Matilda Fitzmaurice
@matildaf.bsky.social
Bi. Geographer & lecturer: int. climate politics, (non)reproduction and the Anthropocene. UCU NEC LGBTQ+ rep (HE), 25/26 Equality Chair
UCU Commons, queerness, food, ABBA. Vera enthusiast.
My views. She/her
Website: https://linktr.ee/matildafitzmaurice
UCU Commons, queerness, food, ABBA. Vera enthusiast.
My views. She/her
Website: https://linktr.ee/matildafitzmaurice
Pinned
Matilda Fitzmaurice
@matildaf.bsky.social
· Aug 12
so this came out yesterday! First article from my PhD. Long slog but it was worth it. academic.oup.com/ips/article/...
Whiteness as Epistemological Orientation in International Climate Change Discourses
Abstract. This article argues that in contingent and context-specific ways, international climate change discourses reproduce whiteness as a form of signif
academic.oup.com
Bumping this for mid-August reading - I put so much into framing the argument in just the right way, and it's indebted to so many wonderful scholars: Geoff Mann, Joel Wainwright, Stuart Hall, Meera Sabaratnam, Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Ida Danewid and many others
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
I've not been enjoying the new iteration of moral panic around ultra-processed food today. There's loads to say but the main one for me is that as an autistic person sometimes I can't cook from scratch because I can't tolerate the smells. Or sometimes particular textures are unbearable
November 19, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I've not been enjoying the new iteration of moral panic around ultra-processed food today. There's loads to say but the main one for me is that as an autistic person sometimes I can't cook from scratch because I can't tolerate the smells. Or sometimes particular textures are unbearable
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
This isn’t “efficiency” it’s an ideological shift towards a Little England university system.
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
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
November 19, 2025 at 11:26 AM
This isn’t “efficiency” it’s an ideological shift towards a Little England university system.
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
AfD is out there cooking up new kinds of racism like they're working on the cure for cancer.
November 19, 2025 at 9:22 AM
AfD is out there cooking up new kinds of racism like they're working on the cure for cancer.
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
📢REMINDER THIS IS HAPPENING TODAY📢
📢 EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING📢
Lancaster UCU members, don't forget the Extraordinary General Meeting tomorrow at 2:00pm. Check emails for meeting link
Lancaster UCU members, don't forget the Extraordinary General Meeting tomorrow at 2:00pm. Check emails for meeting link
November 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM
📢REMINDER THIS IS HAPPENING TODAY📢
Our latest fortnightly newsletter is out! We're so proud of these. Please give us a read, a share and a subscribe!
New on our Substack: newsletter #4, which includes a link to our report of #UCU NEC on 7 November. Also feat. @matthewbarnard.phd @drgillhistory.bsky.social @hagenilda.bsky.social @matildaf.bsky.social @bparsia.bsky.social @ucunorthumbria.bsky.social
ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...
ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...
UCU Commons newsletter #4, 19 November 2025
Our fortnightly round-up of union and sector specific news
ucucommons.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Our latest fortnightly newsletter is out! We're so proud of these. Please give us a read, a share and a subscribe!
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
'Nottingham will be the only Russell Group university not to teach modern foreign languages degrees if it approves plans to close a swath of courses including Spanish and French as well as music and dozens of others.' 1/3
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
November 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
'Nottingham will be the only Russell Group university not to teach modern foreign languages degrees if it approves plans to close a swath of courses including Spanish and French as well as music and dozens of others.' 1/3
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
A transphobe said to me the other day in a workshop I was running ‘you know there are people who disagree with you!’. Lady, as if you people don’t spend every waking hour of every day talking about this because you lack hobbies and purpose, lol.
November 18, 2025 at 9:19 AM
A transphobe said to me the other day in a workshop I was running ‘you know there are people who disagree with you!’. Lady, as if you people don’t spend every waking hour of every day talking about this because you lack hobbies and purpose, lol.
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
Me: I want to use the Internet.
Cloudflare: Quiet, piggy.
Cloudflare: Quiet, piggy.
November 18, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Me: I want to use the Internet.
Cloudflare: Quiet, piggy.
Cloudflare: Quiet, piggy.
What awful news. Thoughts and best wishes are with Jo's family, friends and colleagues.
We are very sad to share the news of Jo Bullard, one of our editors, who passed away last month.
Jo's rich contribution to the discipline is evident in this obituary published by the RGS: www.rgs.org/about-us/our.... She will be greatly missed.
Jo's rich contribution to the discipline is evident in this obituary published by the RGS: www.rgs.org/about-us/our.... She will be greatly missed.
We will be celebrating Jo Bullard's life on Thursday 4th December, from 2.30pm at Loughborough University.
Please register here if you would like to attend: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
The @rgsibg.bsky.social have published an obituary of Jo:
www.rgs.org/about-us/our...
Please register here if you would like to attend: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
The @rgsibg.bsky.social have published an obituary of Jo:
www.rgs.org/about-us/our...
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
What awful news. Thoughts and best wishes are with Jo's family, friends and colleagues.
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
Why can't they just analyse their data? Why is any computation or statistics called AI now?
Major UK project launched to tackle drug-resistant superbugs with AI. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Major AI project to tackle drug-resistant superbugs
The UK turns to artificial intelligence (AI) to reverse the rising numbers of infections that shrug off antibiotics.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Why can't they just analyse their data? Why is any computation or statistics called AI now?
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
Given it’s taking 7, 8 up to 23 years to make some determinations this actually had me laughing out loud in the absolute certainty this this is undeliverable on every level. It’s a broken policy on inception. The bureaucracy alone is unworkable.
