Lorna Finlayson teaches philosophy at Essex. An Introduction to Feminism came out in 2016.
Animals are in. As mass extinction looms, nature documentaries have become big business. The last six years have seen a succession of David Attenborough hits: Blue Planet II, Dynasties and Dynasties II, The Green Planet and Frozen Planet II on the BBC; and on Netflix, Our Planet, A Life on Our Planet and Planet Earth II. Attenborough’s most recent series, Wild Isles, was watched by more...
The university is not the safe space for complaint that it once was. Negativity, even ambivalence, is frowned on. Nothing less than complete enthusiasm will satisfy: you must at all times be thrilled to announce, excited to be part of, delighted to share. In this context, marking – which at most universities involves uploading long lists of numbers to creaking online portals that crash with abandon – is one of the few remaining repositories for an acceptable ennui, an apolitical ire. It unites the divided: everyone hates marking.
Secondary school students in England and Wales have been protesting against restrictive rules covering uniforms and toilet access. As with almost anything involving young people, the protests immediately became a culture war talking point. Some of the hostility was of a familiar kind: the kids need to learn some respect, stop bleating about their ‘human rights’ and get back to class – and striking teachers need to get back to work, too, and stop setting a bad example.
Sexual violence at universities is shrouded in myth and misunderstanding. Media reports of a ‘rape culture’ among students and ‘epidemic’ levels of sexual predation by staff have created the impression that universities are unusually sordid and perilous places. It can sometimes feel that way. But rates of sexual violence are not significantly higher in universities...
Katharine Birbalsingh, the head of the Michaela Community School in Wembley, is said to have been shortlisted for the role of chair of the government’s Social Mobility Commission (or ‘Social Mobility Tsar’). The job pays £350 a day for up to six days’ work a month. Birbalsingh delighted the Conservative Party Conference in 2010 with a speech that emphasised ‘discipline’ and ‘personal responsibility’ and included some snide remarks about grade inflation and political correctness, interspersed with clips of her students playing the steelpans. Music to the Tories’ ears.
Tom Crewe talks to Lorna Finlayson about Jeremy Corbyn and Labour’s prospects in the general election and beyond.
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