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Michael Donnay

@mjdonnay.bsky.social

Community Manager @softwaresaved.bsky.social‬ MSc Digital Humanities ‘22 @ucldh.bsky.social Recovering stage & production manager He/Him | 🇺🇸🇩🇪🇬🇧 | #DHmakes #Baking

66 Posts354 Follower 706 Folgt

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 7d ago

How are things going in the UK you ask? Today's message from work: As the UK moves into a fourth heatwave of 2026, with our area not experiencing any measurable rainfall in more than four weeks, colleagues and students should avoid sitting under trees.

Viva Piñata: Fergy & Franklin's Tree Branch Fall

ALT: Viva Piñata: Fergy & Franklin's Tree Branch Fall

static.klipy.com

University of London Press @uolpress.bsky.social · 4w ago

Do we talk about failing enough? Failure is an unavoidable part of any scholarly endeavour. In creating a critical, constructive & compassionate vocabulary for failure, we can ask how to fail ‘better’: uolpress.co.uk/book/reframi... @ukiedh.bsky.social @mjdonnay.bsky.social @amsichani.bsky.social

Reframing Failure in Digital Scholarship - University of London Press

Failure is ordinary. From technological failures and computational obsolescence to rejected applications and challenging collaborations, failure is an unavoidable part of any scholarly endeavour. This...

uolpress.co.uk

Hidden REF @hiddenref.bsky.social · last mo.

Behind almost every research study is a collections specialist, data manager, technician or bit of code that never makes the paper. The Hidden REF 2026 is open & recognises exactly those outputs & roles, the ones traditional assessment leaves out. hidden-ref.org/hidden-ref-c...

If we recognise everyone who is vital to research, we advance our ability to conduct research. www.hidden-ref.org

Lauren Klein @laurenfklein.bsky.social · 2mo ago

There's probably a German word for writing something prescient but wishing you'd been wrong. From the epilogue to DATA BY DESIGN, written last fall, which I am proof-reading today

When I set out on this project over a decade ago,
I knew that I wanted to model the value of history and
context, of complexity and critique. But I did not antici-
pate just how much, in the end, I would want this project
to stand for the value of the humanities writ large. This
value manifests in the deep thinking born of disciplinary
training and domain expertise; the fresh ideas that are
sparked when disciplines and domains come together;
and the time and labor—so much time and labor—that
are required for the cultivation of any truly transforma-
tive idea. Now, looking back, I can very clearly see how
this project only exists because of my PhD in English—
because of what I would learn about visualization, its
uses, and its possibilities, only after leaving the tech job
that paid me (in part) to design actual charts.
The possibilities that emerge from this type of
humanities research are precisely those that the
current administration has sought to foreclose. One
of the very first acts of Trump 2.0—after freezing over
$400 billion in active research grants and arresting
student activists simply for speaking (or writing) their
mind—was to repurpose the National Endowment
for the Humanities (NEH) as an ideological enterprise
and to dismantle its Office of Digital Humanities (ODH)
altogether. Not coincidentally, the NEH ODH funded

this project not once but twice. Data by Design may
in fact be one of the last projects—at least for the
moment—to reap the benefits of what ODH grants
enabled: dedicated time for experimentation and
iteration, increased visibility and potential for impact,
and cold hard cash (OK, direct deposit) to provide
students with real research experience. In the case of
my Digital Humanities Lab students, they would take
this experience on to graduate school and professor-
ships, to nonprofit and community work, and to jobs at
Microsoft, Meta, and the NSA, to name just some of the
places where my formerly NEH-funded students are
now employed.
In this context, I’ve been thinking back to W. E. B. Du
Bois and the students he taught at Atlanta University,
which is located just a few miles from Emory, where
I teach today. Du Bois also sent his students into an
actively disillusioning world—one in which they never-
theless went on to pursue graduate study, careers
as teachers at all levels, roles in government and as
entrepreneurs, as well as homemakers, members of
the clergy, and more. As our project team learned from
reading these students' words, what they achieved—in
the face of deeply entrenched racism and hostility—
was in large part due to the strength of their kinship
networks, their communities, and their convictions. But
a small part of the reason for their flourishing, or so I like
to think, was that in college, they had been immersed
in a sustained collaborative research project. They had
been guided through difficult questions about data
collection. They had been pushed to consider what the
data could and could not represent. And they had each
personally experienced the enhanced perspective
that always comes with accumulated knowledge
and additional research. To be clear: Du Bois and his
students faced a very different set of conditions than

