iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Niko Kontovas

Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 18/06/2026

To celebrate #PrideMonth 2026 🌈 we are looking into past examples of expressions of LGBTQ+ love. Nicholas Kontovas, Bodleian Curator for Central Asia, puts the spotlight on the poetic works of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, who ruled the Timurid Empire at the turn of the 15th century. bit.ly/3Sfs7Pz

youtube.com

Pride in Timurid Empire

YouTube video by Bodleian Libraries

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波鴻漫錄 || Sven Osterkamp @schrift-sprache.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Newly digitized @gallicabnf.bsky.social: 🙏 [trilingual ms. dictionary French-Manchu-Chinese, ca. mid-18th c.] @ gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/b... (BnF, Mandchou 280)

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Channeling my best David Attenborough to introduce one of the many wonderful items in our #Treasured exhibition, currently running until 26 October in the ST Lee Gallery of the Weston Library in #Oxford. Come visit to see this manuscript and more!

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

#Teachers! We're developing a schools programme, based on our research, aimed at 11-18 year-olds, and would love your input! Do you teach #silkroads, the #middleeast, or want help adding more diverse topics to your #curriculum? Take & share our survey: forms.office.com/e/bV8bQW63wd #history #edusky

forms.office.com

Microsoft Forms

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

TOMORROW! Don't forget to book your free ticket for the 'Invisible Treasures' hybrid film screening and panel discussion. The event will explore the ethical and practical challenges facing scholars and heritage institutions today: ticketsource.co.uk/invisible-east #heritage #history #provenance

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Sorry for the negativity, but: Another career opportunity missed in the UK because I am a foreigner. @ox.ac.uk needs to make clear when they hire people that their interpretation of UK visa regulations means there will be slews of things foreigners are ineligible for.

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Nicolas Atas @zoxe.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

If you want to listen to me speak about Turoyo Neo-Aramaic for about 20 min in English, listen to this podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

podcasts.apple.com

Turoyo language (with Nicolas Atas)

Podcast Episode · GAZE ܓܰܙܶܐ̈ – The Treasures of Syriac · 06/26/2025 · 22m

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Ishaan Tharoor @ishaantharoor.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

A lot of bangers recently on the old bird site

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Tekin'in 1989'da yayımlanan Erdem 5.13'teki yazısında Ramstedt'in 1917'de çıkan Türk dillerinin yeni tasnifini ortaya koyduğu bir makalesinden bahsediyor ancak kaynak bölümü pdf'ye dahil edilmediği için başlığını hiçbir yerde bulamıyorum. Ehl-i ilm arasında bu makaleyi bilen var mı acep? #Türkoloji

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Today on "Things that get my goat": Digital archives of print journals that only post the articles and NOT the bibliographies. It's great that Ramstedt (1917) is so important. Sadly, it is not important enough to be easily retrievable over a century later without, oh, I dunno, a TITLE! </rant>

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

No friends in #Oxford can escape my shameless promotion of our TREASURED #exhibition! 😈 Seriously, though, follow my former @unileiden.bsky.social partner in crime @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social for more on #African #linguistics, especially #syntax and language change!

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Evangelia Adamou 🦋 @evangelia.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Our database of the Atlas of the Balkan Linguistic Area is now available online! #linguistics abla.cnrs.fr/features/ abla.cnrs.fr/features/

abla.cnrs.fr

ABLA

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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 20/06/2025

In celebration of Pride month we hosted a Show and Tell for students. 'How LGBTQ+ People’s Lives are Reflected in Bodleian Collections' featured an array of archival items from 1777 - 2017. Please check ALT text for more info! #Pride #LGBTQHistory

An engraved portrait of La Chevalier d'Éon de Beaumont depicted in female dress, wearing their Croix de St Louis.

‘Mademoiselle de Beaumont, or the Chevalier D'Eon’, Sep 1777. Source: London Magazine

Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont (1728 – 1810), usually known as the Chevalier d'Éon, was a French diplomat, spy and soldier who lived as a woman from 1777. John Johnson Collections, Humans 4 (20)

An engraved portrait of Mary Anne Talbot, pictured on a flyer. Talbot is wearing male dress including a shirt, neckerchief and jacket above a caption stating their name 'Mary Anne Talbot otherwise John Taylor. Foot Boy, Dummer, Sailor'.
Mary Anne Talbot, otherwise John Taylor, 1804. Source: Kirby’s Wonderful Museum

Mary Anne Talbot, also known as John Taylor (1778 –1808), was an English woman who wore male dress and became a soldier, sailor and drummer during the French Revolutionary Wars. John Johnson Collection, Humans 4 (33b)

Another engraving, this time coloured, showing a domestic scene between a woman and a man. The woman, in a pink dress, yellow scarf, apron,a nd bonnet, has been captioned 'Abigail Mary Allen. Pretended Wife of James Allen'. The man she is talking to, who wears a brown jacket, blue trousers, and a red waistcoat whilst holding a black hat in his hand is captioned 'James Allen. The Female Husband'

A typewritten flyer advertising a term of events organised by the Oxford Students Gaysoc for Michaelmas 1983.

