Sign in

Jordan S. Sly

@jordanssly.bsky.social
1.1K followers 2K following 645 posts

Historian of Seventeenth Century Europe and the Global Atlantic. My specialisations are the intellectual, religious, and cultural histories of Stuart Britain and the Interregnum with a primary focus on the 1650s. "Dulce bellum inexpertis" -Erasmus

PostsRepliesMedia
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 11h
Never gets old, youtu.be/dvRwZga4hAE
youtu.be
B. B. King - The Thrill Is Gone. New York 1971
YouTube video by Farkle Berry
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Working on two articles and a book manuscript:
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
www.theguardian.com/culture/2026... Discussing the recent work of @lisafdavis.bsky.social !
theguardian.com
A medieval manuscript has confounded scholars for centuries. Have they been reading it wrong all this time?
Researchers argue incorrect binding of Voynich manuscript radically changes ideas about its drawings and indecipherable text
010
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
past me really nailed it with this footnote that future me would totally understand:
020
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I want a psychedelic pseudo history of Daniel Defoe’s life starring Willem Defoe
10546
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
lovely afternoon with an old friend!
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Stupid world. Now I can't read anyone from the 17th C. without hearing Jordan Peterson's voice:
text from Samuel Morland's Urim of Conscience which reads "After all this, tell me, ye foolish and perverse atheists, who has bewitcht you...? This should be read in Jordan Peterson's overly dramatic voice
100
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 17/09/2026
Can Richard Dadd’s art ever be separated from his state of mind? ‘The drawings and paintings he created after the breakdown of his mental health have a level of imaginative freedom, playfulness, enigma and left-field psychological insight previously absent,’ writes Susan Owens.
buff.ly
Richard Dadd, great Victorian painter
The artist’s catastrophic mental breakdown as a young man meant that he spent the rest of his life in confinement. His paintings, however, are among the most powerful of the age, writes Susan Owens
021
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026
Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy!
181141006479
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Arsenal's youngster has had to be patient this season but he reminded everyone of his class against Ipswich www.nytimes.com/athletic/759...
nytimes.com
A sprint, a shimmy and a sublime finish: Welcome back, Max Dowman
Arsenal's youngster has had to be patient this season but he reminded everyone of his class against Ipswich
1161
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The illusion of learning. “Getting answers from a bot can create ‘the illusion of learning’ for students who reach for A.I. ‘at the first hint of struggle,’ the M.I.T. committee wrote.”
nytimes.com
Universities Sound Warnings About A.I. Even as They Embrace It (Gift Article)
As A.I. upends education, university leaders have been all over the map about how to respond. It can be very confusing for students.
1177
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
351441412
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
pretty much every Sunday I think, perhaps a tagine will fix all my problems
010
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A library is such a casually beautiful place.
218636
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Visited this important memorial in Venice (The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari) over the summer, and I am looking forward to spending an evening hearing what promises to be a beautiful programme from the always terrific Folger Consort, www.folger.edu/whats-on/mon...
photograph of the memorial marker for Claudio Monteverdi's internment in the Basilica of the Frari in Venice
020
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A woman asleep over a book, Jan de Bray, made #otd 10 Sept 1660 (British Museum)
12812
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
EMoDiR @emodir.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🍂Out now! EMoDiR’s September 2026 Newsletter. Find out about new publications, events, scholarships, fellowships, prizes, and CfPs. 🔗 emodir.hypotheses.org/files/2026/0... #newsletter #EarlyModern
054
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
David Veevers @davidveevers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Yes students want a good job after Uni but, as is the case for Humanities students anyway, their main priority during their degrees is TO ENJOY THEIR STUDIES AND LEARN. I’ve held focus groups and have the data. But all Universities care about are workplace skills like it’s the fucking Soviet Union.
1121262
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Martina Mampieri @martinamampieri.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Thrilled to have contributed to this new volume, edited by Francesco Quatrini & @freyas.bsky.social and just published by @routledgebooks.bsky.social in the @emodir.bsky.social series! #earlymodern #skystorians #academicsky
1114
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Stephanie Porras @periodeye.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Extremely excited to announce an article co-authored by myself and Aaron Hyman on the visual and material cultures of Dutch piracy in the early modern Caribbean is now out in Renaissance quarterly @rsaorg.bsky.social , and open access! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
