iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Emile Chabal @emile-chabal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I am not given to hyperbole when it comes to university industrial relations, but this feels like an existential event. The heart of the university is being torn out, with long-lasting consequences. These strikes are a last-ditch attempt to stop that. Will anyone listen?

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American Historical Association @historians.org · 18/09/2026

Action Alert: The Department of Education has proposed changes to higher education accreditation that could weaken scholarly standards, treat ideological diversity as a measure of educational quality, and undervalue faculty expertise. Submit a public comment by Sept. 21. 🗃️

historians.org

Action Alert: Tell the Department of Education: Protect Academic Accreditation

The Department of Education has proposed an overhaul of the accreditation system for higher education in the Federal Register: Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization: The Secretary’s Recognition...

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Christine Adams @profchrisadams.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My first piece with Made by History at its new location--the culture wars are not a new thing. Thanks to @kathrynbrownell.bsky.social and @carlygoodman.bsky.social for editing and encouragement! share.inquirer.com/6z46Xa

share.inquirer.com

‘Culture wars’ can matter deeply

During the French Revolution, women's progress became a potent culture war issue, leading to new constraints.

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Jessica R Valdez @jrvaldez.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

We're hiring in the long eighteenth century at LSU. Please spread the word and let me know if you have any questions. It's a wonderful department to work in! lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0210...

lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Assistant Professor - 18th-Century British Literature

All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Pupdate (my first in 12 years!!): Meet Oreo! Welcomed this lil guy to our family just over a week ago. Not too sure about breed (a mix of various things apparently), but boy is he sweet

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Duygu Yıldırım @duyguyildirim.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I am writing about sweetness (and sugar), and does anyone have any good recommendations beyond Mintz’s “Sweetness and Power”? I am particularly interested in sweetness as a taste. Thanks!

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Must-read piece. Really resonates. All so true and so sad and tragic. No one worse than those who kick the ladder behind them, and this captures the "paradox" (which is in fact part of a long history) very well in short form. Eladio, it would be great to have this in Spanish somewhere.

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Years before 2022, Lynn Hunt wrote a terrific piece about the essentiality of writing for the process of thinking. By relinquishing our writing to a machine, we are simultaneously relinquishing our ability to think. That can only be bad news for democracy.How do we help our students understand this?

nytimes.com

Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I. (Gift Article)

It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.

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Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

So, this 1721 painting? This is the kind of stuff I mean. The Great Plague of Marseilles in 1720 (read @cindyermus.bsky.social 's book!) spread north, Le Puy quarantined, and the bishop had everyone pray to the Virgin to spare the town. And the plague didn't arrive, there was a healing miracle, so.

Painting of townsfolk around the statue of Notre Dame de Puy en Velay

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Very much enjoyed reading this interview. Been thinking a lot about this in recent years.

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 17/07/2026

Probably more helpful to think of them not so much as “Canadian wildfires” but rather “climate change wildfires currently consuming Canada”

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I should have posted this 3 days ago (14 juillet), but better late than never. Here’s a thread of some of the vignettes or letterhead I’ve come across in the archives this summer. Lots of symbolism here. Some examples, the laurel wreath, an ancient symbol, symbolizing, in part, Republican virtue...

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Andrew Wehrman @profwehrman.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Today is the 250th anniversary of Boston’s mass inoculation against smallpox on July 3, 1776. The city was effectively closed to commerce from July through September 1776. The mass immunization effort was cheered as evidence of true independence. Here's how I described it in my book:

While John Adams and fifty-five men in Philadelphia debated a resolution on independence and the final wording of the Declaration of Independence, the people of Boston declared their own independence from smallpox. The measures taken in both cities provided hope that America would not only be a republic free of a king but also a country free from disease. On July 3, 1776, a day after independence was declared in Philadelphia, the Massachusetts General Court voted to allow inoculation. Despite the dangers of infection, the people of Boston and the surrounding areas cheered the news. Ezekiel Price, a court official and insurance broker, declared “Liberty is given for to inoculate for the small-pox; many begin upon it this afternoon.” Hannah Winthrop described the scene: “Boston has given up its Fears of an invasion & is busily employd in Communicating the Infection. Straw Beds & Cribs are daily Carted into the Town.” She wrote that “Men Women & children eagerly crowding to inoculate is I think as modish as running away from the Troops of a barbarous George was the last year.” Dr. James Warren wrote to John Adams that the “rage for inoculation” had “whirled me into its vortex.…” Warren and his wife Mercy Otis joined Abigail Adams and her four children who had been invited to be inoculated at Abigail’s uncle’s house in Boston along with Abigail’s sisters Elizabeth Cranch and Mary Shaw and their families. Even though Boston was teeming with the sick, the prospect that the city could conquer smallpox made it "a scene delightful indeed." Cotton Tufts was satisfied that he could now "take my leave of Earth, satisfied that the Day of American Redemption was at Hand."

