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Chris Slaby

@cjslaby.bsky.social
1.5K followers 979 following 785 posts

Scholar, teacher, writer, earth human person (he/him/his). Art + history: Native American and Indigenous Studies; the environmental humanities; media, culture, and representation. Food and music, too, though those are more passions than subjects of study.

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Rine Vieth @rinewithoutacat.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Not to take away from celebrating Carson, but she's a "former professor" here in large part because the university shut down her department and cancelled its classes. What pride does the institution claim now—years later—when austerity is forcing other scholars out? What does that 'pride' do?
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Drew Broussard @drewsof.bsky.social · 21h
Very grateful to see these publishers getting named and shamed. If this stuff is going to happen, and we all know it is, I'd rather see it happen with bright shining klieg lights instead of in darkness and secrecy. We should know that it's happening, and act accordingly.
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Christine Kooi @christinekooi.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Execution is much in the news these days, at least here in the US. By sheer coincidence my graduate seminar discussed Joel Harrington's excellent microhistory "The Faithful Executioner" this week. We had a lot to talk about. #earlymodern
Whitish book cover with an early modern engraving of a man with a long sword. Title: The Faithful Executioner. Author: Joel F. Harrington.
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
@chrisirmscher.bsky.social recommends Janet Browne’s “magnificent” biography of Charles Darwin for @wsj.com: buff.ly/4UeYdIZ
buff.ly
Darwin’ Review: The Evolution of a Life
A magnificent two-volume biography of Charles Darwin has been shortened into a marvel of economy.
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Finch Collins @finchinthestacks.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The CFP for *Queer Bibliography: Taking Stock* is now open! Full cfp below and at bit.ly/QB2027CfP (Please feel free to circulate these graphics off Bluesky! They're sized for an IG story.)
call for proposals

Queer Bibliography
TAKING STOCK
Manchester, UK and online
2-4 September 2027

details overleaf ❧ ❧ ❧call for proposals

Taking Stock marks the fifth annual Queer Bibliography conference and is a chance to pause and reflect and to queerly attend to the many meanings of “stock” in bibliography.

Where do we find ourselves and our work? 
How might we trace queer histories of queer bibliography? How can we imagine critical futures for bibliographical enquiry within and beyond its traditional academic locations? 
From the raw materials of books to the origins and shapes of personal, commercial, and institutional collections, how does "stock" participate in the production, articulation, and study of queer textuality and textual communities? 
What is queer about materiality, the ecology of books, and the processes of making and engaging with (collections of) physical textual objects?

We invite participants to engage in stock-taking or to reflect on bibliographical stock, broadly defined. We welcome meta, theoretical, and historiographical work that takes stock of queer bibliography, and we welcome proposals that relate to “stock” in bibliography, book history, and reception studies.

❧ abstracts due 29 January ☙

full cfp: https://bit.ly/QB2027CfP
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Matt Binder @mattbinder.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
can’t think of a better example of AI being mostly a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist also it can’t help when this is your user base
nic carter o
@nic_carter
X.com
this is about me and i'm not sorry! i don't have time
to autistically read forums and random team news
or whatever.
i'm sure spending hours and hours running your
fantasy team is a good ROI if you're unemployed but
some of us have jobs
also my team is stacked so that's another point in
the Al columnAndrew Weiner • @DickeyNate • 18h
What's the point if playing fantasy football if
you're just going to automate it

nic carter
@nic_carter • 17h
there's no point to fantasy football, it's grown ass
men pretending to draft NFL players

OpenWindowManiac @Cit_rusK •17h
Then just don't do it?

nic carter *
@nic_carter
X.com
social obligation
8:41 PM • 10/5/26 • 880 Views
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Joshua Failé @joshuafaile.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
#MEpolitics: As this poster in the exhibition currently on display at the Bangor Public Library reminds us, your attention matters. Direct it away from the mad wannabe king that desperately needs your abiding focus and toward what really matters: defeating his fascist collaborators in the midterms.
A graphic poster by Ali Batignani entitled “Thank You for Your Attention to This Matter”.

