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Joe Borsato

@theecoalchemyst.bsky.social
868 followers 265 following 601 posts

Research fellow, policy analyst, grant writer, & editor from Tsilhqot’in Nen, working in Cataraqui (Kingston, Ontario); PhD in Indigenous & global history from Queen’s University; Italo-Canadian, Irish (il/he/him)

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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 7h
Gave a workshop last week in my class and today in a colleague’s class on the ethics of LLMs, their history writing, and how historians and historians-in-training can get ahead of the ethical issues of LLMs by embracing critical and analytical thinking skills. Huge success. Students loved it!
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Call me Ishmaboo @billjank.bsky.social · 13h
Solid dose of hopium from @doctorow.pluralistic.net
As seas rise, we're going to have jobs for every person who is willing, building sea defenses and moving whole coastal cities inland. Two generations of neoliberalism has left us with massive shortages of housing stock, crumbling highways, inadequate schools and hospitals. That means that we need to build *lots* more of these, and they can be built with state-of-the-art climate hardening, including geothermal heat, "passive home" designs, modern insulation, and heat-pumps. The rights-of-way for the interstate system would make dandy railbeds for arrow-straight, all electric high-speed rail powered by solar, wind and tides.
All of this has the potential to yield a second peace-dividend prosperity. A post-oligarch world can recover industrial capacity by diverting it away from destructive activity (data centers, luxury housing) to essential functions (climate defenses, decent housing for everyday people). A post-oligarch world can recover democratic excellence by removing the malign influence that morbid wealth exerts on our policy choices: for example, if we don't like the quality of public schools, we can fix them by giving schools more resources, not by letting billionaire dilettantes privatize and starve them in the name of "school choice":
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 16h
It's always good to remember, when social needs like libraries and fully-funded public education are said to be 'too expensive' to provide at scale, what the US actually spends its money on. The cost of the Iraq War was $3 trillion www.hks.harvard.edu/publications...
hks.harvard.edu
The True Cost of the Iraq War: $3 Trillion and Beyond
Writing in these pages in early 2008, we put the total cost to the United States of the Iraq war at $3 trillion. This price tag dwarfed previous estimates, including the Bush administration's 2003 pro...
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Too photorealistic
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rumon carter @rumon.ca · 03/10/2026
For those in my local - Victoria, BC #yyj - @doctorow.pluralistic.net will be in town on the 20th. Anyone interested in making a social outing of it? www.munrobooks.com/events/61136... @h2cents.bsky.social
munrobooks.com
An Evening with Cory Doctorow | Munro's Books
Victoria's legendary independent bookstore since 1963
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Just presented my paper on Mi’kmaw women as cultural mediators in 17th c. Paris, at the Canadian Critical Feminist Histories conference at Queen’s! So glad to have had the chance to present with the group and in Kingston too!
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 02/10/2026
Excellent piece by @jenniferberkshire.bsky.social on the weak Left vision for public education. This extends to higher ed; beyond free tuition and full employment, the Left doesn’t have a program of what content people are supposed to get out of college. educationwars.substack.com/p/whats-left...
educationwars.substack.com
What’s Left for Public Education?
The left has no vision for public schools - and that’s a big problem
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The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History @jich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Latest book review! Jakob Burnham reviews 'By Flesh and Toil: How Sex, Race, and Labor Shaped the Early French Empire' by Mélanie Lamotte (Harvard University Press, 2026): doi.org/10.1080/0308... @harvardpress.bsky.social
doi.org
By Flesh and Toil: How Sex, Race, and Labor Shaped the Early French Empire
Published in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History (Ahead of Print, 2026)
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It’s #OrangeShirtDay and I’m thinking about the alliance that the Innu leader Anadabijou made with the French in 1603, which became the basis for Indigenous-European alliances in the lands that we now call Canada. The lessons of mutually-beneficial alliances from the 17th c. remain meaningful.
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As an advocate for budget justice, I have long opposed the mandate of “you must fundraise not only for your basic needs but also for general operations.” Years ago, I even opposed this budget model as a graduate student, but faculty just laughed at me then. Will faculty fight cuts? #HigherEdCuts
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Chris Newfield @cnewf.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Here are eight things public universities can’t do with their current budget model. There’s a new plan, discussed at the link, that won’t fix the budget but will hurt research
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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 28/09/2026
AI has lost the Mandate of Heaven I’m afraid. WSJ saying it’s a “when” the ai bubble bursts. SNL dabbing on their biggest names for being weird. FT says 50% of chips sold in 2026 and 2027 have nowhere to go. Hundreds of billions short on revenue for even 10% ROIC. A disaster.
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Emily Lowan (she/her) @emilylowan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I am disgusted by the appearance of white nationalists on the Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc reserve. This is happening just days before the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. I stand with Indigenous communities & all marginalized communities in the fight for a future free from racist intimidation.
cfjctoday.com
Apparent white nationalist gathering spotted on Tkʼemlúps reserve Sunday
TK'EMLUPS - A post on social media appears to show a group of masked individuals gathered on the Tkemlps te Se...
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Clare Downham @downham.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Funded PhD opportunities with a short deadline. Join our early medieval cluster at Liverpool with 7 PhDs currently working with the Institute of Irish Studies on all aspects of Irish, British and Icelandic topics and connections www.nationalgallery.org.uk/research/col... #museums #medievalsky
nationalgallery.org.uk
Collaborative PhDs | Research | National Gallery, London
As part of collaborative consortia, the Gallery hosts a cohort of PhD students funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council.