It will also mean people's refugee status will be reviewed every 2 and half years. If this policy was in place now, that would mean the Home Office having at least another 67k decisions to process over the next year (the number of initial decision grants made between April 2023 and March 2024)
Shabana Mahmood has vowed to end Britain’s “golden ticket” for asylum seekers by forcing people arriving illegally to wait 20 years before they can apply for permanent settlement
November 17, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Given it’s taking 7, 8 up to 23 years to make some determinations this actually had me laughing out loud in the absolute certainty this this is undeliverable on every level. It’s a broken policy on inception. The bureaucracy alone is unworkable.
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
I’m sorry to be self promoting but I a) have never been seduced by a fascist with a brain worm b) am capable of crafting a decent sentence and c) wrote a book that did not earn me a fawning profile in the newspaper but is still pretty good
bookshop.org/p/books/huma...
bookshop.org/p/books/huma...
Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet
Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet
bookshop.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I’m sorry to be self promoting but I a) have never been seduced by a fascist with a brain worm b) am capable of crafting a decent sentence and c) wrote a book that did not earn me a fawning profile in the newspaper but is still pretty good
bookshop.org/p/books/huma...
bookshop.org/p/books/huma...
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
My doctoral dissertation, ‘Chasing flames: Racial capitalism in fire ecology research and praxis,’ is finally online!
yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/items/9c832f...
yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/items/9c832f...
Chasing Flames: Racial Capitalism in Fire Ecology Research and Praxis
This dissertation explores fire ecology and its applications in settler colonial environments. It introduces the framework of pyrosociality to understand fire’s role in ecosystems, guided by an analys...
yorkspace.library.yorku.ca
November 17, 2025 at 9:22 PM
My doctoral dissertation, ‘Chasing flames: Racial capitalism in fire ecology research and praxis,’ is finally online!
yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/items/9c832f...
yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/items/9c832f...
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
Sometimes I don’t know how women contain our rage. I really don’t.
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
November 17, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Sometimes I don’t know how women contain our rage. I really don’t.
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
I’m old enough to remember when everybody agreed that higher education was a “market” and offering “choice” was how the universities were meant to grow
on.ft.com/3WTwBue
on.ft.com/3WTwBue
October 27, 2025 at 7:32 AM
I’m old enough to remember when everybody agreed that higher education was a “market” and offering “choice” was how the universities were meant to grow
on.ft.com/3WTwBue
on.ft.com/3WTwBue
Petition for a vote of no confidence in Coventry University's vice-chancellor! Please sign!
speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...
speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...
Vote of no confidence in the vice-chancellor at Coventry University
Why sign this petition?
An unhealthy workplace
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has demanded answers from CU about workload and stress management. A recent UCU workload survey revealed that 74%...
speakout.web.ucu.org.uk
November 17, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Petition for a vote of no confidence in Coventry University's vice-chancellor! Please sign!
speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...
speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/vote-of-no-c...
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
'Such reliance on rankings means that universities are shaped not by the needs of society or by innovations driven from inside the international higher-education community, but by unappointed third-party ranking agencies'
@lizziegadd.bsky.social in Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@lizziegadd.bsky.social in Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
To reform universities, first tackle global rankings
Universities are in thrall to a rankings system that prioritizes narrow aspects of academic life. Three changes would give institutions the freedom to explore fresh ways of working.
www.nature.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:35 AM
'Such reliance on rankings means that universities are shaped not by the needs of society or by innovations driven from inside the international higher-education community, but by unappointed third-party ranking agencies'
@lizziegadd.bsky.social in Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@lizziegadd.bsky.social in Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
so I slept badly and then left my glasses at home. Today will be a strugglebus
November 17, 2025 at 10:31 AM
so I slept badly and then left my glasses at home. Today will be a strugglebus
I hope they have some awareness of the gravity and depth of their betrayal of millions of people.
Govt minister Alex Norris is asked if the govt will take jewellery from people [fleeing war and persecution]. Norris says the govt won't be taking peoples wedding rings but they will seize assets.
November 17, 2025 at 9:53 AM
I hope they have some awareness of the gravity and depth of their betrayal of millions of people.
A Sivanandan is just being proven right about the Labour Party over and over again, isn't he
November 17, 2025 at 9:24 AM
A Sivanandan is just being proven right about the Labour Party over and over again, isn't he
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice
This ballot isn’t just about pay it’s about protecting jobs and defending national agreements.
Employers are already using negotiations to push through cuts. Casualised staff, and all staff, deserve security.
Vote YES. #WeAreTheUniversity
Employers are already using negotiations to push through cuts. Casualised staff, and all staff, deserve security.
Vote YES. #WeAreTheUniversity
November 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM
This ballot isn’t just about pay it’s about protecting jobs and defending national agreements.
Employers are already using negotiations to push through cuts. Casualised staff, and all staff, deserve security.
Vote YES. #WeAreTheUniversity
Employers are already using negotiations to push through cuts. Casualised staff, and all staff, deserve security.
Vote YES. #WeAreTheUniversity
And nobody wears it better!
Been a while since the pink beanie came out. Sheffield pickets here we come.
Our message to management is simple: No redundancies. Stop the incessant restructures. Listen to your staff. There is no University of Sheffield without us.
Our message to management is simple: No redundancies. Stop the incessant restructures. Listen to your staff. There is no University of Sheffield without us.
November 17, 2025 at 7:32 AM
And nobody wears it better!
👀
Power struggles at the management level? And who’s picking up the pieces? We need to stop these toxic people from making terrible decisions. Again, and again. Vote Yes!
'Power struggles and toxic culture' at University of Aberdeen
A review says the structure at the University of Aberdeen is
www.bbc.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
👀
know what's massively underrated in the soup world? Scotch broth.
November 16, 2025 at 11:33 AM
know what's massively underrated in the soup world? Scotch broth.