September 1, 2009

It is 40 years since I arrived as a student at Sussex University in the wake of the global student revolution of 1968, in the year of Woodstock and the moon landings.  The Cold War was at its height but the first SALT disarmament talks began in November.  In Vietnam it was the year of [...]

June 30, 2009

Most academics love the idea of time off from teaching to write up long cherished projects, so when I was awarded a research grant to finish Shadows Are My Friends (a book about British film noir) I was considered very fortunate. But this was going to be my tenth book and I had no illusions about the joy of writing.

May 11, 2009

At this stage we can’t contain a pandemic, but if we are lucky, it could contain itself. The single most important factor determining the extent of human infections with the swine flu virus probably has to do with the biological characteristics of the virus and how it evolves, which is why it is being studied so carefully right now. If it were easy to contain the spread of influenza viruses, we would not have the problem of seasonal influenza every year.

May 5, 2009

Environmentalists looking for compromises with industry are labelled traitors by their colleagues. Their small achievements over recent years – such as the recent Miliband decision – are few. On the other hand those that hold out for the right long-term answer are increasingly called ‘eco-fascists’ and castigated for insisting on real changes in rich country lifestyle. But public sympathy for direct action and for painful changes is limited and fragile. Polling shows that the UK population is less willing to act on climate change than almost any other country in the developed world.

April 2, 2009

I hope it is not inappropriate to share my concern about the plans for shutting down the Linguistics programme at Sussex. As someone who has written and spoken extensively about language for a wide audience, and who has visited the University of Sussex on several occasions, I hope my observations may give the University reason to reconsider this decision.

April 1, 2009

Having spent the past twelve days attempting to respond to a defamatory article printed in The Observer of 15 March, I’m beginning to wonder. It really has proved remarkably difficult to have my shout at all, and if I hadn’t been offered this guest-blog, I would still be waiting. I found myself reading on page three of a national Sunday newspaper that another writer on Austen and I were having ‘a row’: news indeed to me.

March 23, 2009

It is clear that something momentous is happening as we shift from print to digital communication: concepts of copyright are loosening; intellectual property rights are under threat – not least because the Internet loosens the bond between author/creator and product built up slowly over the last few centuries of print. We are becoming less sure of the rights of anyone to be identified with their own work. We are what we read but we are also how we read.

March 17, 2009

So what does ‘Energy and Environment Manager’ really mean? Well, I would summarise my role by saying that I am here principally to champion the whole sustainability agenda for the University, improving our environmental performance through education, campaigning and project delivery.

February 26, 2009

This week, Sanjeev Bhaskar was announced as the new Chancellor of the University of Sussex. Michael Farthing, the Vice-Chancellor, writes exclusively for The Badger Online about why he thinks Sanjeev is the man for the job.

February 12, 2009

Caroline Lucas, Green MEP and leader of the UK Green Party, writes exclusively for The Badger Online. Mrs Lucas aims to become the UK’s first ever Green MP when she contests Brighton Pavillion at the next election.