@claregs
University-Policy Engagement & ARIs at UPEN/UCL ∣ Impact at the RCA ∣ Researches Victorian literature, social history, freethought periodicals ∣ Book: Constance Naden: Scientist, Philosopher, Poet ∣ she/her https://clarestainthorp.wordpress.com/
Thanks to generosity of our members, @ishash.bsky.social now hosts a page of teaching resources that bring histories of freethought into cultural and intellectual history, literature and religious studies courses. Check it out! atheismsecularismhumanism.wordpress.com/teaching-res...
Thanks to generosity of our members, @ishash.bsky.social now hosts a page of teaching resources that bring histories of freethought into cultural and intellectual history, literature and religious studies courses. Check it out! atheismsecularismhumanism.wordpress.com/teaching-res...
Thanks to @rs4vp.org for the inspiration to put this together!
Most international academic networks and cooperations are about research, not teaching. Therefore I am very happy that our network now has published a page with teaching resources. Examples from many different contexts.
Thanks Anton - it really was a pleasure to get the insights into how our members’ research and teaching intersect (once I’d found the time to work on it!)
Our collection of resources for teaching histories of atheism, secularism, and humanism spans Europe, North America, and Brazil - ranging across intellectual and social history, literature, and religious studies. Check it out and be inspired!
atheismsecularismhumanism.wordpress.com/teaching-res...
Huge thanks to everyone who generously shared their teaching materials! We‘d love to keep building this resource so please get in touch by email if you have materials you’d like to share 📚
ISHASH TEACHING RESOURCES This webpage collects syllabi, module outlines, seminar plans, assignment ideas, and classroom activities related to histories of atheism, secularism, and humanism. Materials are from a variety of teaching contexts, disciplines, and countries. We hope that browsing this page inspires others to introduce aspects of these histories into their teaching. Many thanks to the ISHASH members who have generously shared their teaching materials. These
Introducing our new Teaching Resources page! Check out the syllabi, reading lists, and assignment ideas shared by ISHASH members. We hope this inspires others to bring the histories of atheism, secularism & humanism into their teaching.
Former Leverhulme Early Career Fellow @claregs.bsky.social @qmul.bsky.social on how investing in networks and seeking connections can set you up for success.
Tune into episode 3 of #ConfessionsOfAnECR on networking and mentors in academia.
🎬 youtu.be/AdtU1Q1TOdo?...
teaching histories of atheism, secularism, and humanism. speakers Tina Block (Thompson Rivers University, Canada), Katharina Neef (University of Leipzig, Germany), and Atko Remmel (University of Tartu, Estonia). February 18th, 10.00 PT, 13.00 ET, 18.00 GMT, and 19.00 CET To sign up for the webinar and get the zoom link email ishashmail@gmail.com
Our first webinar of 2026 will be a chance to reflect on, discuss, and share experiences of teaching histories of atheism, secularism, and humanism. Join us on Wed 18 February - just get in touch to register, all welcome! atheismsecularismhumanism.wordpress.com/seminars/
Check out the new Fellowship Program for Humanist Thought @americanhumanist.bsky.social for early career researchers working in any discipline on the humanist-secularist-nonreligious spectrum! Deadline 20 March 2026. Details here: americanhumanist.org/about/opport...
Thank you for introducing her work to me! I’m fascinated by it
Happy Friday, have a newsletter:
sabinastent.substack.com/p/jane-grave...
A voice of informed reason in a weltering wilderness of wild claims.
Big thanks for all the suggestions! I spent my morning coffee break compiling them into a Google map for other hungry and thirsty scholars: maps.app.goo.gl/dTmWWY2jDhhE...
