Asking for a student: Does anyone have thoughts/advice about the CUNY or Berkeley summer intensive Greek programs? I never did any intensive language programs, and I'm not sure I know anyone who has gone through these. This student is excellent in Latin and very motivated to learn languages.

This is not just cursed, its monstrous. The digital resurrection of a historian who died in January of this year, all so Grammarly can get some more clicks and engagement from students and/or scholars and/or others. It feels so wrong on so many levels, these ghosts enslaved to AI forever

Who is making the US unsafe for visitors?

As part of an AI committee at my university, I spent this weekend trying out Claude (Opus 4.6) for writing, and I have to say, far beyond its hallucinations and the usual complaints, it is a baffling experience cognitively. I want to be more precise in my evaluation here than I usually am about AI.

The creator of the AI agent “Einstein” wants to free humans from the burden of academic labor, saying it's just like when horses were replaced by cars. Critics say that misses the point of education entirely. www.404media.co/whats-the-po...

"The decision to learn a foreign language is to me an act of friendship. It is indeed a holding out of the hand. It’s not just a route to negotiation. It’s also to get to know you better, to draw closer to you and your culture, your social manners and your way of thinking... 1/2

Definitive evidence of Roman alluvial gold mines found near ancient Iulia Libica in the eastern Pyrenees www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/02/d...

Hmmm, I felt pretty good about buying The Chicks album back when they were being blacklisted for speaking out against Bush, but idk that opting for an AI for these reasons would do it for me.

Jfc

March 1st is National Pig Day! Of course, every day is a good day to celebrate these incredibly smart, sensitive, social, and loving souls, but most people don't get the chance to know pigs in person so it's great to have an official day to show them off. ❤️

It's time! Nominations are now open for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction, which will be given to a work of imaginative fiction, published in 2025, that reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to Ursula’s own work.

Hi friends. As I previously noted, the U. of Iowa is planning to get rid of African American studies; Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, & the Classical Languages major—along with others. If you wish, please sign the classics petition: www.change.org/p/keep-the-c.... I will add more as I find out.

Yep, we were all promised checks and balances. "Three-Ring Government" from Schoolhouse Rock, written and sung by Lynn Ahrens, aired on March 13, 1979. A little boy learns the three branches of the U.S. government (legislative, executive, judicial) by using a circus analogy. #WomensHistoryMonth

I wrote about Plato in part because some of the most controlling people in education use references to Socrates in an attempt to dazzle people into believing they have authority that they just don’t have.

They don't *need* AI to make these decisions. But they *want* AI to make these decisions. Because the tech gives them plausible deniability--something to blame (other than themselves) when things go wrong.

Join us on March 18th @fordham.edu for a talk with Candida Moss @candidamoss.bsky.social on her latest book! RSVP here: www.catacombsociety.org/events/

Hosting the Utah Classical Association spring meeting today!

Terrible headline (this is NOT what the new research - link below - shows!), terrible AI image! Argh! Here’s the actual research: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Where do I start?! 1/4

I’m embarking on a new collaborative research project that deals with a part of the USA I haven’t studied much. #Skystorians , what are your favorite books and articles about #envhist , science, and technology in the Mountain West/PNW? (This project is mostly about Idaho.)

Metropolitan Museum Acquires Another Vase https://theonion.com/metropolitan-museum-acquires-another-vase-1830499658/

If anyone's curious what the royalties are for a one-time Amazon "best seller" textbook (within a specific category), that's been assigned on hundreds of academic syllabuses, the answer this year is $17.42. Before that it was $10, $12, $55, $56, $124, $158, $138, $109, and $109.

🧪🏺 Seen a few cases of gen- #AI art creeping into #archaeology & #HumanOrigins publications recently, this is not a trend we should engage in or simply accept... sciencepress.mnhn.fr/sites/defaul...

when I here the word "billionaire" I still feel very confused about how we live in such a world where some people have that much money. It's like I'm Dr. Evil.

