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Susan Amussen

@sdamussen.bsky.social
3.2K followers 1.4K following 802 posts

Retired historian @UCMerced, early modern Britain and Atlantic world; gender, race and class. Old. Does not represent employer. What's in a name: How historians know Shakespeare was Shakespeare (Manchester 2026)

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Reposted by Susan Amussen
Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 28/09/2026
It would actually have been conceptually impossible for the Vanderbilt/WashU report to have been peer reviewed because the premise of the report is that we should ignore half a century of peer-reviewed research in the humanities when we assess what they have contributed to knowledge.
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Lou Roper @roperlou.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
aging brain has recollection that genesis of 'modern higher education' occurred in Prussia ('objectivity' a la Ranke) in response to the French Revolution but am happy (as per norm) to be corrected
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Joshua R Greenberg @joshrgreenberg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Also, UC 237,616 (undergraduates) and 63,482 (graduate) and CSU another 471,451.
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Lou Roper @roperlou.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
permit me to add that SUNY enrollment (Fall 2025) is 339,800 (undergrad) and 47,646 (grad)
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
When a big new database becomes public, it’s great. But rarely does the database tell us something entirely new: it confirms, provides context, and makes things measurable. The university PR machines pretend that “nobody knew that X“, but if you’ve been paying attention, X is not that surprising.
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Michael W. Twitty @koshersoul.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My #Smithsonian experience
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I feel seen.
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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I am the very model of a modern day typographer A font take on the tune “Modern Major General” by Gilbert & Sullivan #typography #fonts #graphicdesign
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Susan Wabuda @susanwabuda.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
THIS IS TODAY'S MOST IMPORTANT STORY ⤵️⬇️⬇️
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RJ1611 @rfj1611.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is from the parish register for Kineton, Warwickshire, on the 1642 burials page. Horse doodles might seem odd, until you realise that Kineton was AKA Edgehill, the first major conflict of the English Civil Wars. There would have been a LOT of horses.🐴 #earlymodern #EnglishCivilWars
A doodle from the 1642 burials page of the Kineton, Warwickshire, parish register. It shows crude, child-like stick sketches of 4 horses, one with a rider.
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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Just found this collection from Brepols: www.brepols.net/products/IS-.... €150, so more of a gift item for a BT lover than a quick read. But there's a helluva a lot of scholarship on this artifact, & I'd love to see more of it celebrated. Anglo-Norman work, too. #MedievalSky
Screengrab from publisher's webpage for book in honor of Bayeux Tapestry scholar, Shirley Ann Brown.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I read this article all the way through. Extremely interesting and revealing details. A specific warning from head of UAE to Netanyahu, after a more general warning to the security services. Important context is that came after the breakdown in talks for semi-normalization in Gaza. It’s a …
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
'It notes that institutions “routinely” hire consultancies for these restructures as well as change management specialists, however, these processes often introduce additional management layers, “adding cost rather than removing it”, while “productivity drops".' Hollow laughter across the sector.
hepi.ac.uk
The invisible majority: Professional and support staff and the future of UK higher education - HEPI
Universities are cutting the skills they need most, then paying to rebuild them. Universities are cutting the skills and capabilities they need most, only to pay to rebuild them later, according to ne...
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Elizabeth (Liz) Lehfeldt (she/her/hers) @lizlehfeldt.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This thread really resonated with me. When people tell me I'm a "luddite" for resisting AI, they're totally misunderstanding my resistance. I don't need or want AI because I like my process (for my work and other parts of my life), using AI would actually *create* work for me, etc.
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John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
For sure, personality wise, I'm just not that interested in playing around with technology. I like technology that works to do something I need done, but I don't care to spend time thinking about it or tweaking or manipulating it. Some people have clearly engaged with AI agents a kind of hobby...
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Christine Johnson @christinkallama.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The "Familienbuch" of Hieronymus Koeler and the letters of Philipp von Hutten are fascinating texts and, as I argue, very revealing of how conquest colonialism mattered for European masculinity (and how it didn't). #EarlyModern #Skystorians (if you would like a copy, let me know!)