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Manisha Sinha @profmsinha.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Historian of slavery here the Pope is single handedly showing us the best of America in these very troubling times and needed on the 250th of the republic, to see the virtues that made the U.S. admired all over the world, the ability to admit a mistake. apnews.com/article/pope...

apnews.com

Pope Leo XIV makes historic apology for Vatican's role in legitimizing slavery

Pope Leo XIV has made a historic apology for the role the Holy See played in legitimizing slavery. Leo’s own family history includes both enslaved people and slave owners.

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Has anyone else had trouble submitting this form? (I've tried multiple browsers) If so, I fear they will receive far fewer responses that they otherwise might have. @historians.org @aahmhistmed.bsky.social

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

The History of Medicine Division at the NLM is in danger. Please click below by May 26 to take action.

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Christos Lynteris @visualplague.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

So happy to see my new book "How Plague Got Rats: Mastering a Zoonotic Pandemic" published today with @hopkinspress.bsky.social! #histmed #histsci #plague #rats #pandemic www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/... The book is also available Open Access via Project MUSE: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/oa_mon...

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

@who.int has declared a “public health emergency of international concern” over cases of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no vaccine exists. No need to panic at this point, of course, but good to be aware.

nytimes.com

W.H.O. Declares Ebola Outbreak a Global Health Emergency

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Much more measured thinking here than the over-confident "this is fine," or "this will not become a pandemic." As the author says, if all goes well, amazing. But if it gets out of control, Kenn*dy will be in charge of the US response.

nytimes.com

Opinion | We Should Take Hantavirus More Seriously

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Julia Gaffield, PhD @juliagaffield.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

"A Haitian Revolution Reading List" from the New York Public Library (includes fiction and non-fiction) www.nypl.org/blog/2026/05...

nypl.org

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

“Being able to talk to people & interact with people in a very human way is more valuable than ever.” Every humanities organization & dept needs to capitalize on this moment. Scream from the mountain tops, "If you want the invaluable skills that AI can't replicate, major in history!" @historians.org

apnews.com

College students are changing course in search of 'AI-proof' majors. But no one knows what they are

The rise of artificial intelligence is prompting college students to second-guess their career paths.

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Have any of you worked in the Paris municipal archives (on blvd Sérurier)? Considering a recon trip there. Any info or tips welcome!

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Rachael Nevins ❌👑 @rachaelnevins.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

“Use AI to brainstorm but not to write.” “Use AI to help you outline but not to write.” These are commonly proposed as “ethical” ways for undergrad students to use AI, but I’m sorry, brainstorming & outlining are just as integral to writing as the actual construction of sentences.

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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

The acting head of the CDC has canceled the publication of a study that found that the Covid vaccine sharply cut the odds of hospitalizations and emergency visits last winter www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/u...

nytimes.com

C.D.C. Cancels Publication of Study Showing Benefits of Covid Vaccines

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Laprofmme @laprofmme.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

This whole issue looks fantastic! Very pleased to have this piece officially out in the world 🗃️

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I loved this book. A must read for anyone with an interest in diseases, sex, or early modern history! www.cambridge.org/core/books/d...

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

So excited to see the cover for this fascinating, touching book on the hist of schoolhouses in the south, beautifully co-authored by my brilliant colleague & spouse, @abegibson.bsky.social, & his pops Benny Gibson. The Vanishing Schools of Franklin County: A History of Public Education in Rural VA

upress.virginia.edu

The Vanishing Schools of Franklin County

An in-depth history that assesses the price of progress and the legacy of lost rural American communitiesNestled among the foothills

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Colleagues in French history: I’ll be working at Pierrefitte for the first time this summer. Commuting from Marais. Any tips—about the commute, archives, anything—are very welcome!! (Feel free to email.) Please and thank you 🙏

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Smoke-in-mirrors-concessions without regime change are a charade. What the Cuban and Cuban-American communities *need* are moves toward democracy, beginning with open elections (NO Castros), divestment of military, for starters. Gift article.

nytimes.com

Opinion | This Isn’t What Cubans Have Been Fighting For

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Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

"But in education, the ultimate product is not your term paper or essay or [GPA]; it’s your self. You are supposed to emerge more informed, more capable of critical thinking, more competent in your field of study. The students who begin by cheating their professors end by cheating themselves."

theguardian.com

What technology takes from us – and how to take it back | Rebecca Solnit

The long read: Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out – but it’s going to take collectiv...

