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Brian Croxall

@briancroxall.bsky.social
890 followers 168 following 67 posts

How to do things with words and computers. Assoc. Prof of Digital Humanities at BYU. Formerly at Twitter, ProfHacker, ello, and The Aquabats. Photo by instagram.com/marktwhitney.

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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Are you as thrilled as me that @modernlanguage.bsky.social and its co-claimants won its case about the dismantling of the @nehgov.bsky.social? Then join me in donating to the MLA's Paving the Way campaign! Or donate to your scholarly org of choice! www.mla.org/About-Us/Sup...
mla.org
Donate to Funds That Support Particular Activities
MLA funds help defray the cost of convention travel for graduate students and underemployed members, support advocacy on behalf of contingent faculty members, promote the study and teaching of languag...
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Mark Sample @samplereality.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Please enjoy this supercut I made of a DOGE bro saying "I don't know." Because there's a shit ton he didn't know. Like, for example, the Constitution.
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Jason Rhody @jasonrhody.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Members made this possible. Collective action requires the collective. Whether MLA, AHA, or another society, please join, engage, and participate. Together, we can accomplish some pretty amazing things.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Remember that class I taught this semester: AI for the Humanities? I've just published the syllabus, reading list, and all the assignments on @kcommons.bsky.social. Come and get them! #openaccess #citepedagogy works.hcommons.org/collections/...
works.hcommons.org
Search AI for the Humanities, 2026
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
If you're a member of @modernlanguage.bsky.social, you should have just received an invitation to vote on amendments to the constitution. As I'm currently chair of the Committee on Amendments, I'm happy to answer questions about the why and what of these proposals.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Thrilled to see the depositions of the DogeBros back online from the @modernlanguage.bsky.social et al lawsuit? If so, join me in donating to your friendly local scholarly association. Mine's the MLA's Paving the Way campaign. www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...
mla.org
Joint Lawsuit over Dismantling of National Endowment for the...
23 March 2026The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association welcome today’s ruling by Judge Colleen McMahon allowing video footage ...
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Mark Sample @samplereality.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
I love that @modernlanguage.bsky.social has posted the depositions of the DOGE bros who gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities. All part of the lawsuit the MLA, AHA, and ACLS have filed against the federal government.
youtu.be
Nathan Cavanaugh Deposition (Part 3) in MLA-ACLS-AHA Lawsuit about the NEH
YouTube video by ModernLanguageAssoc
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Here's what my professional org (@modernlanguage.bsky.social) has been up to recently, along with several others: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a.... Read about the lawsuit MLA, ACLS, AHA, and Authors Guild have been pursuing.
nytimes.com
When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities
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David Mimno @handle.invalid · 04/03/2026
Excellent venue for computational humanities work, colocated with ACL in San Diego on July 6. Please share!
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Just discovered that Steve Reich's *Music for 18 Musicians* will be performed on my campus in three weeks. This is me for the next 21 days. media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2l...
giphy.com
Omg GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
Discover & share this Omg GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
So that "AI for the Humanities" course I'm teaching? Here's the vibe-coding assignment that I gave to my students earlier today: docs.google.com/document/d/1.... As always, my assignments are CC-BY.
docs.google.com
Vibe-Coding
Vibe-Coding Rationale In his February 2026 piece for The New York Times, Paul Ford writes that he “believe[s] there are millions, maybe billions, of software products that don’t exist but should.” He ...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
I wrote a thing about the "AI for the Humanities" class that I'm currently teaching: humanitiescenter.byu.edu/the-work-of-....
humanitiescenter.byu.edu
The Work of Humanities in an Age of AI Production
This essay was written by Brian Croxall, a BYU Humanities Center faculty fellow. As someone who has been—by one measure or another—very online for about 35 years, it’s fascinating to see technologies ...
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Diane Jakacki @djakacki.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Call for Proposals: What does an edited volume look like in a post-print world? What does an edited volume “get” you (in a professional sense)? Do we even still need edited volumes?
