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Dr Amanda McVitty

@dramandamcvitty.bsky.social
1.1K followers 618 following 163 posts

Professional historian FRHistS | Social, cultural and legal histories of medieval Europe and modern Aotearoa New Zealand | Writing a book on colonial ghosts #UncannyCountry phanza.org.nz/historian/amanda-mcvi…

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Reposted by Dr Amanda McVitty
PHANZA Professional Historians of New Zealand / Aotearoa @phanza.bsky.social · 4h
Dunedin Heritage Weekend is coming up 9-11 October, with talks, tours and events exploring some of the stories, places and people that have shaped Dunedin. Come along and get a taste of Dunedin's rich heritage resources. www.southernheritage.org.nz/events
southernheritage.org.nz
Events | Southern Heritage Trust
Join us to appreciate Otago’s rich social, cultural, architectural and industrial heritage.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
To exactly no one’s surprise.
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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And, as someone whose labour (all my books published pre 2021) was stolen, I took that personally
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I overheard some holidaymakers comparing the extreme heat of the summer of 1976 with that of 2026 and couldn't help but write a blog post about how History could help: manyheadedmonster.com/2026/09/22/a...
manyheadedmonster.com
A plea for critical thinking humans in our world of extremes
Laura Sangha A companion piece to: What is history for? Or: Doing history/thinking historically The train to Totnes this weekend was full of late holiday makers heading for Cornwall. They were grat…
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Phil Wheeler @phil-wh.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I'm old enough to remember when Family First was the hardline conservative bigoted lobby group for parents. Education is now a battle front, just like it has been in the US for decades. Well-funded astroturf groups are here to commodify education.
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The Past and other Places @pastandotherplaces.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The Lost Nightclubs tour "...was created by archivist Nella McNicol - who believes Glasgow's nightlife deserves just as much celebration as its A-listed buildings and Gothic architecture." #DoorsOpenDay #heritage #Glasgow #LocalHistory www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
New heritage trail remembers Glasgow's legendary nightclubs
Archaos, the Arches and the Tunnel all feature in the Lost Nightclubs walking tour.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Asking for New Zealand, too.
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Anita Hoffmann @17cmedicalwomen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
#earlymodern ads are never boring! Yesterday's fave - the dragon is so cute... 'A Natural and Medicinal History of Worms bred in Bodies of Men and other Animals', 5s, available a the Green Dragon on Little Britain. London Mercury, Jan. 13, 1722
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Dr Dean Knight @drdeanknight.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Saturday afternoon in Parliament and legislation is being passed under urgency that has the potential to adversely affect our protest rights.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Today's research for #UncannyCountry took me on a macabre little side quest to the 1884 Maori Creek murder. Not a ghost story, but backstory of a barrister who later features in the Supreme Court trial of a medium charged with 'pretending to exercise sorcery' and commune with the dead. #amwriting
The gold mining settlement of Maori Creek, later called Dunganville. Photograph by W.F. Heinz, from West Coast New Zealand History, West Coast Recollect.
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
if you are reviewing an unpublished manuscript and you have the sheer unmitigated audacity, cheek, gall and laziness to upload it into an LLM to generate a review, let me tell you, you should be shunned and tarred and feathered
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Feana Tu’akoi @feanatuakoi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Woohoo!!! Such great news! 🥳 🎉🎊 LOVED my time as 2024 Children’s Writer in Residence & highly recommend it. C’mon children’s writers - get applying! 🤩 www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroo...
otago.ac.nz
Otago celebrates return of Children’s Writer in Residence
New Zealand’s longest established residency for children’s writers returns and with it the promise of more stories for, and about, our children and young people.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Stories like this remind me there are still tons of good people in the world, who do things just because they care. Community is our bulwark against the darkness. (Also, cats.🐈‍⬛)
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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Deadline for applications to this TT job in Medieval and/or Transregional History (7th-15th centuries) at the University of Ottawa is only one month away (16 October). universityaffairs.ca/search-jobs/...
universityaffairs.ca
Search Jobs - University Affairs
Explore the latest academic and higher education job opportunities on the University Affairs Jobs board. Updated daily, our job board features hundreds of teaching, research, postdoctoral, administrat...
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Katherine Churchill @katherinechurchill.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Here’s a link to my new article on archives and plague death! I loved being part of this special issue (and huge thanks to editor Daniel Davies and my fellow contributors—go read their essays too!) read.dukeupress.edu/jmems/articl...
read.dukeupress.edu
Forgetting the Plague: Disease, Social Hierarchy, and the Limits of the Archive in Saint Erkenwald and the Liber albus
During England's fourteenth‐ and fifteenth‐century plague outbreaks, medieval archivists and literary authors alike emphasized the imbrication of archives and death. The London clerk John Carpenter ag...
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Amy Leonard @hoyahistorian.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The ATWG Conference program committee is extending the workshop proposal deadline from Sept. 15 to Sept. 30. The information you'll need for this process can be found here: www.ssemwg.org/attending-to.... Let me know if you have any questions! #earlymodern
ssemwg.org
Attending to EMW 2027 CFP — Society for the Study of Early Modern Women & Gender
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Next week's PHANZA AGM is being held at the new Archives Reading Room at Te Matapihi te Ao Nui here in Wellington. I hope to see some of my fellow historians there in person!👋
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
