iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 8h

beyond “don’t be stupid”* ai literacy is a completely meaningless term that makes it sound like there are rules that users could learn that will improve the uses of the tools. *don’t be stupid covers everything from “don’t put in personal info” to “avoid becoming convinced chatGPT is a new deity”

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This is how we should see these magnificant animals, not hauled up on a boat or in fillets on a slab. We should no more catch or kill this rare and stunning megafauna than we should trap or kill tigers or whales. Here are some more of Rupert’s photos from yesterday, with his kind permission.

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University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

With two days of strike action under our belts, we now begin over two months of continuous in response to our university's gross financial negligence. Shout out to Notts Solidarity Group for the slides! And @tregenza.bsky.social for the original photos.

67 days of industrial action against course closures and job losses

Why are staff striking?

The University of Nottingham identified a £30 million deficit after wasting £80 million pounds on consultants and vanity projects such as the
‘Castle Meadow’ Campus, which is now unsellable.

Over 3900 staff received notice of risk of redundancy, with 258 administrative
/ professional services roles to be made redundant.

UCU argues that there is now no financial justification for compulsory redundancies.

Student recruitment has been strong, voluntary redundancy has increased, staff have submitted extensive alternative proposals capable of delivering further savings and the university itself is saying it now has a surplus.

Management have refused to rule out further compulsary redundancies and are intent on making students and staff pay for their mistakes by closing courses vital for the East Midlands.

When are staff striking?

Staff at the University of Nottingham Started striking on 30th September and 1st October, as the University’s governing Council met to finalize restructuring plans.

The two-day strike is now followed by sustained strike Action from 5th October TO 11th December.

Support the UCU: email the vice chancellor to tell her what you think of her plans. and Please consider making a donation if you are able. The Local Branch Hardship Fund is maintained to help strikers who will suffer significant hardship from loss of pay due to striking.

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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Your city might not be as far gone as Birmingham, but no matter where you live, you're likely to find familiar many of the aspects of @sarahchaundler.bsky.social's brilliant and now publicly available short film "City of Cars." Stop what you're doing and watch this.

vimeo.com

City of Cars: shorter version

Please be aware that this film contains scenes which show the impact of road traffic collisions, which some people may find upsetting.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I'm now past the phase of receiving sycophantic bot emails about how brilliant my new book is, and into the phase of increasingly rude follow-up emails: most recently just, "hello???"

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

PPE has always been above the law.

A marbled pillar in the Arts Building at the University of Birmingham. Above, a printed notice saying,"Please do not put notices on these walls." Below, a more recent notice directing students to a "PPE (Politics, Philosophy, and Economics) induction."

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Alexander Kasprzyk @amkasprzyk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The ability to end these disruptive strikes lies in the hands of @uniofnottingham.bsky.social managers. The staff on strike are trying to save the university and the education of current and future students. #UCU #UKHE www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Student: University of Nottingham strikes 'not what we signed up for'

The University of Nottingham said it was "disappointed" by the timing of industrial action.

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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Oh my goodness, it CAN be done!

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Why isn't one of the broken mugs here (in this Guardian cartoon) the famous "Controls on Immigration" one? Or is that not a slogan Burnham fans are prepared to say was bad?

A political cartoon from The Guardian showing a pile of broken mugs, with slogans on them saying "NI rise," "Doom & Gloom," "Two-child cap" and "Winter fuel cut" (all references to bad Starmer policies), and on top an intact mug with steam rising from it, an image of Andy Burnham and the word "Hope".

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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

But, needless to say, that is not a university: that’s a taxpayer-subsidized engine for private capital accumulation that retains the external form of a university —a beloved brand, taken over by private equity, that’s now different & worse, but keeps the old name—which is of course the whole point.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A little bit of good news (although of course clamping these cars in place means they're still blocking footways and visibility).

Two cars fully parked on the pavement in south Birmingham, both with yellow triangular wheel clamps.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

If you live in Birmingham and don't already subscribe to The Dispatch--you really should!

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Ironic that one of the things @felicitycallard.bsky.social is describing is the erosion of the very concept of "teaching a module"! And with it, the further erosion of individual scholars' control over what and how they teach.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In my part of the university they cut the support staff, then cut the joint honours programmes "because they're creating too much work for the support staff." We no longer offer History & Philosophy (among many other things).

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Some people in my city think it's ok to park like this, not just on the pavement but entirely blocking it, and not just anywhere but on the road to a primary school. #waronwalking

A car parked right over the entire pavement, blocking all safe pedestrian travel.

A second car doing the same thing on the other side of the same road.

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Laurent Dubois @soccerpolitics.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

"Scholars have groped for what even to call this dire diminishment of intellectual capacity. 'Human enfeeblement' has been proposed, and alike 'cognitive surrender' and even 'cognitive extinction.' (You could also call it, 'losing your mind.')"