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
For the 2027 MLA Convention, @jakacki.bsky.social and I are proposing a special session, "Edited Collections: Tips and Tricks to Successful Publishing." This will be a roundtable, with contributors *to*, editors *of*, and publishers *of* edited volumes. Plus admin. @modernlanguage.bsky.social
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I've been busy this semester, working on my new course called "AI for the Humanities": docs.google.com/document/d/1.... It's taught across four different departments in our College of Humanities.
docs.google.com
AI for the Humanities Syllabus, Winter 2026
AI for the Humanities DigHT 315, DigHT 590, ENG 326, ELING 421, HColl 480, IHUM 390 Winter 2026 Prof. Brian Croxall brian.croxall@byu.edu 801.422.7425 1163D JFSB Office Hours: MTWTh, 12-1 pm I reserv...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
But what meant the most was when I was severely underemployed in 2009, @brettbobley.bsky.social took the time to talk with me about the process of applying to jobs at the NEH. We had never met apart from Twitter and he chatted on the phone. That meant so much to a broke PhD. #ThanksBrett
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
A huge thanks to @brettbobley.bsky.social who is retiring from NEH ODH. A consummate public servant who is always a joy to see arriving at DH events in his chopper. I owe you a Diet Coke every day from here on out. #ThanksBrett
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Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
I consider this one of the most important donations I can make. To be clear, the Paving the Way fund supports the legal expenses.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
I donated to the Paving the Way initiative to help with this critical lawsuit on behalf of the NEH. Think about joining me?
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Jason Rhody @jasonrhody.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
If your grant was terminated & you are an MLA member (or in a related discipline), please fill out our My NEH Grant Story form. Your story can help inform the actions we are taking to protect the NEH. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
My NEH Grant Story
We're documenting the impact of MLA members' NEH grant projects. Let us know about a project you completed with help from the NEH (e.g., a course you taught, a book you finished, a database you built,...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
This is why I became a lifetime @modernlanguage.bsky.social member last year.
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Kathleen Fitzpatrick @kfitz.info · 15/03/2025
Maybe small orgs and large orgs could work together rather than taking aim at one another. The impulse to compete always undermines solidarity. Reach out rather than tearing down.
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Kathleen Fitzpatrick @kfitz.info · 15/03/2025
If you don't know what your org is doing right now to fight for you, maybe ask them rather than assuming they're not doing anything. Mine has been actively meeting with folks on the Hill and strategizing with other orgs and institutions about paths forward, even as they're facing funding cuts.
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Kathleen Fitzpatrick @kfitz.info · 15/03/2025
Y'all. I get that a small scholarly org can be nimble and take on a lot of quick, grassroots work. It's super important and exciting. But that should not encourage you to insult the hardworking professionals who are keeping large scholarly orgs moving in astonishingly difficult circumstances.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Inspired by the work of Kevin L Ferguson (www.gc.cuny.edu/people/kevin...), I've summed all currently available MCU films. I've only seen one of these.
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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Are you a film & media scholar who wants to learn how to make video essays? Applications for the two-week June 2025 workshop Scholarship in Sound & Image at Middlebury College in Vermont are now open. Come be a videocamper and spread the word!
sites.middlebury.edu
Scholarship in Sound & Image
Workshop on Videographic Criticism
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Wanting to start a new project on the concept of happy endings in novels. If you've ever read anything on the topic, please send me references!
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
I feel seen. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/m...
nytimes.com
No More Nostalgia Concerts, Please
The culture industry keeps getting better at monetizing the past — including the new ritual of musicians playing old albums, in full, onstage.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
This semester, my colleague and I started a weekly video game play/lecture series. University comms has decided to notice: news.byu.edu/intellect/th....
news.byu.edu
From Tony Hawk Pro Skater to Minecraft, these humanities professors want students to study (and play) video games
Humanities professors Michael Call and Brian Croxall have introduced a new video gaming initiative to BYU’s campus. With the support of the College of Humanities, students gather each Monday at 4:00 p...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
I worked on the Beckett Letters project for three years in grad school. When I came across this one, I saved it because it’s so perfect.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Why did the shoe enthusiast feel no excitement for the upcoming season? He had a case of the Blahniks. #thesearethejokes
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Tonight my wife and I realized that the reason I’m skeptical about musicals is the same as why she’s incensed by Seinfeld.
