What actually is a PhD?
Why might you want to undertake one?
How would you write a research proposal or fund the PhD?
Our Postgraduate Researcher Opportunities Showcase on Wednesday 28th October will provide the answers... www.eventbrite.com/e/postgradua...
Longer paths to settlement
No paths to settlement
Conditional paths to settlement
#Labour immigration policy needs a deep rethink and change of direction
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
It’s getting real, 🦋s! Cover pic sorted for “Immigration in Western Europe: Tensions, Contradictions and Inconsistencies Between and Within Different Political Actors and Institutions.”!
Solidarity with all the colleagues on strike across higher education at the moment
Another university is possible and this is what this manifesto is about
While I'm at it, solidarity with French students too obviously and anyone fighting for better
sites.google.com/view/manifes...
“Yet [Starmer’s] choice of language was a reminder of how the idea of the stranger – representing #immigration, but also wider, more inchoate anxieties about otherness and difference – holds such a potent place in #Britain today.”
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Michael Rosen Day is November 12 2026
Click on this link for details. Free live stream and loads of resources for teachers and children,.
www.michaelrosen.co.uk/michaelrosen...
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics.
A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
13 yrs after the murder of Pavlos Fyssas by members of the Golden Dawn, the leading member of the party is released from prison&commits to a return to politics. In solidarity with friends at the demonstrations&memorial events for Fyssas in Athens&the whole country. infolibre.gr/2026/09/17/a...
...anyone with an interest in the way people speak (especially in Greater Manchester), and how that relates to who they are and where they live. Some very kind linguists have said some very nice things about it (thank you!), so that's gone some way to reassuring me that the book works!
What we saw this weekend cannot become the norm. People seeking asylum were targeted, as racist violence and intimidation escalated.
We’ve joined more than 150 organisations calling on the government to act urgently and take concrete steps to stop it.
150+ organisations are raising the alarm on the horrifying escalation in racist violence and intimidation.
We must come together to demand the government takes serious action.
To refugees: you are welcome here. We stand with you. Your safety matters.
People wearing masks, marching through our streets and stoking fear, are unacceptable. It’s more than “thuggery”. It’s racism, walking boldly through our communities. And it's emboldened by political rhetoric.
New book!
Trauma-Informed Applied Linguistics: Perspectives on Migration, Language and Resilience edited by Maybritt D. Woodcock and Emily M. Feuerherm is out now.
Get 30% off with code TIAL30 on our website until the end of September! ⬇️
Instead of publicly condemning this terrifying behaviour, politicians keep fanning the flames of hatred by using dehumanising language about people seeking safety, and creating laws that target refugee rights.
It's time the government stood up for welcome and safety, and united communities.
3. We can all have debates about what the Arday case means. But right now all I see is a dead human being, the people who set out to destroy him and the journalists who attacked him like a pack of wolves, the Guardian among them
It's one of the most common questions about asylum.
Refugees don't just need safety. They need family, community and the chance to rebuild their lives.
International law doesn't require people to seek asylum in the first safe country they reach.
History shapes journeys.
This is rare thing in the UK currently, but Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University is seeking to appoint a full-time and permanent lecturer specialising in critical discourse studies. hr-jobs.lancs.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
I liked Nolan's 'Odyssey'. Although Odysseus is a very postmodern American hero, the film does good justice to the nonlinearity of storytelling &addresses the ethics of hospitality/'ξενία'.Stories live through retelling&recontextualisation and how we treat guests/"strangers" is tied to who we are.
I have a master's degree in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, I've studied the 'Odyssey' in Ancient Greek, and I've been writing about the ancient world for over a decade. This is my exhaustive review of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'.
#Odyssey#classicstalesoftimesforgotten.com/2026/07/23/a...
“The influx comes after Spain's Supreme Court ruled that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish enclave, cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Tackling racism will benefit us all, from fairer institutions, to more equitable wealth distribution, creating healthy communities where everyone has the ability to prosper.
Read the full open letter on our website 🔗
'Sign your card to Andy Burnham' to urge the govt to create safe routes to asylum claims and reject the divisive rhetoric around migration&asylum seeking
"As people who have rebuilt our lives here after fleeing conflict and persecution, we ask you to show the compassionate leadership we know you are capable of. " - Please sign our housewarming card to the new Prime Minister! @rasvoice.bsky.socialact.refugee-action.org.uk/page/195459/...
