Sign in

Betsy Bevis

@vulpicula.bsky.social
1.7K followers 2.7K following 188 posts

Archaeology & Art History. She/her. Late Antiquity. Gaul, Hispania, etc. Mosaics of questionable quality. Villas no one has heard of (yet). Premodern textiles. Cats, cooking, knitting. First-gen, Neurospicy. Impossible love child of Ms. Frizzle & Mae West.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Asperas Bompar @asperasbompar.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Wakanda tariffs going to get doubled now
bbc.com
US government lists fictional nation Wakanda as trade partner
Officials say it was an error to add the fictional nation from Black Panther to the list.
661579474
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The problem with needing to go to the local art supply store while running errands is that in addition to the things I had planned to buy, I get *bright ideas* that require materials. And they have things like “mystery paint” grab bags and how could I resist?
051
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
I just have to express my gratitude for whoever put a pharmacy vending machine in the O’Hare Multi-Modal Travel Center. That bottle of DayQuill is a lifesaver. #TravelCold
030
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I’m just going to sit with the irony of Cato the Elder being on the “woke” side of anything.
041
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Michael J. Taylor @drmichaeljtaylor.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Fashy Tech Bros: Back in Roman times, men were men. Just conquering the world with the boys, no time for woke feminist soi boi bullshit. Actual Roman who fought Hannibal: I'd like to share my recipe for poppyseed cheeseballs with you (Cato Agr. 79)
627770
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
🇵🇸Martin “Doomsday” Pfeiffer🖖🏳️‍🌈 @nuclearanthro.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
😻😻😻CLEANSING THERMONUCLEAR FIRE IS CANCELED FOR THE MORNING! HOORAY ADORABLE BRÖTCHEN BABY MURDER HIPPO!😻😻😻
0388
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Bond villains were never so pathetic.
000
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Archaeology in the movies: Treasure! Intrigue! Punching Nazis! Archaeology in real life: … there is so much dirt in my bra that I maybe should have undressed over the sieve, just in case there were artifacts in there…
051
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Archaeology in the movies: Treasure! Intrigue! Punching Nazis! Archaeology in real life: … there is so much dirt in my bra that I maybe should have undressed over the sieve, just in case there were artifacts in there…
041
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The Orpheus mosaic from Villa Pesquero (near Badajoz, Spain) really should be better known. Sure, it’s huge, but it also has a derpy owl, a quilted elephant, and a sphinx with fabulous wings.
Large fragments of a Roman mosaic mounted on a museum wall. The octagonal space in the center of the mosaic is an image of Orpheus taming animals through music. Detail of the Orpheus mosaic, with a derpy owl. Detail of the Orpheus mosaic: an elephant whose skin is patterned in “quilted” diamonds. Detail of the Orpheus mosaic: a partial figure of a sphinx. Her wings are made from  bright green and blue glass tesserae and sparkle in the light.
080
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Alums of Hampshire College are doing exactly what a liberal arts education prepares its students for, questioning what they’ve been told and finding different ways forward. I just pledged to Hampshire Next — a coalition reimagining the Hampshire experiment. Join me: hampshirenext.org
hampshirenext.org
Hampshire Next — Reimagining the Hampshire experiment
A coalition is raising $10M+ in pledges by May 16 — to buy time, gather the community, and reimagine what Hampshire can be next.
096
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
I suspect there’s a market 😊
011
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
The study points to using libraries and visiting museums as bringing these enormous brain health benefits ... who would have thought? Well, librarians and museum folk for a start ... www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study finds
Cognitive health in later life is ‘strongly influenced’ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers
13637295
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Surely someone with a 3D printer and a sufficient version of nerdyness could make the right cookie cutters for this 🤔
240
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
YES to all of this. 📌
000
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Every year I briefly consider not going, in part because I miss my kitty.
130
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
I leave very soon and for my annual stint at the excavation of a Roman villa in Portugal (the Santa Susana Archaeological Project.) Watson will not be tagging along, so while I pack he is making sure that I have an adequate supply of cat hair on my stuff for the next several weeks.
An orange tabby cat with white paws, chest, and muzzle lounges among orange packing cubes in a partially-packed suitcase. He is grooming so enthusiastically that he has turned one of his ears inside out.
1140
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Gosh, it’s like being able evaluate complex sources of information and understand nuance are useful 🤔🙄🤓
050
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Curtis Dozier @curtisdozier.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
"Majors in nutrition, art history and philosophy all outperformed STEM fields when it comes to employment prospects, according to a recent analysis of labor market outcomes of college graduates by major by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York."
24018
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
I had this conversation with one of my students just last week *sigh*
1100
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Audrey Watters @audreywatters.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
On cheating 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/dishonor-cod...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
Dishonor Code
Tressie McMillan Cottom recently offered a neat little summary of how universities have responded to generative AI: "Academics initially lost our minds over the obvious threats to academic integrity. ...
0103
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
The scope of issues confronting research and scholarship is 😱🤯 among them for publications the profusion of AI slop. But the direct political intervention in funding and publishing research as well as in libraries and universities shows this to be a 360 crisis.
02713
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
I strongly believe that Pratchett is the most impactful thinker on ethics in recent history.
010
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Watson takes his TA duties seriously. 😉🐈
A ginger tabby cat with white splashes on his face and white paws and chest lounges on a stack of Roman art tests. The head of the 1st century BCE sculpture called The Tivoli General is visible just below his outstretched paw.
0130
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
There’s a big list on this website www.arthistorykids.com/blog/358 At the end is a DK Eyewitness art history book. DK books in general are really well illustrated, so even the ones that aren’t specifically about art will have relevant art for a given place/time/topic.
arthistorykids.com
Art History Booklist for Toddlers to Teens — Art History Kids
Artists are just really just regular people. And when a great storybook introduces someone like Andy Warhol to kids, they just get to know him on a personal level as the wacky guy who liked cats. Mayb...
110
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Time to start buying stock in yaupon companies.
010
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Absolutely! I’ll DM my email address.
100
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
This is why universities are “the enemy”, why the arts need to be defunded, why humanities degrees are a “waste of time”. You cannot have authoritarianism without manipulating history first.
28229
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
beaver's return
Comic by Stephen Collins for the Guardian. Script as follows:

