École Polytechnique’s modern outlook in sync with Macron New president keen to support Paris institution’s ‘agility’, according to its leader By Jack Grove 16 May
US watchdogs face 'crisis' in post-truth age Increased scrutiny of US sector and distrust of academics puts traditional quality assurance models in question By Jack Grove 10 May
One per cent of refugees 'reach tertiary education' Figures highlight challenges faced by European universities seeking to educate refugees By Jack Grove 9 May
Sold People: Traffickers and Family Life in North China, by Johanna S. Ransmeier A brilliant study examines the wide variety of markets for trafficked human beings, writes Jonathan Mirsky By Jonathan Mirsky 4 May
The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty, by Jonathan Morduch and Rachel Schneider Lisa Mckenzie heaps praise on a study that records the emotional costs of complicated household budgets By Lisa Mckenzie 4 May
Interview with Shirley Tate We discuss realising what it means to be black in the UK, dealing with insomnia, and institutional racism in the academy, with the renowned race and black identity scholar By John Elmes 27 April
Supersizing Urban America: How Inner Cities Got Fast Food with Government Help, by Chin Jou Many actors helped to usher agents of the food court in to US city centres, says Bart Elmore By Bart Elmore 27 April
What the Windsors can learn from Prince Andrew The Duke of York’s support for London Met shows how the Royal Family can make a difference in higher education, says Jack Grove By Jack Grove 26 April
Knowledge for Sale: The Neoliberal Takeover of Higher Education, by Lawrence Busch Comparing free-market politics with state socialism may be an intellectual dead end, says Aniko Horvath By Aniko Horvath 20 April
The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers, by Elizabeth Cobbs June Purvis on the female pioneers on the frontline in the war to end all wars By June Purvis 20 April
The Social Life of Kimono: Japanese Fashion Past and Present, by Sheila Cliffe East Asia’s most iconic garment is as dynamic as any Western mode of dress, finds Joy Hendry By Joy Hendry 20 April
Mothering through Precarity: Women’s Work and Digital Media, by Julie A. Wilson and Emily Chivers Yochim E. Stina Lyon on the contradictory feelings of insecurity and optimism that digital cultures provides mothers By E. Stina Lyon 6 April
Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places, by Kathryn H. Anthony A call to make our world more pleasant and fitting is let down by its own biases, says Isabelle Szmigin By Isabelle Szmigin 6 April
How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing Book of the week: sidelining its female workforce cost the UK primacy in a nascent IT industry, says John Gilbey By John Gilbey 6 April
To improve people’s health, listen to social scientists Susan Michie calls for a radical upgrade in the use of social science to tackle poor public health By Susan Michie 4 April
EU research ‘still failing to include social sciences’ Without input from other disciplines, new technologies will fail to improve lives, report warns By David Matthews 3 April
Will new institutions shake up teaching in old elite? New institutions across the world believe that they can compete with big-name universities that are stuck in the past, explains Jack Grove By Jack Grove 2 April
Democracy for Hire: A History of American Political Consulting, by Dennis W. Johnson Kori Schake praises a forensic examination of the US political system By Kori Schake 30 March
Fully Connected: Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Overload, by Julia Hobsbawm Book of the week: the digital deluge can harm our social health; Emma Rees commends a prescription to tackle it By Emma Rees 30 March
Murder in Plain English: From Manifestos to Memes – Looking at Murder through the Words of Killers, by Michael Arntfield and Marcel Danesi A whistle-stop tour of criminals’ texts is packed with listicles and promises, says Sharon Wheeler By Sharon Wheeler 30 March
At Home in the World: Women Writers and Public Life, from Austen to the Present, by Maria DiBattista and Deborah Epstein Nord Women have long been commentators on global affairs but their messages aren’t necessarily getting through, writes Elizabeth Cobbs By Elizabeth Cobbs 30 March
Perfecting the art of thinking? Try sketching out your ideas Sociologists make the case for observational drawing to be part of the research process By John Elmes 29 March
A lack of ideological diversity is killing social research Without more conservative perspectives in the academy, lawmakers will increasingly ignore and potentially defund social science, says Musa al-Gharbi By Musa al-Gharbi 23 March
Speaking of Universities, by Stefan Collini David Wheeler on how public higher education in the UK has strayed from its ideals, and how it might regain them By David Wheeler 23 March
Darwin and the Making of Sexual Selection, by Evelleen Richards Book of the week: Simon Underdown enjoys a stunning view of Darwin at work on his less celebrated classic By Simon Underdown 23 March
Left-Wing Melancholia: Marxism, History and Memory, by Enzo Traverso A wide-ranging study is triumphant in plumbing the depths of socialist despair, says Fred Inglis By Fred Inglis 23 March
Animate Planet: Making Visceral Sense of Living in a High-Tech Ecologically Damaged World, by Kath Weston Environmental changes also change us but old and new ways of living offer hope, says Stephanie Bunn By Stephanie Bunn 16 March
North Korea’s Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground is Transforming a Closed Society, by Jieun Baek The voices of 10 defectors are the most powerful parts of a study of the Hermit Kingdom, says Hazel Smith By Hazel Smith 16 March
The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential, by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic Success stories, such as supermarket founder Ken Morrison, are covered in a study that makes you think, says Helga Drummond By Helga Drummond 16 March
