Reposted by David VailContingent Magazine @contingent-mag.bsky.social · 27/09/2026“Historians of science seek to understand bygone worldviews in their full complexity, however strange, sometimes laughable, or downright reprehensible those might be . . . It’s a vital tool for seeing modern science as part of—not liberated from—a still-unfolding story.“contingentmagazine.orgThey Thought What?Unpacking the history (and present) of science 0238
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Key questions for all colleges and universities in this moment: What is your commitment to humanities work (Faculty, Students, Programs, etc..)? And how will we know? Supporting us is key for facing what's ahead for our students and communties. 010
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 05/09/2026We teach to nurture people. Humanities provide the nourishment and the durable skills. 000
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 27/08/2026"When you study the past...You’re learning about cause and effect, greed and goodness, the sorts of contests and the interplay of dynamics that set the course of events. You can’t name a line of work or describe a kind of life that isn’t nourished by that knowledge."nytimes.comOpinion | For a Bonkers New World, a ‘Brave New World’ 010
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 26/08/2026unknews.unk.eduVail, Ziolkowski, Beissel Heath selected for endowed faculty positions at UNK - UNK NEWSThe appointments support their continued academic and professional work. 150
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 18/07/2026www.npr.org/2026/07/18/n...npr.orgThis unusual, Johnny Carson-backed fund has helped Nebraska arts survive — until nowA unique public-private endowment has long shielded Nebraska's cultural scene from federal budget cuts. But a massive state deficit is putting its future in jeopardy. 001
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 01/07/2026unknews.unk.eduA New Chapter: UNK partners with nonprofit to preserve legacy of Nebraska author Mari Sandoz - UNK NEWS"We have much yet to learn from her life and writing." 021
Reposted by David VailKansas History @kshistoryjournal.bsky.social · 03/06/2026The American Agriculture Movement and the 1979 tractorcade are the subject of our new oral history series. Here, you'll read about Peggy Arensman's experience, an interview conducted by the Kinsley Public Library and supported by Humanities Kansas. Introduction by Jim Leiker. #kansashistory 021
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 21/05/2026nytimes.comOpinion | This Is Who’s Really Driving the Decline in Interest in Liberal Arts Education 000
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 21/05/2026nytimes.comOpinion | A Defense of a Liberal Arts Education in the Age of A.I. 000
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 19/05/2026New LEGO build to start summer break. DC-3 PamAm. Catch me if you can. 010
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 08/05/2026It's Commencement!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS student colleagues!! I'm so honored to celebrate with you today!!! Epic adventures await! 020
Reposted by David VailMcSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 27/04/2026Q: How will this new technology benefit overworked faculty? A: By allowing Skynet to relieve you of tasks tedious enough to merit paid employment, you can free up time for unremunerated pursuits.buff.lyFrequently Asked Questions About Our Innovative New EdTech Collaboration“With a free Skynet Edu account, students can gain the career-readiness needed to navigate an exciting future in which they will be hunted by a remorseless, ... 18636
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 26/04/2026A reminder that you can join our online book talk with John Scanlan on The Idea of Waste: On the Limits of Human Life (Reaktion Books, 2025) tomorrow (Monday 27 Apr 2026), 4pm Central European time / 3pm in the UK / 10 am Eastern Info to join: newnatures.org/greenhouse/e... 0157
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 25/04/2026As I enter Day #2 of a workshop about A.I. and the humanities, one dominated by philosophers, I am recalling the danger of "charismatic technologies" Charisma is a powerful attribute. But so is wisdom. lareviewofbooks.org/article/sell...lareviewofbooks.orgSelling a Charismatic Technology | Los Angeles Review of BooksHistorian of technology Patrick McCray reviews Morgan Ames’s new book on the MIT Media Lab’s One Laptop per Child program. 073
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 24/04/2026In case you missed it, links for our massive book talk series 👇 088
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 22/04/2026You can listen to/watch our recorded Greenhouse environmental humanities book talk conversation with Michael Lobel on Van Gogh & the End of Nature here: 🎥 newnatures.org/greenhouse/e... 🎧 newnatures.org/greenhouse/p... #EarthDay #envhum 1103
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 21/04/2026I'm thrilled to mark 10 years at University of Nebraska at Kearney. Honored to be part of this dynamic campus. I'm grateful to my student colleagues most and dedicate this to them. It's been a very special thing to share these moments with you over the years. Thank you. 060
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 20/04/2026Due to technical difficulties with no internet service for the author, our #envhum book with John Scanlan on The Idea of Waste: On the Limits of Human Life (Reaktion Books, 2025) will be NEXT MONDAY, 27 April, at 4pm in Norway / 3pm in UK. newnatures.org/greenhouse/e... 065
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 03/04/2026I'm thrilled to talk about some of my latest scholarship next week at Colorado State University's Sustainable Landscape Collaboratory. If you are in Fort Collins, please stop by. Excited to discuss shelterbelts. 051
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 19/03/2026Now available for preorder (publishes in June 2026): Unsettling Extinction, edited by Roman Bartosch, Ursula Heise & Kate Rigby www.bloomsbury.com/uk/unsettlin... I have an article in this called "Extinction as Cultural Heritage" 0237
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 17/03/2026Excited to see this project with the University Library of Agder and Center for Gender Equality with Dr. Hilde Røsstad. Only wish I lived closer to attend these in person.urldefense.comOppdagelser: Forskningshistoriens banebrytende kvinner - Universitetet i AgderI mars 2026 inviterer Universitetsbiblioteket i Agder i samarbeid med Senter for likestilling til en nyskapende foredragsserie med tittelen: 010
