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Heidi Backes

@heidibackes1.bsky.social

Prof of Spanish lit and cultural history / Gothic fiction / Fascism / Memory & Trauma Studies / Author of SPECTRAL SPAIN (U of Wales Press, 2024), FASCIST FEMALE GOTHIC (Jan. 2027, UWP)

481 Posts1123 Follower830 Folgt
Jeremy Dauber@jeremydauber.bsky.social · 4h ago

Here's a question for the literary-minded among you for a project I'm working on: what is the worst novel written by a great author? I'm thinking of examples of where everyone - particularly at the time - went, "ooh, swing and a miss there." Juvenilia not included; reputation has to be established.

Heidi Backes@heidibackes1.bsky.social · 12h ago

The results of the Missouri election yesterday. Everyone in the country should be paying attention to this--and MAGA should be very concerned. Republicans lost their two amendments with 80% and 83% of the population voting against them, in a state that overwhelmingly supported Trump.

A graph with election results: Amendment 4: Modify amendment approval requirements (80.3% against) Amendment 5: Eliminate income tax (83.3% against)
Javier Prado Coronel@javiertprado.bsky.social · 2mo ago

💀 En 1831 el escritor Agustín Pérez Zaragoza comenzó a publicar la serie “Galería fúnebre de espectros y sombras ensangrentadas”: una colección de historias góticas llenas de crimen, terror y casquería. El verdadero "Penny dreadful" español 🧵👇

Bild
Shiro Sirius@shirosiri.us · last wk.

I don’t want to be too sensationalist about this but also I’m the least violent person in the world and I think if someone said this to my face I’d hit them

"A physical book is a delivery mechanism for information," it continues. "Once that information has been extracted and encoded into an Al model, the delivery mechanism has served its purpose. What remains is paper, ink, and binding material. The book is not destroyed. Its value has migrated. The paper returns to the material cycle; the knowledge enters the intellectual one."
Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele@drdragases.bsky.social · last wk.

No longer content with pillaging intellectual work and dismembering our environment (already critically weakened), AI companies are now hellbent on destroying books galore including rare editions. Shut down these nefarious enterprises already.

Marc Elias@marcelias.bsky.social · last wk.

A dozen Republican states led by Missouri asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order attacking mail voting go into effect before the midterm elections in November. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

GOP states join DOJ in asking Supreme Court to let Trump block some mail ballots

The states essentially contend that it’s too soon to block a very likely illegal order because we don’t yet, less than 100 days before the midterms, have any idea how the administration might attempt ...

democracydocket.com

Rachel Maddow@maddow.bsky.social · last wk.

tell me more about conservatives and small government. trump administration now demanding that hospitals hand over "personally identifiable medical records of all patients who seek help at their emergency rooms..." www.cnn.com/2026/07/27/h...

Trump administration demands hospitals share emergency room records | CNN

A tiny federal agency tasked with protecting the public from injuries caused by lawn mowers and coffeemakers is demanding that some of the nation’s biggest health systems turn over detailed, personall...

cnn.com

Andrew Whitehead@andrew-whitehead.bsky.social · 2w ago

The last time the US produced income & wealth inequality at these levels was during the Gilded Age/Roaring 20s. Historians & social scientists identify two commonalities between a century ago & now: the overlapping influences of Christian nationalism & capitalism. kettering.org/economic-ine...

Economic Inequality: How Christian Nationalism Weakens Democracy

KF Research Fellow Andrew L. Whitehead traces the connection between Christian nationalism and growing economic inequality in the US. The implications are more than economic—they can lead to democrati...

kettering.org

NPR@npr.org · 2w ago

Just in: Spain's run to the title was a defensive masterclass, with wins over four of the world's top ten teams. They are the first World Cup champion to win the title while only conceding a single goal.

Spain is the 2026 World Cup champion, defeating Argentina for its 2nd title

Spain's run to the title was a defensive masterclass, with wins over four of the world's top ten teams. They are the first World Cup champion to win the title while only conceding a single goal.

n.pr

Heidi Backes@heidibackes1.bsky.social · 3w ago

This seems like a good time to also recommend "Opus" by @garethgore.bsky.social, which has a lot of insight into Leonard Leo and his involvement with American politics and Opus Dei.

Jenny Cohn@jennycohn.bsky.social · 3w ago

“The Catholic Right’s Most Important Senate Race is in Maine *** Conservative Catholic Leonard Leo lives in Maine, owns a parish church, and helps bankroll Susan Collins. Her seat could decide whether he continues to pick America’s judges.” By Michael Fox, 7/16/26 h/t @thcarter123.bsky.social 1/

Titania@titaniasrealm.bsky.social · 3w ago

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life." - Hermann Hesse 🎨 Julia Tar

Illustration of a large oak tree with a face on its trunk. A person is sitting on the ground, facing the tree, and there is a reflection of a white stag in the water.