my students and I do today. Speaking now just for
myself, as a person with tenure, white skin, and—in the
context of the present moment—a birth certificate from
New York State, I am infinitely more protected. But the
frequencies of Du Bois’s project that resonate with the
one that I have envisioned and sustained over the past
twelve years are real, and they are affirming. They attest
to the value of the work that takes place in universities:
work that is slow, work that students must learn from
their professors how to do, and work thatww we as their
professors hope they will carry with them wherever
they go.
In today’s world, this work matters precisely
because it is not fast or “trending,” because it is not prof-
itable or “scalable,” because it is not attractive to fascist
governments. Why this work matters is because it is so
full of possibility, it is so full of community, and at times
(my personal writing process notwithstanding) so full of
joy. This is the kind of work we need more of right now.
It’s the kind of work we need our institutions to actively
support. Indeed, it’s the kind of work that we need more
people—more students, more tech workers, and more
students who will become tech workers—to learn to
recognize, to value, and perhaps even themselves to
learn how to do.

Hidden REF @hiddenref.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Hidden REF Competition is now live! The competition is your opportunity to highlight your hidden contributions to research. All the information you need to put together your submission can be found at: hidden-ref.org/hidden-ref-c... 🗓️ The deadline for submissions is 13 September

Hidden REF Competition 2026 - The Hidden REF

Celebrating all research outputs and everyone involved in their creation The Hidden REF Competition The Hidden REF Competition celebrates all research outputs and everyone involved in […]

hidden-ref.org

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🎉🎉🎉

UK-Ireland DH Association@ukiedh.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We are excited to share that @ukri.org has awarded £300k to the UK‑Ireland Digital Humanities Association 🎉 From Feb 2026–Mar 2028, this funding will support advocacy, community building and sustainability for #DH across the UK and Ireland. 🔗 digitalhumanities-uk-ie.org/2026/05/11/u...

Copim @copim.bsky.social · 3mo ago

What the REF is happening with books?! We joined the @hiddenref.bsky.social team earlier this month to unpack the challenges of 🔓️ defining openness 💰️ funding models beyond BPCs 🪢 the tension between flexibility and REF policy! Listen to Ep 18. now! 🎧️

Ep 18. What the REF is happening with books?!

This week on What the Ref, the team heads to Plymouth for a lively workshop on non-traditional outputs before diving into a fascinating interview with Gareth Cole on the future of open access books.…

buff.ly

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 4mo ago

So excited to see this and especially pleased to see @betterimagesofai.bsky.social being used to illustrate the page!

School of Advanced Study, University of London@sas-news.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A new resource from @amsichani.bsky.social and Dr Kaspar Beelen, working with colleagues from across the University of London and @senatehouselib.bsky.social, has been developed to help support researchers exploring the role of AI in humanities scholarship. Learn more: www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 4mo ago

During WWII, the US couldn't find enough women to fill factory jobs. So, Congress used Lanham Act funds to build childcare centers in key defense production locations, offering full-time, high-quality care (and even summer and afterschool care) for <$10/day in today's dollars. 2/

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Two of our brilliant contributors - @quinnanya.me and @arimare.bsky.social - have been nominated for this year's @dhawards.bsky.social! Please give them a vote! @amsichani.bsky.social @dh-researchhub.bsky.social @kingsdigitallab.bsky.social @stanfordulibraries.bsky.social

DH Awards 2025 Voting | Digital Humanities Awards

dhawards.org

University of London Press@uolpress.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Exciting news today about this recent brilliant book, Reframing Failure in Digital Scholarship, ed by @amsichani.bsky.social & @mjdonnay.bsky.social - 2 of the essays are nominated in the Short Publication category for the annual #DigitalHumanities Awards. Please vote! dhawards.org/dhawards2025...

