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James Baker

@jwbaker.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.1K following 585 posts

Professor of Digital Humanities · University of Southampton · Programming Historian · Historian of various things · Likes watching football and cycling · He/Him · Born at 342 ppm · #COYW

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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 11h
October/November are my favourite gig months, and this year is no exception: Man/Woman/Chainsaw (with Bathing Suits!), Theatre, UGLY, Heartbroken Festival, Anna von Hausswolff, Jesca Hoop.
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Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just helping with editing here. These bots aren’t sentient. They’re doing what they’re programmed to do. OpenAI, a private company supposedly bound by laws, committed federal crimes.
Screenshot of BBC article: OpenAI bots (struck through) meddled with multiple US government agency sites
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Kasia and Demi is a fabulous rivalry.
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Programming Historian @proghist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Just published! A new lesson by Kiran Mohammadi-Williams: doi.org/10.46430/phen0135 Thanks to @winnieepm.bsky.social and John P.T. Moore for their reviews, and to @semantic-noodles.bsky.social + @alexwermercolan.bsky.social for editing.
doi.org
Creating and Hosting Basic IIIF Images and Manifests Using GitHub
This lesson demonstrates how to display and share image files on the web using the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) and Github Pages. After explaining how to create and host...
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Sarah Elizabeth Cox @oispooky.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
2yrs after I finished my MA History at Goldsmiths, my research rights were bought and I was hired to work as historical consultant on this TV show. It's had BAFTA and International Emmy nominations. I got a book deal, too. Goldsmiths: "No point in MA History, let's fire everyone and delete it."
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Lucy Barnes @alittleroad.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
OBP is 18! We are officially publishing adults! But -- are we sustainable yet...? 🤪 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Back in 2020 I built this cradledincaricature.com/2020/06/18/m... using GPT2 and cloud compute. simGeorge - as I like to call it - worked, just, sometimes. Today I built simGeorge again on my MacBook Air with a small model and no cloud compute. It is remarkably good. Viva local LLMs!
cradledincaricature.com
A machine that writes like Mary Dorothy George
Image: Mary Dorothy George, by Howard Coster, bromide print, © National Portrait Gallery, London, CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 In recent years I’ve been researching histories of knowledge organisation. Although…
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
On research leave. Going through the "this is all bollocks/futile" phase of non-applied research. Send help* *Amusing duck gifs suffice.
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Programming Historian @proghist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
🗣️ Appel à évaluateurs·ices Notre revue francophone recherche des expert·es pour évaluer nos leçons en 2026-2027. En savoir plus : tinyurl.com/aae-2026-info Exprimez votre intérêt : tinyurl.com/fr-ph-evaluation
Lecture de l'infographie: Appel à évaluateurs·ices, méthodes numériques pour les sciences humaines et sociales, programminghistorian.org
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
'Brighton informed its University and College Union (UCU) branch on Monday (14 September) that it intends to terminate its current trade union recognition agreement and all collective agreements on terms and conditions from next June.'
timeshighereducation.com
Brighton looks to redraw trade union agreements and close campus
UCU and UNISON warn changes to trade union agreements could lead to unions being derecognised
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is utterly idiotic. We don't know what skills future workforces will need. We do know that will change & that students perform best if they study something they're actually interested in. And for the pig-ignorant in the back row, fewer than 50% of STEM graduates ever go into STEM employment.
theguardian.com
Can you futureproof your career by choosing an AI-resistant degree?
Humans will have to compete with AI-powered virtual employees in the near future. Here are our tips for the last human holdouts
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Yes, newspapers' "Good University" guides are deeply problematic and pernicious. But they're also a real reminder of a key strength of the current UK HE system: the distribution of excellence across the full range of institutions and places.
theguardian.com
The Guardian University Guide 2027 – the rankings
Find a course at one of the top universities in the country
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Enric Mas reminding us all that he is a very good bike rider (and even attacking) is the feel good story of the summer.
