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Dr. Sarah Donovan

@plottingpapist.bsky.social
943 followers 144 following 94 posts

Catholic | Historian studying 18th cent. extralegal violence in Atlantic World at W&M | Brockport & Lycoming alum | Writing center aficionado | Dog Mom

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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Reading Erik Seeman’s Death in the New World (2010) and absolutely loving this idea of a common language of death in the Atlantic World! It’s reminding me a lot of Andrew Lipman’s article on the language of body parts during the Pequot Wars (my fav article of all time)
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Reposted by Dr. Sarah Donovan
Liz Covart @lizcovart.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I’m teaching a workshop this weekend about how historians research. #Skystorians, what are your favorite or most important research tips and tricks? What is your favorite method for finding archives and archival material?
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I’ve been working on some syllabi for job applications and it’s been so fun remembering all the articles I read as an undergrad that made me fall in love with history 🥰 Do you guys have any articles/books like that? I’d love to hear about them!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I have once again searched “Bouquet Papers” looking for the papers of Henry Bouquet and instead got ads for literal papers with which you wrap flowers. 🤦🏻‍♀️
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
#Skystorians are there any monographs/articles about the overlap between espionage/military intelligence and Native American captivity during the #SevenYearsWar and #PontiacsWar? Or just in the 18th century in general?
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I don’t know when after graduation I lose library access, but you better believe I’m downloading as many articles and ebooks as I possibly can before then
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
#Skystorians what are some of your favorite history books? The ones you recommended over and over again, whether they’re in your field or not? I’m excited to read some non-dissertation related books! #bookrecommendation
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I just stumbled upon a fantastic historic site run by the Monroe County Historical Society! Territorial Park is home to the oldest French-built home in MI (built in 1789). Totally made my day to talk frontier history with some really wonderful and knowledgeable interpreters!!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I defended my dissertation today. I’m officially Dr. Sarah Donovan!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Alright PhDs of BlueSky: What’s something you wish you knew/did immediately post-defense? I defend in less than two weeks and I already feel like I’m not quite sure what to do with myself.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I am honored to be part of Pennsylvania History’s special issue celebrating the 250th anniversary of independence. Thank you so much to the editors for inviting me to participate and for all the work that went into publication. scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/pa-hist...
scholarlypublishingcollective.org
“The Back Settlements of Pensilvania”: A Geographic, Political, and Historiographical Frontier
ABSTRACT. Throughout the eighteenth century, the Pennsylvania frontier was profoundly contested ground. Empires, colonial governments, Indigenous peoples, land speculators, colonists, and squatters cl...
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Writing the dissertation itself feels significantly easier than getting four professors in a room together to defend said dissertation 🫠
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
This (unfortunately) remains true. I’m telling you what, if I finally break and go crazy, it’ll be because of this chapter
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I have been waffling for YEARS on whether the two paragraphs I wrote about gibbets belong in a footnote or in the body of my dissertation. I have also spent YEARS trying to figure out how to turn in this indecision into a pun about gibbets and bodies. There’s definitely a joke in there somewhere
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I was (am) very unprepared for the wild emotional swings that come with editing my dissertation. Yesterday I spent all day on one sentence and felt like a bit of a failure. Today I’m zooming through paragraphs thinking “hecking yeah I wrote that and it sounds brilliant” #dissertation #phd
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Archivists are superheroes. I am so thankful to Dana from The Library Company of Philadelphia for finding the letter that helped me solve a citation question that’s been bugging me for YEARS.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
I’m pretty sure chapter 3 of my dissertation is cursed.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
This might one of my favorite exchanges between my advisor and I in the margins of my diss draft. I’m not sure why it makes me giggle so much.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The current situation on my office floor:
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Just repeating "you can do this" over and over to myself as I write what I hope is the last historiography section for the dissertation. I’m so freaking close to a full draft. I can do this.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
One of the worst parts of being at the end of diss writing is that I’ve lost track of all the drafty bits of “I don’t know where this goes yet” that I wrote early on. I *know* I wrote a great summary of the Augusta Boys’ actions somewhere but I have NO IDEA where.
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Reposted by Dr. Sarah Donovan
BreadPanes 🍔🏳️‍🌈 @breadpanes.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
AI rots your brain. Writing with ChatGPT is worse than writing shitfaced after a pub crawl.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Reading Colin Calloway’s recent monograph Hard Neighbors and its got me feeling all nostalgic about my undergrad capstone. The Scots Irish will always hold a special place in my heart as the subject of my first real research project
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
I just hit the 200-page mark on my dissertation! I’m so close to a full draft I can taste it!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Just left a FANTASTIC panel at the #BATW2026 online conference! I love conferencing so much, I always learn a bunch!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Just watched The Music Man for the first time in decades because APPARENTLY there’s a whole plot point about tarring and feathering that I’d totally forgotten! Are there any other classic movies/musicals/shows that feature tarring and feathering that I should watch?