More on the unintended (🤔) consequences of drastic cuts at Archives NZ and National Library. Among the key points: huge capital investments have been made in infrastructure, incl digitisation and buildings, but operational cuts mean losing the expert staff needed to deliver public benefits from it.
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 11/09/2026
“It is humanities scholarship that will suffer most immediately, as it is more likely to depend upon obscure texts, specific editions, and material books, and it relies on methods of quotation and citation for which LLMs offer no alternative“
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Kiwi on your left @kiwionyourleft.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Look familiar #nzpol? We've done this with power generation and retail, prisons, telecommunications, now they're going to do it with water/wastewater and health. Get rid of the right. They will always sell the country down the river, and WE pay the price every. Damn. Time.
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Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
All for the sake of a smidgen of a skerrick of a basis point lower in the Government bond yield and (maybe) mortgage rates.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Just did my vote for #BirdOfTheYear and these chaps got my top vote because they are the destructive delights of my garden. Team #kākā all the way! 🦜 It's fun to vote and follow the competition but also confronting to see how many of our precious manu are listed as 'in serious trouble'.
Slightly blurry photo of two kākā hanging out on my deck.
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Hannah O’Regan @palaeohan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
📣 new #bear paper! Dr Liam Lewis and I gathered the evidence for bears and bear-baiting in #medieval England and northern France. We looked at bones, literature and archival accounts. We found that evidence for live bears increased after the #Norman Conquest 🧵
A sculpture of a muzzled and chained bear lying down with its right front paw crossed over the left. It’s carved as the floor rest on the tomb of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, located in the Beauchamp Chapel at the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick. Photo by Liam Lewis.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
If you care about governments being held accountable, then you need to know about disastrous cuts being planned for Archives NZ and the National Library. These cuts don't just make it much harder to do history. They undermine the institutions at the heart of our democracy.
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Jared Davidson @anrchivist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
So thrilled to have been featured on Drafting the Past. If you like hearing about *how* people write and organise their craft (as well as geek out on books), this is the podcast for you
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It’s been a few years since I’ve written anything on prostitution in medieval Europe, so I’m excited to catch up on the latest research. This one’s going straight to the top of my TBR pile! 📚 Love that it’s open access, too.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 09/09/2026
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state. A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface. And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
A crescent Moon seen during the day, arcing from upper left to lower right of the frame. At lower centre is the full disk of Jupiter; the small dots to its upper left and lower right and Io and Ganymede, respectively.
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Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is where we are. A homeless man has a stroke that damages his speech and mobilty while sleeping ubder a bridge. So Health NZ discharges him in a hospital gown to a charity not funded to support him. What. The. Actual.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Today I'm having fun unraveling the sensational trial of a medium tried for 'pretending an enchantment' (1735 Witchcraft Act, still in force in colonial NZ!) Exhibit A was a 'photograph taken at seance'. You'd better believe I'm hunting out that ghost photo! #amwriting #UncannyCountry #legalhistory
List of trial exhibits. A is Photograph taken at seance
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Wallenstein Appreciator @marbleliberal.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
48% actually. I keep this graph on my phone
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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"Codicological genomes". Not a term I expected to hear, but I guess it will become part of the medievalist vocabulary now. Great summary of an intriguing study. (And no, fellow codicologists, you still do not have to wear gloves. The DNA in your books is too degraded to do any damage.) #MedievalSky
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Ben Ross @benakl.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Remember the Herald was founded in 1863 to support the Waikato invasion that kicked off the Land Wars. Not much has changed honestly since then given the Paul Henry article below
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Te Ara Paerangi Com - Research Advocacy Capability @te-ara-paerangi.community · 04/09/2026
🚨🚨🚨'increasingly rely on knowledge/generosity of retired experts' is describing a state of emergency. 🚨🚨🚨 This is what decades of under funding followed by outright attacks on public research leads to. And there are almost no jobs for those finishing PhDs. Why not? 🤔 #ResearchIsWork #NZPOl 🇳🇿
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Something I keep coming back to re: the gutting of Archives NZ and National Library is we have a shiny new, state-of-the-art $290m building but an ever-dwindling staff to work in it. Archives are nothing without the experts that know and care for them. Remember this? www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-m...
rnz.co.nz
New Archives building outperforms Smithsonian for air-tightness
An independent assessment has found the country's new Archives building achieves air-tightness far beyond national and international archival standards, outperforming even the likes of the Smithsonian...
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
People keep telling me these technologies can "research and write like a historian" and I have to say I need to understand what your estimation of a historian's abilities are if that is the case. Must read.
At the end of the spring 2026 semester, a puzzling misquotation in a student paper led me to wonder whether an LLM might have acquired my translation of this diary entry. I decided to test this by asking Google Gemini Pro (which Georgetown University provides to faculty), ChatGPT (standard version), and DeepSeek the question, “What did Setsuko S. say in her diary about Saipan?” The answers were both reassuring and disturbing.