Events include a fresher's party, discussion on 'Gay Life in Oxford' (a talk by Alan Gray, author of 'Homosexuality in Renaissance England', on 'Recovering the gay past') and 'Peter Tatchell, controversial parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey, will talk on 'Gays and Socialism, in the Damson Room, Trinity College, at 8.30pm'.

At the bottom of the flyer a graphic of two men with serious expressions, one with his arms around the other both looking directly at the viewer.

Oxford Students GaySoc Michaelmas ‘83 flyer.

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Reposted by Niko Kontovas

Oxford Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford @lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk · 13/06/2025

FREE EVENT: Join @invisibleeast.bsky.social on 1 July for a screening of the short film 'Striking Gold: The Discovery of Medieval Documents' from Afghanistan & a panel discussion on the ethical and practical challenges facing scholars and heritage institutions today! 🔗Find out more: buff.ly/Chesgy1

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

The TREASURED programming doesn't stop @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social! You've seen @invisibleeast.bsky.social's contribution to our exhibit; now come learn more about their important work protecting and promoting #manuscript #heritage in #Afghanistan on 1 Jul. visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/jul25/...

visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Invisible Treasures

A screening of the short film 'Striking Gold: The Discovery of Medieval Documents from Afghanistan' and a panel discussion

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Colleen T @librarycolleen.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

This is an incredible collection that needs just the right person. #lisjobs #classics careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...

careers.umich.edu

Curator, Papyrology Collection | U-M Careers

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Library of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Some #Pride history held at the Library: A year after the 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn & subsequent protests, NYC's first Pride march was held to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising. All 12 minutes of footage from the Lilli M. Vincenz Collection. 👇 www.loc.gov/item/2024603...

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Join us for a film screening & panel discussion on the ethical and practical challenges facing scholars and heritage institutions today. Registration is essential via bit.ly/InvisibleTreasures Information on hybrid access will follow. #invisibletreasures #heritage #skystorian #provenance

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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 10/06/2025

Call for Papers! Peregrinations of Plenipotentiaries, Pilgrims, Peddlers, Pedagogues, Poets, and Painters: Literary Exchanges between Ottoman Anatolia and Inner Asia for a two-day workshop held in the University of Oxford, 16-17 April 2026.

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Prof. Elaine Chalus @profelainechalus.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Teaching Associate University of Sheffield - School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities #skystorians 🗃️www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNJ385/t...

jobs.ac.uk

Teaching Associate at University of Sheffield

Looking for a new job opportunity in academia? Check out this job opening for a Teaching Associate on jobs.ac.uk!

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NorseInCork @norseincork.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

♦️ Job opportunity at UCC! ♦️ 5-year Lecturer in Old English position, commencing in September. This will be a great opportunity for someone to join a thriving department, and to really put their own mark on the discipline. Please share widely! www.ucc.ie/en/future-hu...

ucc.ie

Lecturer in Old English | University College Cork

UCC wishes to appoint a scholar with a proven commitment to excellence in teaching and research to the role of Lecturer in Old English.

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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

The amazing @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social Treasured exhibition has everything, from incredible manuscripts to sweet personal keepsakes! And a fantastic opening night with a talk by Stephen Fry! 📜🎉

Psalter (MS. Douce 59) + Japanese Buddhist Scroll Set (MS. Ind. Inst. Misc. 31/6 + 25/1)

Photographic portraits of a man with his dog (MS. 23892/1/1)

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Maarten Kossmann @maartenkossmann.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Bsky hive mind Does anybody have an idea what script this could be? It is 9 separate graffiti from the castrum at Bu Njem (Libya), same place where the Latinopunic ostraca were found ; 3rd C. CE.