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Craig Lambert @medievalmariner.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I’m recruiting a Research Fellow in Early Modern Spanish Maritime History to join our ERC-funded Uncharted Maritime Worlds project at the University of Southampton. Please share with anyone who might be interested! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSW249/r...
jobs.ac.uk
Research Fellow (Early Modern Spanish Maritime History) 3497426AR at University of Southampton
An opportunity for an academic position as a Research Fellow (Early Modern Spanish Maritime History) 3497426AR is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openi...
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IPCC @ipcc.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
#NowReading New report from UNEP: 'Limiting Overshoot, Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards return’ Details ⬇️
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I hope those attending DH Congress have a good week. I was scheduled to give one of the keynotes, but then withdrew due to the UCU boycott. You can learn more about the boycott here www.ucu.org.uk/article/1453... and donate to @sheffielducu.bsky.social here ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/hardship-fund/.
ucu.org.uk
Global academic boycott imposed on University of Sheffield over job cuts & pay docking
The University of Sheffield has just been hit with the ultimate sanction of a global academic boycott by the biggest higher education union in the UK.
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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Germany, 2026. A far-right politician calling for the mass deportation of 20 million people, to loud applause. A clear call for mass violence.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Today I made rice with a rice cooker* for the first time. I now understand why rice cookers are popular. Better late than never etc. *donated to us by a family friend who has moved away.
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UCU Commons @ucucommons.org · 25/08/2026
Attention, #UCU! There's 2 casual vacancy elections underway in which all HE members can vote. Our recommendations are: UK elected rep: Madeleine Moore 1, Tilia Lenz 2 Women's rep (FE): Helen Kelsall 1 More: ucucommons.org/madeleine/ Please vote in all categories on your ballot paper!
ucucommons.org
Casual NEC vacancies
Casual NEC vacancies UK-elected member (HE) UCU Commons is delighted that our member Madeleine Moore (Loughborough University) is standing for the current casual vacancy (UK-elected membe...
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The Box in Plymouth is just bloody brilliant. Full of sensitive interpretation, curious juxtaposition, clever architectural choices, and urgency. Best museum+ I've been to in ages.
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Tim Hitchcock @timhitchcock.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
No More Muddling Through generativehistory.substack.com/p/no-more-mu...
generativehistory.substack.com
No More Muddling Through
Why the détente between students and professors over AI will end in 2026.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Fascinating and sobering essay by William Davies on NEETs: "The picture that emerges is of a generation that is suffering both social and neurological dysregulation, and struggling to stay in sync with society at large, including education and the labour market". www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
William Davies · Young People Are Different: What do Neets need?
Those who look for the cause of today’s resurgence of Neets in a more recent global shock, the Covid pandemic, need to...
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Based on the first 25 minutes of this game it seems my feelings whilst watching Fulham season are going to lurch between exhilaration and terror.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
"Our League" resumes. My beloved Fulham are among those tipped for relegation. Whilst it is only football (not life or death etc) I certainly feel trepidation. In a season of so much churn, with Marco mid-table obscurity would be a fair prediction. Without Marco, who knows.
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Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"One of his fellow professors at Cambridge, a historian, who is white, was reported by the FT to have been found to have copied more than 12 pages of an undergraduate’s work. He is still in post — fittingly for the social sciences, this is an experiment with a control." By @stephenkb.bsky.social:
ft.com
The difficult truth about Jason Arday
From the beginning, investigations were accompanied by a cloud of excessive references to his race
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
What's worth seeing/doing in the Dartmoor area?
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
"The cage does not always have bars" blackculturalarchives.org/news/stateme...
blackculturalarchives.org
Statement on The Tragic Death of Professor Jason Arday — Black Cultural Archives
Saturday August 15th, 2026 BCA Statement on The Tragic Death of Professor Jason Arday “The whole community at the Black Cultural Archives sends deepest condolences to the family, friends and loved o...
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Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 15/08/2026
We are writing to the Prime Minister, and the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, calling for an immediate public inquiry into the British press, following the tragic death of Jason Arday. Sign here 👇
goodlaw.social
Jason Arday Letter | Good Law Project
Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
White Cube at Claydon House is a terrific way to spend a Sunday www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxford...
