Huzzah!

Do not let AI write for you.

Same for me.

While I'm doing MEATY research, across archives, old pubs & oral histories on 🎞️, it's clear to me that Gen AI *cannot* do the work of a historian, not now or ever. 🗃️ It's NOT just that many things aren't digitized. It's that different versions of the truth are presented & a bot can't weigh them/

See the attached flyer for information on an upcoming symposium that places Van Buren's legacy in conversation with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

@vanburenpapers.bsky.social is hosting a 2027 symposium symposium that places Martin Van Buren's legacy in conversation with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. See the attached flyer or go to the link for more information. vanburenpapers.org/martin-van-b...

If you’re afraid that books might change someone’s thinking, you’re not afraid of books, you’re afraid of thinking.

Just weeks before her husband’s inauguration, Jane Pierce’s young — and last surviving — son was killed in a tragic train accident. Yet, in that terrible darkness, Pierce found meaning and purpose. Diana Bartelli Carlin explains how in this essay from In Pursuit. open.substack.com/pub/inpursui...

Hot weather will make you grumpy in ways you thought you’d grown past and moved on from.

I promised myself when I left my position at NEH that after a year had passed, I'd write something about my experience as an un/under/employed former fed. Here it is: halperta.com/public%20wri...

Historians, what is the portable scanner y’all recommend for archives these days? I just use phone but it seems like people keep telling me about an easier faster device?

Yesterday I shared that I am working on a project that synthesizes material from my blog. Here is the introduction to that project. #CivilWarMemory 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

Last week, I was talking about the upcoming 250th celebrations and I noticed some really interesting parallels to previous commemorations. I wondered what that said about the country. Take a look and let me know what you think! open.substack.com/pub/imperfec...

Seth's point about students' curiosity abt. studying the far right being "genuine, & not just academic," something "real stakes" is what I've found recently with my conspiracy theories course. Students sharing stories of families & friendships fractured by CTs, many of which stem from the far right.

New piece by me reflecting on an article @leahsottile.bsky.social recently published about what it's like to be in your early 20s and to have always lived inside an era of mass shootings, climate change, unaffordable housing, and Trumpist rage. rightlandia.ghost.io/recommended-...

HELP! Any tips for completing the marketing questionnaire for academic books? It's been a while since I've done one of these and I feel like the landscape has changed in the last decade or so! #skystorians #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #BookSky

In every academic book there is a secret second book hiding in the footnotes. Sometimes it is the first draft that had migrated there to escape the revisions. Sometimes it is the author's tortured secret rebuttal of their own claims, and sometimes it is the incipient form of the their next book.

We invite you to join high school teachers and historians for a free webinar on how to bring 19th century documents into 21st century classrooms! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 19th (6:30-8:30 PM Central). We look forward to seeing everyone! Register today at the link below:

🗃️ One thing the “AI will help you do research crowd” doesn’t understand about historical research is that we don’t (or shouldn’t!) rip documents out of their context in relation to other documents. 1/

Here is the registration link: virginia.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

I don't think people fully understand yet just how fragile university-hosted digital resources are after external funding ends (especially if the lead academic retires or moves or is made redundant).

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Cover reveal! I am beyond excited for this book. Contributions from an amazing array of scholars have come together into a banger of a book. Even if it feels far away, we should all be paying attention to the assumptions that underlie systems of conscription as well as the consequences. #milhist 🗃️

Does anyone have access to the pdf of Meredith Cane's 2004 (unpublished) thesis: "Personal Names of Men in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany 400-1400 AD", awarded by Aberystwyth University? It used to be on @britishlibrary.bsky.social EThOS, but that's still down after the cyberattack #MedievalSky 🗃️

Archival research tips? What's the current best/most convenient tech for copying docs? Phone on a stand? Or tablet? If so is there a stand for a tablet? (I can go faster & ensure clarity with a stand.) Used to use a digital camera but it's been a while & I need to update.

As an academic, I have been in numerous hotel ballrooms. They ain’t all that.

This is exactly the kind of classroom I want to create. The question, of course, is how you do this while preserving accessibility, though I've got some ideas.

So grateful for this very kind review of Canal Dreamers! 🗃️ #skystorians @uncpress.bsky.social

Historians: Who works / has worked on the history of sororities?

People aren't really thinking about you as much as you are worried that they are.

CATCHING HELL FROM ALL QUARTERS: Anti-Klan Activists in Interwar Missouri by Sean Rost is an honorable mention in the 2026 Society of Midland Authors Awards for the History category. Congratulations to Dr. Rost! Find a full list of award winners here: midlandauthors.org/contest-winn...

Me in 1775: Wait. Wait. Wait. Is it one over land? Or one over sea? Oh. Ok. Got it. *climbs into the steeple* So, it’s two over land? Right? Damn it. *climbs back down* Hey, guys, remind me again?

Does anyone use Canva for their lecture slides? If so, pros-cons?

This is more broadly generalizable: If you don't do the research yourself, you have no idea if AI is making stuff up. And if you do the research yourself, then AI isn't saving you much labor, if any.

Dream positions: 3 (!!) PhD placements at the Prize Papers with emphasis on finding students with the following language skills: French, Spanish, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages. (Of course, I emphasize the Dutch language!) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

Canal Dreamers looks good large! How fun to celebrate books with the team at @uncpress.bsky.social in their booth @oah.org. If you are at the conference, check out the small version that you can actually open and read. 🗃️ #skystorians @sonyabonczek.bsky.social

No more subscriptions for software we used to buy once and download into our PCs. I'm looking at you Adobe

Hello #skystorians! I am trying to get hold of the 21st April 1962 edition of the Saturday Evening Post – specifically an article titled "Ike Takes a Look at the GOP." Can any helpful person be of assistance? I have an incomplete draft version from the archives so far... 🗃️

I’m excited to share that I’m working on a new book- KINGDOM NOW: CHRISTIAN ZIONISM FROM THE PURITANS TO MAGA. The genocide in Gaza and the war on Iran and Lebanon have reshaped the political order in the Middle East and around the world.

Anyone have a recording and transcription app they like? There are a few out there, but I'd love a recommendation.

Friends, for a student: does anyone know where a student might find digitized commonplace books & scrapbooks? All collections/suggestions welcome—she just needs more examples for a project she’s working on

🗃️ Has anyone written/is anyone working on the way that LLM use is impacting historical memory?

Some help with these two words would be much appreciated. TIA #PalaeographyChallenge Text in the Alt text.

Very pleased to have been awarded the Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland Essay Prize for my 2024 Irish Historical Studies article 'The Irish-American press, the Franco-Prussian War and Irish-American identity in the postbellum United States, 1870–71’ doi.org/10.1017/ihs....

Despite everything terrible going on, I have something very nice to report: starting this summer, I will be moving out west to become the new curator of the John L. Wehle Gallery at Genesee Country Village & Museum! www.gcv.org/the-john-l-w...

Congratulations to Nicole Viglini, Asst. Professor of History, UNC-Charlotte and former Richards Center postdoc fellow, who has received a John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History short-term fellowship to conduct research on the U.S. Civil War era!

I was a dissertation fellow at the Library Company of Philadelphia 20 years ago. I'm thrilled to return next week to discuss my book "Canal Dreamers." I might even talk about sharks! Join me on April 15 at 5 PM. support.librarycompany.org/event/canal-... 🗃️ #oceanhist #histsci #envhist #coastalhist