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Prof.dr. Beatrice de Graaf @beatricedegraaf.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

If the closing word is written by the inimitable Lynn Hunt, the volume is edited by @bryanbanksphd.bsky.social ans @cindyermus.bsky.social - who wouldn’t want to devour this volume that just arrived! (and we are in it as well 🤗)

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

If anyone seeing this could use my book for research, or is thinking of assigning it but doesn't want students to pay too much for books, write me.

cambridge.org

The Great Plague Scare of 1720

Cambridge Core - History of Medicine - The Great Plague Scare of 1720

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Age of Revolutions @ageofrevolutions.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

A powerful look at how women’s writing during the Seven Years’ War reveals the raw emotion, loss, and humanity often hidden in colonial archives. A moving reminder that behind every global conflict are intimate stories worth remembering. @tlecaque.bsky.social ageofrevolutions.com/2026/03/02/h...

ageofrevolutions.com

Heartbreak on the Colonial Front: Women’s Writing, the Seven Years War, and Humanity in the Archive

By Thomas Lecaque This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Patrick Lecaque, 1/15/1949-10/11/2025, who taught his son the joy of history, of research, of discovery, and to find the individuals…

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Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

My copy of the newly published 'The Global Age of Revolutions' arrived in the post yesterday! My chapter is called 'The Bastille and the Roundabout: the revolutionary past of the gilets jaunes'

Image of chapter by Smith, title in post above

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Yesenia Barragan, she/they @yeseniabarragan.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

My book has a cover! IN LATIN AMERICA YOU COULD BE FREE: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY tells the story of the place and promise of Latin America in the political imagination of African Americans and of their movements to the region in the antebellum period. Out on Basic Books, November 11, 2026! 🥳

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Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

A friend has asked me to share this petition to defend the Classical Languages major at Iowa, which is slated for closure despite having 18 majors. If ancient languages aren't supported at universities, where will they be? www.change.org/p/keep-the-c...

change.org

Sign the Petition

Keep the Classical Languages Major at the University of Iowa

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

I hate how much of history is one a catastrophically overconfident, arrogant, power hungry, narcissist with too much authority and too little restraint, irresponsibly making very big decisions with his little brain and causing irreparable, widespread harm with prolonged global repercussions.

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

At least some students recognize that AI is *not* your "bestie."

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Authoritarianism happens in increments. After each new little (or large) abomination, people acclimate, and life, for many or most, carries on as usual. “Surely things can’t get worse.” Or “surely this new line will not be crossed.” This, too, has a history. And a warning.

nytimes.com

Opinion | Historians Confirm: Tomorrow Won’t Be Better Than Today

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

I meant to include the TOC! Please see below.

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Cindy Ermus @cindyermus.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

It's Publication Day! It was such a genuine pleasure to work on this important & timely volume w/ Bryan Banks & every one of our contributing authors. Amazing group of people, & I am just so pleased. Get your copy of The Global Age of Revs, help spread the word, & consider assigning in your class!

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Bryan Banks @bryanbanksphd.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

I remember sitting by the banks of the Chatahoochee River, talking with @cindyermus.bsky.social about this volume. We knew we had the themes to publish the volume from @ageofrevolutions.bsky.social for such a book. As it turned out, it’s better than either of us imagined!

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UVA Press @uvapress.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Happy #pubday to "The Global Age of Revolutions: A History from 1650 to Today," edited @bryanbanksphd.bsky.social and @cindyermus.bsky.social! Redrawing the map and resetting the clock of the Age of Revolutions www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10176/ @ageofrevolutions.bsky.social #skystorians

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Age of Revolutions @ageofrevolutions.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

What did “Terror is the order of the day” mean during the French Revolution? A new AoR piece breaks down the political pressures, popular demands, & revolutionary logic behind this infamous 1793 declaration—and why it mattered far beyond the guillotine. 👉 ageofrevolutions.com/2026/02/09/w...

ageofrevolutions.com

What Did “Terror is the Order of the Day” Mean in the French Revolution?

By Suzanne Levin In recent years, debates about the “Terror” in the French Revolution have been enriched with several new perspectives. Despite this, the many works attempting to seek the “origins”…

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Scoop: The NIH infectious-diseases institute (NIAID) will soon scrub “pandemic preparedness” and “biodefense” from its web pages, according to e-mails I obtained. The directive is the start of a broader shake-up at NIAID, which has long been attacked by Republicans.

nature.com

Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation

Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.

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NFL Daily News @insidenflnews.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Bad Bunny “together we are America”

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