J. Michelle Coghlan
@jmcoghlan.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in C19 AmLit at the University of Manchester. Editor: Cambridge Companion to Literature & Food (CUP, 2020). Author: Sensational Internationalism (EUP, 2016). UCU NEC member representing members in the NW. She/her.
Pinned
I’m not gonna lie: this was a sheer delight to work on & I’m excited to see it now has a cover. That I got to include Emma Goldman & Dawn Powell alongside W.D. Howells, Audre Lorde, Dorothy Parker, Paule Marshall, Djuna Barnes, Helen Keller & Margaret Fuller (among others) was a great bonus.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
'while Westminster is encouraging the downsizing of England’s higher education system, this does not seem as feasible in Scotland.... events at the University of Dundee have left the impression that the government will not allow a university to go bust.' 2/2
February 10, 2026 at 7:51 AM
'while Westminster is encouraging the downsizing of England’s higher education system, this does not seem as feasible in Scotland.... events at the University of Dundee have left the impression that the government will not allow a university to go bust.' 2/2
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
'many argue that the situation is worse in Scotland, with higher education institutions receiving approximately 23 per cent less funding per student than their English counterparts, according to London Economics, and a collective £12.9 million deficit forecast for 2025-26.' 1/2
‘We’re looking at all parts of the system – except tuition fees’
In election year, Scotland’s higher education minister says fees policy non-negotiable, as newly formed review group looks for new models to heal nation’s ailing sector
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:51 AM
'many argue that the situation is worse in Scotland, with higher education institutions receiving approximately 23 per cent less funding per student than their English counterparts, according to London Economics, and a collective £12.9 million deficit forecast for 2025-26.' 1/2
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR
The consultation closes on Thursday. What is being proposed is dreadful. Can I encourage you to engage with the consultation and put your dissent on record?
The consultation closes on Thursday. What is being proposed is dreadful. Can I encourage you to engage with the consultation and put your dissent on record?
February 10, 2026 at 5:43 AM
300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR
The consultation closes on Thursday. What is being proposed is dreadful. Can I encourage you to engage with the consultation and put your dissent on record?
The consultation closes on Thursday. What is being proposed is dreadful. Can I encourage you to engage with the consultation and put your dissent on record?
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Without a clearer sense of direction, Labour's doomed. So, by far the best thing that these two could do now would be to stop worrying about how best to become PM if and when Starmer eventually goes and instead think really, really hard about what they would do were they chosen to replace him.
February 10, 2026 at 7:17 AM
Without a clearer sense of direction, Labour's doomed. So, by far the best thing that these two could do now would be to stop worrying about how best to become PM if and when Starmer eventually goes and instead think really, really hard about what they would do were they chosen to replace him.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
This is big.
£5bn council SEND debts to be paid off by government
It comes days after the Local Government Association warned that eight in 10 English councils would face bankruptcy, if they had to honour deficits.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 7:59 AM
This is big.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
February 10, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
It bears repeating that Tom Homan is a fucking psycho and Greg Bovino's exile means functionally nothing when it comes to what's happening on the ground in Minnesota.
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 6:57 PM
It bears repeating that Tom Homan is a fucking psycho and Greg Bovino's exile means functionally nothing when it comes to what's happening on the ground in Minnesota.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
How to gut a university
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2582884...
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2582884...
800 staff leave Edinburgh University amid £140m cuts drive
Bosses at the institution want to cut £90m from their annual salary bill, which unions say could result in as many as 1,400 jobs being lost.
www.heraldscotland.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:03 AM
How to gut a university
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2582884...
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2582884...
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
why are there so many Matts though
👀 it isn’t just McSweeney who was Mandelson’s protegee, but also Streeting… do we think this might be … bad?
