Ben Schofield
LightNews LightNews
banner
benschofield.bsky.social
Ben Schofield
@benschofield.bsky.social
340 followers 540 following 24 posts
Germanist | Comparatist | Americanist | Modern Linguist | Bluesky in a private capacity | he/him | 🏳️‍🌈 🇪🇺
Posts Replies Media Videos
benschofield.bsky.social
Important thoughts on the many places and spaces minoritised languages can inhabit and thrive, from Bristol’s @jameshawkey.bsky.social - #Catalan #Globalisation #Multilingualism #ModernLanguages
ecmiflensburg.bsky.social European Centre for Minority Issues @ecmiflensburg.bsky.social · 25d
What are the biggest challenges for Catalan?
In Q&A#10, we interview Dr. @jameshawkey.bsky.social (Associate Professor of Linguistics and Catalan Studies at the University of Bristol/ UK).

www.ecmi.de/default-titl...
September 9, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
jeannetteoho.bsky.social
Excited to share that I have received an ERC Starting Grant for my project SITESOFMEMORY: Literature, Antiracism and the Pluralization of Memory Culture in Germany ✨️🥳

@erc.europa.eu
erc.europa.eu European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · Sep 3
📣 Good news! 📣

Results of the ERC 2026 Starting Grant call are out!

Funding worth a total of €705 million will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe.

Discover who, what and where 👉 link.europa.eu/9M3MmN

🧪 #ERCStG #FrontierResearch #HorizonEurope
🇪🇺 @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
September 3, 2026 at 11:23 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ttw1984.bsky.social
Some bank holiday / end of summer reading for you all! A blog about a book that’s been a long time coming - and we’re pretty proud of it! Thanks to @profsarajones.bsky.social & Betiel Wasihun for all the hard work and collegiality while writing and for keeping us going when times were tough 🙏🏽🤓
boydellandbrewer.bsky.social Boydell & Brewer @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social · Aug 28
Betiel Wasihun, Tara Talwar Windsor and Sara Jones explore how writers in East Germany acquired, shared & acted on knowledge about the Stasi revealing the role of literary networks in navigating surveillance & secrecy.

Read the blog: buff.ly/JIkaF8a

@profsarajones.bsky.social @ttw1984.bsky.social
August 31, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
pdavies.bsky.social
Congrats to Anna and Ben - no one better to take the Association forward!
ags-gbi.bsky.social Association of German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland @ags-gbi.bsky.social · Aug 28
After three years as Vice-President, Prof Anna Saunders (@profannasaunders.bsky.social) becomes the new President of the AGS today.

We also welcome Dr Benedict Schofield (@benschofield.bsky.social) as Vice-President.

We wish Anna and Ben all the best in their new roles!
A portrait of two people stood next to each other looking at the camera in front of an internal wall with wood panelling to chest height and patterned wallpaper and a light fitting above
August 28, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
As the conference draws to a close, let us thank Dr Stephan Ehrig (@herrehrig.bsky.social) and his excellent te am for their meticulous organisation of #AGS2026, which has run like clockwork. Thanks for having us @glasgow.ac.uk! See you all next year in Cambridge for #AGS2027!
Ornate university buildings seen behind a landscaped garden and wrought iron fencing A path leads away from the camera before forking either side of a stone monument distinguishable only as a human bust on a pediment, behind which a spire is visible rising above thick verduous tree canopies
August 28, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
After three years as Vice-President, Prof Anna Saunders (@profannasaunders.bsky.social) becomes the new President of the AGS today.

We also welcome Dr Benedict Schofield (@benschofield.bsky.social) as Vice-President.

We wish Anna and Ben all the best in their new roles!
A portrait of two people stood next to each other looking at the camera in front of an internal wall with wood panelling to chest height and patterned wallpaper and a light fitting above
August 28, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
Chairing the business meeting is one of the last duties of outgoing AGS President Prof Peter Davies (@pdavies.bsky.social). Enormous thanks to Peter for all he’s done for the discipline and especially his thoughtful leadership as President of the association over the last three years!
A speaker wearing a grey suit holding a phone in his right hand and his left arm outstretched A speaker wearing a grey suit holding a phone in his right hand and gesturing with his left
August 28, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
Great turnout for the business meeting bright and early on Day 3 of #AGS2026. Thanks to all committee members for delivering their reports - great opportunity to take stock of all the hard work they do across the year!
A conference room seen from the rear with audience members scattered across seats arranged in rows either side of a central aisle. At the far end of the room a speaker stands to the left of a screen while a panel of speakers sits at a table to its right A wall-mounted gilded stag’s head above a screen onto which a business meeting agenda is being projected
August 28, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
The #AGS2026 cultural programme continues with a critical walking tour of Kelvingrove Park led by Dr Rosie Spooner of @glasgow.ac.uk. A little “critical heritage practice” before dinner…
A group of 30-40 people gathered on a tree-lined path in a grassy city park. A speaker stood on a shrub-lined path in a park with people gathered around stood listening intently
August 27, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
As panels come to a close on Day 2 of #AGS2026, by my count that’s 77 talks across 21 panels by 77 speakers drawn from 47 different institutions across 11 countries

