Simon Obendorf
@obendorf.bsky.social
Studying/teaching international theory, post/decolonial praxis & queer worlds. Proud Chair of Cheka Sana UK. 🇦🇺🇬🇧🏳️🌈🇪🇺 He/Him
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
'Discarding the language of empire was personal before it was political.'
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, writer, 1938-2025
The Kenyan won both acclaim and enemies for works that explored empire, power and language
www.ft.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:03 AM
'Discarding the language of empire was personal before it was political.'
A farewell symphony for our own boy and his many beautiful, sexy and necessary stories. For many queer folk, his novels were a guide to our cullture and history, well before we gained, through him and others like him, the courage to write our own chapters. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Edmund White, novelist and great chronicler of gay life, dies aged 85
The American essayist, playwright and author of books including A Boy’s Own Story and The Married Man has died
www.theguardian.com
June 4, 2025 at 11:10 AM
A farewell symphony for our own boy and his many beautiful, sexy and necessary stories. For many queer folk, his novels were a guide to our cullture and history, well before we gained, through him and others like him, the courage to write our own chapters. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
What a loss to scholarship and activism, but what a mighty example of a life purposefully lived. So many of my students have relished engaging with his intellect and wisdom. www.euronews.com/culture/2025...
Celebrated Kenyan author and dissident Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o dies aged 87
Widely regarded as east Africa's most influential writer, Ngũgĩ’s fiction and nonfiction books traced his country's history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny and challenged not only the s...
www.euronews.com
May 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
What a loss to scholarship and activism, but what a mighty example of a life purposefully lived. So many of my students have relished engaging with his intellect and wisdom. www.euronews.com/culture/2025...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
Study in a truly walkable city - the MA International Relations at the University of Lincoln - a perspective from the US: www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1c3...
MA International Relations | Student Story | University of Lincoln
YouTube video by University of Lincoln
www.youtube.com
May 7, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Study in a truly walkable city - the MA International Relations at the University of Lincoln - a perspective from the US: www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1c3...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
This #newblogpost is a reflection on the nature and state of African history, a quiz and a reading list. My hope is that it is a reminder that the failure to study the history of humanity, is an act of self-destruction, and that African history is world history.
folukeafrica.com/african-hist...
folukeafrica.com/african-hist...
African History Quiz I: Pre-colonial Years
Can we study ourselves out of perdition?
folukeafrica.com
April 28, 2025 at 11:12 AM
This #newblogpost is a reflection on the nature and state of African history, a quiz and a reading list. My hope is that it is a reminder that the failure to study the history of humanity, is an act of self-destruction, and that African history is world history.
folukeafrica.com/african-hist...
folukeafrica.com/african-hist...
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
www.newyorker.com
April 27, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
Anyone with knowledge of HIV, PEPFAR or development could have told Mr Musk he was wrong. But the callousness, disregard for life, rejection of expertise and capricious misinformation are the point. This would be shameful. If the man had the capacity to feel shame. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True.
A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.
www.nytimes.com
March 15, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Anyone with knowledge of HIV, PEPFAR or development could have told Mr Musk he was wrong. But the callousness, disregard for life, rejection of expertise and capricious misinformation are the point. This would be shameful. If the man had the capacity to feel shame. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
The Pentagon has marked 26,000 photos for deletion to purge evidence of diversity.
The photos include the 1st black pilots in WWII, the 1st women to pass infantry training & the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb because it’s called the “Enola GAY”.
This is real. We’re living in a horror story.
The photos include the 1st black pilots in WWII, the 1st women to pass infantry training & the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb because it’s called the “Enola GAY”.
This is real. We’re living in a horror story.
War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon's DEI purge
References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and women and minorites are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts ma...
apnews.com
March 7, 2025 at 7:06 AM
The Pentagon has marked 26,000 photos for deletion to purge evidence of diversity.
The photos include the 1st black pilots in WWII, the 1st women to pass infantry training & the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb because it’s called the “Enola GAY”.
This is real. We’re living in a horror story.
The photos include the 1st black pilots in WWII, the 1st women to pass infantry training & the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb because it’s called the “Enola GAY”.
This is real. We’re living in a horror story.