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Rough Draft vs Final Draft
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
@charmianmansell.bsky.social it’s such a great book!
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Gender & History Journal @genderandhistory.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
📚 Book review: Female Servants in Early Modern England, by Charmian Mansell, reviewed by Susan D. Amussen 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #BookReview #skyhistorians #GenderHistory
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 12/08/2026
ANNOUNCEMENT: All our sundials will be out of order this evening between about 6pm and 8pm, we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Normal service will resume tomorrow. In unrelated news, enjoy the eclipse later... Photos: Mike Selby, Annapurna Mellor, Chris Davies, John Millar
A wall-mounted sundial inside a walled garden. Text on the sundial reads: "fear god, obey ye king"A traditional sundial on a plinth, formal gardens surround itThe sun beams down on a traditional sundial, with heather visible in the backgroundA shot of a sundial from above. It's mounted on a stone plinth. Text on the side reads "KEW BRIDGE"
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Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her) @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
#earlymodern grad students in the US: the @rsaorg.bsky.social Public Engagement Fellow will receive $20,000 plus travel and accommodation expenses to attend RSA 2027 in Philadelphia. Deadline August 15! 🗃 1/
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Chet DeFonso @chetdefonso.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
There'll always be an England, Chapter 832.
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Megan Kate Nelson 📚 @mkn.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Get ready, Blueskis! @katecarp.bsky.social and I have some fun things to show you over the next few weeks and months …
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Beyond Shakespeare @beyondshakes.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
🚨The Witch of Edmonton - recorded LIVE - has finally dropped on the podcast! The first of five plays recorded at the White Bear Theatre during our Wyrd Revels 2025 Next month: The Wise-woman of Hogston #drama #theatre #live #AudioDrama #dog #witch audioboom.com/posts/893327...
audioboom.com
The Witch of Edmonton by Dekker, Ford and Rowley (LIVE Full Cast Audio Recording)
There's trouble in Edmonton...
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
🎉 🥳 🏅 🎵 📜 🗃️ Chris Hoban and I are absolutely delighted that our collaboration has received an Honorary Mention as 'Cultural Knowledge Exchange Project of the Year' in the inaugural National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE) Future Icons awards. 1/
A LinkedIn post that celebrates the winners of the National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange 'Futures Icons' awards, 2026.
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I've been moaning about the lack of imagination in university leadership. This is one alternative. www.chronicle.com/article/what... “We can’t just be a smaller version of who we were before. That becomes a death spiral.”
chronicle.com
What Can a Struggling University Do if It Can’t Cut Any More? Change.
Instead of continuing to shrink, Southern Oregon U. is trying to shift how it functions.
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nude antifa goat @goat.sex · 23/07/2026
the whole "women's sports exist to protect women from men" framing is hilarious, given that a lot of these divisions were initially formed because men were deeply embarrassed any time a woman beat them at a sport olympic shooting was mixed gender right up until a woman won the gold
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
'Defining questions for higher education are emerging at a time when universities are structurally under-resourced to answer them.' (page 19) Grim but important reading of the tea leaves.
hepi.ac.uk
New choices: Revisiting futures for higher education in England - HEPI
English universities face ‘unstable hybrid’ future as funding model collapses faster than predicted, warns new report. English higher education is heading into a future nobody planned, according to a ...
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Anna Cusack @annacusack.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Leading a Great Fire of London walk on Saturday afternoon and there are still some tickets! Come join me!
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reedproject.bsky.social @reedproject.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The Records of Early English Drama is delighted to announce the open access publication of the tenth digital edition in the REED series. The dramatic records for the Swan Playhouse, edited by Sally-Beth MacLean, are now available on REED Online (ereed.org/collections/...).
