iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

Revolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

“Y’all are going to need a bigger hospital.” Already burdened by petrochemical plants, Louisiana is facing a wave of gas-powered AI data centers—and their pollution. Dorothy Slater, an oncology nurse, writes for @dissentmag.bsky.social about nursing her patients at the frontier of AI buildout.

dissentmagazine.org

Death by Data Centers - Dissent Magazine

I’m an oncology nurse in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. My patients and I breathe the same polluted air, and we can’t afford the toxic exposure from the gas-fired plants set to power the state’s proposed A...

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I successfully defended my dissertation on Friday! Feels unreal. I'm so grateful for the incredible support I've had along the way. I'm a first-gen college student & Pell Grant recipient from rural Southeast Texas. Without Swarthmore, I never would have dreamed I could do this. I'm a Dr.!

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A Far-Right International Is Assaulting Democracy MAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism. Some thoughts from my new piece: 🧵

steady.page

A Far-Right International Is Assaulting Democracy

MAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It has often felt like I got tossed in a blender over the last few months: moving, finishing my dissertation, course prepping, my defense next week, and *fascism*. HOWEVER, experiencing my first Morehouse Convocation today was wonderful. I cried. The energy, the community, the feeling. I'm lucky.

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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This is yet another telling example of the Trump regime’s racism. There’s no pretense here of targeting criminals - the usual excuse for mass deportations. DHS is specifically encouraging Haitian “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave. Any decent society would value these people.

DHS encourages “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave with some sort of $3,000 payout, its naked racism.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I'm crowdsourcing suggestions. I'm a brand-new tenure-track professor at an SLAC and want to know how y'all are managing teaching, research, grading, reading in the field, and living. ALL OF IT. I've taught HS and CC full-time, but the research expectations, etc., on top of teaching are new.

static.klipy.com

Help Me Mug: Woman's Funny Cry for Help

ALT: Help Me Mug: Woman's Funny Cry for Help

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I defend my dissertation in two weeks and will embargo it. I always planned to, as it is an important way to protect your work as you revise for publication. Plus, it is not like the group harping on this will consider me a legit academic anyway b/c I'm Black/a woman/an Ivy Leaguer. I'm tired.

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Kathleen @kathleencarson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I just want to point out, this guy is still a full professor at Duke, despite multiple accusations of research fraud over the last 5 years, resulting in retractions of publications. His research topic: honesty and procrastination. And he was Epstein's friend and in the Epstein files >600 times.

dukechronicle.com

‘Insane data’: Duke professor Dan Ariely accused of additional research fraud

New evidence released Monday shows that Dan Ariely, professor of business administration in the Fuqua School of Business, likely tampered with or fabricated data in an influential research paper from ...

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Amy Stanley @astanley711.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What is the point of trying so hard to maintain your academic freedom if you’re going to abandon the entire educational enterprise, sacrifice the undergrads to the tech companies, and then light your reputation on fire?

thecrimson.com

Harvard Humanities Faculty Push Back on Deming’s Call for AI Use in Writing Courses | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard faculty in the humanities and social sciences expressed broad concern over an email Harvard College Dean David J. Deming sent students Wednesday suggesting that artificial intelligence be inte...

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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

They’ll keep telling us it’s inevitable but NYC and other large school systems are starting to say no to AI, recognizing it’s not a legitimate tool for k-12 learning. Even some universities are putting their foot down, like U Chicago (and some law schools) www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...

nyc.gov

Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels Put Students First with Nation’s Broadest Generative AI Moratorium in Schools

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Important to note that the University of Texas-Austin is also planning major cuts of at least 100 courses. Our (I'm a Texan) flagship universities are being gutted, and it is being sold to the gen. public as a way to earn a degree faster.

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Pastor Carl Ruby, of Springfield's Central Christian Church, can state the issue more clearly than 98% of people working in politics today.

"I wish President Trump could hear the mom's wails. The

family wants people to know that this was a suicide and they

want people to know that President Trump, (Stephen) Miller, and Markwayne Mullin's inhumane immigration policies made this happen," Ruby wrote.