February 9, 2026 at 8:38 PM
why are there so many Matts though
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Tomorrow! 📢 bonus post-show 'In Conversation' event with @mbpearl.bsky.social and EACW alumnus Gabriel Clark, star of David Drake’s The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me - an urgent conversation on activism and art:
The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me – Hope Mill Theatre
Hive North presents
hopemilltheatre.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Tomorrow! 📢 bonus post-show 'In Conversation' event with @mbpearl.bsky.social and EACW alumnus Gabriel Clark, star of David Drake’s The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me - an urgent conversation on activism and art:
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Thrilled that this is finally coming out! I'm so proud to have collaborated on Linda Williams' incredible last work on melodrama. The intro to our volume is now available -- and look at that killer cover!!
"Melodrama as Provocateur," edited by Christine Gledhill, Laura Horak, and Elisabeth R. Anker, showcases the final project of influential film scholar Linda Williams, along with responses by a diverse collection of scholars. Read the intro for free now: buff.ly/PkD02nj
February 9, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Thrilled that this is finally coming out! I'm so proud to have collaborated on Linda Williams' incredible last work on melodrama. The intro to our volume is now available -- and look at that killer cover!!
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
This is 18-mo-old Amalia waving to me when she was detained.
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
February 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM
This is 18-mo-old Amalia waving to me when she was detained.
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
I knew Matt Goodwin promoted the far right Great Replacement Theory but until @huwcdavies.bsky.social pointed it out, I didn't realise he'd actually interviewed the originator of the theory on his GB News show and plugged it like he's PT Barnum. A vote for Goodwin is a vote for white nationalism
February 7, 2026 at 10:29 AM
I knew Matt Goodwin promoted the far right Great Replacement Theory but until @huwcdavies.bsky.social pointed it out, I didn't realise he'd actually interviewed the originator of the theory on his GB News show and plugged it like he's PT Barnum. A vote for Goodwin is a vote for white nationalism
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
To Be Scrupulously Fair, someone in Vance’s team probably knows that literally every Italian would spit in his food. Or other bodily fluids.
Taking your own food when you’re going TO ITALY. truly the sign of a demented mind
Not only did they bring a small private army, but among the waste of taxpayer money was BRINGING A FULL PLANE OF FOOD.
To *Italy*.
To *Italy*.
February 7, 2026 at 6:43 PM
To Be Scrupulously Fair, someone in Vance’s team probably knows that literally every Italian would spit in his food. Or other bodily fluids.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
ICE told nurses this Minneapolis man “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
February 7, 2026 at 5:54 PM
ICE told nurses this Minneapolis man “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Ossoff: We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate.
February 7, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Ossoff: We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
"I hardly knew the Cannibal King. I am very busy, working on very important projects, like robots, space exploration, and AI-generated pornography. Besides, I don’t need someone to help me abduct, kill, cook, and eat people. I could easily do that on my own if I really wanted to."
Just Because I Hung Out in the Cannibal King’s Murder Basement, It Does Not Make Me a Murderous Cannibal
“If I actually wanted to spend my time partying with young women, it would be trivial for me to do so without the help of a creepy loser like Epste...
buff.ly
February 7, 2026 at 3:30 PM
"I hardly knew the Cannibal King. I am very busy, working on very important projects, like robots, space exploration, and AI-generated pornography. Besides, I don’t need someone to help me abduct, kill, cook, and eat people. I could easily do that on my own if I really wanted to."
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
"The American media makes things that are abnormal seem normal. The European press doesn’t do that. So you’ll see when they report on Trump’s rambling Davos speech, they will say it made no sense. In the US press, you’ll just see excerpts and an attempt to sanitize it." — @anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum on Trump's betrayal of Europe
"They’re bewildered we’ve allowed this to happen."
