Clare Downham

@downham.bsky.social

Medievalist. She/Her. All DMs are blocked (Bluesky ID issue). Currently studying Scottish Gaelic part time with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

@ccooijmans.bsky.socialReposted by @downham.bsky.social

'[This is an academic] system in which institutions [...] have shifted ever greater pedagogical and administrative responsibilities onto increasingly shorthanded and overburdened workforces, even as salaries have seen significant cuts in real value.' Please amplify and circulate if you can!

@downham.bsky.social

It doesn’t directly do that though does it? the statement is factually correct and presented as a critique of the proscription of Palestine Action not an endorsement of Palestine Action, and that’s legally quite different cf. Voltaire on free speech. I do not see law breaking here.

@northernstudies.bsky.socialReposted by @downham.bsky.social

Our statement has been sent to all MSPs, Scottish MPs, and university VPs, urging them to raise the matter and/or make meaningful efforts to alter course. We urge anyone concerned to likewise reach out to their respective MSPs and MPs.

Page 1 of a document titled 'The Humanities at Risk: A Statement from the Scottish Society for Northern Studies', with date 12 October 2026: Full text found here: https://www.ssns.org.uk/featured/humanities-at-risk/Page 2 of a document titled 'The Humanities at Risk: A Statement from the Scottish Society for Northern Studies', with date 12 October 2026: Full text found here: https://www.ssns.org.uk/featured/humanities-at-risk/
@sundersays.bsky.socialReposted by @downham.bsky.social

More in Common have similar findings from asking a different question: a broad majority for refugee protection depends on control as well as compassion. To reject refugees entirely (cruelty without compassion) pitches to a niche auction of Reform v Restore on remigration + racism, not the public

@wearequeeraf.comReposted by @downham.bsky.social

ICYMI: The nation of Niger has become the first nation in the world to criminalise asexuality as part of a wider crackdown on the LGBTQIA+ community

@pronounced-ing.bsky.socialReposted by @downham.bsky.social

"Whereas the AI users got answers wrong or gave up entirely when the AI assistance was withdrawn, the group without AI stuck with the task and were more successful at the end."

@downham.bsky.social

Ever wanted to sleep in a library? This is Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden. I don’t have time to look at books this morning though. The view from my room feels like being in a Brontë novel. Feels like a good place for a writing retreat someday #booksky

@downham.bsky.social

Wat’s Dyke - early medieval earthworks visible in the woods around Erddig National trust property near the border of Wales and England. Superb tour by Prof Howard Williams (University of Chester) the relationship of this dyke with Offa’s dyke further south is still debated #medievalsky

@handhyorkshire.bsky.socialReposted by @downham.bsky.social

🧵Hidden for over 1,300 years, the Street House Anglo-Saxon cemetery tells the story of an enigmatic 7th-century elite community. In a time when England wavered between pagan traditions and a rising Christian faith, a woman frequently referred to as the "Saxon Princess" was laid to

Beads from the Street House Anglo-Saxon cemetery (graves 10 and 70) near Loftus, North Yorkshire Image Prioryman CC BY-SA 3.0
@angryblacklady.blacksky.appReposted by @downham.bsky.social

"What are we, a bunch of BROWN people?" This is white people doing white people shit. Y'all had picnics under our hanging bodies but sure ok. It's like the Taliban.

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