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
'The financial strain on universities has driven leadership teams into aggressive cost-cutting, often prioritising key performance indicators such as grant income and publication metrics. Historically, these have been shaped by a male-dominated system'. 1/2
"Women, who are statistically more likely to have taken career breaks for caring responsibilities or to have shouldered disproportionate administrative workloads, find themselves at a disadvantage in the race for institutional survival."
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Universities’ financial crisis leaves women in the firing line - Research Professional News
Structural inequities and neglect of career development threaten to turn back clock, says Hannah Roberts
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
March 7, 2025 at 11:09 AM
'The financial strain on universities has driven leadership teams into aggressive cost-cutting, often prioritising key performance indicators such as grant income and publication metrics. Historically, these have been shaped by a male-dominated system'. 1/2
I already pay @theguardian.com £15 a month for a digital subscription. Now an extra £5 is demanded by this privacy-invasive, legally-dubious cookie paywall. I believe in paying for journalism. I don’t believe in newspapers running an extortion racket against those with legitimate privacy concerns.
March 7, 2025 at 11:06 AM
I already pay @theguardian.com £15 a month for a digital subscription. Now an extra £5 is demanded by this privacy-invasive, legally-dubious cookie paywall. I believe in paying for journalism. I don’t believe in newspapers running an extortion racket against those with legitimate privacy concerns.
"“I believe we can have our history, we can keep records, but not celebrate some crooks and historical figureheads” - Kampala’s lord mayor, Erias Lukwago. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Campaigners celebrate court ruling to ‘decolonise’ Kampala
After a five-year campaign, landmarks and streets honouring British colonialists will be renamed to reflect Ugandan culture
www.theguardian.com
March 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
"“I believe we can have our history, we can keep records, but not celebrate some crooks and historical figureheads” - Kampala’s lord mayor, Erias Lukwago. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
excited & looking forward to reading this promising upcoming book on the politics of memorialisation by @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
www.plutobooks.com/978074535076...
www.plutobooks.com/978074535076...
The Psychic Lives of Statues
From Cape Town to Bristol and Richmond, statues have become sites of resistance and contestation of our imperial past and postcolonial present. The Psychic L...
www.plutobooks.com
March 6, 2025 at 4:12 AM
excited & looking forward to reading this promising upcoming book on the politics of memorialisation by @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
www.plutobooks.com/978074535076...
www.plutobooks.com/978074535076...
An insightful review of Mangubat’s enaging and wide-ranging book on Filipino colonial history. I can also wholeheartedly recommend the the podcast on which it is based mekongreview.com/lost-and-fou...
Lost and found - Mekong Review
For a relatively slim volume, Lio Mangubat’s Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565–1946 covers a broad swath of Philippine history.
mekongreview.com
February 21, 2025 at 6:22 AM
An insightful review of Mangubat’s enaging and wide-ranging book on Filipino colonial history. I can also wholeheartedly recommend the the podcast on which it is based mekongreview.com/lost-and-fou...
Important work from the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus on the implications for queer and trans folk in SE Asia of the US aid withdrawal/suspension. aseansogiecaucus.org/latest/asc-n...
Report: The Impact of the U.S. Foreign Aid Freeze on LGBTQIAN+ Organizations in Southeast Asia
Advocating for human rights for sexual and gender minorities throughout Southeast Asia
aseansogiecaucus.org
February 21, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Important work from the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus on the implications for queer and trans folk in SE Asia of the US aid withdrawal/suspension. aseansogiecaucus.org/latest/asc-n...
Fantastic to be invited to speak on decolonial futures for Kurdistan by the Politics Society at the University of Lincoln. Thanks to all the students, colleagues and alums that attended and sparked such a great conversation.
February 18, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Fantastic to be invited to speak on decolonial futures for Kurdistan by the Politics Society at the University of Lincoln. Thanks to all the students, colleagues and alums that attended and sparked such a great conversation.
It’s always a highlight of my year to chair the Lincoln Model United Nations General Assembly - so many great speeches and wonderful to see our students using the skills and knowledge they’ve picked up over a semester’s hard work. Thanks to @lincolnshirecc.bsky.social as always.
