Michael Barany
@mbarany.com
Historical and cultural theories about maths and science theories. Fields Medal killjoy. Scotland enjoyer. @mbarany on birdsite and @mjb@mathstodon.xyz on fediverse
Pinned
Michael Barany
@mbarany.com
· Apr 17
Reading Between the Lines in the Barany Lab: Lessons on Written and Unwritten Science and Mathematics - International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics
Purpose I reflect on my childhood experiences in the Barany Lab and connect them to several findings and themes from my subsequent career researching the history and culture of science and mathematics...
doi.org
I wrote a little essay in honor of my dad's retirement, "Reading Between the Lines in the Barany Lab" (open access) doi.org/10.1007/s109...
just continually amazed that my uni has an apparently well-funded thing called The Binks Hub and it is impossible (I've tried! many ways!) to find out who or what the "Binks" in the title is
November 11, 2025 at 11:09 AM
just continually amazed that my uni has an apparently well-funded thing called The Binks Hub and it is impossible (I've tried! many ways!) to find out who or what the "Binks" in the title is
Reposted by Michael Barany
Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry
Reposted by Michael Barany
Someone at a Russell Group university was moved to almost-poetry by their Faculty Meeting… Can anyone do better?
November 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Someone at a Russell Group university was moved to almost-poetry by their Faculty Meeting… Can anyone do better?
Reposted by Michael Barany
Doing nothing is not an option,
and something must be done.
Here is something! So it stands to reason
That this thing must be done.
and something must be done.
Here is something! So it stands to reason
That this thing must be done.
November 7, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Doing nothing is not an option,
and something must be done.
Here is something! So it stands to reason
That this thing must be done.
and something must be done.
Here is something! So it stands to reason
That this thing must be done.
Reposted by Michael Barany
The Russell Group VCs is just sharing scripts for "Town Halls" now as well, aren't they? Word for word copied here...
Someone at a Russell Group university was moved to almost-poetry by their Faculty Meeting… Can anyone do better?
November 9, 2025 at 9:13 AM
The Russell Group VCs is just sharing scripts for "Town Halls" now as well, aren't they? Word for word copied here...
Reposted by Michael Barany
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Reposted by Michael Barany
Race was the issue that exposed the bankruptcy of Watson's genetic determinism. In the 20th century, he made his reputation by staunchly championing the power of DNA. In the 21st, he torpedoed that reputation the same way. That is the great tragedy of James Watson.
19/n #JDWxNC
19/n #JDWxNC
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Race was the issue that exposed the bankruptcy of Watson's genetic determinism. In the 20th century, he made his reputation by staunchly championing the power of DNA. In the 21st, he torpedoed that reputation the same way. That is the great tragedy of James Watson.
19/n #JDWxNC
19/n #JDWxNC
Reposted by Michael Barany
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Reposted by Michael Barany
The University of Nottingham has announced the suspension of all Modern Languages and Cultures (MLC) programmes from September 2026.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 7, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The University of Nottingham has announced the suspension of all Modern Languages and Cultures (MLC) programmes from September 2026.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Michael Barany
I've been waiting to comment publicly on this until the university made its announcement, but the Department of History at Princeton is devastated by the recent death of our wonderful colleague Alison Isenberg.
Alison Isenberg, distinguished urban historian and co-founder of Princeton-Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism and the Humanities, dies
A public memorial and celebration of Isenberg’s life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at the University Chapel.
www.princeton.edu
November 7, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I've been waiting to comment publicly on this until the university made its announcement, but the Department of History at Princeton is devastated by the recent death of our wonderful colleague Alison Isenberg.
forever mood
Man, I'm probably the one who has to write this, huh 🫤
3/3
3/3
November 7, 2025 at 9:43 PM
forever mood
Reposted by Michael Barany
We do not perform scripts, or give Ted Talks. We get to know students, build learning relationships, build knowledge over a semester, adjust our teaching to meet the needs of particular cohorts. This is how we are taught to teach and what makes teaching good 3/
November 6, 2025 at 7:00 AM
We do not perform scripts, or give Ted Talks. We get to know students, build learning relationships, build knowledge over a semester, adjust our teaching to meet the needs of particular cohorts. This is how we are taught to teach and what makes teaching good 3/
Reposted by Michael Barany
Compulsory team teaching on every module is perhaps the biggest ever threat to the quality of teaching in UK universities.