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Krista Kesselring @kjkesselring.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Pleased to see this volume on married women & the law now out - the product of a great conference on coverture organized by Danaya Wright. (Rather pricey, but good for the library-wishlist!) #earlymodern #history www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-...
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My latest blog post about Cree geographic knowledge in 17th-century cartography is now live with the British Library’s blog, focusing on some research that I completed this summer at the library as a 2026 Eccles Fellow. www.bl.uk/stories/blog...
bl.uk
Charting Indigenous lands and waterways
Cree geographical knowledge at the British Library and the early cartography of the Hudson Bay watershed.
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Today, students in my British North America seminar examined the Seven Years War from Indigenous, British, and French perspectives. We talked about the roles of Indigenous alliances, military leadership, social dynamics, and the militia myth in shaping the events of the war. It was a great time!
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Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 @emmettmacfarlane.com · 22/09/2026
Funny, because the Truckers got three weeks to hang out before police lifted a finger. Interesting.
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Ian Petrie @icpetrie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
JOB: TT Assistant Professor, Global Humanities, Simon Fraser University Literary, Rhetorical and Social Worlds of Ancient Greece universityaffairs.ca/search-jobs/...
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The Kingston fall fair is always a good time - seen here from a distance. What you can’t see beyond the lights and entertainment are the sounds of cows mooing, which I find charming as a person who grew up on a farm but who has lived in a downtown area for the past half-decade.
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Broadbent Institute @broadbent.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The @canadianlabour.bsky.social's new report 'Public Runways, Private Profits' shows why Carney's plan for privatized ownership of Canada's airports will mean cuts to jobs & higher prices. @dtcochrane.bsky.social explains on the Perspectives Journal Podcast: perspectivesjournal.ca/terminal-profits
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This week, students in my British North America class discussed research on Indigenous, British, & French disputes over land rights in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) and the Ohio valley in the 1750s. It was a good start to the year - great to hear the constant chatter in small group discussion sessions.
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We had a presentation in our department yesterday about using AI to simulate historical processes. It was basically an exercise in textual realism (historical agents never do anything that contradicts a text they write) and the model was based on a 1960s war simulator, so very niche and impractical.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out.
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Higher education is no longer a safe space to work even for the most privileged members of the professoriate. This has been true for many people for a long time but it is now getting much worse.
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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 14/09/2026
UCU members at Brighton University face the threat of derecognition. We have called an emergency rally tomorrow at 1:15pm. It would be amazing to see as many #TUC26 delegates as possible in attendance. 58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 0JY
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Daniel C. Blight @danielcblight.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes:
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It’s really pathetic to hear some tenured historians talk about how “AI is the future” when they have no evidence that it will be, and (not to be coy) besides it’s not in the business of historians to predict the future. It has real Alan “keys” Lichtman vibes.
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Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Mathematicians out here saying it is not the proof that matters, but the human understanding of the proof. We are all humanists now.
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Glad to see 2 more of my archival-based research articles are now accepted/forthcoming. I also have 2 more under consideration, which if accepted will bring my total to 7, all in Q1/Q2 journals. It’s not bad considering I’m also finishing book revisions, adjuncting, and working a 2nd job. #NoLLMs
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The Breach @breachmedia.ca · 11/09/2026
As the public backlash to AI and data centres swells, pro-AI politicians are trying to anxiously spin. Marcus Werner debunks the PR push underway to justify public handouts to tech oligarchs. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-B...
youtube.com
Pro-AI politicians are NERVOUS about the public backlash
YouTube video by The Breach
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
OECD stats indicate that students who do not use AI are around 20 points ahead of their peers who do use AI. In other words, those not using AI are « equivalent to being around one year of schooling ahead of their peers. » #Evidence #NoAI #Education
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Meanwhile some people in my profession claim that these tools are worth the costs.
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Louigi Addario-Berry @louigi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I'm proud to announce the creation of the Association for Human Mathematics. We aim to protect mathematics as a human endeavour against the threat of AI and to maintain the independence of the mathematical community from corporate interests. www.ahmath.org
ahmath.org
AHM
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Count me in.
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Broadbent Institute @broadbent.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Europe and Canada can only protect their digital ecosystems against US interference if they start investing in tech sovereignty now. perspectivesjournal.ca/canada-europe-tech-sovereignty
perspectivesjournal.ca
Canada and Europe Need to Build a Firewall Against US Tech Coercion | Perspectives Journal
Europe and Canada can only protect their digital ecosystems against US interference if they start investing in tech sovereignty now.
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Sixteenth Century Society @16csociety.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Noticed an uptick in posts from SCS? That's thanks to the society's new Tech Advisors, Seán Thomas Kane and Joshua Caleb Smith. They serve jointly in the position created at #SCSC2025. You can reach out to them by emailing TechAdvisor@sixteenthcentury.org.
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IrishPhilosophy @irishphilosophy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
With alt - AI in mathematics
Terence Tao

