Reposted by Elise WangKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Y’all, I hate to rain on the dead bot parade, but the Yandex data center destruction doesn’t seem to have significantly impacted social media bots. I made temporal graphs of X posts about AfD around the time of the attack and there’s no sign of a sudden dip or residual impact on that conversation. 15344781166
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 12/10/2026As Elizabeth says downthread, this is just false! Women read books by men and women, it’s men who “prefer reading men.” Is it a biological reality that we just have to accept if it doesn’t go both ways? 080
Reposted by Elise WangHyo Yoon Kang 강효윤 @hyoyoonkang.bsky.social · 12/10/2026imagine a life without log-ins, passwords, multi factor authentications, platforms, and SAP CONCUR 1294
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026The Bulls when they play badly The Bulls when they play well The White Sox (all the time) 080
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026In the case of land, this made sense—getting the important men of the area together and get them all to decide on where a property line was a reliable way to both determine and enforce these decisions. It made sense to move it to criminal cases too. That’s how we got the jury trial! 1120
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026So the ordeal, as a proof procedure, had to end. You can’t get a clear sign from God without a priest. And so England turned to a method it had already been using to settle land disputes: a panel of twelve, oathworthy men who had to deliver a unanimous verdict. 1110
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026But in 1215, the church made official the direction it had been moving for centuries—the church was opposed to the death penalty, so priests could not be involved in any part of the process. 150
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026The idea was that God would send a sign via the ordeal about the person’s guilt, which meant a priest had to interpret the message. If the accused was found guilty he would be hanged. 130
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026The accused would perform some painful act (holding a hot iron, plunging his hand into boiling oil), and the wound would be bandaged. Some days later, the wound would be unwrapped and inspected for signs of healing—healing meant innocent, infected meant guilty. 140
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Before 1215 in England, the capital crimes (murder, treason, etc) were tried by ordeal, which was not punishment but a proof procedure. 140
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Fun fact: the Catholic church’s opposition to the death penalty is how we got the jury trial. It started in 1215! 14417
Reposted by Elise WangKenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Medieval Executions 🧵 Hi there. One of my areas of expertise is medieval crime and punishment. If you’re interested, here are some comments on medieval executions. Note that, just as today, practices and perceptions varied widely across medieval Europe... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...theguardian.com‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnationPentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live 8275108
Reposted by Elise WangKenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026A recent 🧵by @elisewang.bsky.social explains the difficulty of finding executioners in medieval Europe. It’s an excellent 🧵. I find a similar thing in my research: even those tasked with executing people didn't want to stick around to watch them die. They left if they could. bsky.app/profile/elis... 212221
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026If Hegseth really wanted those in service to turn against him, in a way usually unachievable in that kind of power structure, forcing them into a firing squad is a really good way to do it! 0727
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026In 1913 Nevada had to give it up because they couldn’t find enough volunteers. In contrast, lethal injection is the most commonly botched and usually painful. But it is far preferred, because people don’t want to actually pull the trigger. 2622
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026It turns out, we will make a spectacle of death, no problem. But once it comes down to the actually mechanics of making it happen, people get jumpy. Firing squad is by far the most humane method of execution (instant, painless if done right) but almost every state has given it up. 1625
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Who wants a job like that? No one, it turns out. There were several towns in 13th century France who offered more and more money, enough to live on for a year for a single execution—and still couldn’t find anyone to do it. They let the condemned go. 1652
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Unless you were the king’s executioner, this was a part time gig, which meant that you had to find other work. The only jobs they could get were the other undesirable ones, cleaning latrines, digging graves, and they had trouble finding wives (again, bad vibes). 1563
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Executioners were absolved by the church, but there was always the lingering feeling that they were probably going to hell and were—at the very least—bad luck to be around. Market sellers usually wouldn’t deal with them. Bad vibes and all that. 1602
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Medieval executions, like those of Hegseth’s fever dream, were public events, and yes, people turned out for the spectacle. That did NOT mean they wanted anything to do with the executioner on other days, though. 1583
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 09/10/2026A return to firing squad everywhere might finally end the death penalty. Why? Because people have to be directly involved in executions (not pressing a button) it’s terrifically difficult to get them to do it. Medieval executions had the same problem! 311336
Reposted by Elise WangDr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.northsky.social · 08/10/2026Punching my ticket to Kalamazoo 828789
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 06/10/2026This gave me such a sympathetic stomach drop. I’m so sorry! 040
Reposted by Elise Wangsouthpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 26/09/2026“Beyond two parking tickets for not moving his vehicle during snowstorms, Abdullah has no criminal record in Minnesota and was working legally as a mechanic while his asylum application was pending. He arrived in the United States in early 2023.” 19789323
