Helen Lovatt
banner
helenlovatt.bsky.social
Helen Lovatt
@helenlovatt.bsky.social
Professor of Classics at Nottingham, writing, cats, brass banding, flowers. Power of Sadness, Latin Epic, Argonauts crossing. She/they. Legally blind
Pinned
Finally sat down to write and Ellie has opinions
Where is the executive function?
November 19, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
Released today, the ‘Who Stays and Who leaves: Mapping Arts, Culture and Heritage Careers’ report.

@ncace.bsky.social

pec.ac.uk/state_of_the...
Who Stays and Who Leaves? Mapping Arts, Culture and Heritage Careers - Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre
Read the latest State of the Nations research report from University of Sheffield on mapping arts, culture and heritage careers.
pec.ac.uk
November 19, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Everyone is so strung out, brittle and overwhelmed right now. It’s like peak November. Almost feel like there might be something in astrology. Or maybe it’s just the cumulative effect of AI induced stress and alienation.
November 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
I’m going to keep boosting this because it makes me giddy any time Disability Studies & Archaeology do a team-up!
I'm giving a talk at my work this week that is being broadcast online via Zoom! Maybe you're interested in watching?

"Archaeology of Ableism and Ableism in Archaeology: Building a More Rigorous Archaeology through Disability Studies"
Wednesday, November 19, 12-1pm Pacific

#academicsky 🏺♿
November 18, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
Two days to go till this event! Shouldn’t be full so if you don’t get round to filling in the form, please do come along. But do fill in the form or email me for the link if you’d like to attend online. My Phineus PowerPoint is all ready, and I did not find what I expected…
November 18, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Not a good start to the day. Left house 5 mins late because trying to mend broken radiator valve. Messed up login to teaching computer because didn’t see caps lock was on. Had to WhatsApp myself my lecture PowerPoint. Good session even so. Sometimes being blind sucks, but I appreciate resilience.
November 18, 2025 at 11:35 AM
I love this. She returns home and everyone is pretty pissed of that she went away. Especially the cats.
"The Lady has made an Ally from among The Heroes. He is very nice and helpful, but he still gets a lot wrong, so she’s doing her best to educate him and be patient. Also, her Ally will not shut up about his ex."
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
The Lady Hero’s Journey
A woman tries to set out on The Hero’s Journey only to find that Joseph Campbell didn’t believe that women take The Hero’s Journey. She must instea...
www.mcsweeneys.net
November 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
"The Lady has made an Ally from among The Heroes. He is very nice and helpful, but he still gets a lot wrong, so she’s doing her best to educate him and be patient. Also, her Ally will not shut up about his ex."
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
The Lady Hero’s Journey
A woman tries to set out on The Hero’s Journey only to find that Joseph Campbell didn’t believe that women take The Hero’s Journey. She must instea...
www.mcsweeneys.net
November 17, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Very interesting. Does this also apply in the uk and can our politicians learn from it? What is racial resentment and how do we reduce it? Given race is a social and political construct, why are people racialising themselves in this way? Why do people WANT to be racist??! Do they? Or just parroting?
What is really going on in this society that elected Donald Trump president a second time?
 
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
 
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
Unterstützung von Donald Trump: Die Irrtümer über Donald Trumps Rückhalt
Rechtsruck, multiethnische Koalition, Held einfacher Leute: Trump gilt als fest verankert. Doch diese Überzeugung beruht auf drei großen Missverständnissen.
www.zeit.de
November 17, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I may have worked too hard on this module. Getting the student evaluation part way through when they’re at their most anxious about projects probably doesn’t help. I know from my many years of teaching that they always are anxious about open ended assessment and that they punish the convenor for it.
November 17, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Children’s lit and classics friends: join us for a discussion on disability and belonging. More info here powerofsadness.wordpress.com/belonging-th...
And you can book in here forms.office.com/e/TzeiHiWp2n
Caroline Lawrence will be with us online, excited for it!
Hope to see you there!
Belonging through the past
Disability in children’s literature about Greece and Rome Two events for disability recognition month Belonging through the past 1 Caroline Lawrence This event explores how children’s literat…
powerofsadness.wordpress.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I like rain up to a point. This is that point.
November 14, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Thanks for this - and the kindness and solidarity often comes from immigrants. My family came here a few generations ago. We are all incomers. Let’s appreciate the people who want to be here.
I'm grateful, because *despite* the best efforts of GB News and so many of their ilk in media and in power, Britain is still a fantastic place to live: overwhelmingly decent, generous and kind, respectful of people's personal space in a way that might signal distance...
November 12, 2025 at 8:40 AM
The other news sources have obvious reasons for wanting to discredit the BBC. It’s not perfect but is mostly excellent. Local reporting that is accurate, sensitive, professional. Arts and culture. Radio. It’s amazing. Also my main source of news, even if I had to give up Today for being too annoying
“Caveat disruptor: when people call for the scrapping of the licence fee, or cuts in what the BBC offers, or demand its closure because it’s not impartial, it may be worth remembering that the BBC is unique and probably irreplaceable..”1/
The BBC is bigger than news | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Gorgeous. And I love all the intense listening faces around her.
November 11, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
🏺 It's been such a pleasure talking with @sentantiq.bsky.social, Hristomir Hristov, Monica Silveira Cyrino, Louise Hitchcock, Tom Palaima, Andrew McClellan, and up next is @helenlovatt.bsky.social! Season One is coming together!

#podcast #Greek #epic #ClassicsBluesky #BlueskyClassics #Homer #love
November 8, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Pleased that this describes most of what I post on social media.
Found the tweet that Joyce Carol Oates bodied Elon Musk with and it's so beautiful in its eloquent, simple take down. So much so he's crashing out trying to prove he reads books now. Put this in the Louvre.
November 10, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I’m now being conscientious about doing my delay repay applications every time it is relevant. I don’t think I’ve had an on time journey this semester yet, and although I’ve always budgeted enough fiasco time, it’s irritating and stops me getting on with things as I go into waiting mode.
November 10, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
The car’s on fire, and there’s no driver at the wheel… We’re trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Free Thinking, The end of civilisations and societies
Peter Hitchens, Rhiannon Firth, Neville Morley, Phil Tinline, Luke Kemp join Shahidha Bari
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Kudos to my 85 year old dad who still got me to the train on time, despite having to turn around and go back for the crucial bag containing wallet phone and keys. I hope he’s ok.
November 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The question of where the centre is remains a crucial issue in global politics. Everything is in flux, and the Overton window is flapping around like a contested flag.
"Centrists" need to call Mamdani a "radical leftist" so they can say Trump/Farage fascism is just the opposing side of an equally matched "both sides" conflict

But Mamdani is just a middle of the road, European social democrat

And "centrists" - ie centre-right and right - are simply pro-fascism.
BBC Radio 4 this morning joined Trump in describing Zohran Mamdani as a "radical leftist".
November 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Helen Lovatt
Shoutout to the Classics Library at Senate House in our latest #VirgilsAeneidPodcast, in which we discuss whether Aeneas was a pious #Faithful or a #CelebrityTraitor! youtu.be/fmZZI5NtBbQ?...
November 5, 2025 at 12:52 PM