the year is 2027. gas costs $83 and lettuce is at war with us. however every location on every map now says AMERICA
Mikki Brock
@mikkibrock.bsky.social
historian of religion, the supernatural, & gender in early modern Scotland | professor | views mine | she/her.
I wrote about Dolly Parton in my latest @nytopinion.nytimes.com column. Thank you. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...
Opinion | The Greatest Story Dolly Parton Ever Wrote Was Herself (Gift Article)
She didn’t see herself as a saint; she identified as something we needed even more: a writer.
nytimes.com
Perhaps AI will be the grit that makes the pearl: making institutions articulate, for the first time in decades if not ever, what the hell they’re about and what an education is supposed to be for. (This from the MIT committee‘s report on AI)
Me, a US-based academic: I don’t care what any scholar believes, we all need to stand up publicly whenever someone’s academic freedom is threatened Me, continuing: also, the first time this has happened, motivating me to sign my first ever open letter, is in late 2026, to a race scientist, in Ghent
"Texas Tech is using A.I. to ferret out books and other materials that touch on topics like sexual orientation and gender identity. Professors describe the effort as a dystopian academic nightmare, in which ideologues are wielding technology to sideline subject-matter experts."
A Texas University Becomes a Petri Dish for a Conservative Overhaul
Texas Tech is using A.I. to cut left-leaning content in its curriculum. Some say the effort to ferret out forbidden topics is a dystopian academic nightmare.
nytimes.com
Literally normalizing reproductive coercion out in public
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d agoJD Vance: "The Second Lady said, 'Well, you can have one of two things. You can be VP, or you can have a fourth child.' Ladies and gentlemen, I must be pretty persuasive, because I got both."
I’m absolutely baffled by this. Yes, cars, trains, scooters, and other motor-powered devices can go faster than people. And if you want a machine that can go faster than a person you wouldn’t build it to be person-shaped for a reason.
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 5d agoA humanoid robot beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter dash record at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday. It ran into a wall to stop and was carried away on a stretcher.
seems like the real problem here is that education is predicated on a desire to learn but run like a toll booth for the job market that's not a tech issue
If an AI "clone" can do what you do, you are not in a serious discipline, and you should not teach at a university. And if you are an institution passing word-guessing simulations off as "educators" because you value profit over authentic learning, then you are not a university at all.
James Grimmelmann@jtlg.bsky.social · 7d agoWhat are we even doing here? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/b...
Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/
Behind the statistics are the students. Those going on to History at university make an important choice. You'll gain perspective, insight and judgement - and how we need these now. You'll learn to analyse and articulate; you'll work with experts; and you'll likely thrive with subject you enjoy.
Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 2w agoWith A Level results published today, it's very welcome to see a 5% increase in students taking #History in 2026 compared with 2025. At 5%, History sees the 5th highest increase in student numbers, 2025-26, across all subjects. Full details: bit.ly/3RMKL1x #Skystorians 1/2
One of the best parts of being a historian? Changing my mind. Sometimes one letter or one newspaper article sends me back to rethink everything I thought I knew. That's not failure. That's good history. 🗃️
It's real, and due out in March! 'Imaginative Pasts', which has been a joy to edit with Tracey Loughran, aims to reckon - and play - with the role of the imagination in historical research and writing. #skystorians #earlymodern manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526187154/
Sweet baby Jesus. "Chat GPT can tell me what I read yesterday and interpret it for me, except sometimes it just makes shit up, but that's still great! Imagine how much time and effort I save by not having to comprehend words or meaning!"
Matt Pearce@mattdpearce.com · 3w agoI’m learning that the people who gamified paragraphs are having trouble reading books. www.axios.com/2026/08/11/r...
Many myths debunked in this paper. Paper finds that: -faculty partisanship has no effect on students -students ideologically sort into majors; majors don’t affect partisanship -faculty partisanship is uncorrelated with how left/rightwing course content is micah-baum.github.io/files/baum-e...
On my blog, I wrote about how America's museums are falling apart. The US has 20k+ museums, and most have historic buildings with leaky roofs, failing HVAC units, and flooding basements. What they don't have is money for repairs. Please read/share! 🧵 johngmarks.beehiiv.com/p/america-s-...
America's Museums are Falling Apart
With
johngmarks.beehiiv.com
Dear T.S Eliot: Sorry, but August is the cruelest month. Sincerely, educators everywhere
Updated for the fall semester - my bibliography of readings, both academic and popular, about the many problems with and pitfalls in using Generative AI. catherinedenial.org/blog/uncateg...
Against Generative AI – Cate Denial
catherinedenial.org
Found the source article (a newsy summary Is making the rounds) “…this research explores how GenAI influences instructors’ emotional well-being, cognitive load…, and…job satisfaction. Findings include marked increases in cognitive and emotional labour resulting from factors such as moral injury…1/
View of The Affective Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Instructors of First-Year Writing Courses
Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal
journalhosting.ucalgary.ca
Writing is head-in-hands hard, the stuff of sighs & self-doubt. But when it clicks—when you are unsure what you mean but then you write that meaning into existence (& maybe it isn't terrible!)—there is a real alchemy to it. Anyway: word guessing machines can’t write. We should stop saying they do.
Call For Proposals: Conference on Families in Early American and Atlantic Worlds April 15-17, 2027 Hosted by the John Carter Brown Library (Co-chairs Julie Hardwick and Karin Wulf) Details at: forms.gle/QWcB23XGbwu6...
I've read most of the books on @tressiemcphd.bsky.social's proposed reading list and plan to read the rest. These are excellent recommendations. In fact, @gilduran.com (author of The Nerd Reich) will be a guest on Movement Memos soon.
Opinion | Want to Fight Back Against Big Tech? Start Here. (Gift Article)
A.I. is a political theory. And it is gobbling up our democracy.
nytimes.com
My heart breaks for my talented colleagues at so many UK institutions (and many in the US, too, though the dismantling of the humanities has its own rhythm here). The state of higher ed is utterly infuriating, both because it’s a choice, and because we need the arts & humanities more than ever.
Owen Davies@odavies9.bsky.social · 4w agoSo a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.
1. Usually, 2-3; 1-2 now as Dept. Head 2. I try to set aside a full day (usually Friday); a few hours on the weekend; where I can. 3. Mornings preferred, but whenever works. 4. Dept. Head to-dos (sigh) 5. Highlight in your doc. where you left off last, with notes to self about what to do next.
Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦@kfduggan.bsky.social · 4w agoAcademics who write during term (i.e. while teaching): 1. How many classes do you teach per term? 2. How often do you write (e.g. once/wk, when you can, etc.)? 3. When do you write (e.g. weekend, morning, at night, etc.)? 4. What's the biggest barrier(s) to you writing? 5. Do you have any tips?