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Now write the tandem piece about what is happening to public university funding & immigration policy in Canada, the UK, Germany, etc. These high-profile hirings are good headlines. The real story is no other country is coming to save higher ed & scientific research right now, including Canada.

ft.com

Canada poaches 48 US-based top academics

Trump administration’s assault on universities boosts Ottawa’s efforts to attract top research talent

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Volgograd to Stalingrad, then back to Volgograd. I've seen this movie before, but I was told it only happened in COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIPS. Sigh. (re: Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico).

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Tim Curry and Dolly Parton ON THE SAME DAY. That's enough! I need Patti LaBelle on 24/7 security.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I'm crying. Dolly changed the lives of millions of children and families. Beyond her music career (which also shaped the lives of millions), she helped to bring the gift and opportunities of literacy. True righteousness. THIS SUCKS.

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Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

Alex Zalben @azalben.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton, among a thousand other amazing things she did in her life, gifted over 330 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the world, but you can support the program today to keep it going imaginationlibrary.com

imaginationlibrary.com

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Dolly. Not Dolly. This hurts. She was an amazing example of how to be a good person and use money and fame for good. What a beautiful life she led.

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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 19/08/2026

Andrew Baker was also a “token black professor” at Bates College. But his perspective on the events Tyler Austin Harper recounts in his Atlantic cover story is very different. Read Baker’s side of the story online today. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...

newsletter.thedriftmag.com

Racism and labor at Bates: the other side of the story

Andrew Baker responds to Tyler Austin Harper

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Pack and listed my house, moved to GA, tons of issues & delays w/the movers, slept on an air mattress for 2 weeks, plumbing issues & basement flooding in my rental, all while finishing my dissertation & course prepping. What may break me is my bibliography b/c I did all my citations by hand...

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Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

Mallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 02/07/2026

The fact that this article from Associated Press in NPR doesn't mention that the original Lefebvrist tendency has had consistent decades long links to nazis and spreading antisemitic ideology really underplays what's gone on here.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Show trials. I don't know if most Americans realize how much work is needed to restore our institutions, investigate and punish the criminals, & restore trust in our institutions. Look at how people view the state and public institutions in former Soviet regions. A Dem Admin in 2028 isn't enough.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

So, remember how I asked whether Vance was a real Catholic, given that he knows nothing about the faith and didn't attend Catechism? Guess who he supports? THE SCHISMATICS. Also, good on Pope Leo for taking out the trash. They appointed fake bishops!!

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Reading about East German women applying for abortions to all-male panels, having to prove their circumstances, and how many were rejected despite the hardships pregnancy represented. I can see TX leaders doing this, though they yell that they hate socialism. It's about patriarchy and control.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Now, from what I understand, Vance never attended any adult Catholic catechism classes. So, how is he a Catholic? What does he know about the faith? What do I know? I just grew up Catholic: First Communion, Altar Server, Confirmation...wanted to be a nun until middle school.

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I am stunned that the constitutional question was so close. I thought it would be 6–3 or 7–2. It is profoundly disturbing that four justices would allow either the president or Congress to rewrite the plain text of the 14th Amendment. This is obviously a good outcome, but the margin is alarming.

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Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 29/06/2026

Elon Musk doesn't believe gutting USAID caused any deaths. He claims his DOGE team was unable to find kids the agency was helping. Well, here are some specific people he could talk to: parents whose kids are now dead, and kids who are now orphaned, thanks to him. www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-the-cu...

thebulwark.com

Yes, the Cuts to USAID Have Killed

Elon Musk dismisses the human toll of the Trump administration’s gutting U.S. foreign aid—but it’s real and it’s measurable.

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Reposted by Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

Jean Beaman @jean23bean.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Belated appreciation for another great @ces-europe.bsky.social conference! I organized two panels on Race and Racism in Europe/European studies @camillahawth.bsky.social @ksvarnon.bsky.social @chelsiwo.bsky.social @elisajoywhite.bsky.social Laura Westerveen and Taryn Marcelino

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Now, y'all told me that this level of party-state capture and control only happened in *Eastern European COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIPS*. Because, let this Soviet historian tell you, we've arrived, and there isn't any communism around here.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I am seeing the news coverage of Belfast, and I am reminded of the Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots in East Germany in the early 1990s. The precipitating event is different, but the destruction and racial targeting are not. Terrifying. www.dw.com/en/germany-r...

dw.com

Germany remembers 1992 anti-immigrant riots in Rostock

The Lichtenhagen district in Rostock became infamous in 1992 as the scene of a racist riot against the Vietnamese and Roma communities. Some Vietnamese survivors feel even more bitter now about the la...