journals.uchicago.edu
Recasting the Silver Fleet, or The Propaganda of Piracy in the Dutch Caribbean | Renaissance Quarterly: Vol 79, No 3
In 1628, the Dutch West India Company captured a Spanish silver fleet off the shore of Cuba. A broadside by Claes Jansz Visscher (1587–1652) celebrated the event, illustrating the battle and providing...
510034
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Also, for those who are interested, Elizabeth will be presenting with Holly Brewer, @earlymodjustice.bsky.social, for the Folger Community Scholars on the 25th of this month, www.folger.edu/research/the.... This is a fascinating and nuanced article that is very much worth considering.
083
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Journal of Early Modern History @earlymodhistory.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Finally, we close out the articles section with a piece by Elizabeth Hines, "Dutch Gold and Charles I’s Turn from Spain, 1634–1637." brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
Dutch Gold and Charles I’s Turn from Spain, 1634–1637
Abstract This article investigates Dutch elements of English state financing under the early Stuart kings. It reveals Anglo-Dutch financial connections that contributed not only to the growth of the E...
144
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
The Fake History Hunter @fakehistoryhunter.net · 09/09/2026
And then suddenly you find the most important question ever asked in an 17th century book. The depth, the power, the genius... Is cheese rational? Well, is it? IS IT?! web.archive.org/web/20200915...
2740088
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Feast of the Wine (The Procession of the Ram), Oil on canvas, 44 × 65 inches (111.8 × 165.1 cm), Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wonderfully strange painting by the 17th-century French artist known only as the Master of the Processions (Maître des Cortèges).
A procession of slightly scruffy men and boys wearing hats and ivy crowns, holding glasses of wine and leading a ram https://www.philamuseum.org/objects/103000
1174
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 09/09/2026
"We are not a 'school.' We are a hospital system with a football team. We collect grants from the federal government, payouts from insurance companies, and licensing revenue from television networks. That is our raison d’être." buff.ly/DUbh42r
mcsweeneys.net
We Are Not a “School”—We Are a Hospital System with a Football Team
“At our core, we are devoted to learning. Specifically, we want to learn how to extract as much value as possible from everyone and everything we interact wi...
521371
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
The Athletic | Football @theathleticfc.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Every season under Arteta, Arsenal have evolved in one way or another — and with the arrival of Tzolis, they have unlocked the diagonal www.nytimes.com/athletic/757...
nytimes.com
Did You Notice: How Christos Tzolis is breaking down Arsenal’s opponents with diagonals
Every season under Arteta, Arsenal have evolved in one way or another — and with the arrival of Tzolis, they have unlocked the diagonal
182
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Golly, so many. Security guard at a community pool, mover of pizza ovens from disused malls, graphic designer for local go kart tracks and antique shops -- all amid various retail jobs, etc.
000
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
How many times has Satan tempted you to neglect Learning, and follow Gaming?
Four panels from an early modern English printed broadside showing: 1) The School-master and Schollar: a teacher and student in a doorway 2) The Vertu-ous Student: a young man at his desk with books 3) Satan tempteth him to neglect Learning, and follow Gaming: Satan at a table with playing cards 4) SATAN tempteth him from his Study to evil company: satan at a table with men and women playing cards, drinking, and smoking
Source: THE YOUNGMANS VICTORY Over the POVVER of the DEVIL (London, 1672-1696?), Houghton Library, Harvard https://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/34760/album
88327
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Early Modern Conflict, War and Violence Network @earlymodernwar.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Starting Day 2 with a great panel on martial writing, including some very engaging discussions about fencing and theatre with Ebrahim Joseph, Gary Evans, Jacob H. Deacon @deaconjh.bsky.social and our very own Dylan McCorquodale.
052
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
the children have already brought home a school-yard pestilence which is seemingly infected us all. I expect the mark on our door by the dawn.
000
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Chronicle of Higher Education @chronicle.com · 27/08/2026
For many students, Canvas and Blackboard can feel like an endless series of pings, deadlines, and to-do lists. An instructor shares how she reduced the noise in her courses — and made more space for planning, writing, and reflection. chroni.cl/3Stl2LR
chronicle.com
Advice | The Case for ‘Slow Teaching’
Constant pings and alerts from Canvas and Blackboard are doing your students more harm than good.
094
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Bacchanal of the Andrians, whose streams flowed w/ wine. Masterpiece painted for Alfonso d'Este in 1525 by the great Titian, who died (alas!!) on this day in 1576.
15813
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 27/08/2026
important:
cartographic drawing of an island labeled ISLAND and captioned This is a map of an Island.

