iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I have a piece out today in The Daily Star (Bangladesh) on the special challenges of poison detection given cremation practices in colonial Bengal (drawing from my Open Access book, Fear of the False): www.thedailystar.net/slow-reads/f... #legalhistory

thedailystar.net

Poison and cremation: A forensic history of colonial Bengal

Forensic experts in colonial Bengal navigated planted poisons, cremation challenges, and racial biases to prevent wrongful convictions.

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Wonderful celebration of the scholarship, teaching, mentoring & friendship of three towering legal historians of Canada: Constance Backhouse, Philip Girard & Jim Phillips! Reimagining Justice, Toronto, 25-26 Sept 2026 #legalhistory

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Fantastic session of Making Connections last night, sponsored by @aslegalhist.bsky.social! The line that will stick with me, on writing books that took 1-2 decades, from Anna: "Will I finish this book, or will this book finish me??" True tenacity & stamina--congrats to you both on sticking with it!!

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Just finished the audiobook version of Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe. Absolutely riveting. Thanks to everyone here who recommended it when I asked earlier for readings on The Troubles, for my student. Now to watch: the show

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Check out Making Connections: New Works in Legal History virtual series (2026-27): aslh.net/virtual-book... New this year: some sessions will be at 6-7pm US Central Time while others will be at 12-1pm US CT--for those in different time zones around the world. #legalhistory @aslegalhist.bsky.social

aslh.net

Making Connections: New Works in Legal History | American Society for Legal History

Making Connections: New Works in Legal History Series Sponsored by the American Society for Legal History The ASLH Making Connections: New Works in Legal History Series aims to foster conversations an...

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I enjoyed my month of guestblogging @legalhistoryblog.bsky.social just now--with thanks to @kmtani.bsky.social for hosting! Here are my 4 posts in one place. All are about working on my forensics book from various angles: legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/than... #legalhistory

legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com

Thank You to Guest Blogger Mitra Sharafi!

We are so grateful to Professor Mitra Sharafi (University of Wisconsin, Madison) for coming back to the blog this past month and posting a ...

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Shannon McSheffrey @medievalmcsheff.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

EMPLOI!! Le Département d’histoire de l’Université d’Ottawa sollicite des candidatures pour un poste en histoire médiévale et/ou histoire transrégionale, 7e – 16e siècle. Français ou anglais, bilinguisme un atout. www.affairesuniversitaires.ca/trouver-un-e...

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Shannon McSheffrey @medievalmcsheff.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

JOB!! The Department of History at the University of Ottawa invites applications for a position in medieval and/or transregional history, 7th-16th centuries. French or English, bilingualism an asset. universityaffairs.ca/search-jobs/...

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

CFP: Rethinking Pakistan through Legal History (Karachi, 18-19 Dec. 2026)--applications are due by 30 Sept. 2026: legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/cfp-... #legalhistory

legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Just registered for the 2026 ASLH Conference. If you need someone to chair a panel, let me know. I'd be happy to help out! @aslegalhist.bsky.social #legalhistory

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Exciting conference news for the summer after next: the next Legal Histories of Empire conference (V) will be at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru, July 13-15, *2028.* Save the date: lhbe.org #legalhistory

lhbe.org

Legal Histories of Empire

scholarship - legal history - empire - conference - 2021

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

One striking pattern I've noticed with my undergrads in their choice of research projects over the years, based on the list of historical digitized newspapers I give them: the socialist newspapers have become very popular choices. They were all picked up last spring, whereas they never used to be.

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The deadline is just around the corner for this--Aug.31 👇

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Karen Tani @kmtani.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Over at @legalhistoryblog.bsky.social: @mitrasharafi.bsky.social on "designing a course to get yourself in shape for your next book project" --

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The draft program is now out for the upcoming ASLH conference in Banff (Nov.12-14, 2026): aslh.net/wp-content/u... #legalhistory

aslh.net

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Patricia Tilburg @proftilburg.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Come work with me! My department (History at Davidson College) is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Middle Eastern history, broadly defined to include North Africa, West Asia, and the Islamic World. Please help spread the word. fa-exci-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

fa-exci-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com

Assistant Professor of History

Assistant Professor in Middle Eastern history, broadly defined to include North Africa, West Asia, and the Islamic World

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Uttara @uttara.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Rest in peace Sumit Sarkar, one of the greatest historians of modern India.

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The deadline for ASLH Projects & Proposals applications is now extended to Oct.1, 2026. It's unusual (and great) for a scholarly society to offer these small grants! Please spread the word and/or consider applying: aslh.net/award/projec... @elizabethdkatz.bsky.social

aslh.net

Projects and Proposals Funding | American Society for Legal History

The Projects and Proposals Committee of the American Society for Legal History invites proposals for the funding of new initiatives in the study, presentation, and production of legal historical schol...

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The letter requests I'm getting from students are increasingly alike, I assume because everyone is using AI. Students seem unaware of how damaging this is. It makes me less likely to say yes! Now I tell them that a short e-mail that they actually wrote themselves will go much further.