DARIAH-IE @dariahie.bsky.social · 4mo ago

📢 DARIAH - Training & Summer School Small Grants Call Open! Apply for funds to run a summer school, workshop, or hackathon. 🗓️ Events must take place in 2026 💰 Total pool: €10,000 ⏰ Deadline: 16 April 2026 at 17:00 CEST Open to DARIAH-IE Partner Institutions ! www.dariah.eu/2026/03/23/d...

DARIAH Digital Arts and Humanities Training and Summer School Small Grants Call 2026 | DARIAH

dariah.eu

Society of RSE @society-rse.org · 5mo ago

⏰ There's still time! The 2026 International RSE Survey will be open until this Friday, 20th March. ⏰

Society of RSE@society-rse.org · 7mo ago

The 2026 International RSE Survey is now live! This survey will help us better understand what RSEs need and how we can advocate for the community with policymakers and funders. We'd really appreciate your input. Please share with your networks. #RSEng www.software.ac.uk/news/2026-in...

Better Images of AI @betterimagesofai.bsky.social · 7mo ago

❓Did you know that you can donate your own better images of AI to our library? If you make your own images and would like to help improve the transparency and inclusivity of AI media, the Better Images of AI Submission Handbook makes this easier 🙌🏽 blog.betterimagesofai.org/submission-h...

Submission Handbook for Better Images of AI - Better Images of AI Blog

To make the process of submitting images to our library easier for everyone, we've released our Submission Handbook to Better Images of AI.

blog.betterimagesofai.org

Society of RSE @society-rse.org · 5mo ago

The RSECon26 Call for Submissions is open! Share the tools you build and the RSE practices you are advancing. We welcome talks, workshops, and posters from all domains. Check the guidelines and submit your proposals today! Link: rsecon26.society-rse.org/calls/submis... #RSECon26

EPCC @epcc.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The 2026 International Research Software Engineering Survey, run by the Software Sustainability Institute, will produce valuable insight into the RSE community that can be used to advocate for the community with policymakers and funders. Closes 20 March. Have your say! edin.ac/49x1ax7

Montage promoting SSI International RSE Survey

Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture & Society @edcdcs.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Looking forward to hearing Dr Suzanne Black speak on the structural issues of preserving digital cultural heritage and platforms like AO3 in March! Join us! https://edin.ac/3MgQsSA #EdCDCS

Sarah Pyke @sarahpyke.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Thrilled for @senatehouselib.bsky.social, who've secured funding to catalogue Jonathan Cutbill's Haud Nominandum, the largest personal collection of English-language LGBTQ+ materials in the world! We had a handling session at #QueerBibliography 2023 with a tiny selection and it's a riot also jobs!

Oliver House@oliverhouse.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Jobs! Senate House Library is embarking on an ambitious project to transform access to one of the UK’s largest and richest collections of queer literature —the remarkable Haud Nominandum Collection, donated by activist, bookseller and co-founder of Gay’s the Word bookshop, Jonathan Cutbill.

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 6mo ago

It's almost like running a country based on month-by-month budgeting is not the best way to do it...

Martin Paul Eve@eve.gd · 6mo ago

While trying to cut disability benefits and as the NHS is on its knees...

Software Sustainability Institute @softwaresaved.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🟥 The deadline for Expressions of Interest for Round 2 of the RSMF is next Wed, 25 Feb, 16:00 GMT. If you missed our live sessions, you can still get all the insights from our webinar recordings: Webinar 1: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUha... Webinar 2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpC0...

