Charles Forsdick
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cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick
@cforsdick.bsky.social
490 followers 260 following 130 posts

Drapers Professor of French, MMLL, Cambridge; Professorial Fellow, Murray Edwards College; Lead Fellow Languages, @britishacademy.bsky.social; Hon. Professor Centre for the Study of International Slavery (CSIS). Researches travel, empire, Haiti, comics.. .. more

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cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Apr 9
UK academia’s lack of language skills ‘imperils research integrity’

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
UK academia’s lack of language skills ‘imperils research integrity’ - Research Professional News
British Academy report calls for more recognition of linguistic ability, including in Research Excellence Framework
www.researchprofessionalnews.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 9h
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
How the French fell in love with family-driven memoirs and autofiction | Anne-Laure Pineau
Matriarchs, absent fathers and troubled childhoods: 2025 was the year French literature focused on family, says writer Anne-Laure Pineau
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Charles Forsdick, Rebecca Sear

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 10h
Over 24 years, Louise Cocker has captured almost half a million Norfolk Gravestones. ‘As a result, she has produced a remarkable dataset… which experts consider one of the most comprehensive photographic records of gravestones and memorials in England.’
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘The hidden engine room’: how amateur historians are powering genealogical research
Wealth of datasets compiled as private passions are now a goldmine for those hunting for their ancestors
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 1d
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Ukrainian refugee leaves UK sixth-form college that urged her ‘to study Russian’
Kateryna Endeberia says teachers made the ‘hurtful’ request when she had difficulty with other subjects
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 1d
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Algeria passes law declaring French colonisation a crime
France’s rule over Algeria from 1830 to 1962 is marked by mass killings and large-scale deportation
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

khalidlym.bsky.social
Khalid Lyamlahy @khalidlym.bsky.social · 15d
Thrilled to share that "Venice Requiem", the #translation of my #novel by Ros Schwartz is coming out on Feb. 5 with @hoperoadpublish.bsky.social ! Deeply grateful to Ros for her exceptional work & to my publisher Pete Aryton. Many thanks to @oliviasnaije.bsky.social & Raphaël Thierry! bit.ly/4pFcEUY

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 18d
Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic
More than 1,000 words used as far back as 325BC to be collected for insight into past linguistic landscape
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 22d
Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon?

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon? | Alexander Hurst
It borders Brazil, but French Guiana is now a remote outpost of the EU. It is home to Europe’s only spaceport, some of the most biodiverse forest on the planet and a military mission that is testing t...
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

alisonphipps.bsky.social
Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · 22d
Actually - based on substantial evidence - perhaps an even better headline would be

“Glasgow is a super smart city. Fact.”

Majority also speak Scots as mother tongue and first language

Read UNESCO report to find out why bilingualism is best for everyone

unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p...

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · 23d
UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme

www.theguardian.com/education/20...
UK aims to secure agreement to rejoin Erasmus student exchange scheme
Britain quit EU programme after Brexit, when Boris Johnson claimed it did not offer good value for money
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 25
The uncompromising politics of Jimmy Cliff

theconversation.com/the-uncompro...
The uncompromising politics of Jimmy Cliff
The reggae singer used his music to speak out at issues that mattered.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Alison Phipps

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 25
The procession of university language closures will trip up UK diplomacy www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/proc...
The procession of university language closures will trip up UK diplomacy
The government needs to signal its demand for elite foreign language skills before more universities leave provision to inferior alternatives, says Ian Proud
www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Simon Hix, Dorothy Bishop, Dave O’Brien , and 3 more

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Nov 24
Are you worried about the devastating cuts we are seeing to arts, humanities & social sciences in UK universities? Last call for my lecture in Leicester this Thurs 27th Nov on the value of these subjects and how they support UK security, cohesion and prosperity www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shaping-a-...
Shaping a Brighter Future
The first event in our Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series, delivered by Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, The British Academy
www.eventbrite.co.uk

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 24
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81
Star of The Harder They Come had hits including You Can Get It If You Really Want and I Can See Clearly Now
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 20
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees

www.theguardian.com/education/20...
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 19
Ce que les statues coloniales dans l’espace public racontent de la France

theconversation.com/ce-que-les-s...
Ce que les statues coloniales dans l’espace public racontent de la France
Retour sur l’histoire des statues coloniales, à l’occasion de l’installation à Nancy d’un « contre-monument » face à la statue du sergent Blandan, figure de la colonisation française en Algérie.
theconversation.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 17
Call for Scottish Government to review foreign language provision

