Sign in

Raf De Bont 🟥

@rafdebont.bsky.social
3.5K followers 855 following 165 posts

Historian of science and the environment // Late adopter & cautious adventurer // Interested in 19th, 20th and 21st century natures // Author of Stations in the Field and Nature's Diplomats // moving-animals.nl

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
WOinActie.bsky.social @woinactie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Je verwacht het niet hè. #taxtherich nos.nl/artikel/2633...
nos.nl
Coalitie dreigt op onderwijs te bezuinigen als sociale zekerheid niets oplevert
Zo wordt de druk op D66-minister Vijlbrief opgevoerd om tot bezuinigingen in de sociale zekerheid te komen.
98232
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Recently, I was invited to talk on 2 occasions about Globalizing Wildlife, the book I co-edited with @vbateman.bsky.social and Tom Quick. First, there was a podcast for the New Books Network, where the host is my wonderful colleague Jacob Ward. You can find our conversation here: lnkd.in/e3XuaGxU
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
182
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"No French Structuralist could say less in so many words." (Arthur Shapiro in a scathing book review of Fred Urquhart's book The Monarch Butterfly, 1988).
140
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
On my way back from the Tensions in Europe conference Apart from the great talks, I was also charmed by Eindhoven's modernist architecture. Somehow this past futurism makes me a bit nostalgic.
030
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
"Drill, baby, drill!" This graph shows oil production by the three biggest producers. U.S. output has risen almost continuously since the late Bush Jr. years. Trump can be blamed for much worse, but on oil he's more an accelerant than an outlier: the shale boom made higher production bipartisan.
110
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Read this wonderful article by @vbateman.bsky.social! About two very differently appreciated #movinganimals
051
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Meanwhile, in the US. It just takes your breath away. *50 years* in prison for protesting. Don't imagine for one moment that we are immune to this. Already, the legislative framework is in place in the UK to enable such convictions - before we get a Trumplike PM. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Alarm over ‘extreme’ sentences for anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism
First amendment groups call 50-to-100-year prison terms chilling as legal experts say sentences unusually long
731760827
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
@monicavasile.bsky.social did a great job today defending her PhD thesis 'Saving Species: A History of Wildlife Reintroductions and Recovery' (seen below in the wild). The supervisors are very proud!
5323
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
An apt metaphor for Trumpism itself
1111828
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Of course, I knew that 'ethnic' cuisine is usually a combination of lies and lazy stereotypes, but it becomes all the more apparent when the 'ethnicity' involved is your own. 'Flemish' fish and chips?
110
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Gregg Mitman @greggmitman.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
It was a pleasure to contribute a chapter, "Caring for Chimps as Viral Kin," on the complex relations of care and unequal relations of exchange that developed at Vilab II in Liberia, for this great volume! Open access is available @ www.jstor.org/content/oa_b... #envhist #medhist
jstor.org
Globalizing Wildlife on JSTOR
Humans have always incorporated wildlife into processes of work, capture, and exchange. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, globalization became the ...
0156
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
cait (and adonis) @cait.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
look at him. he doesn't even have any money
6355301077
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Cyrus Mody @ccmmody.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
congrats to @mariellew.bsky.social @hdijkstra.bsky.social & all the other colleagues (oa @danishanley.bsky.social @posteurope.bsky.social Mario Daniels, Miles MacLeod & Guus Dix) involved in this upcoming consortium project on knowledge security: 1/x www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/news/maastri...
maastrichtuniversity.nl
Maastricht University researchers lead €6.6 million NWO project on knowledge security
185
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Publication day! Globalizing Wildlife - edited by Tom Quick, @vbateman.bsky.social and yours truly - shows that globalization is not just a human but also an animal affair.
2319
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Used the occasion of being in the Max Planck institute to visit the imposing Botanical garden nearby.
150
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Wonderful experience to discuss a book chapter draft @mpiwg.bsky.social. Really engaged questions and suggestions that will keep me thinking for some time to come.
110
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Outlines of a house (Liège).