It depicts Donald Trump’s “Thank you for your attention to this matter” signature social media sign off in black text on a bleached white background. The phrase is repeated, over and over again, in rows and a single column, with sections redacted in black, whited out, and circled in various places. “your, “attention”, “matter”, and “s” are printed in red on different lines, with “YOUR ATTENTION MATTERS” in red and underlined separate and at the very bottom.
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Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 06/10/2026
love this piece in @literaryhub.bsky.social #medievalsky lithub.com/what-to-read...
lithub.com
What to read after you see the Bayeux Tapestry.
The Bayeux Tapestry is now on display in England’s British Museum, and the hottest ticket in London right now is a chance to peek at a nearly century old piece of fabric art. Whether you’ve gotten …
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Drafting the Past @draftingthepast.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Bancroft Award-winning historian Thomas Andrews joins Kate on the podcast to talk about his love of revision, surviving first drafts, and the dissertation advice he might have taken too seriously. Plus they talk about his new book, THE GREAT HORSE FLU (@uncpress.bsky.social). Listen: buff.ly/FYvA0Yx
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Thomas Andrews Revels in Revision
Thomas joins Kate on the Drafting the Past podcast to talk about his "haphazard" publishing trajectory, his own interviews with writers, and more.
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Craig Clunas @craigclunas.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Spring Dawn and Su Causeway: History and Landscape Culture of Hangzhou’s West Lake" is a new #OpenAccess volume of essays containing lots of good stuff on this culturally significant Chinese spot #Hangzhou #WestLake #西湖 @dgb-asianstudies.bsky.social brill.com/edcollbook-o...
brill.com
Spring Dawn and Su Causeway: History and Landscape Culture of Hangzhou’s West Lake
"Spring Dawn and Su Causeway: History and Landscape Culture of Hangzhou’s West Lake" published on 23 Jun 2026 by Brill.
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Robert Suits @robertsuits.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It is a real delight to see my book mentioned alongside some all-time great cover designs -- I deserve no credit for mine whatsoever!
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Drafting the Past @draftingthepast.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We picked some of our favorite nonfiction history book covers in recent memory. See what made our list and why, and tell us what you would add! www.draftingthepast.com/12-history-b... #booksky
draftingthepast.com
12 History Book Covers We Love
The covers of history books don't always stand out for their design, but these do.
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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Caspar David Friedrich, rubs chin pensively: “it really makes you think.”
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Kevin M. Levin @civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Tomorrow is the official publication day for A GLORIOUS FATE. To help mark my book's release, I will be taking part in a live discussion with the A. Lincoln Book Shop at 4:30 pm EST. Join us and pick up your own signed copy of the book. cc: @uncpress.bsky.social alincolnbookshop.com/a-house-divi...
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Chris Slaby @cjslaby.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Always yes to this! One of the most consequential political acts in the 21st century U.S. was to elevate Palin to the VP ticket.
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Amy Stanley @astanley711.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Excited to be working with Norton on two new histories of Japan! I have my work cut out for me for approximately the next decade!!
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 05/10/2026
In 1999 -- NINETEEN NINETY-NINE!!! -- I took an intro class at UT called "African Intellectual Thought," and it was rigorous and excellent, and it will not surprise you at all that none of the texts we read were written by people on this list. Just so depressing what's being done to my alma mater.
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sakura christmas @prof-christmas.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The UT-Austin Core Curriculum Task Force is requiring that Gen Ed courses draw 50% of their readings from this list of 50. Unfortunately, it seems to think that the “Great Questions of Human Life” can only be explored through the canon of Western civ (token exception: Confucius).
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
In 1974, Cornell lecturer Lin Farley began recognizing a pattern in the experiences women shared in her Women and Work course: women were being pushed out of jobs by men’s sexual behavior. Farley coined the term, “sexual harassment.”
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Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This 1890 painting by Van Gogh of flowering chestnut trees, which hasn't been seen publicly in over 50 years, and which goes on sale - along with modern works by the likes of Cezanne, Monet & others - at Sotheby's in NY in November👀 www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Painting of flowering trees, primarily in shades of green, with figures below and built structures in the background
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Dustin A. Chacón @lingdustin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:
Screenshot of a Tweet from Pope Leo XIV. It reads: 

