Kate Holmes
@katejholmes.bsky.social
Open Access advocate; magpie-brained aerial academic; all about cultural studies/pop ents/circus/audiences/embodiment (she/her)
author: https://tinyurl.com/20sfemaerial
website: katejholmescom.wordpress.com
author: https://tinyurl.com/20sfemaerial
website: katejholmescom.wordpress.com
Just waiting to see my second Circus City show. Bristol is so lucky to have this festival!
Circus City 2025 Programme - Circus City Bristol
A dynamic international programme of highly physical work, including aerial explorations of black health care, a sensual acrobatic challenge to toxic masculinity and a bike duet about body image. In v...
www.bristolcircuscity.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Just waiting to see my second Circus City show. Bristol is so lucky to have this festival!
Reposted by Kate Holmes
On Anna May Wong for the Guardian www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...
‘I was killed in virtually every film’: how trailblazing Chinese-American star Anna May Wong upended cinema
A retrospective at the BFI celebrates how Wong – whether typecast in orientalist fantasies or breaking taboos with a kiss – could always steal the show
www.theguardian.com
September 3, 2025 at 9:54 AM
On Anna May Wong for the Guardian www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...
Sounds right up my street. I feel that we should think about where we publish as a political act. The most obvious element being that publishing Open Access is decolonial. (Remembering that uploading to repositories do that without a publisher fee, where possible).
"rather than treating 'predatory' publishing as a neutral category, the thesis frames it as a politicized construct that legitimizes existing systems of exclusion under the guise of quality control."
Thesis by Moa Sjöstrand interrogating the racialised nature of predatory publishing discourse.
Thesis by Moa Sjöstrand interrogating the racialised nature of predatory publishing discourse.
Who is the 'Predator'?: Predatory Publishing in Ideological Discourse
uu.diva-portal.org
August 29, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Sounds right up my street. I feel that we should think about where we publish as a political act. The most obvious element being that publishing Open Access is decolonial. (Remembering that uploading to repositories do that without a publisher fee, where possible).
Reposted by Kate Holmes
Ppl, they promised you Brexit would solve everything, and it was a piece of shit. They’re telling you leaving the ECHR will solve everything. It will also be a piece of shit.
Stop believing them. They talk self-serving bollocks.
Stop believing them. They talk self-serving bollocks.
August 29, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Ppl, they promised you Brexit would solve everything, and it was a piece of shit. They’re telling you leaving the ECHR will solve everything. It will also be a piece of shit.
Stop believing them. They talk self-serving bollocks.
Stop believing them. They talk self-serving bollocks.
I'm trying to make sense of only just learning my wonderful trapeze instructor, Mike Wright, died in April. Mike nurtured my love of aerial &, through that, inspired me to write academically about it. I so wanted to train with him again. I hope you're playing somewhere Mike, & cracking bad jokes.
July 20, 2025 at 3:35 PM
I'm trying to make sense of only just learning my wonderful trapeze instructor, Mike Wright, died in April. Mike nurtured my love of aerial &, through that, inspired me to write academically about it. I so wanted to train with him again. I hope you're playing somewhere Mike, & cracking bad jokes.
Definitely my sort of thing! It feels like the sort of book, any of us really fascinated by embodiment & gender, should read.
If you fancy reading something about the history of women’s bodies, and about what has been taken as defining a ‘proper woman’ (and how dodgy that is)… a reminder that my book came out in paperback last month! Immaculate Forms, Profile Books profilebooks.com/work/immacul...
Immaculate Forms - Profile Books
profilebooks.com
July 20, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Definitely my sort of thing! It feels like the sort of book, any of us really fascinated by embodiment & gender, should read.
Sometimes I'm so British it hurts. Yes, I'll complain when it's cold &, yes, I'm complaining now when 'it's too hot'. I am a Goldilocks; 21-23°C is just right.
July 12, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Sometimes I'm so British it hurts. Yes, I'll complain when it's cold &, yes, I'm complaining now when 'it's too hot'. I am a Goldilocks; 21-23°C is just right.
It's a good year because it's a #Circus City year & this year's programme looks really exciting! If you don't know what 'contemporary circus' is, then you can't go wrong with checking out what's on.
Circus City 2025: Bodies of Care
Bodies of Care invites audiences to explore circus work that embeds practices of care into the way it is made and performed, and speaks to this important facet of human experience.
www.bristolcircuscity.com
July 11, 2025 at 7:09 PM
It's a good year because it's a #Circus City year & this year's programme looks really exciting! If you don't know what 'contemporary circus' is, then you can't go wrong with checking out what's on.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
This part from the chapter on libraries in Palaces for the People made me cry especially as book banning and budget cuts threaten our libraries
June 23, 2025 at 3:31 PM
This part from the chapter on libraries in Palaces for the People made me cry especially as book banning and budget cuts threaten our libraries
Reposted by Kate Holmes
One of my favorite quotes from academia I first read in a book by Stephen Fry, who attributes it to a don at Cambridge speaking, if I remember right, to students:
"Don't try to be clever. We're all clever here. Just try to be kind. A little kind."
