Christopher Smith
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christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith
@christophersmith.bsky.social
3.9K followers 1.4K following 990 posts

University of St Andrews; Executive Chair, Arts & Humanities Research Council; International Champion and Creative Industries Sector Champion UK Research and Innovation

All views my own, but none of the poetry.

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Christopher John Smith, FRSE, FSA, FRHistS, is a British academic and classicist specialising in early Ancient Rome.

Source: Wikipedia
History 56%
Art 25%
Posts Replies Media Videos

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 16h
Sad news; I worked with John Wallace to establish higher degrees at RSAMD, now the Royal Conservatoire of Music, validated by @uniofstandrews.bsky.social . He was funny, determined and passionate about music and education. RIP.
royalphilsoc.bsky.social Royal Philharmonic Society @royalphilsoc.bsky.social · 1d
A great light has gone out. John Wallace – the brilliant musical polymath who did so much for music education, brass music, and music in Scotland – has sadly died. We were so pleased to present him with RPS Honorary Membership (pictured here) last year.
John Wallace (centre) holding his RPS Honorary Membership certificate at a concert by his ensemble, the Wallace Collection, in August 2025.

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 1d
Wonderful to see a shout out to Hay Castle, run by the excellent Tom True, in this super piece.

Reposted by Christopher Smith

thangamdebbonaire.bsky.social
Thangam Debbonaire @thangamdebbonaire.bsky.social · 1d
Very much this!

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Art could save your life! Five creative ways to make 2026 happier, healthier and more hopeful
Engaging in creativity can reduce depression, improve immunity and delay ageing – all while you’re having fun
www.theguardian.com

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 1d
Somewhere, in the middle of the song,
people held hands, the hall turned Blue.

Sean Scully

ropac.net/online-exhib...
Sean Scully | Blue
ropac.net

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Dave O’Brien, Christopher Smith , and 1 more

Reposted by Christopher Smith

royalphilsoc.bsky.social
Royal Philharmonic Society @royalphilsoc.bsky.social · 1d
A great light has gone out. John Wallace – the brilliant musical polymath who did so much for music education, brass music, and music in Scotland – has sadly died. We were so pleased to present him with RPS Honorary Membership (pictured here) last year.
John Wallace (centre) holding his RPS Honorary Membership certificate at a concert by his ensemble, the Wallace Collection, in August 2025.

Reposted by Christopher Smith

thangamdebbonaire.bsky.social
Thangam Debbonaire @thangamdebbonaire.bsky.social · 1d
Can’t write much about what I’m reading till we’re done on the judging of @womensprize.bsky.social for non fiction - but here’s something I wrote on Substack. The process helped me make sense of how much of my reading, and my life, has been shaped.

open.substack.com/pub/thangamd...
Why I can’t walk past a tiny second-hand bookshop: a romance
The first one set the template for this romance.
open.substack.com

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 2d
Anyone interested in #AI and #libraries should also have a look at the superb and balanced overview published by the Conference of European National Librarians CENL, arising from a meeting @natlibscot.bsky.social
www.cenl.org/artificial-i...

Reposted by Christopher Smith

nic221.bsky.social
Nicole Hennig @nic221.bsky.social · 2d
Adoption of artificial intelligence in academic libraries: A systematic review of current practices, challenges, and research opportunities www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl… #AI #libraries
Text Shot: The results showed that the most prominent use of AI in academic libraries is for reference and information services. Furthermore, it was found that 48.28 % (14) of the articles cited Funding as the major institutional challenge to AI adoption in academic libraries. A cluster of studies included in the review emphasized the need for more user-driven research on AI applications in academic libraries. This study reflects the importance of retraining librarians to develop new competencies in managing AI-enhanced communication tools, including chatbot integration and prompt engineering.

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 2d
Robin Lane Fox is spot on. @rbgkew.bsky.social 's work is vital both at Wakehurst and in the Herbarium and Library.

www.ft.com/content/691c...
The Millennium Seed Bank’s restoration quest is more urgent than ever
As its collection rises to nearly 2.5bn, there are signs it is making progress in its ambition to preserve the world’s flora — and restore endangered species
www.ft.com

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 2d
Well well...

www.ft.com/content/5e25...

@britishacademy.bsky.social @eicathomefinn.bsky.social
How to AI-proof your job
The data suggests soft skills more than quantitative competency equal success in a rapidly changing labour market
www.ft.com

Reposted by Christopher Smith

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 8d
'Limited use of metrics in the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF)’s revamped environment section has raised concerns about how it will be consistently evaluated.'

Or, 'Two men make some comments about SPRE, with a bit of reference to the PCE pilot report released in December 2025.'
‘Inconsistency’ fears after REF retreat on environment metrics
Clear guidance needed on how narrative-based submissions will be graded to avoid accusations that judgements are overly subjective, say experts
www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Christopher Smith, Michael H. Whitworth

groomb.bsky.social
Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 9d
A Corner of the Artist’s Room in Paris, 1907-09, painting by Welsh artist Gwen John.

Reposted by Christopher Smith, Charles West

grantamag.bsky.social
Granta @grantamag.bsky.social · 10d
'Narendra Modi, seventy-three, had a spherical aquatic helmet placed over his head. He was lowered into the waves.’