www.publicnotice.co
February 7, 2026 at 6:40 PM
"The American media makes things that are abnormal seem normal. The European press doesn’t do that. So you’ll see when they report on Trump’s rambling Davos speech, they will say it made no sense. In the US press, you’ll just see excerpts and an attempt to sanitize it." — @anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
All early career researchers know the ending : years of precarious labour, followed by joblessness & expectation that they should be grateful for the experience
Pipeline isn’t leaking. It’s being deliberately drained
People pushed out are the future
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Pipeline isn’t leaking. It’s being deliberately drained
People pushed out are the future
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
UK ‘could lose generation of scientists’ with cuts to projects and research facilities
UK’s research funding body says best scientists are taking posts overseas due to lack of job stability at home
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 10:45 AM
All early career researchers know the ending : years of precarious labour, followed by joblessness & expectation that they should be grateful for the experience
Pipeline isn’t leaking. It’s being deliberately drained
People pushed out are the future
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Pipeline isn’t leaking. It’s being deliberately drained
People pushed out are the future
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Show me you don’t understand how labour leadership contests work in one sentence
RIP the hypothetical Al Carns leadership bid
To include "a much tougher stance on immigration"!
1. What is the content of how Labour could be much tougher than Home Sec Shabana Mahmood?
2. How is that viable in a leadership election? Or with Labour voters?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
To include "a much tougher stance on immigration"!
1. What is the content of how Labour could be much tougher than Home Sec Shabana Mahmood?
2. How is that viable in a leadership election? Or with Labour voters?
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
A surprise candidate to replace Starmer could neutralise Farage’s voter appeal
With the prime minister rumoured to be ‘in a dark place’ and considering quitting over the Mandelson scandal, political editor David Maddox looks at the possible replacements, including a rapidly eme...
www.independent.co.uk
February 7, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Show me you don’t understand how labour leadership contests work in one sentence
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Coming soon from me is a zine about the significance of David Walker's Appeal published in 1829. Hard to overstate how incendiary it was. It engendered a censorship frenzy in Southern states. www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ap...
Sept. 28, 1829: An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World
David Walker published An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, one of the most important documents of the 19th century.
www.zinnedproject.org
February 7, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Coming soon from me is a zine about the significance of David Walker's Appeal published in 1829. Hard to overstate how incendiary it was. It engendered a censorship frenzy in Southern states. www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ap...
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
NYT: How Trump/Kash blocked an investigation into the murder of Renee Good. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
February 7, 2026 at 12:48 PM
NYT: How Trump/Kash blocked an investigation into the murder of Renee Good. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
Let me answer that for you: no. I tried this & the transcription of Edith Wharton's handwriting was hilarious: "her lovers are devils." Well, yes, they are, but that's not what Wharton wrote.
With all due respect to the narrow question of unseen handwriting, the article shared problematically separates working with material texts and doing history: "...AI may soon be able to take on this often monotonous task, giving scholars more time to analyze history rather than decrypt calligraphy."
February 7, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Let me answer that for you: no. I tried this & the transcription of Edith Wharton's handwriting was hilarious: "her lovers are devils." Well, yes, they are, but that's not what Wharton wrote.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
The DHS has filed an expedited request to terminate the asylum claims of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy, and his family. If successful, the family — none of whom have broken any rules during their asylum — could be deported, though it’s unclear where they may be deported to.
DHS Files Request to Terminate Asylum Cases of Family of Liam Conejo Ramos
There’s “no reason that this should be expedited,” the family’s lawyer said, adding that the action felt “retaliatory.”…
truthout.org
February 6, 2026 at 7:47 PM
The DHS has filed an expedited request to terminate the asylum claims of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy, and his family. If successful, the family — none of whom have broken any rules during their asylum — could be deported, though it’s unclear where they may be deported to.
Reposted by J. Michelle Coghlan
#OtD 6 Feb 1918 the British Parliament introduced voting rights to women over 30 who met certain property requirements. This had followed many years of often militant struggle by women for the right to vote stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1060...
February 6, 2026 at 6:55 PM
#OtD 6 Feb 1918 the British Parliament introduced voting rights to women over 30 who met certain property requirements. This had followed many years of often militant struggle by women for the right to vote stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1060...