Seems like it has great and wide utility.
"Don't try to be clever. We're all clever here. Just try to be kind. A little kind."
Seems like it has great and wide utility.
I really wish more people were dedicated to be kind, regardless of being nice, rather then trying to be nice but skipping being kind entirely. Nice is a cool bit of flavor text. Kind is fucking essential.
June 11, 2025 at 1:00 AM
One of my favorite quotes from academia I first read in a book by Stephen Fry, who attributes it to a don at Cambridge speaking, if I remember right, to students:
"Don't try to be clever. We're all clever here. Just try to be kind. A little kind."
Seems like it has great and wide utility.
"Don't try to be clever. We're all clever here. Just try to be kind. A little kind."
Seems like it has great and wide utility.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
This thing about having “an open and honest conversation about immigration” - the problem is that too many white English people treat non-white people as fundamentally inhuman. It’s simply as that. When people like that say “immigration” they mean “infection”.
May 14, 2025 at 7:23 AM
This thing about having “an open and honest conversation about immigration” - the problem is that too many white English people treat non-white people as fundamentally inhuman. It’s simply as that. When people like that say “immigration” they mean “infection”.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
UK now ranking alongside Russia and Hungary - tremendous work by the Labour party.
OMG the ILGA map has been released and this is how the UK looks under their Legal Gender Recognition section.
They awarded us 6.57% WTF.
rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org/categories/l...
They awarded us 6.57% WTF.
rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org/categories/l...
May 14, 2025 at 8:17 AM
UK now ranking alongside Russia and Hungary - tremendous work by the Labour party.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
The amount of fairly established artists over the past few months revealing they're having to step back from creative work and look for work in non-art fields instead is disheartening. A career path in skilled work where it was possible to at least make ends meet now feels less and less possible.
May 11, 2025 at 1:25 PM
The amount of fairly established artists over the past few months revealing they're having to step back from creative work and look for work in non-art fields instead is disheartening. A career path in skilled work where it was possible to at least make ends meet now feels less and less possible.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
Intelligent folks using ChatGPT to learn about aspects of Black culture, thinking it is an accurate source, accurate enough to then inform others, grieves my soul.
There are so many expert resources, books, articles, videos, websites — even human beings to learn from globally (it's beyond US).
There are so many expert resources, books, articles, videos, websites — even human beings to learn from globally (it's beyond US).
May 9, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Intelligent folks using ChatGPT to learn about aspects of Black culture, thinking it is an accurate source, accurate enough to then inform others, grieves my soul.
There are so many expert resources, books, articles, videos, websites — even human beings to learn from globally (it's beyond US).
There are so many expert resources, books, articles, videos, websites — even human beings to learn from globally (it's beyond US).
Reposted by Kate Holmes
Interested in knowing what Open Access can mean for your career and how it can be more equitable? Sigh up for this great event from the University of Sheffield.
This forthcoming hybrid event at @sheffielduni.bsky.social on 21st May will bring together experts to explore the challenges & opportunities in fostering more equitable publication models.
More info and booking links on the page below:
#OpenAccess #OpenResearch #AcademicSky
More info and booking links on the page below:
#OpenAccess #OpenResearch #AcademicSky
Supporting Equitable Publication Models: A Roundtable Discussion
Academic publishing is shaped by a system of inequalities which significantly impact where and how researchers publish their work. This roundtable discussion will bring together academics, publishers ...
www.sheffield.ac.uk
April 29, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Interested in knowing what Open Access can mean for your career and how it can be more equitable? Sigh up for this great event from the University of Sheffield.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
Solidarity with all those getting grant termination notices from National Endowment for the Humanities this week. 😞
While the humanities may not have the easy "we cure cancer" talking points that some sciences do -- HUMANITIES SCHOLARSHIP IS IMPORTANT TOO!
Huge loss to our country.
#Academicsky
While the humanities may not have the easy "we cure cancer" talking points that some sciences do -- HUMANITIES SCHOLARSHIP IS IMPORTANT TOO!
Huge loss to our country.
#Academicsky
Cultural groups across U.S. told that federal humanities grants are terminated
Among the thousands of groups affected by the sudden cessation of funds are state arts councils, museums, historic sites, archives, libraries, educators and media outlets in all 50 states.
www.npr.org
April 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Solidarity with all those getting grant termination notices from National Endowment for the Humanities this week. 😞
While the humanities may not have the easy "we cure cancer" talking points that some sciences do -- HUMANITIES SCHOLARSHIP IS IMPORTANT TOO!
Huge loss to our country.
#Academicsky
While the humanities may not have the easy "we cure cancer" talking points that some sciences do -- HUMANITIES SCHOLARSHIP IS IMPORTANT TOO!
Huge loss to our country.
