Dr Sarah J Young

Looking forward to seeing Ukraine Unbroken @arcolatheatre.bsky.social this weekend

On International Women's Day let's remember the women of Barcelona 1936 who began an incipient sexual revolution against reaction but also against the attitudes of own male comrades who for all their utopian rhetoric were often as sexist as ever when home as is often the case around the world.

You can read more about her at www.infinite-women.com/women/ada-lo...

The House of Lords Digital & Communications Committee just published their report on AI, copyright & the creative industries, and their conclusions could not be clearer.

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Remember my niece being thoroughly shocked when she discovered Robin Hood wasn’t actually a fox.

Superb work.

Who's afraid of realism? 'Notes from Underground' by Fyodor Dostoevsky Podcast Episode · Close Readings · 2 March · 1h 9m

‘Here we have a book that probably to Flaubert, when he looked at it, would have seemed insane, incoherent, formally appalling, unstable, lunatic.’

James Wood on Dostoevsky’s 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, on our Close Readings subscription podcast. Listen to an extract:
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

🚨 It looks like the UK government is gearing up to upend copyright law in favour of AI companies, legalising the theft of their work.

This is despite creatives' huge protests, and despite previous proposals being roundly rejected by the public.

Please spread the word.

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In memory of Pete, we have launched the Pete Duncan Memorial Fund, which will support PhD students at the School. Donations can be made via peter-duncan-2026.muchloved.com

Welsh Cakes I feel that if I’m talking about Welsh Cakes, I should really introduce them first by their proper, Welsh name, Picau ar y maen, which simply means “cakes on the stone”, and the stone being the flat g...

As is only right and proper, Welsh Cakes are #RecipeOfTheDay, with thanks to Heulwen Williams who let me play with her granny’s recipe. Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 www.nigella.com/recipes/wels...

All good things come to an end It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that the UCL Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences and Arts & Humanities have decided to close the IAS on 31 July 2026.

They're closing down the best bit of the university (for no reason other than the higher ups apparently thinking this model of collaboration and interdisciplinarity isn't STEMmy enough)

www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

Russia Takes the Gulag Out of the Gulag History Museum in Moscow

Putin whitewashes the horrors of Stalinist forced labor camps by closing the Gulag History Museum in Moscow & replacing w/ one focused solely on Nazi crimes against the Soviets (which yes, there were), but memorializing one & effacing the other is an utter travesty.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/w...

Reform would create ICE-style agency and end leave to remain, Zia Yusuf to say Nigel Farage’s party plans to deport up to 288,000 people a year on five flights a day and expand stop and search

If you want concentration camps in the UK, people being grabbed off the streets, or murdered on them, five year olds being separated from their parents and locked up #VoteReform

The floor plan for the planned ICE concentration camp in Social Circle, Georgia:

The students claiming uni Covid compensation 'for the principle' Dozens of universities have received legal letters over what students say they missed out on during Covid.

Yet again we in Higher Ed get everything bad from being private institutions, and everything bad from being seen as part of the public sector. We can be sued and sued again for actions which we didn't cause, which hit *us*. And yet ppl think we are backed by govt. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Soviet Genocide’ Museum to Replace Shuttered Gulag History Museum in Moscow - The Moscow Times A museum dedicated to the “genocide of the Soviet people” and Nazi war crimes will replace Moscow’s award-winning Gulag History Museum more than a year after its abrupt closure over alleged safety vio...

"First established in 2001, the Gulag History Museum told visitors the story of the Soviet Union’s vast network of forced labor camps, as well as their legacy in modern Russia, with artifacts gathered from all over the country.

Its closure came as Russian authorities have worked to

@oliahercules.bsky.social will cook borsch tomorrow on #SaturdayKitchen 10am live on #BBCOne then at #BBCIplayer. She asks us please to spread the word, especially among 300k strong displaced Ukrainians in the UK+hopes this will be a good boost of morale. #standwithukraine A delicious bowl of borsch!

@oliahercules.bsky.social will cook borsch tomorrow on #SaturdayKitchen 10am live on #BBCOne then at #BBCIplayer. She asks us please to spread the word, especially among 300k strong displaced Ukrainians in the UK+hopes this will be a good boost of morale. #standwithukraine

@nigella.bsky.social

The *only* place it should appear!

My biggest Russian-English translation bugbear: the continued use of “trifles” to translate «пустяки» and «мелочи». Is “trifles” used *anywhere* these days other than in translations of 19th century Russian literature and critical works that cite such translations?

The acolytes of this firm came to leaflet at QMUL as well. They were fairly open about why they had chosen UCL as the first case: moneyed parents, many with law background. Implied dismissiveness of my students.

I feel genuinely sorry for students, but these firms are not in it for the greater good

Students begin Covid compensation claim against 36 more universities It comes after University College London settled a claim from students there over lost learning in the pandemic.

This is emblematic of the consumer culture that fees have engendered.

What the hell did the students expect? It was a ONCE IN A CENTURY PANDEMIC. There were LAWS against congregating in public. Staff worked themselves to the bone to get online delivery working.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The suits against universities for changing teaching during the pandemic is such a passive slap in the face to those who taught it. We did our bloody best! I worked hours and hours beyond my contract. I redid an entire curriculum to be online
It wasn’t pleasant to me either!!!

Peter J.S. Duncan (1953-2026) We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Dr Peter Duncan.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear colleague and friend, Dr Peter Duncan. Professor Simon Dixon pays tribute to him here: www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

The Soviet-Chinese propaganda posters seem to be the story of a beautiful interracial gay couple who met in a metallurgical and got married and had beautiful children and a farm

Happy Cold War Valentine's Day!

Helen Goh’s recipe for Valentine’s chocolate pots de creme for two | The sweet spot Delicate, rich and silky chocolate pots to round off a romantic dinner

Why can’t I lose weight? asks the woman who lives in a house with two chocolate stashes, gave her partner marc de champagne truffles for Valentine’s Day, and is making this for pud this evening www.theguardian.com/food/2026/fe...

Умер писатель и историк Рой Медведев — Meduza Советский и российский писатель, историк и публицист Рой Медведев умер на 101-м году жизни, сообщает ТАСС со ссылкой на его родственников.

The great Soviet dissident historian Roi Mevedev has died at the age of 100. He is best known in the West for his pioneering 1971 study of Stalinism «К суду историй» (“To the Judgment of History,” published in English as “Let History Judge.” He was the brother of fellow dissident Zhores

OTD in 2022 George Galloway released one of the absolute, all-time classics.

He has yet to delete it, show humility, or confirm/deny if this means he in fact being paid to act like an idiot, or if he just does it free.

#JustAskingQuestions

Desperately sad news from SSEES. Generations of students adored Pete Duncan, and he was devoted to them. We became friends at Chatham House, when he swept the library staff into his orbit, breaking down barriers everywhere he went. Raising a glass to Pete tonight.

Pete Duncan was always the most welcoming and supportive colleague, a legend among students and our picket line hero. He’ll be in our memories for a very long time. Rest in peace Pete. 😢

We’re all in complete shock.