Scene is a British WOODLAND by a RIVER. A NATURALIST is stood next to a cage, and TV NEWS REPORTERS are filming him and the cage. 

1
NATURALIST:
And now It is my great honour 

 2
NATURALIST:
to reintroduce the first wild beaver 
back into Britain 

3
[Cut to the BEAVER’S CAGE. Its door is open and the Beaver is leaned nonchalantly up against the opening, smoking a cigarette.]

4
BEAVER:
Well, well, well.

5
BEAVER:
Look who's come crawling back.

6 
BEAVER:
Got a rubbish ecosystem have ya? 

7
BEAVER:
Not happy with the *critical anti-flood infrastructure* engineered by the flippin *badgers*?

8
BEAVER:
I almost didn't recognise you without one of my ancestors on your head…

9
BEAVER:
First you wipe us out… now you ask us to come back and build dams for free…
You actually expect me to be *pleased* don’t ya? 

NATURALIST:
I'm so sorry I…I…

10
BEAVER:
“Ooh la la, the Brits have come crawling back…”
Do I look like *Michel flippin’ Barnier*?

11
NATURALIST:
I-if there’s some kind of… *remuneration* we could offer I-I’m sure…

12
BEAVER [throwing cigarette to the ground]:
Unlimited pond weed, two tickets to Abba Voyage. 

NATURALIST:
Done.