#Academicsky
Struggling to write your thesis into a book? Here's my practical, nuts and bolts, advice on what to do once your proposal has been accepted: bdc.bris.ac.uk/2025/03/05/t... #academicsky
Ten Tips for the Mental Gymnastics of Writing your Dissertation into a Book by Kate Holmes
For me, it wasn’t the proposal stage of turning my dissertation into a book that was tricky, but the rewriting. My book is very similar to my dissertation, particularly when it comes to the broad stru...
bdc.bris.ac.uk
March 25, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Struggling to write your thesis into a book? Here's my practical, nuts and bolts, advice on what to do once your proposal has been accepted: bdc.bris.ac.uk/2025/03/05/t... #academicsky
Reposted by Kate Holmes
Big news: we are setting up a new non-profit organization to run bioRxiv and medRxiv. It's called openRxiv [no it's not a new preprint server; it's dedicated organization to oversee the servers] openrxiv.org 1/n
Homepage - openRxiv
openRxiv is an independent non-profit, the new organizational home for bioRxiv and medRxiv, enabling researchers to instantly share groundbreaking findings with the global scientific community.
openrxiv.org
March 11, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Big news: we are setting up a new non-profit organization to run bioRxiv and medRxiv. It's called openRxiv [no it's not a new preprint server; it's dedicated organization to oversee the servers] openrxiv.org 1/n
Reposted by Kate Holmes
My piece for History Workshop looks back at what feels, I'm sure to me and so many other academics in the UK, like a decade-long crisis in universities. A crisis of politics, of a particularly venomous form of "education as market" ideology, and now a crisis of desperate, annihilating job cuts. 1/2
UK universities are in crisis.
Dave Hitchcock (@davehitchcock.bsky.social) on how the sector became 'broken' and why it must be approached as an interdependent system.
www.historyworkshop....
Dave Hitchcock (@davehitchcock.bsky.social) on how the sector became 'broken' and why it must be approached as an interdependent system.
www.historyworkshop....
A Decade of Crisis
The UK's universities are in crisis. Dave Hitchcock on how the sector became 'broken' and why it must be understood as an interdependent system.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
March 13, 2025 at 7:57 AM
My piece for History Workshop looks back at what feels, I'm sure to me and so many other academics in the UK, like a decade-long crisis in universities. A crisis of politics, of a particularly venomous form of "education as market" ideology, and now a crisis of desperate, annihilating job cuts. 1/2
Reposted by Kate Holmes
🔗 Websites vanish. Links break. But knowledge can live on with your help. Use the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now tool to archive webpages that are important to you. 🕰️ 💾
📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save
📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save
March 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
🔗 Websites vanish. Links break. But knowledge can live on with your help. Use the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now tool to archive webpages that are important to you. 🕰️ 💾
📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save
📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save
I mean, just, yes.
FKA Twigs and Minnie Driver read letters about the secret fury of 'nice' women
YouTube video by Letters Live
youtu.be
March 9, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I mean, just, yes.
Reposted by Kate Holmes
'The date is not in many history books. But it should be. It is 60 years on Tuesday since Britain’s first minister for the arts, Jennie Lee, published the first UK government white paper on the arts.'
The Guardian view on Labour arts policy: time to make history again | Editorial
Editorial: Sixty years ago this week, Jennie Lee launched Britain’s first culture white paper. Lisa Nandy must pick up the baton
www.theguardian.com
February 24, 2025 at 6:36 AM
'The date is not in many history books. But it should be. It is 60 years on Tuesday since Britain’s first minister for the arts, Jennie Lee, published the first UK government white paper on the arts.'
Reposted by Kate Holmes
"Research reveals UK institutions educated 50 world leaders in post in 2022, despite job cuts, course closures and a fall in foreign students." #highered
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
February 24, 2025 at 9:49 AM
"Research reveals UK institutions educated 50 world leaders in post in 2022, despite job cuts, course closures and a fall in foreign students." #highered
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Kate Holmes
This is academic freedom: "By liberal values, we do not mean views aligned with any political ideology: a commitment to freedom and social justice;
tolerance and respect of difference;
open-mindedness coupled with intellectual curiosity;
generosity of spirit and a willingness to learn from others."
tolerance and respect of difference;
open-mindedness coupled with intellectual curiosity;
generosity of spirit and a willingness to learn from others."
The gorgeous residential Gladstone’s Library Writer in Residence programme provides space and resources for up to four writers whose work engages with liberal values in the broadest sense. Writers at all stages of their career can apply.
Please share :)
www.gladstoneslibrary.org/events/write...
Please share :)
www.gladstoneslibrary.org/events/write...
February 8, 2025 at 2:49 PM
This is academic freedom: "By liberal values, we do not mean views aligned with any political ideology: a commitment to freedom and social justice;
tolerance and respect of difference;
open-mindedness coupled with intellectual curiosity;
generosity of spirit and a willingness to learn from others."
tolerance and respect of difference;
open-mindedness coupled with intellectual curiosity;
generosity of spirit and a willingness to learn from others."
This January has felt like a bit of a funk (probably due to job insecurity, a pet death anniversary, missing sunlight & the state of the world) but I'm so grateful for a few crisp bright mornings, like today.
January 25, 2025 at 10:09 AM
This January has felt like a bit of a funk (probably due to job insecurity, a pet death anniversary, missing sunlight & the state of the world) but I'm so grateful for a few crisp bright mornings, like today.