Also, not everything is archived! Like... literally almost nothing in the grand scheme of humanities written work is archived. Someone has to dig through that crap and apply context to it! It really cannot be an LLM.

"History involves sorting and organizing hundreds of thousands of facts" I remain astounded by how loud and wrong people are about what history actually is.

For a historian who focuses on the Declaration of Independence, I don't talk about Thomas Jefferson a whole lot. But, when I look at the parchment (signed beginning 250 years ago today, on August 2, 1776), I think there is something about Jefferson's signature that is worth highlighting.

Unboxing Day! He Has The people launches August 3...

Today is the 162nd anniversary of the Civil War battle of the Crater. Learn more about this fight and what it meant by checking out this great @civilwarmemory.bsky.social piece. You can trust him. He literally wrote the book on the Crater.

Kevin M. Levin@civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 7d ago

Terror, Rage, and Revenge at the Crater #CivilWarMemory 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

The United States has never been a perfect nation, but one founded by and peopled by imperfect human beings. Our past must not be reduced to a set of triumphs and tragedies to create “lessons” out of a faceless History with a capital H.

The potholes are so big in Boston right now that you can see that our streets once used to be all cobblestone... 📸: @leeannskitchen

At least we're finally recognizing the Muppets as one of the premier American contributions to global entertainment

Every time they make it harder for foreign students to study here, they're just jacking up the tuition costs for American students and robbing America of incredible new talent too.

Ben Allen@evodynamics.bsky.social · 3w ago

Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...

Like the one I used for my doctoral dissertation! Even better than the card catalog, I had stack access. Sometimes you find books on the shelf right next to the one you looked up that either add a valuable perspective or take your research in a whole new direction.

My first search engine.

Stolen goods. My @smh @theage cartoon.

I’ve now gotten invitations to speak this year at George Washington University, Washington & Lee, Washington College, and WashU in STL. Someone please connect me to the right person at University of Washington, I want to speak for the cycle.

It is hard to figure out if there is an actual literal way to read this ad that is selling a paraphraser to rewrite your paper while telling you that your paper should not be "what AI churns out."

"how were people writing 10 page papers before AI???" we were smarter than you. you could've been smart, too. but you sold your brain for nothing

I don't think we are taking the issue of ChatGPT & GenAI in education seriously enough. The dull, monotonous responses and lack of critical thinking I am seeing is now at a whole new level (than even a year ago) as increasingly individuals choose to outsource their thinking to the machines.

You're going to get left behind if you don't use Al." Leave me then. Leave me with my critical thinking skills, my ability to read and write long- form, and books without needing Al summaries.

This is what they have taken from us. Knowledge, vetted, organized by subject. Without AI or algorithm.

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Hamburg massacre where 100 white supremacists killed six Black men in attempts to suppress black civil rights and discourage voting. Took place in Hamburg, SC, a town populated by a majority of black freedmen. .

WAIT FOR IT WAIT. FOR. IT! 🪶 🐣

Here I am doing what I said I would not do, launching a Substack. I know, I know, the world does not need another one, but if you are so inclined, please subscribe. Or just read this one post. Thanks.

What if I told you about this thing called ... wait for it ... a library, where you could read books (online and hard-copy) for free...

CtObserve@ctobserve.bsky.social · last mo.

If @esglaude.bsky.social and @profmmurray.bsky.social books were so important, not to say they are not, wouldn't they put them online for all to read free? If they both had a book advance, wouldn't that be enough if these are existential times[which most believe]?

My upcoming book is absolutely packed to the brim with em dashes—more em dashes than any well-adjusted human being could possibly need or want—and if any of you tries to claim they are the result of some soulless LLM rather than my own unhinged compulsion I will fight you.

As we celebrate, commemorate, and interpret “America 250” today—and we should certainly do so—we must embrace both the promise that all men, all persons, are created equal, and the reality that all are still not seen and treated as equal. Seek understanding. Advocate for justice. Do justice.

Deep reading is what keeps teaching alive. One small habit that helps: treat 20 minutes of broad reading like a meeting you cannot cancel. Protect it. That investment shows up in the classroom more than any rushed prep ever could.

And because of the nearly infinite complexity of the past, and because of the complex nesting of its nearly infinite temporalities, you (yes, you) will "see" things that no one else has ever seen before. If you do the reading. And if you don't surrender this gift of perception to a machine.

The reason why it is essential to read IN BULK when studying history is not simply to amass empirical knowledge—though that is important, too, of course—but because *interpretation* requires thick contextual awareness, and there is NO SHORTCUT for building that up that awareness.

People should NOT be setting off fireworks on July 2nd - I don't care what John Adams said