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2559839...
Call for Scottish Government to review foreign language provision
Key Scottish companies and young Scots are losing out due to the spiralling decline in school leavers with language qualifications, a leading…
www.heraldscotland.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 15
David Bellos, traducteur et grand spécialiste de Georges Perec, est mort

www.lemonde.fr/disparitions...
David Bellos, traducteur et grand spécialiste de Georges Perec, est mort
L’universitaire britannique avait publié en 1994 une biographie décisive de l’écrivain français. Il avait aussi retrouvé deux manuscrits que l’auteur lui-même croyait perdus. Il s’est éteint le 26 oct...
www.lemonde.fr

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 15
David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80

www.princeton.edu/news/2025/11...
David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80
His work grappled with the tricky nature of interpreting between languages and embraced the potential of language itself to help us understand the human condition.
www.princeton.edu

Reposted by Charles Forsdick, Catriona Seth

leedscitylanguages.bsky.social
Leeds City of Languages @leedscitylanguages.bsky.social · Nov 14
A very insightful article on the recent threats to UK modern languages:

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...

Support the petitions to stop the closures at Leicester and Nottingham, to sign click here:

www.change.org/p/save-moder...

www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...

#languages #mfl

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 14
The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...
The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas
Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists
www.timeshighereducation.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Nov 13
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal pardoned and to be released from prison
Eighty-one year-old, who has prostate cancer, can now be transferred from Algeria to Germany for medical treatment
www.theguardian.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Oct 25
Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet

observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet | The Observer
Enslaved as a child, the 18th-century writer became the first published Black woman – and a pioneer of nature poetry whose legacy still inspires
observer.co.uk

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Oct 25
Cracking the code of Papua New Guinea’s undocumented languages

observer.co.uk/news/science...
Cracking the code of Papua New Guinea’s undocumented lang...
Nicholas Evans has spent decades trying to decipher the undocumented tongues of Papua New Guinea and Australia. His work has redefined the way we think a...
observer.co.uk

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Oct 24
Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities

thepolyphony.org/2025/10/24/m...
Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities
Charles Forsdick concludes the Reading Bodies takeover and discusses how this project on historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contributes to rethinking the medical …
thepolyphony.org

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

the-polyphony.bsky.social
The Polyphony @the-polyphony.bsky.social · Oct 24
@cforsdick.bsky.social concludes the @readingbodies.bsky.social takeover and discusses how this project contributes to rethinking the medical humanities in ways that are simultaneously multilingual, transnational and translational.
thepolyphony.org/2025/10/24/m...
Multilingual, Transnational and Translational: Rethinking the Medical Humanities
Charles Forsdick concludes the Reading Bodies takeover and discusses how this project on historical discourses of illness in European literatures and cultures contributes to rethinking the medical …
thepolyphony.org

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Oct 22
« Climates of Migration: Ecology, Literature and Propaganda » par Dominic Thomas

achac.com/tribune/clim...
Newsletter #615 - 22 octobre 2025 | Groupe de recherche Achac
Tribune : « Climates of Migration: Ecology, Literature and Propaganda » par Dominic Thomas
achac.com

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Oct 17
Is it only words?
Neil Mercer argues for more oracy in education

Check out this page: www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
Is it only words? | BPS
Neil Mercer (University of Cambridge) argues for more oracy in education.
www.bps.org.uk

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

Reposted by Charles Forsdick

karenforbes.bsky.social
Karen Forbes @karenforbes.bsky.social · Oct 15
Looking forward to contributing to this seminar on 'Professional agency & language policy in the context of the Curriculum and Assessment Review' @camedfac.bsky.social on 30th Oct with Norbert Pachler, @wendya-b.bsky.social @zhu-hua.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social and others. In-person & online ⬇️

Reposted by Catriona Seth

cforsdick.bsky.social
Charles Forsdick @cforsdick.bsky.social · Oct 14
Think Like a Linguist: It’s time for a national conversation about the value of languages

www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/10/14/t...
Think Like a Linguist: It’s time for a national conversation about the value of languages  - HEPI
This guest blog was kindly authored by Dr Charlotte Ryland, Director of the Translation Exchange.  ‘Languages are not just a skillset, they’re a mindset.’  I still remember where I was when a teacher ...
www.hepi.ac.uk