@emmamerkling
Lecturer (Assist. Prof.) in British Art @manchester.ac.ukโฌ | Research Deputy @cncsi.bsky.social | Co-Host of @drawingbloodpod.bsky.social | Writing & teaching c19 British art and science | Victorian ecologies, bodies, occultisms, subjectivity | she/they ๐ป๐ฎ
Very cool postdoctoral opportunity on an ERC project looking at 'Art and Liberation Movements during 20th Century Decolonization'. werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
On next @drawingbloodpod.bsky.social episode, this one about Midsommar. This exchange was very funny: pca.st/episode/22de...
Happy Monday! This is your friendly reminder that Leary Resource Development Grant applications are due this coming Sunday, March 15! Leary Grants offer up to $27,500 USD to support new tools, repositories, datasets, + other projects that deepen our engagement with the #19thC press.
to write in long form is to reckon with yourself
250,000 human remains.
Just started @nationaltrust.org.uk Wightwick Manor exhibition about extended Rossetti family including newly acquired portrait of Christina. Wightwick's a beautiful house anyway and has permanent @demorganfoundation.bsky.social display www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/birmin...
Depending on how visual and British the project is, the Paul Mellon Centre small grants are really great for this
I remember reading it to my little sister 15ish years ago in South Africa so โฆ yes!
Exactly how I was feeling last night. Solidarity!
Despicable from Labour. Had these rules been in place when I moved to the UK, I would never have been able to stay here.
British Academy response to the Department for Education's technical consultation on the Interational Student Levy 18 February 2026 Background The Department for Education is consulting on the proposed levy on international student income, due to be introduced in England in August 2028.
โWe remain deeply concerned that universities will be unable to absorb the cost of the levyโs
introduction. The loss of cross-subsidy for domestic teaching & research will harm
universitiesโ ability to deliver their core functionsโ
Our response to the levy
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/60...
Open botanical book showing detailed black and white plant illustrations with a hand holding a fold-out page. Foldout plate ofย Aloe Americana Polygonaย fromย Praeludia Botanica, (Caspar Commelin,1703);Dr Williamsโs Library,ย 1012.M.14.
In our latest blog, placement student Verity Burton examines botany and empire in the Dutch Golden Age, reflecting on how botanical illustration, global trade and colonial extraction were deeply intertwined.
Read the full blog here: https://ow.ly/5fz350Yl2vi
Weโre hiring a Social Media Manager at the British Library.
Join our Digital Engagement team and help connect audiences with the stories, collections and ideas of the UKโs national library.
๐ St Pancras
Apply by 15 March 2026
More details here: link.bl.uk/rkj
In Defense of Effeminate Boys If anyone had suggested that I might really be a girl, I donโt know how I would have responded. By Ben Appel
If medical authorities have a rigorous way of distinguishing effeminate boys from transgender kidsโor of distinguishing transgender kids from proto-gay kidsโthey arenโt saying. I have met a number of detransitioned gay men who tried to live as women for a time because they and their families were so averse to homosexuality. According to a 2019 report in The Times of London, staffers at Britainโs foremost gender-identity clinic joked darkly that, as a result of the facilityโs work, โthere would be no gay people left.โ A statement last month by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons noted that there is no validated way to assess whether a childโs gender distress will persist over time or disappear without medical intervention. A lack of good research and recordkeeping means that we may never know how many patients who would have been considered effeminate gay boys not so long ago have undergone medical treatments for gender dysphoria.
Absolute trash. The author did not speak to a single medical professional and the article does not contain a shred of evidence that effeminate gay boys are being bamboozled into thinking they're trans.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Proto-anarchist Anglo-Saxonist whimsy, a very specific political vibe
Crafting a version of reality in which right-wing college students are being persecuted for their strongly held beliefs not only legitimizes the firing of so-called liberal professors, but makes these actions necessary to save students from systemic harassment at the hands of a powerful institution.
For those who are minded to do so, there's now a petition to sign too...
#DirtyBusiness
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...
Crimes of the future really grew on me. Thank you for listening!
Always makes my day to hear that people listen to (and enjoy!) our silly little side project
This is one of the most reasoned & persuasive arguments for not allowing LLMs anywhere near reading & writing intensive classrooms. We can 100% choose not to outsource our reading & writing labor to a bot, and model for our students why they should do the same. #EduSky
www.tue.nl/en/our-unive...
Study finds ChatGPT Health did not recommend a hospital visit when medically necessary in more than half of cases. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
A good day to live in Manchester! ๐๐
โIn fact, the left appears to be so successfully engaged in matters related to AI that one canโt help but wonder if allegations about its supposed ignorance of the technology are motivated by a desire to change the very terms of the debate.โ - @bcmerchant.bsky.social
๐๐๐
Gorton and Denton constituency poll results VOTING INTENTION Opinium for Forward Democracy 16-24 Feb 2026 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 30% 28% 28% 0% - Green Reform Labour Independent Lib Dem WHICH PARTY PEOPLE WOULD VOTE TACTICALLY FOR Opinium for Forward Democracy 16-24 Feb 2026 70% 60% 66% 50% 40% 30% 41% 20% 10% 0% ั LD & Lab willing to vote Green LD & Green willing to vote Labour FORWARD DEMOCRACY StopReformUK.VOTE
Full details of the final opinion poll in Gorton and Denton.
Greens ahead and more likely to be the choice of tactical voter to keep out Reform.
Share. Everywhere.
These are โlow enrollmentโ majors but the classes are regularly at capacity. They changed the funding structure a few years ago here, switching the allocation from course enrollments to majors then blamed these departments for a structural, top-down change. This is entirely a political choice.
Fore-edge painting depicting a view of Venice (gondolas, lovely architecture, a colourful gold, red and yellow sky with clouds)
Fore-edge painting depicting a view of Venice (gondolas, lovely architecture, a colourful gold, red and yellow sky with clouds). Seller's hands holding the book to display the picture are in the image.
Just LOOK at this gorgeous fore-edge painting from Gaetano Polidori's 1919 'Traduzione del lament di Tasso di Lord Byron'. @preraphaelitesoc.bsky.social ๐
๐จJob klaxon ๐จ
Come and be my colleague at York! We're looking for an Associate Lecturer in Modern British History and Public History. Two year post - apply by 19 March. ๐๏ธ
More details here www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQO971/a...
If youโre a fan of the pod or just looking for a small gig, pls help us out with some new (spooky, fun) music! Pls share widely
Four dental phantoms sitting on stands with square bases. The tops of these dental phantoms are polished, shiny silver, with the denture-like false teeth, mouths wide open, framed by pink or orange-pink gums.
As part of the new special issue on "The Intersection of Humanities and Ethics in Dentistry," you can now read open access my article "The Dental Phantom as a Tool for Exploring Fear, the Face, and Dental Education." ๐ฆท
Hoping to turn this into a much bigger project!
commons.ada.org/cgi/viewcont...