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Dr. Barry Torch

@barrytorch.bsky.social

He/Him. Medieval and Renaissance Historian, Skeptical Optimist, Purveyor of Puns, and lover of Books, Fountain Pens, and Dogs. Settler on Treaty 13 Territory. Jewish. Queer.

437 Posts2852 Follower1340 Folgt
Sonja Drimmer@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 3d ago

I’ve seen in two culture /higher ed magazines recently the claim that the printing press engendered a crisis of authority at universities bc anyone could publish what they wanted and people could learn things without universities. This is not true.

jessamyn@librarian.bsky.social · 5d ago

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.
Dot Porter@leoba.bsky.social · 5d ago

Do you use digitized medieval manuscripts in any capacity? Do you have opinions about the metadata that describes them? We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out our very short survey. Please repost and share with anyone you know who might be interested! forms.gle/sBPXAnoRhwe1...

Digitized Medieval Manuscripts: Metadata Preferences

A brief survey about what metadata formats people prefer to go along with their digitized medieval manuscripts. The results of this survey will be used to consider what metadata we make available thro...

forms.gle

Sonja Drimmer@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · last wk.

“AI has become a blunt instrument in the enterprise to impose precisely this form of sanctioned ignorance about America’s past...Taken together, [Trump’s & Musk’s] plans amount to a one-two punch, history in the hands of the corporate state.” My latest on AI & history: www.salon.com/2026/07/28/t...

Trump and Musk both want to control America's history

The frenemies' strange obsession with historical "accuracy" has disturbing connections to big AI

salon.com

Jessica Smith@thedaybooks.bsky.social · last wk.

It’s nice to see everyone’s textual analysis of The Odyssey It’s almost like the humanities give you entertainment, feelings, pleasure, and fun/interesting stuff to talk about, as well as lenses into both past and current society

EMILY WILSON@emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 2w ago

Now that many people are buying my 2017 metrical verse translation of the Odyssey in great numbers (thank you, Mr Nolan!), or at least, gazing at it and wondering whether to buy it, I thought I should share some thoughts on the cover design.

Natania Barron ~ Fantasy Author@natania.bsky.social · 2w ago

What bugged me most about the costumes in the ODYSSEY is that, demonstrably, that period in quasi-history was so vivid, and aside from a few women, the film it was a bleak, almost Game of Thrones palette. There are many options, but the Minoan frescoes (reconstructed) are a favorite.

Fresco fragment showing three women in profile against a sky-blue background, known as the "Ladies in Blue" from the palace of Knossos, Crete. Each has elaborately styled black hair dressed with strings of beads, white headbands, and curling tendrils falling over the shoulders. They wear open-fronted bodices in gold and blue with patterned borders, plus beaded necklaces and bracelets, and raise their hands in delicate gestures. Rough patches of unrestored plaster interrupt the painted surface, showing where original Bronze Age fragments meet modern reconstruction.
Brett Rushforth@brettrushforth.bsky.social · 3w ago

Join me and Chris for a zoom talk about Beyond the Ocean: Thursday at 6:45pm eastern. We each picked one thing and one person from the book to illustrate some of its main themes. #earlymodern #atlanticworld #skystorians smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/pr...

The Atlantic Empire: A History of French Colonialism

Between 1400 and 1800, the people of Europe, Africa, and the Americas grew more connected by overseas trade and colonization. According to historians Christopher Hodson and Brett Rushforth, accounts o...

smithsonianassociates.org

Early Modern Digital Itineraries (EMDigIt)@emdigit.bsky.social · 3w ago

After a hiatus, EMDigIt is back with BIG news! 📯 The Core Italian Itinerary dataset is now publicly available as feature layers published on ArcGIS Online. More than 3,700 georeferenced way-points and 6,000 route segments taken from 8 Italian-language itineraries published from 1562-1720.

A map of Europe with many points shown in blue and red of varying opacity representing historical way-stationsA map of Europe with lines in blue and red of varying opacity representing historical travel routes
Joschka Meier@josserme.bsky.social · 3w ago

There've always been people that cared for animals - including in the Middle Ages! This video is about the various ways people protected & cared for animals, even in the face of challenges like iron-eating 🐂 & spontaneous 🐷explosions #skystorians #medievalsky #envhist #animalhistory #earlymodern

Joschka Meier Paper Alpine Animal Welfare - IMC Leeds 2026

YouTube video by Joschka Meier

youtu.be

Joschka Meier@josserme.bsky.social · last mo.

If anyone is interested in #animalhistory - or just animals in general - come check out #IMC2026 panel 1505 : imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2026/mee... The theme is 'protecting animals' which includes in my case maternity leave for horses, sabbaticals for work animals and more! #medievalsky #envhist

Dr. Barry Torch@barrytorch.bsky.social · 4w ago

Sometimes, I just marvel at all of the amazing history and humanities work that scholars actively do - as we have so little to work with, as the study below indicates. The dedication of (some members of) our species to knowing our past from such fragile evidence is quite amazing.

Sarah E. Bond@sarahebond.bsky.social · 4w ago

How do we calculate loss of written works? A depressing but important new study notes that "the loss was far greater than scholars once thought. Researchers estimate that up to 60% of medieval literary works and more than 95% of the manuscripts that once carried them have disappeared over time." 📜🖋️

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 4w ago

Quite extraordinary that in the global 21st century an epic poem composed in Homeric Greek in the 8th or the 7th century BCE still moves us & provokes yet more reinterpretations. That's not the full value of the Humanities, but if you're struggling to value them, it might be a good starting point.

Image advertising Nolan's film The Odyssey. Blue tones dominate. We see in the foreground the back of a warrior's helmet with a feathered top. In the background there is a forest and mountains.
Sonja Drimmer@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 4w ago

In my experience, scholars of a particular historical period are the LEAST uptight about "accuracy" in fictional representations of their period, which is why, as a medievalist, I can assure you that A Knight's Tale is the greatest movie set in medieval England that has ever been made.

Jason Rabinowitz@airlineflyer.net · last mo.

A $3 @mta.info subway fare and some good Q train timing can buy you one hell of a view of the July 4th fireworks and the Brooklyn Bridge light show! Huge shoutout to the train operator for slow rolling over the Manhattan Bridge and the conductor for announcing it.

Dr. Barry Torch@barrytorch.bsky.social · last mo.

It's going to be fascinating, as a historian, to watch what is happening with #LeoXIV and the Society for Saint Pius X ( #SPXX) re: the potential schism. And this is going to be for a *lot* of reasons, internal to the Church itself (politically and theologically), but there's a small point to make: