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Dr. Michael Feagan

@mfeagan.bsky.social
380 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 · 24/09/2026
The best version of this premise, just shelving things, that I've seen somewhat recently is Monk Took Book by SquarePlay Games. store.steampowered.com/app/4022090/...
store.steampowered.com
Monk Took Book on Steam
A game about organizing, stacking and remembering where you put hundreds of books in a cozy-creepy medieval library. Play solo or with up to three fellow monks.
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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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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I would personally fight this. 3-4 sentences of handwritten content is totally reasonable to expect in 5-10 minutes. Especially if it's just an opinion with no needed citations or research. But if they don't bend, my suggestion is do it anyways and just factor it into the participation grade.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
This is really cool. I'm a historian looking into the design history of typewriters and I never heard of these little word processors (computers?) despite living during the period when they were used. They do kind of look like digital typewriters.
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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'd describe it more like a long-distance Jane Austen novel.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Thanks, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Don't get me started on how prevalent telegraph romance stories were in the late 19th century among telegraphers.
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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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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
OK, I'd recommend Cynthia Falk (rural NY), Richard Plunz (NYC housing), Mike Wallace (general NYC history), Andrew Dolkart (NYC Architectural preservationist), and finally Kenneth T. Jackson and David Dunbar for their book Empire City. If you want more info for contact leads pls DM me.
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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
I hate to be the historian who asks a clarifying question but what do you mean by post-colonial decades? Do you mean after the War of Independence or do you mean to also include the period up to and including the American Revolution? I can check contacts to find good names to recommend.
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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 · 08/01/2026
The blue ribbon says "Here are our Top Five Most-Read Posts of 2024!" I'm sure it's meant to say 2025.
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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. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Thank you! I'm very excited to be sharing this research publicly. Those are some crazy numbers and better than I expected. As Ben said, I will also be presenting a talk on some expansions to this research Nov. 8 at the CSTHA conference.
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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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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Dissertation is accepted as a book by a publisher? Celebrate Book passes peer review? Celebrate Book gets published? Celebrate
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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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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Also famously disciplines like medicine or physics have never change their minds about how they categorize or think about a subject due to recent research. 🙄
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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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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
I'd also accept one of these bobble head gem crowns.
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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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Dr. Michael Feagan @mfeagan.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
You think they got AI to write that caption for them?
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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 · 17/03/2025
Thank you very much! It's no problem, it's not the first time I've been called Reagan. I saw your SLOCOM post recently and actually wanted to get in touch with you about it!
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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
Is this dream project at all like A Hand With Many Fingers? Because if so, I'd play it.
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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 · 01/02/2025
I'll be defending in a couple of months and I'm also feeling like it was not enough for me. I have done no academic publictions (which is a huge anxiety for me) but I did teach three seperate courses at seperate post-secondary institutions. Two of which were designed by me wholesale. It's silly.
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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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