Thank you to everyone who braved the heatwave to make our conference #TimeTempoStorytelling2026 such a great success last week. We had incredible contributions and deep discussions that have made me very excited to move forward towards publication. #medievalsky #medievalists

This is the tragic yet logical result of a decades-long project—undertaken by rightwing politicians and “business-minded” administrators alike—to distort the meaning of higher education, to deny the intrinsic value of the pursuit of knowledge, to deprive us all of richer, more purposeful lives.

The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d ago

President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v

Might do these out of order or skip some, but okay will try.

Well pals, it’s here. I hope you like it (or never tell me how much you hate it). It’s eye-wateringly priced, but please convince your institutions to buy it. Some of you are in the acknowledgments (& many more in the references). What a ride. #MedievalSky books.google.co.uk/books?id=yKL...

A (belated) cfp for #IMC2027 FORGET THE VIKINGS: Other raids, raiders, & raiding practises of the Early Medieval Period Read below for details, and if you're interested (or know anyone who might be), please submit your proposal of 150 words to the attached e-mail (also in alt text) before 1/9/26

Thrilled that this is out ! Read our OPEN ACCESS article to learn why Kash Patel eulogized Charlie Kirk with “see you in Valhalla,” and the long history of Valhalla as a phantasm that organises desires for masculinity, militarism, and whiteness. #medievalsky

Dr. Timothy Liam Waters@liamh2os.bsky.social · yesterday

Publication Day! Our “Terms of Art” with @postmedieval.bsky.social was published today. In this essay, @basilaprice.bsky.social and I explore the “phantasm” of Valhalla in contemporary and medieval politics and culture. The article is OpenAccess. Read it here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Also, since some of the marketing for TWAHK has been quite romance-forward and some people might expect this book to follow on from that, I recommend those unfamiliar with the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi check out the content warnings on my website 💀 finnlongman.com/books/the-an...

The Animals We Became

A queertrans retelling of Math fab Mathonwy, the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, to be published 26 November 2026 by Gollancz (UK) and summer 2027 by Erewhon (US). “You exist because of a crim…

finnlongman.com

COVER REVEAL! My next novel, The Animals We Became, retells the medieval Welsh tale 'Math fab Mathonwy'. It's a book about gender, trauma, and compulsory heterosexuality expressed through non-consensual animal transformations and some deeply unreliable narration... finnlongman.com/books/the-an...

This new Syriac language learning platform was launched yesterday by @gkiraz.bsky.social with free open access content to get you started! learnsyriac.com #LearnSyriac #languagelearning #startnow

"Today is August 4, 2026" There Will Come Soft Rains By: Ray Bradbury

Academics and scoleres are not gate-keeperes. Thei will talke to you about their topiques. For dayes. Thei will sende lynkes. Thei will order bookes. Thys ys why thei lyve. Thei are the route bitwene past knowledge and future knowledge.

We were watching that silly new Tom Hiddleston reenactment of the disaster of Pompeii and he was like ‘we have amazing new tech that allows us to track people through this disaster’ and I was oh no he’s going to say it’s an AI brain or something and then he said…. ‘Its a spreadsheet’ and I CHEERED

I realized today that the only AI I interact with is against my will. I don't really understand any of this. Is ChatGPT a place on the internet? Don't tell me. I don't care and I don't want to know. I think the is the hill I'll never find that I'm gonna die on.

It requires expertise to be able to say, “I do not know the answer to that question, and that is becauae thus far scholarly consensus is that we do not have the knowledge needed at this time to answer that question.” Sometimes “I don’t know” is a far more rigorous answer than people might think.

'Students being seen as “financial assets rather than pedagogic partners” frames the conditions they encounter when they arrive in the country, according to a study seeking to find ways to address these “structural issues”.' 1/2

Overseas students ‘shouldn’t be blamed for institutional failings’

‘Accurate and uncomfortable’ cash cow narrative framing how foreign students are treated in UK, finds report

timeshighereducation.com

Time for a 'Priory' reread so I can finally get to 'A Day of Fallen Night'! (I know it's technically a prequel but I wanna go back anyway. Also yes, my copy of 'Priory' has been sub-bleached to sh*t 😅) Each ist just shy of 900 pages, so this'll be both fun and bad for my wrists... #BookSky

humans aren't naturally particularly good or bad. the great labor of each of our lives is to *make* ourselves good, and help the people around us do the same so that someday together we can build a better world. Being awful to random people online constantly just drags you & the world the other way

@gigercat.bsky.social · 6d ago

contrary to what much of this site believes, your actions (in addition to, and more than your intent) matter and will modify who you are. treating people online like shit will eventually make you a worse person IRL. in order to be good you have to practice at being good.

christ if that’s not a metaphor for our times

Nobody ever contacted me about republishing any of my DSF stories. They are just stealing our stuff and hoping we don't notice. In the comments, it looks like they're also hiding their identities. So that's fun.

Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them)@bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 6d ago

They claim the stories are hosted with author consent, but that seems to be a flat out lie. They also tell authors to contact them for removal, but there is no contact on the site, no email or form.

Giving this cfp a boost: please consider submitting something. Our Forum feature is a great home for shorter pieces. #earlymodern

Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal@emwjournal.bsky.social · last mo.

We hope that lots of you will consider submitting a piece for our upcoming forum on early modern women and generations #EarlyModern

I know this is Discourse that's been simmering for a few days now but I will say, briefly, that journal rules or not, as an editor, it is a CHOICE to pass this sort of useless report on to authors.

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈@whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 6d ago

I once received a peer review on a paper I submitted to a journal that simply read “I am ashamed that some people think you and I have the same job.”

Maybe she’s a classicist because she cares about Homer and not just to make money? I’m actually of the school of thought that movies don’t have to be historically accurate. It’s its own art form with its own goals. But you can’t scold scholars for caring about scholarship. Thats what we do.

Michael Speirs@natuphillies.bsky.social · last wk.

I'm sorry but your piece smacks of ingratitude. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer your translation has sold ONE MILLION copies, most I contend, due to the pr run-up and release of the Nolan film. You are entitled to your opinion but why bite the hand that fed you? Maybe silence would be wiser?

I also frequently get people who are really excited when they hear I am a medievalist. People love this stuff and don't let those destroying the humanities convince you otherwise

Chris Riedel@medievalhistory.bsky.social · last wk.

People actually do care about the past. Far from being told I'm wasting my time, I universally get a positive reaction on telling people that I teach ancient and medieval history. Don't belittle the manifestations of that interest if you want people to keep caring about the past.

People actually do care about the past. Far from being told I'm wasting my time, I universally get a positive reaction on telling people that I teach ancient and medieval history. Don't belittle the manifestations of that interest if you want people to keep caring about the past.

Sarah E. Bond@sarahebond.bsky.social · last wk.

My dentist in rural Iowa asked me about the Odyssey controversy yesterday, in case you were wondering if the world is watching as classicists tear each other apart. I sincerely hope we can all try to now collectively act to show support for the humanities & save all departments under threat as well.

shot, chaser

Looking forward to new proposals! And thank you to @lauraashe.bsky.social for taking on the editorial, and all the board members [including @15thcgossipgirl.bsky.social!].

Mary Flannery@15thcgossipgirl.bsky.social · last wk.

So exciting to see @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social relaunch their Chaucer Studies series last night @newchaucersociety.bsky.social, to be helmed by @lauraashe.bsky.social! Get in touch w/Laura if you’ve got a book in the works on Chaucer, his world, or his reception! (Oh, and I’m on the ed. board!🎉)

This is ... horrific

Lady Yapper (KJ Colt)@moistenedtart.bsky.social · last wk.

futurism.com/artificial-i... Excuse me while I go cry

The best piece of film criticism I’ve read all year is from @angelicabastien.bsky.social, who takes one important scene from The Odyssey and uses it to touch on Nolan’s tendency to gloss over what could be the most interesting parts of his movies.

Angelica Jade Bastién@angelicabastien.bsky.social · last wk.

“Without the nuances of Morton’s performance, the Circe scene as written by Nolan is rooted in men’s questionable fear of being accused of violence against women rather than the tragedy of how women navigate that very real threat to our lives.” My latest. www.vulture.com/article/circ...

G211.6 Witch in amphibian form.

I'm feeling like maybe I should write something on: how to start a community. You start with you and one friend trying to live near enough to each other that you can walk to each other's houses. You host a regular meal for other friends who live nearby, at home or somewhere local and cheap.

Naomi Alderman@naomialderman.bsky.social · last wk.

Communities also obviously have the effect of making us happier. Whereas so much climate praxis seems to be about things you can give up and ways you can make yourself more miserable.