Raghu Karnad on Modi and an alleged underwater Hindu archaeological site.

granta.com/under-the-ru...
Under the Ruins | Raghu Karnad | Granta
‘The footage of Modi’s dive, however, only shows the submerged prime minister; nothing of the submerged city.’ Raghu Karnad on the Mahabharata and the relationship between archeology and nationalism.
granta.com

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 25d
Super to see a Lynette Roberts poem; huge thanks to @carcanet.bsky.social for championing this revival of her remarkable work

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Poem of the week: Winter Walk by Lynette Roberts
A journey through a visionary landscape, exceptionally bright in icy weather, conjures a surreal semi-mythical world
www.theguardian.com

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · 27d
Happy birthday Jane Austen from AHRC @ukri.org

www.ukri.org/who-we-are/h...
Jane Austen at 250
Research projects use film, exhibitions and digitised manuscripts to inspire students and connect new audiences with Austen’s enduring legacy.
www.ukri.org

Reposted by Christopher Smith

centreplacewriting.bsky.social
Centre for Place Writing @centreplacewriting.bsky.social · Dec 8
Applications are invited for three fully-funded Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Landscape Awards (DLA). Deadline is 9th February 2026.
Proposed projects must be arts & humanities-led
#PhD @findaphd.bsky.social @dcahf-met.bsky.social
More details:
#PhD www.mmu.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Doctoral Landscape Awards
Applications are invited for three fully-funded Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Landscape Awards (DLA).
www.mmu.ac.uk

Reposted by Christopher Smith

theclassicslibrary.bsky.social
The Classics Library @theclassicslibrary.bsky.social · Dec 3
Monumental Roman basin hidden for 2,000 years unearthed near Rome | ScienceDaily
Monumental Roman basin hidden for 2,000 years unearthed near Rome
Archaeologists excavating the ancient Roman city of Gabii have uncovered a massive stone-lined basin that may represent one of Rome’s earliest monumental civic structures. Its central placement hints…
www.sciencedaily.com

Reposted by Christopher Smith, Charles West, Lesley A. Hall , and 6 more

adamchapman.bsky.social
Adam Chapman @adamchapman.bsky.social · Dec 2
A blast from my past - the Medieval Soldier database takes nearly 300,000 military service records from 1369-1453 and makes them available as a searchable database.

An invaluable resource for understanding medieval warfare, society and the English medieval state. Learn more in the link. 🗃️
We built a database of 290,000 English medieval soldiers – here’s what it reveals
We created the database in order to challenge assumptions about the lack of professionalism of everyday soldiers.
theconversation.com

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Dec 1
Is that ladle, perhaps, a runcible spoon?? 🤔

Reposted by Christopher Smith

abrackenbury.bsky.social
Alison Brackenbury @abrackenbury.bsky.social · Nov 30
'December, 1854. A hard winter in Lincolnshire. The lane-side trees, at the village edge, are caves of white above the dark figure, bundled in shawls. She has seen many things in her calls at cottages. But never before a woman on fire...'
Alison Brackenbury, 'Village'
What next? LINK IN COMMENTS!

Reposted by Christopher Smith, Margot C. Finn

susanklaiber.bsky.social
Susan Klaiber @susanklaiber.bsky.social · Nov 30
The Turin Humanities Programme again offers two-year #postdocs, this time with a #CFA on the topic "After the Enlightenment: Histories, Debates, and Reinterpretations”.

Sponsored by the fabulous Fondazione 1563, deadline 16 February. #skystorians

www.fondazione1563.it/progetti/en-...
EN THP 2025 - Fondazione 1563
Turin Humanities Programme call for application 2025 "After the Enlightenment: Histories, Debates, and Reinterpretations"
www.fondazione1563.it

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Nov 29
We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it. 
Tom Stoppard 1937-2025

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Nov 28
"words are brought together that have long been split apart, just as long-lost cousins at a family wedding might be surprised to see their own faces reflected everywhere they looked."
@dharmabam.bsky.social on Heaney

Reposted by Christopher Smith

dharmabam.bsky.social
Don Paterson @dharmabam.bsky.social · Nov 28
essay on Heaney over at the northseapoets substack … open.substack.com/pub/northsea...
Heaney on the Underground
Don Paterson on Seamus Heaney's choice of words
open.substack.com

Reposted by Christopher Smith, Jacob T. Levy, Michael H. Whitworth , and 2 more

johannawinant.bsky.social
Johanna Winant @johannawinant.bsky.social · Nov 26
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University

www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Nov 23
"In London #November isn't a month, it's a state of mind."
Antal Szerb, Journey by Moonlight
Monet Houses of Parliament at sunset

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Rebecca Solnit, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 13 more

rbtownsend.bsky.social
Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · Nov 23
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Nov 23
One of the great satisfactions of #reading is "an ability to join together isolated fragments of knowledge into a meaningful whole"
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst @thetimes.com
#libraries

www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
How to get more out of reading — tips from an Oxford don
In Look Closer, the academic Robert Douglas-Fairhurst rattles through literature from Charles Dickens to Sally Rooney
www.thetimes.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

christophersmith.bsky.social
Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Nov 23
Here's an excellent piece by Sverker Sörlin on his notion of integrative #humanities..

To solve some of the issues for #science raised in recent posts by @ersatzben.com @richardaljones.bsky.social @profserious.bsky.social we will need more of this thinking

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu