers and artists, fails to provide accurate information or citations, and may be causing a microgeneration of students to struggle to think/write critically and become less employable after college. Beyond all of these, generative Al-written papers are (more often than not) poorly argued, woodenly and generically written, and obvious to humanities professors.

This course aims to help us practice the acts of critical thinking, analyzing, discussing, producing knowledge, and engaging with the communities in which we live. Accordingly, I ask that you embrace the difficulty of that process rather than attempt to outsource these skills. At the same time, I am not interested in attempting to surveil you through Al-detection software because this creates a hostile classroom environment between students and their professor. College is a time for you to decide who you want to be and how you want to engage the work set before you.

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