030
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Gretchen Felker-Martin PRE ORDER CHIMERA 2.16.27 🍉 @scumbelievable.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Man, this is so incredibly cool. www.popsci.com/environment/...
popsci.com
Multi-generational vulture nests hold 700 years of human artifacts
Crossbow bolts, sandals, slingshots, and more.
181455433
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Really happy to see this one materialised — it’s been a real pleasure working on it with @vbateman.bsky.social , Tom Quick, and a wonderful group of contributors. Should be available in print and (OA) electronically by May 26!
0120
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
@upittpress.bsky.social currently has a discount of 40% on their books, including my Nature's Diplomats. The discount code is 29INT40, and the landing page is here: upittpress.org/intersection....
087
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Helmer Helmers @helmer.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Kan niet helemaal overzien wat hier de gevolgen van zijn maar het zal wel een verkapte aanval op sgw zijn
121
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
I still remember watching the Dutch "jeugdjournaal" as a kid (as there was no Belgian equivalent). Fun to now make a brief appearance there. Particularly when it is for talking about a topic like Pablo Escobar's hippos!
060
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Hypothesis: techno-pessimists often travel by train.
130
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Petter Hellström @nphellstrom.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE My home department at Uppsala University is advertising an endowed professorship in the history of science. This is the best position in the field in Sweden, and probably in all of Scandinavia. Apply before 30 April 2026. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Men studying a dragon
2180149
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Simone Schleper 🟥 @moneschleper.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
And here finally my contribution to this conversation doi.org/10.1017/S174... in @globalhistjnl.bsky.social. I trace the origins of #corporateenvironmentalism to heterogeneous, private #governance networks in the 1970s that served as alternatives to official UN settings. Also, great title, yes?
doi.org
Private parties for a new world order: Maurice and Hanne Strong, global governance, and environmental imaginaries since 1970 | Journal of Global History | Cambridge Core
Private parties for a new world order: Maurice and Hanne Strong, global governance, and environmental imaginaries since 1970
1105
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Our Faculty kestrel is a beacon of Enlightenment.
191
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Letters of Note @lettersofnote.com · 12/02/2026
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
157102973044
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Cyrus Mody @ccmmody.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
just a reminder - job opening in STS @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social, deadline February 8
076
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Cyrus Mody @ccmmody.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
we're hiring in STS @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social! deadline coming up soon (February 8). focus is the social science-y corners of STS preferably w/ some interest in sustainability & environment - but interpreted broadly. vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl
Assistant Professor Science, Technology and Society Studies
Assistant Professor Science, Technology and Society Studies
24655
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
A report by 'Microsoft researchers' indicates that historians are the professional group whose work is one of the easiest to replace by AI. The article below shows what's wrong with the report.
262
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Betto van Waarden @bettovanwaarden.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Vacancies: Post-doc in Disinformation & European Democracy: vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric... Ass. Prof European Political History since 1900: vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric... Ass. Prof Political and Social Philosophy: www.academictransfer.com/nl/jobs/3566...
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl
Post-doctoral researcher in Disinformation and European Democracy (4-year)
Post-doctoral researcher in Disinformation and European Democracy (4-year)
054
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
max power 🌌 @sneptech.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
12488179
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
You can probably blame the Dutch royals for lots of things, but not for their choice in Erasmus Prize winners. Hooray for Donna Haraway!
1181
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Seeking adventure! Trying to get to Amsterdam from Leuven. By train. During a national railway strike.
360
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
*Globalizing Wildlife*, a book edited by @vbateman.bsky.social, Tom Quick, and myself, is now available for pre-order with @uncpress.bsky.social! Using code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout, you can save 30% www.uncpress.org/book/9781469...
uncpress.org
Globalizing Wildlife
Humans have always incorporated wildlife into processes of work, capture, and exchange. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, globalization became t...
33215
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Pre-discussing the Dutch elections @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social
051
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
International Wader Study Group @waderstudy.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Today IUCN has officially declared the Slender-billed Curlew extinct, marking the first known global extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird species whose range included mainland Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. Read more here ⬇️ www.unep-aewa.org/fr/node/6632
46268
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Just read that the doctoral thesis of Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Niko Tinbergen was 32 pages long. Efficient.
