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melissa nolas

@smnolas.bsky.social
77 followers 124 following 48 posts

independent scholar | writer | photographer | occasional curator & digital archivist | undisciplined | giving Bluesky a whirl | seldom here melissanolas.com

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Reposted by melissa nolas
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... This is excellent. Have signed.
docs.google.com
Open letter on the suspension of Nathan Cofnas at Ghent University
We, colleagues of Nathan Cofnas - supported by many colleagues internationally - want to respond to the negative and incorrect framing of Ghent University’s decision to suspend Nathan Cofnas. With th...
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Does anyone know whether there is a public vigil being organised anywhere today (Sat 15 Aug) or tomorrow (Sun 16 Aug) in London for #JasonArday? I have a strong need to stand in silence with fellow humans and mourn. #BlackAcademia #ProfJasonArday #Justice #MediaEthics #MediaKills #AcademiaKills
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UCU University of Kent branch @ucukent.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
A lot of people outside of Higher Education have very little idea of how physically and mentally demanding lecturing can be...and that's when all the other demands of the job are ignored. UK universities need more full time permanent staff.
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QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Declaring financial crisis (against all evidence to the contrary) in order to justify ideological cuts to staffing and resources is always a bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy, isn't it? On the legacy of Frances Corner at Goldsmiths -- and on her agency: goldsmithsucu.org/2021/10/10/f...
So was Goldsmiths the financially ‘failing institution’ Frances Corner declared it to be when she took up her post in April 2019? In 2019-20 there were signs of some overspending on building, and a rather over-ambitious intake target, against which money had been spent. But two independent auditors, including KPMG in 2020, concluded that Goldsmiths’ operations had been cash generative, that the College had run surpluses until 2019 and had grown so-called ‘market share’ despite competition from the Russell Group since 2010. In three months, Frances Corner had gone from being the leader of a robust and thriving institution to one she continues to think of and respond to as a failure.
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Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
With yet another university hosted event closed to 'non academics' (aka those not employed by a university)* I'm just going to leave this piece by @drhelenkara.bsky.social and myself here blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci... * yes I know it's utter nonsense and academics/researchers exist outside unis
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Institutional affiliation should not be a requirement for doing research - Impact of Social Sciences
Universities espouse a universalist approach to creating research-based knowledge. Helen Kara & Petra Boynton argue, from the outside these claims are hollow.
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DANS @dans-knaw-nwo.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Open Access Week 2025 (20–26 Oct) asks: Who owns our knowledge? This theme invites reflection on how knowledge is accessed, created, and shared, and how communities can reclaim control. Events can be hosted anytime, and materials are available to adapt locally. More info: edu.nl/vccet #OAWeek
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Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Many aspects of academia normalise abusive practices. Like putting people through stressful situations, encouraging pile ons and put downs, all to be mitigated by alcohol. When we ask 'who does this bring in? who does it leave out? who might it help? who might it harm?' so much becomes clear.
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Fascinating description. Yes, it was a game in my experience too: a blood sport. Some of us—who didn’t enjoy it—used to call it ‘who let the dogs out (who? who?)’ and I would bet good money that nobody in those PhD seminars or departmental seminars had a critical understanding of this ritual.
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
What goes around comes around and everyone gets what they deserve. I’ll be raising a glass to Karma this evening. www.gold.ac.uk/news/2025/vc...
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
How do you follow a #fibroid and other more-than-human actors? In two weeks from today I will be in Lisbon giving a keynote on my current research / writing project on #fibroids #womensreproductivehealth #multimodality
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
A little mid-monthly note about things I’ve been up to & things I’m planning to do as I venture forward as an independent multidisciplinary researcher, writer & photographer. Lots of things going on and I look forward to sharing more about in the coming months! open.substack.com/pub/melissan...
open.substack.com
Play #1
a mid-monthly note on happenings
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
"It suggests that developing a commons-based, scholar-led publishing landscape through [presses] managed by working academics cld offer a productive counterpoint to marketised systems of open access + subscription publishing [—] a counter-hegemonic project based on mutual reliance and care"
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
"The academic career is framed as a privileged but high-risk venture that ppl knowingly choose to embark on so they must endure the consequences or find a way to cope, thus obscuring deliberate adoption of biz models that [deprioritize] investment in staff + render large sections of the workforce 🗑️"
tandfonline.com
‘You just have to learn to play the game’: survival, resentment and resignation in women academics’ narratives of precarity
This paper discusses precarious academic labour and its implications for gender and interrelated inequalities, drawing on narrative interviews with temporarily employed UK women academics. It ident...
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
You are correct and I—with colleagues—did this: entanglementsjournal.wordpress.com the archive is here. It was a struggle to get indexed bc of our explicit political choice not to reproduce structures from existing systems that aren’t working as well as they should & can be damaging (peer review).
entanglementsjournal.wordpress.com
Past issues
experiments in multimodal ethnography
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We're Right Here @right-here.org · 20/08/2025
💔 The Museum of Broken Dreams opens in Parliament this September, telling the stories of bold community-led projects blocked by red tape and bureaucracy. 🎟️ Invite your MP to visit and see first-hand the lost potential in our communities. Use the email template: actionnetwork.org/letters/invi...