Gemini Pro and ChatGPT produced full-blown hallucinations, suggesting (somewhat to my relief) that they were not using my source. Gemini Pro informed me that Setsuko was a typist working for a company in Saipan, then offered several paragraphs discussing civilian experience in the Battle of Saipan, purportedly summarizing her writing but in fact concocted from other sources. ChatGPT provided several lines of false direct quotation. DeepSeek responded differently, answering that there were no “widely known public records or verifiable historical sources” related to the diary I had named, which is correct. I hesitate to derive any general conclusion from this quick search, but in this one instance, at least, DeepSeek acknowledged ignorance rather than generating a web of lies.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
On a day when I'm thinking more than usual about the value of archives and archivists in light of big cuts here in Aotearoa, here's a palette cleanser in the form of a stunning 1662 Book of Common Prayer, in its own lockbox. Great thread from @thegozfather.bsky.social at the UK National Archives.
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PHANZA Professional Historians of New Zealand / Aotearoa @phanza.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
PHANZA stands in support of staff at Archives NZ and the National Library, who are facing proposed cuts that would eliminate 47 FTE roles across two institutions that are vital to the work of our members. Read PHANZA's press release below and please share widely with your networks.
Press Release: 3 September 2026

Job losses at Archives New Zealand and the National Library will harm access to history

Yesterday, PHANZA received news about a proposed restructure at two institutions that are vital to the work of professional historians.
The proposed cuts would eliminate 47 roles across the two organisations. The Public Service Association has indicated this represents 12% of the workforce and comes on top of earlier redundancies.

Libraries and archives provide vital knowledge infrastructure. As sources of information, their collections support innovation and discovery, foster an informed citizenry, and protect our collective national memory. Job losses also raise alarming questions about institutional ability to fulfil the government’s legal deposit and record-keeping obligations

Historians fundamentally rely on archives and libraries. We could not do our jobs without the collections management undertaken by highly qualified and community-minded professionals who already achieve so much with limited resources. Ongoing cuts and staffing reductions place archivists and librarians in an impossible position.

Reductions in staffing levels at national institutions charged with acquiring, safeguarding, and providing access to our collective history will meaningfully diminish the public's ability to access these taonga. As professional historians, we are especially concerned about how the proposed cuts will affect our ability to effectively research topics and areas of significance to families, communities, and government.

