Professor

Hester Vaizey on how regimes employed different temporal signatures to legitimate their authority

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Sarah Kinkel enjoys a refutation of the theory that Europe’s dominance was a result of military might

Northumbria historian discusses how her research has informed her advocacy and the abuse she has suffered for her campaigning

A scholarly critique of modern psychiatry falls short of describing what psychiatrists actually do, says Tom Burns

A scientist argues that the secret of life itself lies in networks of data, says Richard Joyner

Long-held beliefs on early US public colleges are compellingly debunked, says Howard P. Segal

The Cambridge Philosophical Society’s influence on the development of scientific ideas and research cannot be overestimated, writes Geoffrey Cantor

The author on vampires, romantic fantasies, economic fantasies and the importance of feminist anger

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Claims that academics are indoctrinating their students with liberal propaganda are increasingly common in the right-wing media. John Morgan examines why such a conviction has arisen and whether there is any substance to it

Despite huge strides in the past 75 years, a recent forum suggests to Jon Turney that there’s still a way to go before biologists’ deep insights at the micro level are mirrored at the macro

Book of the week: Changes to methods of military leadership raise questions of who’s the boss, finds A. W. Purdue

Academics highlight brain drain of researchers and loss of international research partners as concerns in wake of latest government ‘attack on autonomy’

Regina Rini discusses how academics and students can avoid online aggression

The new Profile and Aitken Alexander Non-Fiction Prize promises a £25,000 advance and a publishing agreement to ‘the best debut trade non‑fiction proposal from an academic’

A study of the unnamed author offers a fresh angle on some of the tired debates about 20th-century literature, says Abigail Williams

Jonathan Mirsky on a wide-ranging, eye-opening journey tracing a revolutionary development

A survey of the country since its revolution captures key political tensions but pays little heed to a vibrant culture and people, writes Annabelle Sreberny

Book of the week: Josh Cohen’s ruminations on slobbishness and lethargy will resonate with many readers

Simon Baker examines the rise of China as a research nation and the worries this provokes among some Westerners

Tributes paid to ‘greater scholar of the old school’ who was a renowned expert on Antonio Gramsci

Whatever you think of the likes of Jordan Peterson, their use of alternative media to reach huge audiences offers many lessons, says Michael Marinetto 

Using the teaching excellence framework to drive up teaching standards is fundamentally misconceived, says Matt Waddup

Self-organising academics who are still passionate about their jobs will diverge from depressing, neoliberal institutions to create new, democratic ones, predicts Monika Kostera 

Royal Holloway professor Jeff Frank back at work after lengthy suspension over ‘farcical’ and ‘non-specific’ charges relating to union activity

A history of baby-making and an exploration of childlessness; the aura of the Arctic; occupied Paris; and heavenly bodies

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Seven academic chemists give their views on the field’s health

Jordanian molecular biologist Rana Dajani talks to Matthew Reisz about her multiple roles as a conspicuously successful feminist, hijab-wearing scientist in the Middle East

Lloyd Strickland welcomes an entertaining journey through non-Western philosophies

Tributes paid to Chicago authority on Buddhism

Seeking special status will further antagonise non-members faced with curtailed access to EU research funding, says Jan Palmowski

Scholar warns that rising numbers of international university staff in Singapore could ‘make the academy more conservative’

Creativity was key to the women’s movement, as June Purvis finds in a valuable new sourcebook

Six scholars learn the career and life lessons of their greatest academic missteps

The idea of mistakes being intrinsic to success has become an educational mantra – but for many students and academics, messing up is not an option

Christopher Hunt shared row with precious remains after granting of ‘passport’

The good, the bad and the offbeat: the academy through the lens of the world’s media

Tributes paid to historian who transformed our understanding of early modern England

Universities and scholars told to establish ‘the boundaries of acceptable speech’ as staff report meetings with managers over online activities

Joe Biden’s first presidential run was derailed by a scandal over a college law paper. Should he be allowed a second chance, asks Ararat Osipian

Diplomatic row echoes Chinese disputes with US and Australia

The scholarly calling may be all about intellectual pursuits, but university life is not without its petty irritations. A dozen academics describe the daily distractions that annoy them most

Book of the week: resisting neoliberal managerialism won’t solve the academy’s problems, says Martin McQuillan

This appraisal of the gospels does not transform our understanding of them, says Robert A. Segal

Deborah Rogers on a testament to literature’s power to sustain life in the face of the indignities of disease and age

Rebecca Bowler on how middle-class women saw and were seen in the metropolis

Scholar claims campaign from academics and students was instrumental in overturning proposal, but fears remain over potential changes in financial autonomy

Reforms to the French university admission system have ushered in greater selectivity in an attempt to address high dropout rates. But without adequate filtering by family background, will this disproportionately favour the elite? David Matthews reports from Paris

Edward Said’s influential imperial critique, Alexander the Great’s long artistic afterlife, mosquitoes’ place in empire, and black activists’ efforts to ‘decolonise Britain’

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Barry Reay praises an interdisciplinary study that demolishes stereotypes of slavery, trafficking and exploitation

Ann Hughes visits a time when relationships with animals combined affection and pragmatism

Kristen R. Ghodsee learns how Western cultural products imported into the Soviet Union allowed people to travel in their imaginations, despite being physically restricted

Some research disciplines have their very own ‘Simon and Garfunkel’. Matthew Reisz talks to some of those whose close and enduring collaborations have convinced them that two voices are better than one

UK university leaders might be bullish on the subject of institutional failure but the divide between managers and staff needs serious redress

Scholar of race and urban history remembered

Hyper-selective universities help create the outrageous arrogance of some politicians. A bit of randomness in the process could lead to more humble leaders, argues David Matthews

England’s loan system and high fees have fuelled students’ sense of entitlement but not of responsibility, says Beth Guilding