1415
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Not so long ago, I wrote about the history of human interactions with (wild) hamsters. A coda in the news today: the Flemish populist right makes the (no longer existing) “hamster coaches” a culture-war target - seemingly to discredit wider biodiversity efforts. www.standaard.be/politiek/de-...
standaard.be
De Vlaamse hamstercoach, de favoriete pispaal van rechts, bestaat al lang niet meer: “Intussen is het beestje hier nagenoeg uitgestorven”
Onder meer Vlaams Belang-voorzitter Tom Van Grieken blijft uithalen naar de “hamstercoach”, als symbool van een Vlaamse regering die haar prioriteiten niet op orde heeft. In werkelijkheid is de functie allang geschrapt en werd Vlaanderen onlangs nog veroordeeld omdat ze de wilde hamster, een Europees bedreigde diersoort, niet genoeg heeft beschermd.
040
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
@fasosmaastricht.bsky.social is mooi vertegenwoordigd op het Weekend van de Wetenschap!
120
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Jules Skotnes-Brown @julesskotnesbrown.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
I am thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Grant. Over the next five years I'll be directing the research project "Conserving Global Health: Biodiversity Protection and the Prehistory of Planetary Health".
Poster depicting an owl hunting gerbils in a field, juxtaposed with an image of the zoonotic cycle of plague. Arrows connect a rat with fleas, and a man sleeping in a bed. The image reads 'Friend of the Farmer Conserve Owls'.
17626
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
My neighbors' red maple. Although considered highly adaptable, this one individual has been suffering under increasingly hot and dry summers. Still, every October, it is my favorite non-native species.
040
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
RIP Jane Goodall — she forever transformed what it means to do fieldwork. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
theguardian.com
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91
Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour
315238
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
"The report stresses that climate change and environmental degradation pose a direct threat to Europe’s competitiveness." Framing environmental policy in this way may well be strategic, but still sad to see the value of nature primarily expressed in terms of geopolitical and economic competition.
010
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Joost Sneller - Kamerlid D66 @sneller.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
“Ik vind het echt schokkend dat in principe rechtstatelijke partijen als de VVD en de SGP meegaan met de populisten in de Tweede Kamer, die op deze manier de democratische rechtsorde willen inperken.” Beatrice de Graaf is ook vernietigend over hun gedrag: www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/antifa/
historischnieuwsblad.nl
Beatrice de Graaf: Antifa-besluit Tweede Kamer is ‘een knuppel om tegenstanders monddood te maken’
‘Een schok’, zo noemt Beatrice de Graaf het besluit van de Tweede Kamer om de Antifa-beweging als terroristische organisatie aan te merken.
34116
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
On my way back from the "Planetary Futures" conference in Manchester, organized by @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social and @duncanwilson78.bsky.social Two days of vibrant discussions on how the humanities can help us understand extinction.
2347
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Aleksandra Komornicka @olakom.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
We are seeking a PhD candidate with an interest in East–West European relations (1970s–1990s) to work with me and Aline Sierp. The deadline for submitting proposals is 28 September. vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl
PhD in the long-term history of the European Union's Eastern enlargement
PhD in the long-term history of the European Union's Eastern enlargement
02230
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Impressions from #eseh2025: a speech by Linnaeus himself, grandiose academic architecture and a quaint natural history museum. But, above all, wonderfully engaging panels and workshops. And, abover all, catching up with old and new friends. Many thanks to the organizers!
0111
Raf De Bont 🟥 @rafdebont.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Good morning Sweden! On the train towards #eseh2025
081
Reposted by Raf De Bont 🟥
Journal of Global History (JGH) @globalhistjnl.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Raf De Bont (@rafdebont.bsky.social) discusses how computers changed zoos, touching upon databases, ‘infrastructural globalism’ and transcontinental flows of Siberian tigers! Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S174...
doi.org
A computerised ark: The International Species Information System (ISIS) and the laborious re-ordering of the zoo world | Journal of Global History | Cambridge Core
A computerised ark: The International Species Information System (ISIS) and the laborious re-ordering of the zoo world - Volume 20 Issue 2
073