"In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgen to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity."
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Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you’re near Hartford, be sure to catch this lecture, “Conserving Artemisia Gentileschi’s, Hercules and Omphale” by Ulrich Birkmaier, Senior Conservator of Paintings at the Getty Museum, at the Wadsworth October 22
thewadsworth.org
Public Lecture | Conserving Artemisia Gentileschi’s Hercules and Omphale September 3, 2026 | The Wadsworth
Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting Hercules and Omphale was severely damaged in a 2020 explosion in Beirut. Over 200 people died, and cultural heritage
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Chris Slaby @cjslaby.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Congratulations!! This is such good news!
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Bathsheba Demuth @brdemuth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Being in this role has already been exciting — keep the proposals coming!
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Rob Delaney @robdelaney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Massive apologies to those affected by our viral marketing stunt gone wrong 😬🐳 exploringthegreats.com/moby-dick @hesterblum.bsky.social
Thumbnail from Hester Blum & Rob Delaney’s Moby-Dick podcast.
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University of Washington Press @uwapress.uw.edu · 01/10/2026
We are thrilled to announce Bathsheba Demuth as the new series editor of Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books, succeeding Paul S. Sutter. We’re grateful to Paul for 12 years of extraordinary leadership and excited to see Bathsheba carry the series into its next chapter! @brdemuth.bsky.social
uwpressblog.com
Bathsheba Demuth Appointed Weyerhaeuser Environmental Series Editor
Bathsheba Demuth steps in as the new series editor for Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books at the University of Washington Press, succeeding Paul S. Sutter.
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Devin Fitzgerald, bibliothot @devinfitz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Participant bios for this dream team! cegs.ucla.edu/call-for-par...
cegs.ucla.edu
“Prints Across the Pacific, 1565–1815/Estampas a través del Pacífico, 1565–1815” | Getty Connecting Art Histories Project 2026–28 – CMRS Center for Early Global Studies
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Melissa Johnson, PhD @ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We should let people dream of something besides labor
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Melissa Johnson, PhD @ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I am tired of having to pretend that the value of studying my discipline solely rests on the "marketable skills" we teach. Sometimes things are just worth knowing and doing because they make your life bigger and richer.
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Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Journals should now probably be requiring peer reviewers to sign statements that they will not upload submissions they're reviewing into any external AI platform; wondering if any editorial boards are discussing this currently
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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
In this article I offer a critical history of the infiltration of the AI industry into the historical humanities (art history in particular) since the early 2010s. It’s not actually about “Gen” AI but AI writ large. (I don’t write the titles!) www.artforum.com/features/gen...
artforum.com
MACHINE YEARNING
Sonja Drimmer critically examines art historians’ recent embrace of generative AI as a tool for humanities research.
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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
bsky.app/profile/sonj...
Screenshot of post by me