How the financial problem is described is not neutral. It reflects and reinforces a particular way of understanding what a university is and how it should function. If the financial situation is framed as a classic demand-and-cost problem (i.e., demand is insufficient, prices are constrained, and unit costs are too high), then the university is, implicitly, being treated as a ‘service provider’ operating in a competitive international education market where students are customers. In that frame, the obvious actions are to emphasise tight cost controls and to strengthen output-focused performance metrics, targets and incentives such as promotions based on publications in highly rated journals, income generation or teaching satisfaction scores. If the same financial situation is framed instead as a system-level shock that threatens the conditions under which teaching, research and public service can flourish, then a different picture of the university comes into view: a ‘living knowledge ecosystem’ serving a public mission and facing financial constraints partly beyond its control. Within that frame, the responses appears quite different. Attention turns to protecting core capacities, reducing harm to the most vulnerable parts of the system and working with others to share risks and resources. In both cases, the numbers in the spreadsheets are the same. What differs is the story told about the problem, and the underlying image of the university that story presupposes. At present, the former factory-like framing is the most common. With it, the danger is that, under a narrative of financial constraints, universities take actions that emphasise governance practices that reshape behaviour so deeply that, over time, what remains may still be called a ‘university’, but no longer acts like one.
Three short paragraphs, and you've got the whole mind-bending mess that is #UKHE finance & governance neatly laid out.
This is why it's all so exhausting: our managers declare there's only one static frame, while we know their framing is part of the issue.
💡 www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/01/10/w...
This started with the tearing down of Palestinian flags. That in itself is dreadful -- and we tried to oppose that intimidation. Astonishing just how quickly that has moved to the censorship of all possible organising and solidarity.
sorry I'm late! I have at last broken my silence on Pantone's Color of the Year johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/cloud-danc...
This was such a joy-filled event! @conwayhall.bsky.social at its best - bringing communities, histories, and ethical culture together! Wishing @francesmlynch.bsky.social and all other the singers a very merry Yuletide!
I was part of the fantastic team that developed and wrote this report and evidence papers. If you’re interested in place-based and/or environmental policy making, do check it out!
The front cover of the British Academy's report: A place-sensitive approach for environmental sustainability
Today, the Academy publishes a report setting out findings from our Where We Live Next programme on place-led approaches to environmental sustainability. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...
I used actual 15th-century dog names from Scott-McNab’s edition of “Names of All Manners of Hounds” for this print using some of the dog letterpress blocks I’ve collected. “Beste-of-all” uses the tol Maple (my “good freend”) I lasercut, of course. + #DHmakes
Omfg inject this article right into my veins!!! The advertising panopticon is aware that I recently turned 36, and is trying to make me feel bad-but-don't-worry-it's-fixable-buy-this-do-this... FUCK THAT.
"The Anti-Cosmetic Surgery Essay Every Woman Should Read"
open.substack.com/pub/fatherka...
Next year we are co-hosting a celebration event with @rshc.bsky.social to mark the 100th issue of History Workshop Journal.
📍Birkbeck, University of London
🗓️Saturday 31 January 2026
⏱️14:00-18:00
Everyone welcome! Please make sure to book via the link below.
A beautiful but devastating essay to start your day, from Cynthia Zarin @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social
lareviewofbooks.org/article/dont...
One hour left to donate to preserve Conway Hall’s historic venue and continue hosting events that inspire community, creativity & ethical discussion!
Or why not join our wonderful community and become a member? www.conwayhall.org.uk/membership/
If you are a historian with policy-facing interests who has recently submitted their PhD (or will do so imminently), this fantastic new London-based postdoc fellowship in Applied History could be for you. www.history.ac.uk/fellowships/...
Great to see my article on 19th century secularists’ use of the biographical dictionary in such brilliant company!
Proud to have been part of Woodcraft Folk as a child 💚
They’ve been so respectful and so understanding of the decision, but profoundly sad,” she said. “I spoke to one 80-year-old woman who has been in our organisation for decades, who said it was one of the greatest experiences of her life, and the only place in her 80 years where she’s been treated as a woman with respect.”
Shocking that they had conversations like this (which just reading made me cry) and decided to plough on. Surely this would make you fight for your members’ rights.