9 grafitti from Bu Njem in an unknown alphabet. Source: René Rebuffat: Le libyque de Bu Njem en Libye. In: M'hamed Hassine Fantar & Ahmed Siraj, eds. 2004. Débuts de l'écriture au Maghreb. Casablanca: Fondation du Roi Abdul-Aziz Al Saoud. Pp.55-84. The photograph is from p. 78

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Jan Süselbeck @jansueselbeck.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Im UK werden weiter fröhlich Departments oder Sections of German geschlossen. #Brexit sucks! Please sign this protest note on behalf of colleagues at Bangor University. 🙏 www.change.org/p/stop-cuts-...

change.org

Sign the Petition

Stop cuts to Modern Languages at Bangor University

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Safaitic @safaitic.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

The pre-Islamic script from Dhofar was undeciphered and therefore there are no inscriptions of this type in #OCIANA. Now we have the decipherment of the main variant of the Dhofari alphabet: t.co/ngtzPB9ZPz

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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 05/06/2025

Our new exhibition 'Treasured' opens TOMORROW! What makes a treasure? Is it age, rarity, beauty – or something else? Treasured invites you to explore the meaning of value itself through some of the world’s most remarkable books and manuscripts. More info: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/treasu...

A promotional poster advertising a free Exhibition called 'Treasured' at the Bodleian Libraries. The exhibition dates are listed in white text as 6 June - 26 October 2025. Above this texts are two pink, winged elephants parading across a forest green background below gold block lettering showing the exhibition title: TREASURED.

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

My first co-curated exhibit opens this evening @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social! TREASURED is a treasures exhibition that questions the very notion. It's also the first at the #Bodleian with around 50% non-Western material. Those in #Oxford can visit starting tomorrow, 6 June. And it's free!

a green exhibition poster with pink elephants that reads TREASURED in big gold letters

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Mehmet hocamızın artık Bluesky hesabı da var! 🎉 Özellikle #Türkçe #etimoloji veya Eski #Uygur dili ve edebiyatına ilgli duyanlar bu konulardaki tespit ve fikirleri için mutlaka takip etmeliler kendisini.

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Sometimes I get down on myself thinking that identity and language choice can't possibly be as intertwined as research implies because no one is that conscious of sociolinguistic indexicality IRL. And then life reminds me how wrong that doubt is with gems like this.

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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

“Why are you so angry about this merger of the Schools, even though it doesn’t offer any solution to any of the problems, Liesbeth? Surely, the worst it does is wasting time of people who could otherwise be coming up with actual solutions?” Nussbaum’s assessment of the state of UKHE in 2010 is 😬

Paragraph from Not For Profit by Martha Nussbaum, page 128

Where departments are not closed, they are often merged these days with other units whose contribution to profit is more obvious — thus putting pressure on the merged discipline to emphasise those parts or its own scope that lie closer to profit, or can be made to seem to. When, for example, philosophy is merged with political science, it puts pressure won philosophy to focus on highly applied and “useful” areas, such as business ethics, rather than the study of Plato, or skills of logic and critical thinking, or reflections about the meaning of life — which might ultimately be more valuable in young people’s attempts to understand themselves and their world. “Impact” is the buzzword of the day, and by “impact” the government clearly means above all economic impact.

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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

In case of interest, colleagues in the fantastic @ox.ac.uk Dept for Continuing Education are advertising a FT permanent post in the art of the Global South in early modern/modern art and material culture! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNI408/d...

jobs.ac.uk

Departmental Lecturer at University of Oxford

Apply now for the Departmental Lecturer role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

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Radcliffe Science Library @radcliffescilib.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

This month we're highlighting @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social‬ list of LGBTQ+ resources. The list is updated regularly with new titles. Learn about LGBT+ people in history and society from autobiographies to fiction. 🔗 go.glam.ox.ac.uk/LGBT+ Happy Pride Month!🏳️‍🌈 #ResourceOfTheMonth

Photograph of Intersex Inclusive Progress Pride Flag

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Niko Kontovas @nikokontovas.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

I can tell you now that not a single one of my US colleagues will consider a job offer in the UK once they do a bit of research. Even those who could stomach the low salaries and high cost of living will politely decline when told they have to pay the exorbitant immigration fees.

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Colleen Curran @ccurran.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

New, fully funded PhD studentship in the Department of Classics at the University of Galway is now available

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Adrienne Williams Boyarin @aboyarin.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Publication day! My new article in ASCHKENAS has appeared: "The Mother Tongues of Medieval English Jews"—ever wondered if the Jews of medieval England might have spoken English? This article's for you, #medievalsky. Check it out: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

degruyterbrill.com

The Mother Tongues of Medieval English Jews

Scholars of Anglo-Jewish history have traditionally described medieval English Jews as French-speaking, and there is strong and varied evidence of their facility with French, as well as with Hebrew, A...

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

New #documents are coming soon on the Invisible East #digitalcorpus www.invisible-east.org The next release will include New Persian and Middle Persian documents which feature in #publications from our team members. Watch this space! #medievalsky #skystorian #digitalhumanities #Persian

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