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I endorse the anti-AI pedagogy, obviously, but also: imagine having this kind of democratic, department-level control over our policies and practices. Not in UKHE!

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Paul Johnson's turn as a radio journalist is giving me renewed respect for Alan Partridge.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Good scrolling effect at the top of this: www.propublica.org/article/dona...

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Benjamin Franklin House @benfranklinhouse.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Join us for a lunchtime conversation featuring historians Tom Cutterham and Leanne O’Boyle! In-person tickets include a self-guided tour of Benjamin Franklin House! Thursday 17th September 2026, 12pm-1:30pm Benjamin Franklin House & online Link in bio for more details!

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Solve the School Run @solveschoolrun.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Sadly such a common sight. And absolutely not acceptable. #schoolstreets #streetsforkids #carspreading

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Joseph M. Adelman @jmadelman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

When it comes to any new technology, the burden should be on its proponents to explain and show that it's (1) ethical and (2) pedagogically sound before it's introduced in the classroom. Most of the AI debate is flipped, as if objecting on ethical or environmental grounds is a personality quirk.

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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 06/09/2026

We know how to teach books in the age of AI: small classes, close reading, research-engaged learning (which is how you ’let students see you struggle’). The issue is nobody will hire and pay the requisite # of faculty to offer this.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Londoners! Two weeks from now I will be in your neck of the woods, talking about at @benfranklinhouse.bsky.social with the wonderful Leanne O'Boyle about our two books, *Empire Ablaze* and *Patriots, Radicals, and Revolutionaries* | 17 September 12-1.30pm www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/historians...

eventbrite.co.uk

Historians in Conversation with Tom Cutterham & Leanne O'Boyle

Join us in-person OR online for a chat between two leading historians exploring Britain and the American Revolution!

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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

We have to reform our governance structures to avoid this being sprung on us again. We are not a corporation. VCs don't deserve that pay. Universities are a non-profit, educational instituons. We need to prioritse academic freedom to pursue curiosity-led research and world leading education.

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Alex Prichard @profalexp.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

My 3rd thread on the dispute at Exeter Uni. What are we fighting for? Is it just to save jobs? No. We need a workplace that is run by the expert professionals that make up the staff body. This 🧵 explains the governance reform proposals we have put to Council, Senate and the Uni Exec #DefendExeterUni

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Glad to see all the royals are cut price, though.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

"When I am in my study and among my books, and have nothing to encumber me I am happy. But so weak are my spirits that the the smallest hurry and even the consciousness of having any thing to do which *must* be done, will sometimes distress and overpower me." Richard Price, 1779

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Writing on 7 May 1775, Jefferson sends three dozen bottles of Madeira wine, and reports the news of fighting at Lexington & Concord. "This accident has cut off our last hopes of reconciliation, and a phrenzy of revenge seems to have seized all ranks of people." founders.archives.gov/documents/Je...

founders.archives.gov

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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

“If you want research led teaching then at a minimum you have to allow teaching staff time to *read* and incorporate new research” I say every year as I object, again, to a workload model that allows 50mins prep per 1 hour teaching.

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Karen Racine @klracine.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

There are few things wrong with the world today that simply being funded and staffed at full and appropriate levels would not fix.

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Phil McDuff @mcduff.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Honestly "we called a COBRA meeting to discuss the impact of climate change on the UK and have decided to ban disposable barbecues" is probably gonna turn out to be a hallmark Burnhamite policy.

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Suspect I'm not the only trade union rep reading this very sad story who finds the employer's abuse of "informal meetings" and failure to follow their own HR policies extremely familiar. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Treasury ‘materially contributed’ to suicide of personal assistant, coroner finds

Chloe Moffat, 26, killed herself after disciplinary proceedings which coroner found be to be flawed

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The Cambridge School @thecambridgeschool.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

JOB! (and not a bad one, either) "The Department of History at Stanford University invites applications for a senior faculty appointment (with tenure) at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor in the history of political thought and institutions, broadly construed."

higheredjobs.com

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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Join me and @mykaabramson.bsky.social on 20 August for a conversation about the connections between climate justice and Palestine solidarity. All welcome to come along!

Poster for Deepening the Connections: Climate Justice and Palestine Solidarity

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Yes, great, wonderful, thanks. Another refreshing draught of continuity Starmerism!

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Right, but surely you could do all these things at even lower cost by making it online-only!

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Is the "all teaching is in person" thing considered a cost-saving, and if so how does that work?

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

And the esteemed @frankcogliano.bsky.social says it's a "beautifully-written gem of a book [that] stands out from the crowd" -- even though I only mention Thomas Jefferson ONCE!

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Tom Cutterham @tomcutterham.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

SHEAR Best Book Prize Winner (as of last weekend!) @rickbell.bsky.social says it's an "urgent reinterpretation of the American Revolution [that] restores sabotage, solidarity, and working-class dreams to the center of a world-changing upheaval."

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