It causes chaos on the ground for timetabling, ruins course coherence and turns lecturers into permanent supply teachers. It is pedagogically incoherent… 1/
It causes chaos on the ground for timetabling, ruins course coherence and turns lecturers into permanent supply teachers. It is pedagogically incoherent… 1/
November 6, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Compulsory team teaching on every module is perhaps the biggest ever threat to the quality of teaching in UK universities.
It causes chaos on the ground for timetabling, ruins course coherence and turns lecturers into permanent supply teachers. It is pedagogically incoherent… 1/
It causes chaos on the ground for timetabling, ruins course coherence and turns lecturers into permanent supply teachers. It is pedagogically incoherent… 1/
Reposted by Michael Barany
Stack of Jacquard loom cards, about two meters in length at Queen’s Street Mill, near Burnley
By my calculation about 120kb of data
By my calculation about 120kb of data
November 1, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Stack of Jacquard loom cards, about two meters in length at Queen’s Street Mill, near Burnley
By my calculation about 120kb of data
By my calculation about 120kb of data
Reposted by Michael Barany
The 100th episode of American Vandal. Launching the 12th season. Live at UPenn English Faculty Lounge with @cnewf.bsky.social, @whitneytrettien.bsky.social, & an incredible assembly of faculty, students, visiting scholars, & friends of the pod.
Criticism & The Chatbot Bubble (Vandal Live at UPenn English)
with Christopher Newfield & Whitney Trettien
theamericanvandal.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:25 PM
The 100th episode of American Vandal. Launching the 12th season. Live at UPenn English Faculty Lounge with @cnewf.bsky.social, @whitneytrettien.bsky.social, & an incredible assembly of faculty, students, visiting scholars, & friends of the pod.
Reposted by Michael Barany
yup. The deflection of decision-making to management-accounting (+ external consultants) has been disastrous in shaping the priorities of universities. Staff is now a problem, not an asset. And everything is short-term meeting of cash generation targets for each individual department. Mad.
November 1, 2025 at 7:54 PM
yup. The deflection of decision-making to management-accounting (+ external consultants) has been disastrous in shaping the priorities of universities. Staff is now a problem, not an asset. And everything is short-term meeting of cash generation targets for each individual department. Mad.
Reposted by Michael Barany
I still think we should be allowed to make this list our REF Impact Casestudy. Used by the Department for Education, by Parliament, by every journalist, UUK acknowledges it is accurate & even conservative, + footnoted in academic articles.
Ideally, we'd get government to change the system, but...
Ideally, we'd get government to change the system, but...
HR departments are finishing their calculations of the harm done by Clearing, it seems…
This is completely unsustainable; we can’t drastically adjust our staffing every single autumn in response to the volatility of the recruitment cycle. #SaveHE #UKHE
qmucu.org/qmul-transfo...
This is completely unsustainable; we can’t drastically adjust our staffing every single autumn in response to the volatility of the recruitment cycle. #SaveHE #UKHE
qmucu.org/qmul-transfo...
November 1, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I still think we should be allowed to make this list our REF Impact Casestudy. Used by the Department for Education, by Parliament, by every journalist, UUK acknowledges it is accurate & even conservative, + footnoted in academic articles.
Ideally, we'd get government to change the system, but...
Ideally, we'd get government to change the system, but...
Reposted by Michael Barany
University of Edinburgh cutting its Institute for Academic Development which offers crucuial training and support for students, lecturers and researchers. I woked at the UNSW learning centre and know what a huge difference these services make. #AcademicSky
thetab.com/2025/10/31/e...
thetab.com/2025/10/31/e...