Asking for a student: Does anyone have thoughts/advice about the CUNY or Berkeley summer intensive Greek programs? I never did any intensive language programs, and I'm not sure I know anyone who has gone through these. This student is excellent in Latin and very motivated to learn languages.

video game character graphics haven't changed much in the last 5,000 years 😄

“We are taking back your papers, you have no papers now” is even more chilling than “show us your papers”

Years ago our admin did a red and black report. It took salaries & how much $ each instructor made in tuition $ for classes we taught-you were in the red or black. They released numbers once & shut it down bc humanities were producing huge $ for uni & engineers, business and scientists were losing $

These are “low enrollment” majors but the classes are regularly at capacity. They changed the funding structure a few years ago here, switching the allocation from course enrollments to majors then blamed these departments for a structural, top-down change. This is entirely a political choice.

Italy's hundreds of hillforts have sometimes been described as 'proto-towns' #HillfortsWednesday However, geophysics, pedestrian survey and remote sensing indicate they were largely empty, questioning the idea that they were permanently occupied. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Can’t help but think this an issue….

🏛 University of Glasgow researchers have made an unprecedented discovery of golden paint on a Roman altar. 🎨 The altar, found near Hadrian’s Wall, was part of a Mithraic temple, a mystery cult associated with light and dark popular with soldiers. 🖌 Read on! historyhit.substack.com/p/monday-23r...

I'd like at add a few things to this. (1) humanists have not been able to convince any political party that curiosity-driven humanities research is a public good that should be funded using tax dollars. Republicans don't believe this, but neither do Democrats.

Hey, let's talk game cities! Join me today at 17:00 CET for the *Designing Cities for Video Games* course presentation, as well as a live discussion of game urbanism. ◾️ Reserve your spot here: www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-... #gamedev #urbanism #worldbuilding

Who has some comfort fantasy novel recommendations for me? I want LOW conflict, LOW suspense, absolutely ZERO torture. Strong female characters a plus. A little humor. not too much romance. Please nothing based in the ancient mediterranean. Should I try some Terry Pratchet? where to start?

Still asking people to include the day of the week when announcing events.

I'm really struggling with time this week.

The so-called ‘pocket book’ sold in supermarkets is being phased out across the US, the latest sign of an ongoing shift in how people are choosing to read

This is true in rougly the same sense that a guy on the subway reeking of urine, screaming, and waving a knife around is “feared.”

I'm very excited to learn about the Tabletop Scholars Spring Conference. It's this April in Rochester. Some terrific folks are involved: boardgameacademics.com/tabletop-sch...

The language used to describe things in higher ed. Adjuncts. Or like a temp job for academics. Professional Track makes it sound like it is an on-going position.

The Man Who Stole the Gods is award-winning journalist Matthew Campbell's exploration of the career of trafficker Douglas Latchford who looted Cambodia's ancient heritage with the complicity of some of the world's most prestigious museums. Preorder for 6/2 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739182...

Usually, I chat with historians about writing. But this week we're pulling back the curtain on book publicity! @sonyabonczek.bsky.social, dir of publicity at @uncpress.bsky.social, joined me to demystify the work of publicists and give some advice to authors. Listen: tinyurl.com/sonyabonczek 🗃️ 📚

Henceforth, I will be describing the way that U.S. men’s hockey spectacularly squandered good will, brand recognition, and fan loyalty as “pulled a Target.” They pulled a Target.

on the topic of games...I have been contemplating designing a tile laying game that looks at the construction/design/remodeling etc. of a Roman house. Well, more likely a house at Pompeii. Any advice on designing such games or desires to collaborate on such a thing welcome #archaeogaming

Listened to a nice episode of the Against the Lore podcast (not sure that they are still producing episodes) this morning on the way to campus - about ancient board games. open.spotify.com/episode/6DVz...

Some analog #archaeogaming on NPR yesterday: finding the rules of an ancient Roman board game with @waltros.bsky.social and others: www.npr.org/2026/02/23/n... #classics

Mainstream media and the Trump administration praised Alpha School, an "AI-powered private school" that can cost up to $65,000 a year. 404 Media has learned that the school is AI-generating faulty lesson plans. www.404media.co/students-are...