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
The biggest piece of advice I have for folks just starting grad school is find a note-taking method that works for you and then BE CONSISTENT. I can’t tell you how often I’ve cursed 2019 Sarah for her inconsistent and unhelpful notes 🤦🏻‍♀️
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Any advice on good sources for etymology? I’m particularly interested in the etymology of words like “mob” and “rabble” #Etymology #Skystorians
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
I am thrilled to share that my first ever scholarly article is officially published! I am so proud of how this turned out. Thank you to everyone on the editing team that made this possible! scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/pa-hist...
scholarlypublishingcollective.org
“The Sweets of an Indian Trade”: Authority, Violence, and the Construction of Indian Policy on the Mid-Atlantic Frontier, 1754–1768
ABSTRACT. The outbreak of the Seven Years’ War in 1754 created a crisis in British Native American diplomacy as colonial leaders clashed with their imperial counterparts over the question of who had a...
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
I don’t even want to talk about how long it’s taken me to write this diss chapter (way too long) but I’m going to finish it this week so help me God
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
I’ve been spinning my wheels on this chapter for a month and a half. The worst part is that this whole time I’ve felt like I’m on the edge of a breakthrough. And yet, tragically, I remain very much stuck. Any advice?
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Going back through the earlier sections of my current draft and found this gem. If this doesn’t sum up my whole experience with this chapter idk what does
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I’m looking for some books/articles that explore masculinity and the military in the 18th century (in the vein of Gregory Knouff’s The Soider’s Revolution). Anyone have any good recs? #MilitaryHistory #GenderHistory
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Struggling through this chapter is reminding me that, especially in early drafts, getting words on the page is WAY more important than liking those words. I can always go back and make it sound better, but I need to get the ideas on the page before I can do that
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I’ve been slogging through writing a section on imperial priorities during the 7YW and I am reminded of how much of a whiny baby Jeffrey Amherst was. I feel like this guy was always complaining about something
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
The @batw.bsky.social Virtual Writing Group is meeting this Thursday (Jan 15) at 12pm EST/5pm GMT! Please send me a DM if you’re interested in joining us!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Writing my dissertation alone isn’t necessarily hard. (It’s definitely challenging, but in a good, rewarding kind of way) It’s writing my dissertation while also keeping myself healthy and dealing with the stress of the job market that’s a doozy.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Our next @batw.bsky.social writing group meeting is this Thursday, Dec 18th at 12pm EST/5pm GMT! If you’d like to join please DM me for the link. Happy writing!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Me at the end of yesterday: I’m totally turned around in this chapter. The organization doesn’t make any sense Me this morning: wow this is organized pretty logically. I’m doing much better than I thought If that doesn’t sum up the writing process I don’t know what does 😂
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Writing little blurbs like “on this day so and so wrote someone saying <insert block quote> and this is important because of XYZ” and putting them in a vey very rough outline while still in the archive was an absolute GAME CHANGER. I’m writing this chapter so fast!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Hello everyone! I am once again hosting the @batw.bsky.social writing group this Thursday (Nov 20th) at 12pm EST/5pm GMT. Send me a DM if you’re interested in joining us!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Why is historiography so hard to write?!? I’m in the trenches today folks!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Does anyone else feel wildly repetitive when writing their diss or book projects? I know signposting is SO important, but I kinda feel like I’m running out of ways to say that these boys used a common language of violence to express specific grievances 😅
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Is anyone else having trouble loading @evernote.bsky.social web or is it just me? Thankfully I can pull up my desktop app, but this is day two of not being able to pull up the web version.
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
I have this really awesome story of an alleged spy for the Delaware/Shawnee at Fort Pitt and I have no idea where to put it into the dissertation. It could fit into like three different chapters depending on how I spin it. #DissertationProbs
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
I literally laughed out loud at this one: “A Letter of yours fell into my hands a few days since to be forwarded, directed to the Commanding Officer of Fort Loudoun; but as there are several Forts of that name, am at a loss to know which it is intended for” -Fauquier to Gage, Sept 2, 1765
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Just submitted my first academic job application. Kind of surreal to think I’m finally at the point where I am imagining a future beyond the degree!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
THANK YOU Henry Bouquet for writing Thomas Gage to say that “a connection Seems probable among that Sort of People” when comparing the Black Boys with the frontier inhabitants of Augusta County VA. I agree. A connection DOES seem probable!!! (It’s a good day in the archive 😊)
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Just had a fantastic virtual writing session with some @batw.bsky.social folks. The #BATW community really is the best! Let me know if you’d like to join us for our need writing group meeting on October 16th!
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Dr. Sarah Donovan @plottingpapist.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
There’s nothing quite like ending the day in the archive by finding a fantastic letter talking about “the Paxton & other Rioters” destroying goods at Fort Loudon, PA.
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