Excl: Edinburgh University begins compulsory layoffs with department set to be axed
Seven staff in the Instute for Academic Development are set to lose their jobs when the department closes
thetab.com
November 1, 2025 at 8:12 AM
University of Edinburgh cutting its Institute for Academic Development which offers crucuial training and support for students, lecturers and researchers. I woked at the UNSW learning centre and know what a huge difference these services make. #AcademicSky
thetab.com/2025/10/31/e...
thetab.com/2025/10/31/e...
Reposted by Michael Barany
Okay but it is very funny to make a LIVING EDITION of your academic zombie handbook
October 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Okay but it is very funny to make a LIVING EDITION of your academic zombie handbook
Reposted by Michael Barany
Ooh, Simon Schaffer reader coming down the pike. I blogged through a good chunk of his oeuvre back in the day, which was really illuminating. Too bad they didn't include "The Show That Never Ends" (on perpetual motion), which is probably my favorite: doi.org/10.1017/S000... #HPS
Working Knowledge
Collects key articles by Simon Schaffer, one of the most important historians of science working today. Working Knowledge is the first English-language collection of essays by Simon Schaffer, coautho...
press.uchicago.edu
October 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Ooh, Simon Schaffer reader coming down the pike. I blogged through a good chunk of his oeuvre back in the day, which was really illuminating. Too bad they didn't include "The Show That Never Ends" (on perpetual motion), which is probably my favorite: doi.org/10.1017/S000... #HPS
entire field of Science and Technology Studies jolts alert
"X shouldn't be political." OK but it is. Now what?
October 30, 2025 at 2:23 PM
entire field of Science and Technology Studies jolts alert
Reposted by Michael Barany
So great that this is out in the world after years of hard work! My chapter, 'Contestations', is about the global history of home economics as a university subject, and what that tells us about institutional reform, gender, and empire at the turn of the 20th century.
📢 Ed. with @capandgown.bsky.social A Cultural History of Higher Learning in the Age of Industry was published by Bloomsbury today! Many thanks to the series eds & all contributors
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cultural-...
#histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social @histedsocuk.bsky.social @ische-news.bsky.social
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/cultural-...
#histed @sheffielduni.bsky.social @histedsocuk.bsky.social @ische-news.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 2:12 PM
So great that this is out in the world after years of hard work! My chapter, 'Contestations', is about the global history of home economics as a university subject, and what that tells us about institutional reform, gender, and empire at the turn of the 20th century.
actually worth asking (I don't know enough to say anything profound about it) how much the current fiscal vandalism of higher education is based on a private equity asset-stripping model
it's been amazing how far this consultant-driven playbook has gotten here given that we have been riding a run of big surpluses and still take in more than we spend
This might include:
1. Hiring freezes
2. Pauses on promotions/raises
3. Layoffs
4. Program consolidation
5. Enrollment increase without resource allocation increase
6. Etc.
1. Hiring freezes
2. Pauses on promotions/raises
3. Layoffs
4. Program consolidation
5. Enrollment increase without resource allocation increase
6. Etc.
October 30, 2025 at 11:55 AM
actually worth asking (I don't know enough to say anything profound about it) how much the current fiscal vandalism of higher education is based on a private equity asset-stripping model
it's been amazing how far this consultant-driven playbook has gotten here given that we have been riding a run of big surpluses and still take in more than we spend
This might include:
1. Hiring freezes
2. Pauses on promotions/raises
3. Layoffs
4. Program consolidation
5. Enrollment increase without resource allocation increase
6. Etc.
1. Hiring freezes
2. Pauses on promotions/raises
3. Layoffs
4. Program consolidation
5. Enrollment increase without resource allocation increase
6. Etc.
October 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
it's been amazing how far this consultant-driven playbook has gotten here given that we have been riding a run of big surpluses and still take in more than we spend
Reposted by Michael Barany
Good morning, faculty colleagues of all ranks and types of employment. By show of hands, comments, puke emoji, etc., how many of of you are experiencing claims that your institution is in a “budget crisis,” that is going under- or unexplained, yet has resulted in austerity?
October 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Good morning, faculty colleagues of all ranks and types of employment. By show of hands, comments, puke emoji, etc., how many of of you are experiencing claims that your institution is in a “budget crisis,” that is going under- or unexplained, yet has resulted in austerity?