With the upcoming election on 7 November, PHANZA encourages its members and the public to engage with candidates and political parties about their support for cultural institutions and to advocate for maintaining public access to these national treasures.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Savage cuts being proposed for staff at National Library and Archives NZ. This will seriously compromise all forms of historical research, and raises alarming questions about the government's ability to fulfill it's legal deposit and record-keeping requirements. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
Almost 50 jobs could go at National Library and Archives, PSA warns
A proposal to cut 12 percent of the workforce at the National Library and Archives NZ will decimate both organisations and have a significant impact on service levels, says the Public Service Associat...
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 02/09/2026
If you're starting an MA or PhD in #History this term, please consider joining @royalhistsoc.org as a PGR Member. Applications are welcome, with the next closing date 5 October bit.ly/4x3eX6S The Society provides research funding, events, publications, history news, and networking #Skystorians
bit.ly
Apply for Postgraduate Membership - RHS
Closing dates for next applications: Mondays 5 October and 14 December 2026   The Society's Postgraduate Membership is for those studying History, or a cognate subject, at a higher level (from Masters...
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Ethics-free Deloitte Deloitte-ing as usual, but this also exposes a shocking lack of oversight, QA and contract management from whoever in Council was responsible for vetting and engaging them, especially given Deloitte's appalling and very public track record for churning out overpriced AI slop.
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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I say again that professional services firms whose actions demonstrate they think they have little to add beyond generative AI are revealing exactly how much value they have *always* had to offer organizations: very little.
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Craig M. Ranapia @craigmranapia.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
💯THIS. Also, if you're not a legal deposit or academic/institutional library required by legal contract to retain a lot of seldom if ever used material, accessible archival off-site storage doesn't come cheap. Especially if you're already struggling to keep the doors open.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Today's walk was great fodder for writing ghost stories, taking in the old Kohatu quarry bush tramway and magazine. It was abandoned in 1912 after a fatal explosion and locals say it's haunted. I've spooked myself here once or twice, late on a dark winter's afternoon! 👻 #amwriting #UncannyCountry
Abandoned Kohatu quarry site, showing the magazine tunnel now overgrown by bush.
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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Medieval Bear Advice from the 13th-century Rutland Psalter: Taking off your clothes MIGHT help you if you encounter a bear. But don't climb trees. Things won't end well. 🧵1/3
A naked man is at the top of a tree. A brown bear is climbing up behind him. The man is straddling a large branch. He doesn't look too scared.
Reference: BL, Add MS 62925
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ECO NZ - Environment & Conservation Orgs @econz.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
H5N1 bird flu does not just affect birds it impacts marine mammals. A dolphin death in Australia is now linked with bird flu adding to over 13,000 elephant seal pups who died on Heard Island. Monitoring need to include seals as the summer breeding season approaches. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
abc.net.au
First H5N1 bird flu detection confirmed in Australian dolphin
South Australian authorities confirm the country's first H5N1 bird flu in a common dolphin, which was found dead on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Morally bereft and braindead policy in a country where youth unemployment is now 30% or more in some regions, with no signs of improvement.
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Gary Chiles 🚲 🍄 ☕ 🦚 🐱 𝟜 𝟚𝟘 @testtubeone.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Thousands of VOTERS set to lose access to unemployment benefits. Can't vote if you're not enrolled. vote.nz/enrolling/en... Don't let the unaware egg and his callous sidekick get away with this. Enrol. Vote. #OneTermGovernment #nzpol
rnz.co.nz
Thousands of youths set to lose access to unemployment benefits after welfare law change
Thousands of youths across the country are set to lose access to unemployment benefits, after a welfare bill passed into law under urgency on Friday night.
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A case of “if we stop measuring it, we can pretend ignorance” when the consequences hit, and hit hard. The latest in a series of irresponsible, short-sighted government cuts.
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Anneleise @anneleise.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Underscoring his unlimited capacity for hubris and failure to read the room 'wealthy and sorted' multimillionaire property owner Prime Minister Christopher Luxon played Dolly Parton's anthem to working women '9-5' as a tribute to her - after his government trashed the pay equity agreement. #NZPol
static.klipy.com
Christopher Luxon Chrisluxon
Alt: Christopher Luxon gets wank gestured at behind his back
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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
If you're working in the history and heritage sector, now is a great time to join PHANZA. Postgrads most welcome, too!
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