Lessons in Geography for Little Learners. 1889.
1247351
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
#dcunited absolutely fell apart tonight. what was that?
000
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
A broadside on a procession of French Catholics, held in Utrecht during French occupation #otd 22 Aug 1673. Note the fleur-de-lys on the canopy over the Low Countries style monstrance.
0115
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Mikki Brock @mikkibrock.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
If an AI "clone" can do what you do, you are not in a serious discipline, and you should not teach at a university. And if you are an institution passing word-guessing simulations off as "educators" because you value profit over authentic learning, then you are not a university at all.
26027
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Charlemagne Albrecht Dürer, 1510. (Albertina, Vienna)
1245
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Arsenal FC @arsenalfc.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
SETTING THE STANDARD.
1137244
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Jonathan Healey @jonathanhealey.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Great to see Puritans writing the sports news.
1183
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Child practices viola, Harmen ter Borch, 1650 (Rijksmuseum)
083
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Very excited for the #arsenal match today --let's hope they bring some of that Community Shield energy and aggression. Seen starting predictions that don't include Calafiori in the XI - not sure why they wouldn't. MA is also now something of the old don of the PL, so hopefully they will be effective
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Looking forward to this (alas all the way in March), bachconsort.org/events/trio-... -- Not only are these works some of my absolute favourites (especially. BWV. 528, youtu.be/4TxQyLZXpzI), but Paula Maust is an amazing harpsichordist. Should be a terrific evening.
bachconsort.org
Trio Sonatas Transformed (2027) - Washington Bach Consort
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I’m late to the party, as usual, but this episode of Period Drama Debrief about Agatha Christie was just right for this evening. This is a great show hosted by my friend, teacher, and colleague Julie Taddeo and Catherine Byrne podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...
podcasts.apple.com
Adapting Agatha Christie
Podcast Episode · Period Drama Debrief · February 27 · 58m
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
substack.com/@vafer/note/... Some self-promotion as I slowly attempt to claw-back my summer writing backlog
substack.com
Dr. Jordan S. Sly (@vafer)
My writing queue grows ever longer. I am currently working on a presentation for the Folger Library Community Scholars meeting which will be Friday, August 28th at 4:30pm on Zoom (contact me if you’re...
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
www.folger.edu/blogs/collat...
folger.edu
Black Monday: the Great Solar Eclipse of 1652 | Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Jo...
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Very good review and what seems like fascinating/depressing new book that explains our era perhaps more than others
000
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I cannot wait to read this from the always excellent Ryrie
010
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
Dan Silverman @dmsilverman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
New study shows that — contra widely accepted narratives — there is NO EVIDENCE that professors change their students’ politics and make them more liberal through their teaching
61785451
Reposted by Jordan S. Sly
pmamtraveller.bsky.social @pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Bauhaus Milhaus
56103072124
Jordan S. Sly @jordanssly.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
12 yo having a friend bday party and I cannot understand a word of what they’re yelling at each other
000