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Dr. Michael Feagan

@mfeagan.bsky.social
379 followers 191 following 74 posts

He/him. I am a Canadian historian of technology currently holding a postdoc at UW-Madison's Center for Design and Material Culture where I research the design history of the typewriter.

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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Happy to announce that I've started a new Postdoctoral Fellowship with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Design and Material Culture.
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Contingent Magazine @contingent-mag.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
“. . . it’s not just that most academic writing doesn’t earn you anything—most of the time, it costs you.”
contingentmagazine.org
How Much Money Do Historians Make From Their Writing?
In general, academic writing doesn’t earn you anything, and most of the time, it costs you.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
I'm happy to say my article on telegraph schools in Canada and the United States was published by Historical Studies in Education. It's an honor to be published alongside such talented scholars. www.historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/ed...
historicalstudiesineducation.ca
"A Gilt-Edged Class of Trained Men": Telegraph Schools in Canada and the United States, 1870s-1920s | Historical Studies in Education / Revue d'histoire de l'éducation
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This is really worth your time if you're a nonfiction writer. Some good reminders of classic advice and some new tips too.
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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
There’s no such thing as the history of science (and this is a blog post about it) (inspired by a great 2017 article by Lorraine Daston) williamgpooley.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/t... 🗃️
williamgpooley.wordpress.com
There is no such thing as the history of science
People on the internet are arguing about what ‘science’ means and what properly belongs to the ‘history of science’. (Aparna Nair’s thread on Bluesky is a good introdu…
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Important read for those in higher ed. Since it's behind an account paywall: archive.ph/PHqyF
archive.ph
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
My first peer reviewed article has just been published! If you had told me 8 years ago my first article would be about a video game that's being released next year and Moby-Dick I'd not believe it. Its open access and can be read along with the whole issue here: reference-global.com/article/10.2...
reference-global.com
American, British and Canadian Studies
Volume 45 (2025): Issue 1 (December 2025)
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Dr. Jessica M. DeWitt @jessicamdewitt.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
-> @mfeagan.bsky.social mentioned his 2020 @nichecanada.bsky.social article in a comment on a video game YouTube video and it has been read 2,000+ times in the past month. Don't underestimate the potential of bringing up your work in non-academic spaces! #envhist #academia
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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
"The decision of what trees to plant on streets was a response to utility poles, and regulations managing utility poles were a response to street trees." - @mfeagan.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2020/07/16/e... #envhist #urbanhistory #energyhistory
niche-canada.org
Electric Trees: The Constructed Nature of Utility Poles and Street Trees
Telephone poles and street trees overlapped in nineteenth-century cities, contested between aesthetics, technology, and regulation, blurring natural and built environments.
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.
contingentmagazine.org
CFP: A Time of Monsters
The monster has been here all along. It is a historical constant that manifests in wildly different ways across time, place, and culture. Whatever form it takes, the monster claws at categories; it un...
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Any Austin @anyaustin.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
lots of good info in here about the U.S. electrical grid circa 1899 if you’re interested!
youtu.be
Do Red Dead Redemption 2's Power Lines Connect to Anything?
YouTube video by Any Austin
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Alan MacEachern @alanmaceachern.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis.
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American Historical Association @historians.org · 05/08/2025
The AHA has published Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education, offering a disciplinary approach to AI that focuses on the specific needs and challenges of history educators. 🗃️
historians.org
Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education
These 14 foundational principles are meant to assist educators and administrators in crafting AI policies suited to local circumstances and the specific needs of students.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
So happy and proud to have finally walked across the stage to receive my PhD. I couldn't have asked for more love and support from my parents and beautiful partner.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 07/05/2025
“Massive numbers of students are going to emerge from university with degrees, and into the workforce, who are essentially illiterate…Both in the literal sense and in the sense of being historically illiterate and having no knowledge of their own culture, much less anyone else’s.”
nymag.com
Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College
ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Happy Morse code day! Did you know when Morse code was originally patented it lacked codes for punctuation? Morse's collaborator Alfred Vail developed a system for punctuation in 1848. Using "STOP" as a period was rarely used for most of the 1800s. It only slowly became popular after WW1.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Yesterday I successfully defended my dissertation and am now Dr. Feagan. It still feels unreal and I'm taking time this weekend to process it and relax. I have received many lovely comments from friends, family, and colleagues and I just want to say that your support made my day.
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Department of History - Western University @westernuhistory.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Please join us in congratulating Michael Feagan on successfully defending his PhD thesis on 'The Gilt-Edged Class: American and Canadian Telegraphers' Bodies and Work. @mfeagan.bsky.social
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Department of History - Western University @westernuhistory.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Join us on Friday, March 14th at 10:00am to support PhD candidate, Michael Feagan at his public lecture. Michael will be speaking on, "'The Gilt-Edged Class: American and Canadian Telegraphers' Bodies and Work." The public lecture will be both in-person and via zoom. All are welcome!
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 20/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 19/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 18/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 17/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 16/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 15/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 14/20
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ben bradley @benbradleyca.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
history of technology, maintenance, and the kootenays all in one well-research blog post? the kütne reader on the history of the cpr's telegraph service along kootenay lake, when it used barges and sternwheelers rather than tracks and locomotives. #bchist #cdnhist www.kutnereader.com/post/maintai...
kutnereader.com
Maintaining the wire: The story of a forgotten telegraph line
Maintaining the telegraph service between Nelson and Kootenay Landing between 1898 and 1930 was not for the faint of heart.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 13/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 12/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 11/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 10/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 9/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 8/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 7/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 6/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 5/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 3/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 3/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 2/20
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 1/20
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
I love the irony: a cpl students mention using AI to summarize Postman — "If I was a little confused abt what one of the Postman questions was asking I found it helpful to put in the ? and ask for it to be re-worded or something... “For Postman I would have it help summarize and explain chapters..."
theimportantwork.substack.com
What are students using AI for?
And what do their answers suggest about what they need from us as teachers?
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
It's actually happening. It's been a measely manner of existence for the last six years but it's finally happening. It's also already at 135 pages by the end of Chapter 2 oof.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Me for the last six years.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Just submitted my intent to defend my dissertation form a couple days ago. Hard to believe I'll be submitting the dissertation in a month and defending early next year. I feel anxious like some kind of catastrophe is going to happen to delay it. Feels unreal.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
People of Bluesky. Let's get to know each other better. What is your favorite movie? Quote share your answer in gif form #filmsky 🎥
media.tenor.com
a man wearing a brown hat and a white shirt is standing in a crowd .
ALT: a man wearing a brown hat and a white shirt is standing in a crowd .
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
I think these starter packs are a great new feature. Here's one for Labour History. go.bsky.app/CUqdx9a
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Tina Adcock @tinaadcock.bsky.social · 09/11/2024
Scholars and students of Canada/northern North America! Here's a Canadian history starter pack. Please let me know if I've forgotten anyone! go.bsky.app/KVWtRgB
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