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JOANNA BOURKE

Blogs
Here are my latest blogs! Enjoy.


Defending the University: Reflections on the Future of Universities and Research
This is a talk I presented at the 109 th Rectors’ Assembly of Greek Universities on 10 th July 2025. (For the video-ed version of the talk, go to the 'Video and Audio section of my website: https://www.joannabourke.com/home-3 ) The high point of The University was from the postwar period (1940s) to the 1980s, a period characterized by the rapid expansion of Higher Education, coupled (albeit patchily) with a dedication to the value of knowledge and critical thinking. It w
Jul 1412 min read


The Lurgan Mechanics’ Institute
In 1859, the Lurgan Mechanics’ Institute was formally inaugurated, ‘in the presence of one of the largest and most fashionable...
Apr 1232 min read


Eric Hobsbawm (with a nod to poetic genius Adrienne Rich!)
What do we get when we lend our ears to Eric Hobsbawm? Passion. Energy. Exhilarating sweeps of time; giddy swoops into political darkness...
Feb 10, 20246 min read


The Humanities: La Fontaine's Cat, Kafka's Ape, and the Human
What does it mean to be human? We inhabit a world that is commonly, and lazily, dubbed ‘post-human’. Indeed, in recent decades, an anti...
Feb 6, 202413 min read


Marianne Elliott: Inspirations Series
Marianne Elliott is one of the greatest living historians of Ireland, with books that have changed the way we think about revolution and...
Feb 6, 20246 min read


Mechanics' Institutes: What? Why? Where?
When Birkbeck was established in 1823, it was called the London Mechanics’ Institution. It was one of the first ‘mechanics’ institutes’...
Feb 6, 202414 min read


Athens: A Guide to the City
It is impossible not to be charmed by Athens. At night, bouzouki music wells up from dark basements; tables spill out of ouzeris, around...
Feb 5, 20243 min read


What is a University? Birkbeck College
Walking into the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution (as it was then called) in the 1890s could be a dispiriting experience....
Feb 5, 20244 min read


bell hooks (on her death): Inspirations Series
bell hooks has been an enduring presence in my life. I first read her 1981 classic Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism as an...
Jan 10, 20241 min read
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