Sonja Drimmer
@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social
This is very unfortunate! And I'm sorry both for the staff of the Bodleian and all of us who rely on its resources. Does this make you and your colleagues at the Bodleian rethink your partnership with OpenAl given that their guiding principle is likewise to exploit the data from your collections?
7:24 AM • Mar 11, 2026
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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’ve been writing and speaking on this topic for years, and I’m glad that news media are finally drawing attention to it. www.salon.com/2026/07/28/t...
It may be tempting to see value in projects such as the Schmidt Foundation — that’s Eric Schmidt of Google — funding a fellowship in AI at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Musk Foundation’s support of the Scroll Prize to use AI in reconstructing ancient texts in the burnt scrolls of Herculaneum. But these projects are simply two among countless others that have been seeding AI into museums and historical research for well over a decade. Even more egregious is the case of AI companies buying  and destroying rare books en masse in the process of scanning them for data. In the context of the dire austerity we are witnessing, the juggernaut of tech money seems impossible to resist.
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Sara Pritchard @sarabpritchard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#envhist of space And the night sky 🌌🌠 -->🛰🛰🛰🛰🛰
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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Not everybody knows this, and everybody should. On Sept. 26, 1983, a Soviet nuclear warning system alerted Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov that the U.S. had launched a missile attack. He did not retaliate, preventing WWIII. This is a post about AI. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisl...
en.wikipedia.org
Stanislav Petrov - Wikipedia
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"Sea and Steppe" by @ultradaphne.bsky.social is part of the series “Gender and Atlantic Ocean Environments,” co-edited with Written in the Waves journal, for their special issue Soil and Sea. niche-canada.org/2026/09/22/s... #envhist #envhum #migration
niche-canada.org
Sea and Steppe
Many poets have compared kovyla, the native feather grass of the Ukrainian steppe, to sea waves. When I look at the ocean I crossed, I can remind myself of who I am and where I came from.
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Sara Pritchard @sarabpritchard.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
🌌 #TransformingNight💡🌃🛰️ from @uwapress.uw.edu drops this Tuesday, Sept 22! Extra thanks to all who preordered! 🤩 Shipping starts today! In the meantime, read an excerpt from the book on @literaryhub.bsky.social #LightPollution #ArtificialLight #ALAN #Night #Darkness lithub.com/what-the-wor...
lithub.com
What the World’s Nightscapes Reveal About Our Dependence on Artificial Light
An image of Earth at night as seen from space appeared on my laptop screen during an internet search. The captivating image with a vague title—“Global Map”—drew me in like an insect mesmerized by t…
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Chris Slaby @cjslaby.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This was really great! Such good public outreach and service! Also, congratulations on publication!!!
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Sara Pritchard @sarabpritchard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I'm on @askhistorians.bsky.social today, answering questions about my brand-new book, #TransformingNight, from @uwapress.uw.edu! 🌌💡🌃🛰️ www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
reddit.com
From the AskHistorians community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskHistorians community
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Dan Howlett @dhowlett1692.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Today @sarabpritchard.bsky.social joins us on @askhistorians.bsky.social for a fascinating history from her new book Transforming Night: The History and Science of Light Pollution. Come check it out! www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
reddit.com
From the AskHistorians community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskHistorians community
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Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Anyway, Doctoring the West: Women Physicians and the Politics and Practice of Medicine will be out June 2027.
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Sara Pritchard @sarabpritchard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's Here 🥲
Cover of my new book, Transforming Night
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Robert Groß @robertgro5.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I thought you all out there should know that Verena Winiwarter was honored with one of the Republic of Austria’s highest awards (Staatspreis für Geschichtswissenschaften, Sonderpreis Lebenswerk) for her work in interdisciplinary #envhist I think that's great! www.ots.at/presseaussen...
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Rare Book School @rarebookschool.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
RBS is currently accepting applications for the following funding opportunities: —𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗕𝗦-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 —𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠. 𝗖. 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 Details at: rarebookschool.org/scholarships-fellowships #BookSky #RareBooks
A graphic topped by a horizontal black bar features a photo of a group of people standing amongst library stacks full of books bound in bright reds, oranges, yellows, and blues. In the upper right corner is the RBS logo. The man in the foreground holds a large book with a gilded leather binding in his hands. Text reads, “Applications are now open for the following RBS scholarships & fellowships: All RBS-awarded scholarships for both first-time and returning RBS students. Applications due by Sunday, 1 November 2026. The M. C. Lang Fellowship in Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching with Historical Sources, a two-year fellowship for faculty, librarians, and curators at U.S. liberal arts colleges and small universities. Applications due by Sunday, 6 December 2026. Learn more about these and other RBS funding opportunities at rarebookschool.org/scholarships-fellowships.”
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The provost of Dartmouth, at which I teach, has been using AI to write both academic papers & national op-eds, according to brave reporting by @thedartmouth.bsky.social. Many students are already bitter about AI. This leaves us as faculty no ground to stand on. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
thedartmouth.com
Op-eds, academic articles by Provost Santiago Schnell flagged as ‘AI-written’ by ‘near-zero error’ AI detector Pangram
Schnell said he used artificial intelligence for “making writing processes more efficient,” but that AI was not a “substitute” for his own “intellectual judgment or authorship.”
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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
who benefits: oligarchs cuz AI is a political project, but who benefits also: corrupt trustees of universities hoovering public money to prop up tech companies with a diffusion crisis faculty need to connect the dots too; join us in chicago for a workshop! www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticket...
zeffy.com
Against the AI Campus: Building Power in Higher Ed
Welcome Reception / October 23 / 6-8 PM Central / Chicago, ILWorkshop / October 24 / 9AM-5 PM Central / University of Illinois-Chicago Email us to inquire…
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 22/09/2026
IT IS TIME. buff.ly/pykYN6f
buff.ly
It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers
For the seventeenth year: Welcome to autumn, fuckheads.
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The Organization of American Historians @oah.org · 22/09/2026
📢Congratulations to our new OAH Lecturers! 🎉 We are proud to announce this year’s group of U. S. historians who bring a wealth of knowledge and diverse historical perspectives to the OAH Lectureship Program roster. #OAHLecturer 👉 Meet the new speakers: ow.ly/I0L550ZQhGC
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Now available worldwide, Ann Blair's In the Scholar’s Workshop introduces readers to the hidden hands behind history’s great scholarly works. Learn more: buff.ly/zvTKSFY #History
In the Scholar’s Workshop: Hidden Histories of Collaboration and Authorship by Ann Blair
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