🇦🇹 🇧🇪 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇩🇪 🇮🇳 🇮🇪 🇮🇹 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇸🇪 🇨🇭 🇹🇭 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
August 27, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
And already we’re into the final parallel panels of #AGS2026!
August 27, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
The second of today’s four parallel panels carries us towards lunch of Day 2 of #AGS2026. The fourth Environments panel heard no less than FIVE excellent papers!!
Five speakers sit at a table at the front of an ornate wood-panelled room as a listening audience, whose heads we see from the behind, looks on
August 27, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
Dora Osborne (St Andrews) gets day 2 of #AGS2026 underway in the third session of the Lead Panel on Environments
A speaker sits at a table in right of frame reading into a microphone. In left of frame a screen is visible showing two people sat at a workbench in a laboratory
August 27, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
#AGS2026 continues with a reception at the Goethe-Institut Glasgow with special guest Christiane Hullmann, the Consul General for Scotland @goethe-institut-uk.bsky.social
An audience sitting and standing is seen from behind with three people speakers at the front of the room A view from the rear of a room full of people standing and listening to a speaker in a red blazer stood in front of screen at the front of the room
August 26, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
#AGS2026 continues apace this afternoon with three parallel panels
A conference speaker sits facing the camera in the back right of the frame with audience members listening intently. A map of Germany is visible on a screen on the left of a frame A classroom is seen from the back of the room with people sat at rows of tables facing a speaker stood beside a screen at the front of the classroom A classroom seen laterally with conference delegates sat at tables on all four sides of tables set up in a rectangular formation
August 26, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
The first panel of #AGS2026 begins with Dr Tara Beaney initiating a lively discussion of how we can make German Studies even more "consequential"
The ornate main conference room with a large screen at the far end, two delegates standing and the audience engaged in discussion in small groups
August 26, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
Thanks to Dr Stephan Ehrig (@herrehrig.bsky.social) and the rest of the the local conference organising team for the warm welcome and for all pf your hard work coordinating #AGS2026!
The camera looks over the audience's heads to rest on a speaker holding a microphone and facing the camera who is positioned in the centre of the frame
August 26, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
Welcome speeches by Prof Andy Schofield (Principal and Vice-Chancellor, @glasgow.ac.uk) and Prof Nina Parish (Head of School of Modern Languages and Cultures, @glasgow.ac.uk) kick off our #AGS2026 conference
A man holding a microphone in one hand and paper notes in the other is giving a speech A wide angle view of a room with an audience sat in rows facing away from the camera and at the end of aisle stretching to the back of the room a speaker is stood in front of a screen giving a speech
August 26, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ags-gbi.bsky.social
#AGS2026 begins! Hosted by @glasgow.ac.uk, the conference will run for three days starting today!
A wooden door frame opens onto a room full of people sat in rows facing away from the camera
August 26, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
ryanthoreson.bsky.social
"[P]rosecutors dropping these charges sends a clear signal to the many thousands of LGBT people and their allies that they can attend Hungary’s upcoming Pride events with joy, and without fear of arrest, fines, or imprisonment on spurious grounds."

www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
Hungarian Prosecutors Drop Pride-Related Charges
Hungarian prosecutors announced on June 4 that they had dropped charges against a mayor and a civic activist for their roles in organizing 2025 Pride events in Budapest and Pécs.
www.hrw.org
June 8, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
brisunipress.bsky.social
#Pride events won't solve the structural problems created by the rise of illiberal politics and decades of ruthless neoliberalism. Still, they can help #LGBTQAI+ people feel at the heart of a political project built collectively through solidarity.

https://ow.ly/MJbt50Z6Eg8
Pride events at risk in times of far-right backlash and corporate withdrawal - Transforming Society
Francesca Romana Ammaturo, author of 'The Politics of Pride Events', argues that Pride events have become vital spaces for LGBTQIA+ visibility and resistance worldwide, but growing political hostility and declining support make grassroots solidarity essential to their survival.
ow.ly
June 5, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
senthorun.bsky.social
“As the annual Pride parade weaved its way through Durham… the rainbow flags were almost matched in number by trade union banners, as miners, postal workers, and train drivers swelled the parade’s ranks in solidarity, making it the biggest in Durham Pride’s history.”

Solidarity is our strength. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
‘Bigger and better than ever’: how Durham Pride beat Reform’s funding axe with help from the miners
Solidarity between LGBTQ+ people and unions has saved an event denied ‘a single penny’ of council money
www.theguardian.com
June 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
katyderbyshire.bsky.social
I am in the paper, talking translation. Thanks to @philipoltermann.bsky.social for covering the topic (human vs large language model).
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
‘Being human helps’: despite rise of AI is there still hope for Europe’s translators?
A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing – but they could be needed for a while longer yet
www.theguardian.com
May 8, 2026 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
languages-direct.com
Oswestry: The English town that belongs in Wales buff.ly/gYO3SKX #langsky #xl8
Oswestry: The English town that belongs in Wales
In the border town of Oswestry, Welsh is heard in shops, on signs and in daily life – despite the town being firmly in England.
buff.ly
May 2, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by Ben Schofield
languages-direct.com
Esperanto: Borderless language remembers its Yorkshire roots buff.ly/TvxJ8Vx #langsky #xl8
Esperanto: Borderless language remembers its Yorkshire roots
The constructed language is nearing 140 years old, with its annual UK conference currently taking place.
buff.ly
April 26, 2026 at 5:30 PM