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

He is simply propagating the same lies that Russia promoted for over a decade. Ted Cruz fell for the same when he posted about how "un-woke" Russia's army was. Russia is depending on national minorities, misled foreigners from the Global South, and men who didn't have bribe money to avoid the front.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Completely shocked and devastated. I've been following Dr. Pacheco-Vega since before I started graduate school. His posts on writing, productivity, and working to enjoy what we do as academics have kept me afloat. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Some of the most openly vile extremists are running against and beating the most devout Maga-ists in the TX GOP runoffs. The ads this cycle have been horrifying. The results are horrifying.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Idk if natl politics watchers know about Paxton like Texans do, but the man is vile. The impeachment (by the TX GOP), the affairs (and hooking the ladies up w/state $), and the latest scandal of helping a child abuser avoid serious time/no name on the offender registry. They still voted for him.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Saw the same ad while at the dentist's office last week, and every time I go to the gym. Roy is a fool, but Middleton makes him look like a Rhodes Scholar. This is not good for Texas (thank goodness it is just the GOP runoff...)

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Just feels appropriate to listen to Stankonia while drafting this last dissertation chapter...since I'm moving to the birthplace of two of my all-time favorite music groups: Outkast and Mastodon. (I contain multitudes, thank you).

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Something I've been working on since 2020 (and will get back to it once my dissertation is complete) is Russia's inversion of Soviet internationalism to court far-right and white supremacist groups from the US and Western Europe.

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Ukraїner in English @ukrainer-en.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon (@ksvarnon.bsky.social), an American scholar, talks about the growing connections between the American far right, ideas of whiteness, and the romanticization of Russia as a “traditional” white state.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I am happy to announce that I have accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in European History at Morehouse College. I am finishing my PhD a year earlier than planned, so I'll be defending in the early Fall. Now...to learn how to drive in Atlanta.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

I love how when I write or talk about Russia and the Soviet Union as an empire, people are like "but America is an empire!" Yeah, America is an empire too. We can critique and understand the imperial practices of both countries (it is one of the benefits of comparative history...).

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Lauren Donovan Ginsberg @laurenginsberg.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Sometimes I think it’s harder for ppl outside of academia to understand how many levels of review - how much scrutinizing by leaders in your field AND by non-field experts at every level of the university - a tenure case goes before it hits the board. /1

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

My guess is that the percentage of Americans who are aware that we are blockading and immiserating a neighboring country is in the single digits. Its not an invasion, but involves the use of American military force with the intent of collapsing the government.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Beyond the usual lying to the public and blatant disregard for any type of restriction on corruption, wanting to snorkel around hallowed ground as a VIP is just peak Ka$h.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I loved and needed this conversation! I've been in my dissertation cave long enough, and I've missed the opportunity to engage the public on the significance of Ukraine, Russia's imperial legacies, and the dynamics of race and racialization in Eastern Europe.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I'm just so tired. Watching and experiencing the long-term goal of the lost cause mythology come to fruition in real time is heavy. Historians have been ringing the alarm bells for decades. Coddling the traitors and their whitewashing of the Civil War still has consequences.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

This is bad, and a lot of Americans don't understand how their food reaches their table. War, mass deportations, the terrorizing of farm workers, and tariffs all equal an agricultural crisis. Now, the farmers who voted to support this mess are reaping the rewards, but so is everyone else.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

This has been on my mind since the ruling.

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NPR @npr.org · 30/04/2026

By weakening Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination in redistricting, the Supreme Court has paved the way for the largest-ever drop in representation by Black members of Congress. n.pr/4edJ5XA

n.pr

Supreme Court paves the way for largest-ever drop in Black representation in Congress

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Historians will note this is exactly what millions of Americans wanted, no matter the consequences: to retaliate against the country for electing a Black President by putting a huge racist in the White House who would constantly refer to every Black person he doesn't like as "low IQ."

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Thinking about the fact that my Daddy and all of his siblings did not have the right to vote until they were adults, and now he and his remaining brother (and the rest of our family) have the same political rights as he did in high school. Lord, have mercy.

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