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Dr Zubaida Haque @zubhaque.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Well said by Mayor Sadiq Khan on tragic death of #JasonArday: Arday faced "an unacceptable public hounding and campaign of abuse…He was a victim of a pernicious public shaming that other people in his position simply wouldn't have faced" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Tributes paid to Jason Arday after ex-Cambridge professor found dead
His family said they were "in shock" to have lost him, adding a "campaign of misinformation" had been too much.
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Or, in fact, not really a news story at all. I don’t believe at all that this was nationally important and certainly not “third on the BBC 6 o’clock news” important as a story. Cofnas started all of this because he’s a racist and the media ran with it.
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I hope every person who made the editorial decisions around this story has a long, hard look in the mirror, and then resigns.
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Lewis Wade 🗃️ @wadehistory.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
No words. Simply, utterly terrible news.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Even when off work I encounter work like things (probably my fault for going to an art gallery): here Averbury related art (part of AHRC funded research) on display at Southampton City Art Gallery. Love the use of point cloud data. www.aveburypapers.org
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Academics in my feed: do you train? And if so, what and why? For years I've mostly swum (short Achilles tendons mean running is too risky) and played squash. But I've got into spinning over the last year: knackering.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Very much enjoyed the #TDFF2026. Demi and Kasia is the kind of rivalry that makes bike racing. And this time, Demi was better.
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robyn @robynemz.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
DEMI VOLLERING WINS THE 2026 TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AND BECOMES THE FIRST REPEAT WINNER !!!!! #TDFF2026
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Out of office on. Work related notifications off. A few weeks of proper leave begins.
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Chrissy Marshall-Bell @cmbreports.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
No one ever believes Kasia can do it, until she does it. If Vollering is the rider of her generation; Kasia is the fighter. Remarkable performance, again, from the Pole. She always provides drama and excitement.
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
KASIA!
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
‘Not again; they’ve told you twice they don’t want you'. As someone whose partner is also Dutch, solidarity Andy www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham reveals wife’s reaction to third Labour leadership bid
Burnham said his wife, Marie-France van Heel, took some persuading after he ran and lost in contests in 2010 and 2015
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Well, what do I know. Apart from that I should always believe in Kasia. And never underestimate Demi.
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Lucy Delap @lucydelap.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Great discussion at the 'crisis in UK history' meeting hosted by @ihr.bsky.social, @royalhistsoc.org, @histassoc.bsky.social and History UK. Horror stories of closures and redundancies, balanced by new resources. Check out for ex. the new Independent Historians Network independenthistorians.org
independenthistorians.org
Independent Historians Network
The place for independent and freelance historians to connect
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of people at this meeting.
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Claire Langhamer @clairelanghamer.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Love this
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The Tour de France Femmes starts today and as ever I'll be cheering for Kasia Niewiadoma (though if I had to guess, my pick for 🟨 would be Paula Blasi or Anna van der Breggen, depending on how the Stage 4 TT goes)
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Anonymous GitHub is a remarkable, brilliant thing anonymous.4open.science
anonymous.4open.science
Anonymous Github
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James Baker @jwbaker.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Looks like my 'AI Utopias and the Climate Crisis' module (reworked from this sas-dhrh.github.io/dhcc-toolkit... in response to student interests) is full next year. Pleased about that. The kids are alright etc.
sas-dhrh.github.io
Teaching
Teaching # Workshops # The Digital Sustainability Game # This is a card-based game, loosely based on the contents of the DHCC Toolkit. A guide to running a DHCC Workshop based on the Sustainability Ca...
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AlanFricker @alanfricker.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
New CILIP website is a mess of AI slop images. Check out the images of senior professionals and try and imagine the prompt that generated them. All backed by walls of fake books that look like the ones sold by the yard to furnish pubs www.cilip.org.uk/learn-develo...
cilip.org.uk
Chartered Fellowship - FCLIP
A mark of highest distinction and visionary leadership. You’ve shaped the profession. Now, join its most prestigious ranks. Fellowship (FCLIP) is the highest level of professional registration awarde...
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