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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
you should be entitled, as a taxpayer, to public employees who do their jobs according to the standards of their professions you are not entitled to public employees who share your views just because they happen to be your views relocating “trust” from competence to conformity is a fascist project
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Kelly Watson @kellylwatson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
My short essay about two 17th century Powhatan women in London and Bermuda is finally out! commonplace.online/article/the-...
commonplace.online
The Other Elizabeth and Mary: Anglo-Powhatan Marriages and the Virginia Company of London - Commonplace
By employing marriage as a technology of imperialism, the Virginia Company hoped to turn its struggling overseas colonies into stable, productive English communities.
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Camille Woodpencil @crayondebois.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Happy that I participated in the edition of this special issue alongside with Filipa Ribeiro da Silva, @cchevale.bsky.social and Iliana Tintori Reyes !
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I have just realized to my dismay that one of my footnotes switched references: two documents cited, but each given the other's description. This took about three hours of my time today to sort out, and because I also queried the archive, probably an archivist spent time puzzling on it too.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This is kind of an incredible website: Why your stuff stopped lasting, who profited, and what's still built right.
worseonpurpose.com
Worse on Purpose
The brands you trusted quietly gutted quality to protect margins. Investigative essays on corporate enshittification. Free newsletter.
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EarlyModernista @ellierycroft.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
YES www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on humanities cuts in universities: academic departments are more than cost centres | Editorial
Editorial: Literature, the arts and social sciences must not be sacrificed as higher education funding is squeezed
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Buying tickets to a Phillies game, which apparently now involves creating accounts for three separate websites (one of which required an email and a text passcode) and then downloading two new apps. It's so much fun!
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I recently read some conservative women’s advice columns from the 40s and 50s. In one, the woman advises wives to visit children’s clothing stores for style ideas. Because men are attracted to children. That was the advice.
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This has prompted a flood of archival photos, which is also a sort of 'who we are and what we do' survey of History at Exeter. Here's the Sheffield City Archives. #ArchiveHour 2/
Photo of a road in Britain with a building on one side. It has large windows divided by blue tiles, with a layer of red brick wall at the top. Not that inspiring.
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Up next on MSNow. Good stuff here from @radiofreetom.bsky.social. Trump lost this war in the first days. He set huge goals and was unwilling to accepts the costs of achieving those goals. Iran that. And that was basically it. Everything since has been him trying to avoid that reality.
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Victoria County History @vch-home.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is an incredibly important point: like all areas of local government (and the VCH was part of that, mostly a long time ago), access to local record offices is becoming restricted due to funding restraints. For us, that is especially problematic.
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Another piece in the cuts of funding for the humanities is visible in local record offices. The Somerset Archives are only open 3 days a week; Norfolk only 4 days a week. As a US grad student doing research in the UK, that would have made it impossible to write my dissertation.
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
I’ll never forget the elderly Black lady explaining to a younger white woman how to cook the collard greens they had just received in the bag from the food pantry. She was pleased to have them, and delighted to be the teacher. (Yes, there was pork, and trust me, the collards were cooked.)
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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Congratulations to the government on saving 2700 jobs by nationalising British Steel. Now, about the 18,000 university jobs lost in the last 18 months, with more coming…
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Susan Amussen @sdamussen.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Trying to figure out how both Steve Hilton and turning point USA have decided in the last few days that I would give them money. Not only won’t I, but my whole history of political contributions is somewhat different!
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Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
it’s amazing how often the solution to endlessly multiplying pedagogical problems turns out to be restoring an actual pedagogical relationship between instructors and students
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
‘Thousands of university job cuts in humanities and social sciences are creating widespread cold spots for languages, classics and theology degrees, the British Academy has warned’ www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Humanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universities
Exclusive: Experts fear rise in education ‘cold spots’ and social immobility as 4,000 academic posts lost in one year
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Beth DeBold @elizaaudacis.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
To the inevitable cries of “just digitize everything, then;” not an answer. Making digital facsimiles accessible requires huge investment: staff, metadata, preservation. Orgs are currently not funded to meet these needs. While digital objects are great, they’ll never replace looking at originals.
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