I strongly believe in giving the man a chance. But keeping Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary suggests the vicious attacks on immigrants and refugees, and self-defeating attempts to outrun the far right, are likely to continue. Which is pretty damn depressing. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
We want change.
Change from harmful rhetoric to genuine protection.
Change from division to unity.
Change from hostility to hope.
We’ll keep fighting until that change comes ✊
Are you interested in developing a genuinely interdisciplinary piece of research?
Applications for the International Interdisciplinary Research Projects, focused on the theme of ‘Mobilities’ are now open.
Apply now: https://bit.ly/4y9wiwJ
We were pleased to see many MPs speak out about the divisive, harmful and racist language often used to talk about people seeking safety in the UK.
This is vital as language holds power and gives way to real life consequences, including the violence and disorder we have seen on our streets.
4/🧵
MPs warned the Immigration and Asylum Bill is "unsafe and unworkable" and challenged the rise of far-right politics.
The answer to the far right isn't to copy its politics.
Scrap the bill.
The best conference closure ever #cadaad2026. @laurafilardollamas.bsky.social truly hosted us as guests in her house. Thank you to the whole team for a great conference&for the warm hospitality @cadaad2026.bsky.social.
CADAAD After Dark™️ was memorable last night at @cadaad2026.bsky.social. An amazing meal in a colourful venue; full of laughs, smiles & new ideas for papers. No prizes given out for dancing but 👏👏 to [names redacted to preserve professional veneer] for revealing an entirely new skill set #cadaad2026
@chrishartlinguist.bsky.social is cracking on at #cadaad2026 day 3 with an eloquently delivered plenary talk on the multimodal performances of rightwing populism (despite the slightly hoarse voice because of conference dinner fun) @cadaad2026.bsky.social
Attending CADAAD 2026 next week?
Don't miss Commissioning Editor Sarah's 30min overview of how to publish a book in our Advances in Critical Discourse Studies series: bit.ly/444OcTC
📅Thu 9 July
🕝14:30 CEST
📍TBC on programme
All welcome!
@cadaad2026.bsky.social@cadaad.bsky.social
Governments come and go.
But blaming refugees has never fixed the UK's broken asylum system.
The next Prime Minister must choose a different path: safe routes, the right to work, decent housing, and an end to the dehumanising rhetoric that fuels division.
People seeking safety deserve better.
This Refugee Week, explore the history of migration from prehistory to the present day.
Our collections and research shed light on the movement of people across time, helping us better understand the journeys, experiences and courage that shape our world.
Read more: link.bl.uk/z77#RefugeeWeek
@JonnyDarling.bsky.social (Durham University) joins our #RefugeeWeek panel on migration, borders and urban politics. He'll discuss the role cities play in migration practices, and his new book Taking back control.
📅 15 June, Online | 12.30–2pm (BST)
Register: bit.ly/3S5c9HE
‘This should ring alarm bells for everyone’
In March, nearly 200 titles were pulled from one Greater Manchester school library, including books by Black authors such as Nova Reid’s The Good Ally.
This rising censorship is a serious concern, writes journalist Kitty Melrose in our latest blog ✍️
What a fascinating venue to engage in rountable discussions on oracy, ideology&standardisation with reps from the ESU, AQA, Pearson, OCR, SLUK & ESB, funded by @livunihss.bsky.social Thank you Victorina Gonzalez Diaz and @voice21oracy.bsky.social for the organisation! @livunienglish.bsky.social
It was a pleasure to host @proftaylor.bsky.social at @livunihss.bsky.social and bring our research projects in conversation as part of the 'Transgressive border dialogue' series. We really enjoyed the dialogic format. Thank you Stefania Tufi, Anna Saunders & @gemmabird.bsky.social for organising it!
Yesterday, I was interviewed by CBC about the Henry Nowak case and far-right response:
TV: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w89...
Radio (at 12:45): podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/n...
Written: www.cbc.ca/news/world/b...
New and very interesting special issue edited by Anna Piata on how emotions are circulated and amplified in digital spaces #affect in #internetpragmatics
📘 The latest special issue of 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀, entitled 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝘿𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, aims to advance a comprehensive framework for analyzing #affect in #internetpragmatics.
✒️ Guest edited by Anna Piata.
🔓 partly #openaccess: www.benjamins.com/catalog/ip.9.1