A pink ticket for Museum of Broken Dreams with a heartbreak motif. The text says: Invite your MP to visit Museum of Broken Dreams. 1 Sept to 4 Sept 2025 in the Houses of Parliament.
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 16/07/2025
Dozens of Israeli teenagers in Tel Aviv burned their draft orders, refusing to serve in the military in protest against the war on Gaza.
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Dr. Alex Ketchum (she/her) @aketchum22.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
The amazing @shannonmattern.bsky.social wrote about her departure from the academy. From title to final period, I have so many feelings about this piece that I can't articulate. @shannonmattern.bsky.social is such a generous and brilliant scholar. wordsinspace.net/2025/06/30/i...
wordsinspace.net
I Prefer Weeds to Ivy
Words in Space is the work of Shannon Mattern.
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Anika König @anikakoenig.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I am delighted to share that Caroline Meier zu Biesen's and my article on #endometriosis activism and/as work is out now in Anthropology of Work Review (Open Access). It is part of a Special Issue on Disability, Chronicity, and Work by Giorgio Brocco and Stefanie Mauksch: doi.org/10.1111/awr....
doi.org
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Ben Miller @benwritesthings.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
england’s commitment to self-abolition is really something
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PoliticsHome @politicshome.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion In a historic step, the House of Commons backed an amendment by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi which proposed that women no longer face prosecution if they end a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without approval from two doctors
politicshome.com
MPs Vote To Decriminalise Abortion
An amendment to decriminalise abortion has passed the House of Commons, bringing it closer to law.
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Natalia Cecire @ncecire.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/re...
sussex.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer awarded €1.47m for unique research on copyright library rejections
The highly competitive awards, which are part of the EU Horizon Europe programme, support researchers at the beginning of their careers
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Reading this article you’d be forgiven for thinking that ‘UK science’ is made up entirely of men and of STEM… www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
theguardian.com
UK wins £500m in science grants from EU Horizon scheme after Brexit lockout
Exclusive: British scientists ‘over the moon’ with re-entry to funding scheme after losing out for three years
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Now emancipated from its paywall. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
researchprofessionalnews.com
To save UK higher education, start talking about knowledge - Research Professional News
Until debate on universities foregrounds their core purposes, their woes will deepen, says Margot Finn
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Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾 @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Given its renewed topicality, I'm making my (spoiler-less) piece on Conclave from December freely available to read for a limited time (until there's a new Pope in place). All reposts (and subscriptions) much appreciated, as always. x #filmsky #skystorians🗃️ #polisky #polrel #socsky #geosky
academicbubble.substack.com
Conclave
In its depiction of the Vatican in flux following the death of the Pope, Conclave explores the ideological schisms, political workings, and impact of scandal in the contemporary Catholic Church.
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Charlie Rumsby @charlierumsby.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Who knew an e-letter could feel as good as post on the doormat? This one’s packed with theatre obsessions, book club drama (the good kind), and big chats about motherhood, identity, and everything in between. theartofmakingfriends.substack.com/p/on-music-m...
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parker higgins @xor.blue · 13/04/2025
10 years ago today I published a blog post about the pomological watercolor collection, which you may know from @pomological.xor.blue. it changed my life in some surprising ways! take a little trip with me down memory lane parkerhiggins.net/2025/04/10-y...
parkerhiggins.net
10 years of pomological watercolors
A decade ago today I published a blog post calling for the US government to release its paintings of fruits. The Pomological Watercolor Collection, as I had recently come to know, is a beautiful and r...
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Yesterday the @theguardian.com published a hugely important investigation into the failures in women’s gyne & reproductive health. This is the *first* time I have seen the admission in print that fibroids and endo are *serious* conditions, it was emotional 1/3 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
One in four women in England have serious reproductive health issue, survey finds
Exclusive: Racial disparities highlighted as researchers estimate 10 million women have conditions such as fibroids or endometriosis
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The New York Review of Books @nybooks.com · 04/04/2025
Vivian Gornick on the wonders of the City College of New York
nybooks.com
The 176-Year Argument | Vivian Gornick
Who were we? Where did we come from? What did we look like, trudging up the hill between Convent Avenue and the subway, sitting obediently in class,
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melissa nolas @smnolas.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Best re-use of a floppy disk I’ve seen for a while 🤗💾🩴 @dh-researchhub.bsky.social #BDHC25
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Alexia Yates @ayates.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Works for so many countries.
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Ariella Azoulay wrote 🌟-sound book for young readers — a Luddite-aligned tale of Jewish + Muslim artisans in Morocco "organizing together against the introduction of a new machine" — and she's sharing it at Storm Books in Greenpoint on March 23!
stormbookstore.com
Mar 23 • Book talk and launch Golden Threads – Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
ArteEast and Storm Books are thrilled to present a book launch of Ariella Aïsha Azoulay’s Golden Threads, published by Ayin Press, followed by a conversation between Azoulay and playwright Michael Zal...
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