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 23/09/2026As a medievalist, what is…”Olde English”? And if you mean Old English, who’s gonna translate Shakespeare’s thoroughly modern English? Hwaet! Can I volunteer?? 2284
Reposted by Elise WangJonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 21/09/2026The government moving or hiding jailed people to avoid review by courts isn't some loophole in our habeas corpus rights. This government behavior has been considered a violation of the people's habeas corpus rights since at least the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_... 4827931164
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 11/09/2026I read this in college and I was like ohhhhhhh that’s what history does and long story short now I’m a historian 1100
Reposted by Elise WangJim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 25/08/2026My kids and their friends know Dolly Parton because she’s the person who sends books out to everyone in the post and that’s just really nice isn’t it. 121325178
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 17/08/2026This is my life. The person who is meant to approve travel just…doesn’t 🤷🏻♀️ 020
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 15/08/2026I don’t even mention my fellow historians because we are such low-hanging fruit. I just spent the last 3 hours arranging 100+ life records of a woman named Isabel into a spreadsheet with columns for date, event, reference, and personnel 2310
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Hahaha how exactly are you going to staff your entire school of engineering 3340
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 15/08/2026The vagueness is the point, because it terrorizes all immigrants. I’m a citizen, but bc of my background all of this has made me change my behavior. I avoid land border crossings, I’ve canceled flights going through ICE-infested airports, and I carry my passport with me when I leave the house. 2145
Reposted by Elise WangFelipe De La Hoz @felipedlh.bsky.social · 12/08/2026For @newrepublic.com I wrote about ICE's recent campaign of airport arrests, and the intentional vagueness about who is or isn't potentially subject to detention as part of the administration's broader narrative campaign of fear, intended to drive immigrants from public lifenewrepublic.comICE’s Airport Crackdowns Are Designed to Spread FearThe agency is snatching and grabbing travelers without any regard for their immigration status—and with no effort to be transparent about what they’re up to. 212869
Reposted by Elise WangMitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 13/08/2026The deadline for ASLH Projects & Proposals applications is now extended to Oct.1, 2026. It's unusual (and great) for a scholarly society to offer these small grants! Please spread the word and/or consider applying: aslh.net/award/projec... @elizabethdkatz.bsky.socialaslh.netProjects and Proposals Funding | American Society for Legal HistoryThe Projects and Proposals Committee of the American Society for Legal History invites proposals for the funding of new initiatives in the study, presentation, and production of legal historical schol... 023
Reposted by Elise WangAmerican Medieval Podcast @americanmedieval.bsky.social · 10/08/2026another clip! here @elisewang.bsky.social reminds us how history can turn in a moment, how weird and possible everything really is... Enjoy #medievalsky! youtube.com/shorts/mHFrH...youtube.comWeird how history can turn in a moment. Change the world. Could've been otherwise. #podcast #historyYouTube video by American Medieval 0125
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 10/08/2026This made me wonder if the pope is the only world leader position in which you’re guaranteed to get someone who has read theory. Not to mention “has read books, plural” 1102
Reposted by Elise WangMatt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 10/08/2026instead, read theory www.vatican.va/content/leo-...vatican.vaEncyclical Letter of His Holiness Leo XIV Magnifica Humanitas (15 May 2026)ENCYCLICAL LETTER MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV ON SAFEGUARDING THE HUMAN PERSON IN THE TIME OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [ Multimedia ] ___________________________ 1317
Reposted by Elise WangKevin M. Levin @civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Historians may have played a decisive role last week in a judge's ruling that overturning a school board's decision to change the names of public school honoring Confederate generals ignored its impact on Black students. Historians matter. #CivilWarMemory 🗃️ kevinmlevin.substack.com/p/what-the-h...kevinmlevin.substack.comWhat the Historians Proved in Shenandoah County, VirginiaExpert testimony from two historians helped overturn a school board's 2024 decision, and showed exactly why the profession still matters. 8622166
Reposted by Elise WangAmerican Medieval Podcast @americanmedieval.bsky.social · 06/08/2026have a little taste of the episode! the brilliant @elisewang.bsky.social explains how conspiracy theories spread for the most banal reasons... youtube.com/shorts/gsTjd...youtube.comConspiracy theories spread for the most everyday reasons, even in the Middle Ages. #podcast #historyYouTube video by American Medieval 0194
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 05/08/2026This was so much fun to do! Matt has great questions and we have a good chat about stumbling into the medieval period (me) and accidentally traumatizing ourselves (also me)! 2258
Reposted by Elise WangMatt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 30/07/2026next week on @americanmedieval.bsky.social i talk with @elisewang.bsky.social about the medieval origins of conspiracy theories 1165
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Forget that we should all be forced to take 6th grade common core math so that the parents don’t have to suffer alone 271
Reposted by Elise WangLaw & History Review @lawandhistrev.bsky.social · 17/07/2026We’re back! The Law and History Review is excited to announce the publication of our first article this year in our digital imprint, The Docket. Anna O. Law (@unlawfulentries.bsky.social) told us about her new book. End the week on a strong note—check it out! lawandhistoryreview.org/article/anna...lawandhistoryreview.orgMigration and the Origins of American Citizenship: An Interview with Anna O. Law – Law & History Review 0138
Reposted by Elise WangAdam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Right. That’s how we know it’s a race argument, not an argument about culture. Because what makes you unacceptable is constant, inherited, and unalterable whether you’re born here or elsewhere. 313417
Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 16/07/2026In medieval England it was…everyone! In fact you could get in big trouble if you saw a crime and DIDN’T arrest them! 1206