Book of the week: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy Book of the week: Danny Dorling lauds an exposition of the benefits of obligation-free income and how to attain them By Danny Dorling 16 March
The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century, by Walter Scheidel History would suggest that only violent means lead to less inequality, says Victoria Bateman By Victoria Bateman 9 March
#Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media, by Cass R. Sunstein Book of the week: Americans have to reach out to fight the political division fed by social media, says Angelia Wilson By Angelia R. Wilson 9 March
Utopia for Realists and How We Can Get There, by Rutger Bregman The groundwork may be set for a shift from selfish, individualistic capitalism, says Danny Dorling By Danny Dorling 9 March
Students shout down speech by controversial US scholar Car carrying Charles Murray attacked at Middlebury College, reports say By Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed 6 March
The Locomotive Of War: Money, Empire, Power and Guilt, by Peter Clarke Book of the week: A history of famous liberals shows how global conflict shaped them and us, writes A. W. Purdue By A.W. Purdue 2 March
Research in the danger zone: should academics do it? Interviewing a Mafia researcher made John Elmes consider how scholars should study volatile groups By John Elmes 1 March
Move country to improve post-PhD career prospects, study says Research finds that working overseas can boost PhD holders’ salaries By Hilary Lamb 1 March
The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality, by Justin Gest This study shines a valuable spotlight on what UK and US media and politicians have began to call ‘the left behind’, says Lisa Mckenzie By Lisa Mckenzie 23 February
A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women’s Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Thousands of details from forgotten lives of domesticity enrich this first-rate history, writes Deborah D. Rogers By Deborah D. Rogers 23 February
Curb ‘outrageous’ pay hikes for top brass, says UCU Analysis suggests v-c pay is rising twice as fast as salaries of more junior university staff By Jack Grove 23 February
New formula aims to stop ‘unfair’ credit for research Researchers on large-scale projects would receive less credit under proposed scheme By Jack Grove 22 February
Former dean’s ‘Duckpond University’ case study raises eyebrows Does Nigel Piercy textbook case study stem from his experience at Swansea University? By Jack Grove 16 February
Research networks ‘more important’ for female scientists Study finds a stronger correlation for women between success and being central to a network By Jack Grove 16 February
‘French brain drain worse than imagined’ Lack of opportunities and local hiring practices have stopped many French scientists from returning to their homeland, a new study says By Jack Grove 16 February
London business schools ‘face post-Brexit turbulence’ Capital’s institutions may be hit by a ‘perfect storm’, warn scholars By Jack Grove 12 February
Extreme poverty of medieval students revealed New study into medieval universities describes how paupers studied alongside the elite despite financial barriers By Jack Grove 9 February
Writing an Icon: Celebrity Culture and the Invention of Anaïs Nin, by Anita Jarczok Laura Frost wonders if an ambitious author’s tales of erotic adventure were sexed up by others By Laura Frost 9 February
Sir Mark Walport: my ambition as first chief of UKRI The new CEO of UKRI, Sir Mark Walport, says a shake-up of UK research funding is needed if the country is to remain internationally competitive By Mark Walport 2 February
A New Deal for China’s Workers?, by Cynthia Estlund A survey of the labour landscape under the Chinese Communist Party would be stronger with more voices of working people, says Jonathan Mirsky By Jonathan Mirsky 2 February
Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire, by Carol Dyhouse Book of the week: The perennial female fantasy of man embodies a host of contradictory types, says Laura Frost By Laura Frost 2 February
Happiness expert advises UK’s first ‘positive university’ Martin Seligman guides University of Buckingham on 'positive psychology' By Jack Grove 27 January
Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s Most Repressive State, by Martin Plaut A study of the North African country lays bare a ruler at war with his own people, says Joanna Lewis By Joanna Lewis 26 January
Silent Partners: Women as Public Investors during Britain’s Financial Revolution, 1690-1750, by Amy M. Froide Far from passive responders to capitalism, women were involved from the start, Victoria Bateman says By Victoria Bateman 26 January
Some college ‘is better than none’, study suggests First transnational study of how university dropouts fare in the labour market suggests any exposure to higher education is better than none By Jack Grove 26 January
TEF to limit use of ‘flawed’ NSS scores Chair voices concerns over student satisfaction data as Cambridge’s students’ union joins NSS boycott By Jack Grove 25 January
Professor banned from office after dismissal Turkish philosopher describes shock at being stopped from packing up office after sudden dismissal By Jack Grove 23 January
‘Get house in order’ on staff-student liaisons, says NUS officer Student leader calls for clearer rules on student-staff relationships after Sussex report into abusive lecturer case By Jack Grove 20 January
Connecting in College: How Friendship Networks Matter for Academic and Social Success, by Janice M. McCabe Friends can help undergraduates blossom, but there’s not enough mixing of students from different backgrounds, says Lorenza Antonucci By Lorenza Antonucci 19 January
Is cash-for-papers worse than UK game-playing? Are Chinese universities doing the same with affiliations as UK institutions do with REF, asks Jack Grove By Jack Grove 19 January
Germany’s teaching excellence drive ‘creates new hierarchy’ Some universities in Germany are using extra cash to create elite flagship courses, says study By Jack Grove 17 January