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Got to play with some real wood type @edinburghprints.bsky.social tonight and had a blast. I took a crack at the @softwaresaved.bsky.social motto and discussed Lego printing at length, so I think it counts as #DHmakes

Impressions from wood letterpress type reading “Better software Better Research”. The top line is red, the next is black, the third is green and the final one is black.

Wooden letterpress type inked in blue, green and red ink.

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 6mo ago

We need your help! Over the last decade, the @softwaresaved.bsky.social and partners have collected heaps of data on the research software community. Now we want to know how you’d put that data to use. In fact, we’re so eager to know that we’re offering a prize for the best data analysis.

RSE Data Competition | Software Sustainability Institute

We need your help! We’ve got heaps of data on the research software community but want to know how you’d put that data to use.

software.ac.uk

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Your formal job title does not matter - if you write code for research as part of your work, we want to hear from you. @uob-bear.bsky.social @dataculture.bsky.social @researchsoftware.bsky.social @code4thought.bsky.social @arc-durhamuni.bsky.social @theturing.bsky.social

Society of RSE@society-rse.org · 7mo ago

Society of RSE @society-rse.org · 7mo ago

2026 International RSE Survey | Software Sustainability Institute

We have launched the 2026 International RSE Survey.

software.ac.uk

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 6mo ago

👀👀👀👀👀

Kirsty Grainger @kirstygrainger.bsky.social · 6mo ago

OOOOH Researchfish Is going extinct 🐡🐟🐠 help.researchfish.com/en_US/resear...

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Today the @softwaresaved.bsky.social alongside our international partners launches the 2026 Research Software Engineering Survey. If you write code for academic research we want to hear from you - even if you have a different job title. @society-rse.org @ukiedh.bsky.social @dariaheu.bsky.social

Software Sustainability Institute@softwaresaved.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🔍 We are happy to announce that the 2026 International RSE Survey is now open for submissions. The survey will close on Friday 20 March, and can be completed in English, French, German or Spanish. Find out more about the survey and how to participate at www.software.ac.uk/news/2026-in...

Society of RSE @society-rse.org · 7mo ago

The RSECon26 website is now LIVE. Join us for this special milestone as we celebrate 10 years of the RSE Conference in Sheffield from 9-11 September 2026! Check the site rsecon26.society-rse.org for: 📍 Venue 📅 Important Dates 📡 Call for Satellite Events 🤝 Sponsorship packages (Coming soon!)

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 7mo ago

In my opinion, this is one of the best things @society-rse.org does - if you work in research software engineering and are interested in either developing your own career or helping others develop there's, definitely check it out!

Society of RSE@society-rse.org · 7mo ago

SocRSE Mentoring Scheme 2026 Applications are now open - Deadline: 3rd February! For more details & updates, visit our website, join our distribution list, or send us an email mentoring@society-rse.org for any other questions. We’re happy to help! society-rse.org/get-involved...

Image showing two people in professional outfits talking, text saying "Society of Research software engineering, effective mentoring".

Michael Donnay @mjdonnay.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Niche question for the American #DHmakes and #letterpress folks: does anyone know if you can take approx. 15lbs of letterpress type through TSA in your carry-on? Asking for a friend who can't afford shipping to the UK at the moment...

Sebastian Ahnert @sebastianahnert.bsky.social · 7mo ago

We’re hiring a two-year DH postdoc for our HAVI project, to work on a new type of knowledge graph architecture for the humanities (and beyond). Deadline soon (18 Jan)! www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

Research Assistant/Research Associate (Fixed Term)

Applications are invited for a full time post doctoral researcher to work on an international collaboration to develop AI-based solutions for research on archival materials as part of the Humanities

cam.ac.uk

DH Awards @dhawards.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Nominations are open for DH Awards 2025. Anyone can nominate things that are #DigitalHumanities, available to voters, and updated in 2025. #DH Nominations close 2026-02-26 and the only way something gets on the ballot. You only need to nominate something once. dhawards.org/dhawards2025...

DH Awards 2025 – Call For Nominations | Digital Humanities Awards

dhawards.org