@tao

Fundamentally, problems in pure mathematics, such as the global regularity problem, serve a different purpose than immediately practical problems, such as that of finding a cure to a specific disease, or increasing the energy efficiency of some engine. In most cases in pure mathematics, the problems are posed not because we desperately want the solution to these problems in and of themselves, but because we have seen from past experience that human-directed efforts to solve these problems tend to spur further development of the field through the efforts to solve such problems, and then to digest any partial or complete solutions that emerge for further insights. Prematurely solving the problem by purely Al-powered methods - particularly without full transparency into the solution process can contaminate this process to the point where it actually becomes a net negative for the progress of mathematics as a whole.

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(6/6)

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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
New semester and new classes to teach, today. Don’t ask if I’m prepared.
static.klipy.com
So It Begins - Winston (Ian McShane)
ALT: So It Begins - Winston (Ian McShane)
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Chris Newfield @cnewf.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I was induced to critique that Vanderbilt slam of humanities scholarship, and had a strangely good time doing it. I explain why Appiah should like and help, not trash The Activist Humanist. Collaboration can cure ALL real epistemic ills in the humanities: do this! criticalnoise.org/the-struggle...
criticalnoise.org
The Struggle to Face Forward – History of the Present
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I hate to say history, of all of the humanities disciplines, deserves what's coming to it, but many of the field's leaders, the people with the power and security to protect it and advocate for it, have done absolutely fuck all instead.
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Are you serious? 😂
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Asheesh Kapur Siddique @asheeshks.org · 06/09/2026
We keep discussing ”strategies” for teaching in the age of AI to avoid talking about resources. It’s so boring!! The strategy is invest $ to hire people, lower class size, support research-engaged learning & stop measuring the worth of disciplines in relation to # of enrollments and majors.
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National Library of Ireland @nlireland.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Online Talk | The Irish Colleges in Early Modern Europe Join us on Zoom for the third lecture of the new 'Strangers to Citizens' online talk series, delivered by Dr Liam Chambers. 📅 Tues, 15 Sepat 3pm: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-events/onlin…
nli.ie
Online Talk | The Irish Colleges in Early Modern Europe
As part of the 'Strangers to Citizens' Online Talk Series
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“Graduate students are not abandoning academia. They are asking whether the academy, as it is currently structured, deserves their trust.“ I am still not persuaded that most academics have or are even remotely willing to face this question. Not doing anything will destroy all our professions.
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Keith Grant @keithsgrant.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Folks, can any of you recommend a very good Canadian consultant who specializes in SSHRC grant application editing? If so, would you please DM me? Editors/consultants, please feel free to tell me about your own services, too. Thank you!
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Kingston at night is a magical place!
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lissa @unraveledlissa.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
“Canadians are living through the devastating reality of not having a meaningful plan to address climate change… at this critical moment, the government is fighting to throw our case out of court, while… moving ahead with fossil fuel expansion and rolling back key climate protections.”
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Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I am ashamed to admit that it has taken me six years of living in Kingston to finally try the sushi burrito, which the university district is know for, and holy sh!t it did not disappoint! Folks, I now actually feel ready to teach a new semester, in a way that I did not yesterday! #SushiBurrito
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