January 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
It’s always a highlight of my year to chair the Lincoln Model United Nations General Assembly - so many great speeches and wonderful to see our students using the skills and knowledge they’ve picked up over a semester’s hard work. Thanks to @lincolnshirecc.bsky.social as always.
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
'Findings suggest that overtime, my academic identity has become characterised by resistance, a desire to be creative and work with autonomy to counteract the evaluative culture of higher education.'
#AcademicSky
An interesting new study by Jane Pye. 👇
doi.org/10.1080/1356...
#AcademicSky
An interesting new study by Jane Pye. 👇
doi.org/10.1080/1356...
Practising in an evaluative culture: an autoethnographic study of pedagogical practice in higher education
The prevailing culture in UK higher education is one of evaluation and performativity (Ball 2012). This study uses an autoethnographic approach to explore how working in an evaluative culture influ...
doi.org
January 23, 2025 at 2:35 PM
'Findings suggest that overtime, my academic identity has become characterised by resistance, a desire to be creative and work with autonomy to counteract the evaluative culture of higher education.'
#AcademicSky
An interesting new study by Jane Pye. 👇
doi.org/10.1080/1356...
#AcademicSky
An interesting new study by Jane Pye. 👇
doi.org/10.1080/1356...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
Our Lexicon for Bridging Decolonial Queer Feminisms and Materialist Feminisms is now published in Arabic & English. kohljournal.press/issue-11-1 🌈🎓
A Lexicon for Bridging Decolonial Queer Feminisms and Materialist Feminisms
kohljournal.press
January 17, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Our Lexicon for Bridging Decolonial Queer Feminisms and Materialist Feminisms is now published in Arabic & English. kohljournal.press/issue-11-1 🌈🎓
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
Being anti-colonial in your values and decolonial in your actions is the only way to continue living the radical potential of queerness.
Live and let live but I do think that carrying anti-colonial values into the heart of your queerness is the de facto Right way to do it. Being able to intellectually situate yourself within your own culture as a strange being in a strange land strengthens the bond between your queerness & the world.
January 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Being anti-colonial in your values and decolonial in your actions is the only way to continue living the radical potential of queerness.
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
New as Online First: Nelson Maldonado-Torres, 'Aníbal Quijano and the Decolonial Turn' - emphasizes the role of decolonial collectives in the formation of combative decolonial attitudes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Aníbal Quijano and the Decolonial Turn - Nelson Maldonado-Torres, 2025
This review article proposes that Aníbal Quijano’s conceptualization and elaboration of the coloniality of power can be understood as part of a third major mome...
journals.sagepub.com
January 20, 2025 at 9:19 PM
New as Online First: Nelson Maldonado-Torres, 'Aníbal Quijano and the Decolonial Turn' - emphasizes the role of decolonial collectives in the formation of combative decolonial attitudes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
Now on YouTube: The talk by Kimani Njogu, co-written with Alamin Mazrui, on "Ngũgĩ and the Quest for a Paradigm Shift: Between Language and Translation". The discussant is Christian Mair. Enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjra...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjra...
March 19, 2024 at 5:33 PM
Now on YouTube: The talk by Kimani Njogu, co-written with Alamin Mazrui, on "Ngũgĩ and the Quest for a Paradigm Shift: Between Language and Translation". The discussant is Christian Mair. Enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjra...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjra...
Reposted by Simon Obendorf
“To be truly meaningful, [decolonisation] has to be about critiquing power and knowledge, exploring how power is constituted in knowledge, and how that enables structures of domination to be upheld.” Interview with our amazing UQ colleague Heloise Weber.
globalsouth.org/2024/11/helo...
globalsouth.org/2024/11/helo...
Heloise Weber on Global Development Inequalities & Injustices - GLOBAL SOUTHS HUB
In this edition of our Meet the Editor’s series, we speak with TWQ Academic Editor Heloise Weber. She currently works in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of ...
globalsouth.org
November 15, 2024 at 9:40 PM
“To be truly meaningful, [decolonisation] has to be about critiquing power and knowledge, exploring how power is constituted in knowledge, and how that enables structures of domination to be upheld.” Interview with our amazing UQ colleague Heloise Weber.
globalsouth.org/2024/11/helo...
globalsouth.org/2024/11/helo...