[ends]
242049607
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
I’m going to make the best of a very dumb layover in NYC
010
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Midterm season — grading is piling up, and I’m presenting a conference paper in a couple of weeks, various things I’ve promised to organize are heating up. I have downtime scheduled for 4:15 pm on the 14th and for about 20 hours on the 22nd. 🤪
View of a terribly messy desk. Organizational supplies, to do lists, a tea mug and teabags, research materials, and spinning supplies for a class on ancient textiles are piled haphazardly. The interior of my mind is much the same.
190
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Sesame Street really tells the story of America: - Created for PBS to educate young (especially Black!) children - Becomes a beloved institution cherished by the entire country - Gets privatized and kicked to premium cable due to budget cuts - Unionization leads to mass layoffs What a country!
5153561928
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
I think this is the first time I’ve had all my books unpacked since I left home thirty years ago (….although there is still a box of paperbacks in my mom’s basement…)
010
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Sara McDougall @sarannmcd.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
slate.com/news-and-pol... “This particular faux-medieval aesthetic depicts wealth and power while criticizing a certain other—more tech-y, maybe more tacky, definitely more male—version of wealth and power.” @lollardfish.bsky.social @profgabriele.com #medievalsky
slate.com
Every Era Has Its Own Way of Thinking About the Middle Ages. Here’s 2025’s.
Tapestries, stone walls, chain mail, crossbows. This era’s medieval mashup has it all.
0214
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Thank you for sharing!
011
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
The Black Trowel Collective @blacktrowel.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Don't Panic! How to fight fascism as an archaeologist. Hey, archaeologists! As archaeologists, we tend to be the doing sort, the busybodies shoveling and sorting, keeping and caring, custodians of time, places, people, it's time to lean into that! blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com/2024/11/13/d...
blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com
Don’t Panic! How to Fight Fascism as an Archaeologist
Hey, archaeologists! As archaeologists, we tend to be the doing sort, the busybodies shovelling and sorting, keeping and caring, custodians of time, places, people. It’s time to lean into that, to …
422594
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Valentine’s Day might be a Hallmark holiday, but this love story from StoryCorps is too delightful not to share. storycorps.org/animation/wi...
storycorps.org
Wild in Love
When Jackie and taxidermist Bud went on their first date in 1954, Jackie knew she was in for an adventure. “Wild in Love,” takes you for a ride on their 68 years of love.
020
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Just an adorable cat photo.
An orange and white cat sleeps on top of an open cookbook with one paw tucked under his chin.
0160
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Isis Naucratis @isisnaucratis.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Thank you to Rafi Greenberg for his open letter to his colleagues participating in next week's grotesque occupation archaeology conference taking place in Jerusalem His letter was shared via @EmekShaveh's newsletter. It is quoted in full here (# 72): everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/2024/03/21/c...
everydayorientalism.wordpress.com
Classicists and archaeologists on Gaza: A (not so) silent archive
How are Antiquity scholars and organizations responding to Israel’s campaign of annihilation of Gaza’s past, present and future? What do Classicists, ancient historians and archaeologists, whose wh…
12011
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 05/02/2025
A young researcher who made headlines last year for using AI to decipher a Greco-Roman scroll is reportedly part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established by President Trump.
hyperallergic.com
Why Is There an Ancient Rome Researcher on Musk’s DOGE Staff?
Luke Farritor, who used AI to decode a Greco-Roman scroll from Pompeii, is reportedly part of the team leading Musk’s chaotic takeover of government systems.
73115
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
David Frum @davidfrum.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
We've reached the chapter in Gibbon where the mad emperor is appointing magicians, acrobats, and paid agents of the Persians to the highest offices of state.
1062888508
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
The first reply to the thread is the OP posting substantiation from @jlweiner.bsky.social who is a current grant review committee member.
100
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
This whole thread is important and worth reading. The “anti-DEI” push is just racism in action.
140
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Whenever I can — there’s not as much in classes like Intro to Roman Archaeology. TGL is my super-niche special topics class.
010
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
I teach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
110
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Excellent choice, Jorts!
000
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Supporting each other through difficult and challenging times theresearchcompanion.com/supporting-i... Free, gentle, practical and bonding suggestions for anyone impacted by university changes, cuts, closures, threats and dangers #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter #PhDSky #gradschool #PhDChat #PhDHelp
theresearchcompanion.com
Supporting each other through difficult and challenging times - The Research Companion
Science, healthcare and education are threatened worldwide. Here are some starter ideas for ways to work together to share and save vital information. And to care for one another.
413263
Betsy Bevis @vulpicula.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
📌
010
Reposted by Betsy Bevis
Brian J. Reiser (he/him) @reiserbrianj.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
#AcademicSky An important statement from the American Association of University Professors @aaup.bsky.social on "Against Anticipatory Obedience." Please read. www.aaup.org/report/again...
aaup.org
Against Anticipatory Obedience
The statement that follows, prepared by a joint subcommittee of the Association’s Committee on College and University Governance and Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, was approved for public...
211560