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Mark Sample @samplereality.bsky.social · 10/08/2024
Zotero 7 just dropped. I've been using the beta for several months and it's absolutely fantastic. And it restores an early feature of Zotero that went missing over a decade ago: the ability to annotate snapshots of web pages and add those annotations to your notes.
zotero.org
Zotero Blog » Blog Archive » Zotero 7: Zotero, redesigned
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 08/08/2024
Absolutely thrilled that Diane Jakacki and my edited volume, *What We Teach When We Teach DH*, has just launched in its open-access version on the Debates on DH website. dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/projects/wha...
dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu
What We Teach When We Teach DH | Debates in the Digital Humanities
Exploring how digital humanities (DH) is taught and what that reveals about the field, this book highlights how DH can transform learning across a vast array of curricular structures, institutions, an...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 24/05/2024
Thrilled the panel Diane Jakacki & I organized for #mla25 is accepted. Ever wish you hadn't missed the 2011 MLA DH panel? Come and see @kfitz1.bsky.social @alanyliu.bsky.social @laurenfklein.bsky.social @triproftri.bsky.social as well as Kenton Rambsy and Steve Ramsay dish about DH textbooks.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 21/12/2023
Remember blogs? Diane and I just wrote up a short history of What We Teach When We Teach DH. Stop by if you want a glance at the table of contents and a synopsis of every chapter.
briancroxall.net
What We Teach When We Teach DH is Published! – Brian Croxall
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 15/12/2023
Act now! Don't delay! #dhdebates
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 05/12/2023
In August 2017, I asked Diane Jakacki if she would like to work with me on a proposal for the #dhdebates series. 6 years and 4 months later, it turns out it was a hell of a good idea.
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Jacob Heil @jacobheil.bsky.social · 06/11/2023
Folks! ISO two new colleagues to join our Digital Learning team in the Library at Davidson College: DH Librarian and a Media Creation and Curation Librarian. More here employment.davidson.edu/en-us/job/49... and employment.davidson.edu/en-us/job/49... Happy to talk about either or both!
employment.davidson.edu
Digital Humanities Librarian
Davidson’s E.H. Little Library seeks a collaborative and enthusiastic Digital Humanities Librarian to join our award-winning team. As a key member of the library’s Digital Learning team, you will...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 12/09/2023
So, I reworked my blogging assignment to "Blogging with AI" this time around. See what you think: briancroxall.net/f23dh/assign....
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Melissa Terras @melissaterras.bsky.social · 04/09/2023
If anyone wants to see chapters from "The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Digital Humanities", edited by James O'Sullivan there's a zotero library providing open access chapters here: www.zotero.org/groups/48889...
zotero.org
Zotero | Groups > BloomsburyDH
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 28/08/2023
I've decided to have my class this semester all play one game together in addition to writing papers on a game of their choosing. Am contemplating using Florence (annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/flo...), but am both up and down about whether it is "a game" and whether that matters.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 20/08/2023
And then I discovered evidence of Tristero in my parents’ old Playmobil.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 17/08/2023
Looking for smart takes on LLMs to include on my Intro to DH syllabus for the coming semester. The recent piece by @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social in @theatlantic.bsky.social is one example. Anyone have something I could pair with it?
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 09/08/2023
Is there anything better than figuring out the problem that has been sidetracking your project, even if it is just turning a count of 10 to -1 in a buried setting? Yes: doing so while listening to STRFKR.
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Mark Sample @samplereality.bsky.social · 04/08/2023
Reposting for the evening crowd....Do you want to be included in an expansive, inclusive Digital Humanities Bluesky feed? Add your username here: forms.gle/EKTCqMBp31eaoFdd6
forms.gle
Digital Humanities Bluesky Feed
Making feeds (the Twitter equivalent of lists) on Bluesky is not straightforward. The app/site itself does not include that functionality. I (Mark Sample) am cobbling together (in a roundabout way) a ...
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 09/08/2023
I don't know Where I'm going It's insane in here, it's lunacy out there And everything you just said Was better left unsaid
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 08/08/2023
I'm clearly avoiding work at the moment. Tell me which of these two pairs of custom Vans I should buy.
A custom pair of vans with pink highlightsA custom pair of Vans with yellow highlights.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 08/08/2023
But while I have your attention (I do, right?), let me mention that Diane Jakacki and my edited collection is coming soon from @uminnpress.bsky.social. Get it at all the finer establishments in the near future.
The cover of What We Teach When We Teach DH, which displays the title of the book, its subtitle, and the names of the editors in a stylized font.
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Brian Croxall @briancroxall.bsky.social · 08/08/2023
Well, here we go again...
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