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 10/03/2026“A.I. chatbots contain the sum of all human knowledge” is so egregiously wrong that I don’t know what to say. Chatbots have been trained on corpus of digital(ised) text - ABSOLUTELY NOT the sum of all human knowledge. Paper, experience, embodiment, oral tales all missing. These people are fools! 39926
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 08/03/2026nytimes.comWhen DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities 000
Reposted by David VailMelina Antonia Buns @melinabuns.bsky.social · 02/03/2026Spring has started to sprout and the @greenhouseuis.net is looking forward to full month with events on everything from climate justice in education over the sea urchins on the menu to the architecture of low-voltage cabins. 🌿 #envhum 0107
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 27/02/2026When the NSF was founded in 1950, it was after 5 years of debate and resistance that the agency would be too independent of congressional/presidential oversight... www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgNSF officials break silence on how AI and quantum now drive agency grantmakingLeaders acknowledge White House role in controversial moves 051
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 26/02/2026"...any metric of agricultural intensity was always the best predictor of acceleration of the decline.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/c...nytimes.comBirds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds. 1117
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 24/02/2026Official opening of the PITCH project intervention “Carbon Culture. Museum of the Fossil Fuel Age” at the German Museum of Technology in Berlin tonight. Special congrats go to curators Nora Thorade & Eike Heine who have done a fantastic job. 1195
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 23/02/2026Someone asked me last week what I thought the worst thing about AI products in higher ed was - I replied that they eroded and destroyed the social compact of trust and expertise between teacher and student. 1207
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 24/02/2026If this passes, it will be a broken promise (even if less than originally planned) that will be hard to forgive. The arts and humanities are the lifeblood of our state. This is poisonous. And the rationales for going forward with this are equally in bad faith. I'm sad for our state.nebraskaexaminer.comNebraska lawmakers propose cutting $5M from state Cultural Endowment Fund • Nebraska ExaminerFor the first time, Nebraska lawmakers are slated to remove state tax dollars from a unique endowment fund supporting arts and humanities in the state. 010
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 23/02/2026New article: Carbon cultures of progress in history of technology museums, by me & Nora Thorade. We examine how #histtech #museums narrate our industrial heritage and make its energy reliance visible or invisible. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #envhist #petroculturestandfonline.comCarbon cultures of progress in history of technology museumsThe way we narrate our industrial heritage and make its energy reliance visible or invisible matters. In this article, we examine how history of technology museums cultivate narratives of progress ... 0134
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 21/02/2026Humanities Here. Some questions about A.I.: Aren't the short-term risks and hazards too dangerous for very, very maybe positives? How many learning and job casualties are acceptable? Why give our freedom to know over to a machine that steals and flattens for profit? 020
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 16/02/2026"I made a lot of money by stealing the work of other people. How should I share my wealth?" 051
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 14/02/2026"The computer has begun to be an instrument for the destruction of history. When society legitimates only those 'data' that are in 'one standard format' and that 'can easily be told to a machine,' then history, memory itself, is annihilated." (Weizenbaum, Computer Power & Human Reason, 1976) 073
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 12/02/2026It is so important to keep hammering in this point. People always ask me why I would have to go visit archives - why not just look at a scan? Because they haven’t been scanned! And they are never going to be! There are millions & millions of pieces of paper in every archive. 818353
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 13/02/2026nytimes.comOpinion | A.I. Companies Are Eating Higher Education 010
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 11/02/2026Tomorrow, if you can make it. Kearney Public Library. 262
Reposted by David VailPatrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 08/02/2026On "wishful worries" and other myths of technology (“When someone says ‘algorithm,’ start searching for the people.”) @dcbrock.bsky.social's 2019 essay is worth a re-read lareviewofbooks.org/article/our-...lareviewofbooks.orgOur Censors, Ourselves: Commercial Content Moderation | Los Angeles Review of BooksDavid C. Brock considers two recent books about largely unseen workforce moderating the tech giants. 052
David Vail @davidvailphd.bsky.social · 02/02/2026We need an additional "I might be a robot" button for websites. 121
Reposted by David VailMelina Antonia Buns @melinabuns.bsky.social · 02/02/2026I am running a course on the Histories of Energy Transitions this spring, starting 2 March! The course is fully online and asynchronous and it is open to students at ECIU universities as well as anyone enrolled at Norwegian universities. #energyhistory For more information, see below ⤵ 2164
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 27/01/2026We have an online information meeting about our new Masters in Public Environmental Humanities program TODAY (Jan 27) at 14:00 Central European time. If you are interested in finding out more, register to attend the meeting (near bottom of this page): www.uis.no/en/studies/t... #envhist #envhumuis.noEstablishing a secure connection ... 086
Reposted by David VailDolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · 26/01/2026Coming up in about 20 min! Hope to see many of you there for the live talk and discussion. 084