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

A South Asian edition of my book is now out with Manohar Books: Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia: share.google/GyQAHwpnQUwB... This version is hard cover. The Open Access e-book is available on the Cornell UP website. #legalhistory

share.google

Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia by Mitra Sharafi , Manohar Books

Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia by Mitra Sharafi ISBN - 9788169779999

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

New Books Network podcast now out with @saumyadadoo.bsky.social on my new book: Mitra Sharafi, "Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia" (Cornell UP, 2026) - New Books Network share.google/OCQqe8gmR6vh... @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social #legalhistory

share.google

Mitra Sharafi, "Fear of the False: Forensic Science and the Law of Crime in Colonial South Asia" (Cornell UP, 2026) - New Books Network

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Had to go to the rainforests of Borneo for this

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Orangutan in the wild! Amazing couple of days in Malaysian Borneo, on my way to the Asian Legal History Conference in Melaka

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

South Asia historians should apply:

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Call for All Souls postdoc in Law could mean legal history: 5 years (!). Applications due Sept.4, 2026 👇

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University of Wisconsin Law School @law.wisc.edu · 01/07/2026

Across different geographies, time periods and legal fields, the work of Sumudu Atapattu, Alexandra Huneeus, Heinz Klug and @mitrasharafi.bsky.social shares a common goal: to examine law in action. We spoke with all four about their recently published or forthcoming works: buff.ly/t7Aaeye.

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

From the one and only Dirk Hartog: "You should always start writing before you think you're ready." Hard to do, but such good advice. Lodged in my head for the past 20+ years!

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I was gutted to stop assigning research papers in my undergrad courses. I just don't think we can do it in the age of AI. But I've been really happy with the new thing I'm doing instead, which combines digitized historical newspapers + presentation + mini-viva: salh.law.wisc.edu/2026/06/18/p...

salh.law.wisc.edu

Presentations not papers for teaching

I’ve given up trying to assign undergraduate research papers in the age of AI. The misconduct approach–assigning papers and trying to catch AI use–does not seem to be working. However, I am happy with...

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Kenneth F. Duggan 🇨🇦 @kfduggan.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Who's going to the ASLH Conference in Banff this year? I'm not giving a paper (alas, my proposal was rejected) but I plan to be there. #legalhistory @aslegalhist.bsky.social Check here for the conference details: aslh.net/conference/2...

static.klipy.com

Moira Rose: Won't You Join Me? (Schitt's Creek)

ALT: Moira Rose: Won't You Join Me? (Schitt's Creek)

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Crystal Fleming クリスタル @alwaystheself.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I'm attending a digital humanities event in Montreal. There was a keynote on AI and something about the talk made me wonder if it had been written by Claude. I said as much in the Q&A. As I posed the question, the speaker shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable. What he said next shocked the room +

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Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Sad to learn of passing of eminent historian Carlo Ginzburg; his "The Cheese and the Worms" is one of the books that had the most impact on me as a grad student, as the writing is lively & builds insight from small, carefully observed details of the historical record en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Che...

Cover of book by Carlo Ginzburg, "The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller"

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

My latest book cakes, for our two new books on the block! Chocolate ganache icing for my friend & neighbor Laura McClure's cake & cream cheese icing flavored with freeze-dried cherries for mine. (FYI: Jessica of SweetSugarTops on Etsy has an icing printer for all your edible book cover needs.)

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Q for scholars of the Dutch empire & decolonization: a friend's father spent the 1950s in Papua New Guinea where he recorded the last stages of Dutch rule. Would any institutions or scholars be interested in several hours of film footage, once digitized? Looking for a good home for these materials.

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

For early career scholars working on legal history topics: please consider applying for the Virtual Early Career Legal History Workshop for AY2026-27, led by ASLH past president Barbara Welke. Applications are due June 30, 2026: aslh.net/award/virtua... #legalhistory @aslegalhist.bsky.social

aslh.net

Virtual Early Career Legal History Workshop | American Society for Legal History

ASLH Early Career (Virtual) Legal History Workshop Deadline for Applications: June 30, 2026 The American Society for Legal History (ASLH) Early Career (Virtual) Legal History Workshop is designed to p...

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Stair Society @stairsociety.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Other papers at the conference include topics such as: Scots lawyers during the Enlightenment, the Scottish Justiciary Court during the 17th century, and solatium (a Scottish remedy, namely damages for non-pecuniary harm). See the link above to access the draft programme for BLHC 2026,

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Stair Society @stairsociety.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The British Legal History Conference will be taking place this summer in Nottingham. Scottish legal history will be well represented at the conference, with Society Vice President Hector MacQueen presenting a keynote lecture.

nottingham.ac.uk

British Legal History Conference 2026 - The University of Nottingham

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Podcast just out on my new book, Fear of the False, covering everything from planted animal blood and archival research to AI (of course) and public mistrust of science: open.spotify.com/episode/44yI... Always such a pleasure to chat with my UW Law Library colleague Kristopher Turner! #legalhistory

open.spotify.com

Episode 46: Professor Mitra Sharafi discusses Fear of the False, her new book about colonial South Asia's critical role in the development of forensic science

Law in Action: A UW Law School Podcast · Episode

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Legal historians: please consider applying for the ASLH Virtual Working Group program for AY2026-27. These are themed (last year: consent, environmental, radical legal advocacy)+could be for a 2nd book ms group. Proposals due June 30, 2026: aslh.net/virtual-work... @aslegalhist.bsky.social

aslh.net

Virtual Working Groups, 2026-2027 | American Society for Legal History

ASLH Themed Virtual Legal History Workshop Deadline for Applications: June 30, 2026 The ASLH invites applications for Themed Virtual Legal History Workshops. The goal of the Themed Virtual LHWs is to ...

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Mitra Sharafi @mitrasharafi.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

The American Society for Legal History has started an account here: @aslegalhist.bsky.social Welcome to Bluesky! #legalhistory

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