Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
@travisclau.bsky.social
5.4K followers 6.1K following 490 posts
(he/him/his) Assistant Professor + Poet @ Kenyon: c18/c19 British Literature/History of Medicine (immunity and vaccination)/Health Humanities/Disability Studies travisclau.com
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Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
blakeprof.bsky.social
One of the under-observed parts of the last several years is the switch where wealthy donors claims directive authority over university policy. So they think Trump’s efforts of undermine academic freedom promote their own control. It’s a symptom of oligarchy, and how oligarchy gives way to Tyranny.
fishkin.bsky.social
The Times' coverage of Rowan's role has been remarkable. It is sad to me that after forcing his alma mater, Penn, to oust a really good president for incredibly poor reasons, Rowan's megalomanical next thought was "maybe the federal government should do this everywhere" and they're actually trying.
The Billionaire Behind Trump’s Deal for Universities
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
disabilitystor1.bsky.social
Thats still thirteen million and more people who think Trump's and RFK Jr's claims that Tylenol causes autism are definitely true.
ericmgarcia.bsky.social
Some good news: Most people don't trust Trump and RFK Jr.'s claims about autism.
Just four percent of respondents told a KFF poll they believed the claim was definitely true, while 30 percent said it was probably false and 35 percent said it was definitely false
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Only 4% of Americans think Trump claims about Tylenol and autism ‘definitely true’
Americans are largely divided on partisan lines on whether they trust the Trump administration’s health claims on autism and vaccines
www.independent.co.uk
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
resourcefulsqrl.bsky.social
“I promise, from the bottom of my heart, you don’t need AI to write an email for you. You don’t need AI to make a grocery list for you... And guess what? Ironically using AI to illustrate how ugly and stupid AI is is actually no different from using it in earnest.”
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
luckytran.com
They have fired the staff of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and 70 Epidemic Intelligence Service officers, who are disease detectives that respond to outbreaks around the world.

I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous it is to dismantle our disease surveillance infrastructure.
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
katelynburns.com
I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:

www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
sarapartridge.bsky.social
There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
sherylnyt.bsky.social
BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
pamherd.bsky.social
An early career philosopher turning down a tenure track job at a large R1—when there is not another job waiting. That’s how bad things have gotten at A&M.
ericgoldman.bsky.social
"The message is clear: Texas A&M does not permit teaching LGBT topics. Politicians, not professors, decide what is taught in Texas classrooms. Anyone who crosses this line may be fired on flimsy pretext"

www.chronicle.com/article/why-...
Why I Withdrew From My Dream Job
At Texas A&M, politicians, not professors, decide what is taught in classrooms.
www.chronicle.com
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
aeon.co
The term ‘idiot savant’ was coined in the 1860s to refer to someone who had an exceptional talent while also being profoundly disabled, and it still has implications in psychological research today
History’s shaming fascination for the so-called ‘idiot savant’ | Aeon Essays
The convergence of singular talent and profound disability confounded scientists eager to place humans into neat categories
buff.ly
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
titachico.bsky.social
Again in awe of the tremendous good that is the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive. Thank you to Alexander Huber bsky.app/profile/c18a... for this fantastic archive.

#C18L
#poetry
bsky.app
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
nonvieta.bsky.social
People who think the idea of "give me ideas" is something genuinely creative people want have literally never experienced the absolute EUPHORIA of a brainstorming breakthrough, either solo or with a human collaborator. They don't understand what is happening when artists create, on a basic level.
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
bairuiwen.bsky.social
“When an era sheds a speck of dust it might not seem like much, but when it falls upon
the shoulders of an individual it feels like a mountain.” — Fang Fang

This is Banned Books Week, an annual event that celebrates the work of writers whose voices have been suppressed. 1
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
erinacean.bsky.social
Noticed that's it World Mental Health Day: posting here for info my webpage of bibliography and other sources on Victorian psychiatry (in the UK) which grew out of answering v similar questions on the subject back in the day of listservs www.lesleyahall.net/victpsyc.htm
Victorian Psychiatry
www.lesleyahall.net
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
arghavansallesmd.medsky.social
MIT rejects the government’s compact for higher ed: “…the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone…America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.”
Regarding the Compact
links.mit.edu
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
melikhovo.bsky.social
At an academic conference and the most common conversations I've had is stuff like, "How many faculty is your school trying to fire? Do you still have professional development funds? Do you still have an English department?" Fun times!
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
keithwdickinson.bsky.social
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Reposted by Travis Chi Wing Lau (劉志頴)
evnarc.bsky.social
Y'know, when people have asked me about my dream game, I've always said a runaway slave + Underground Railroad project or something set in or around the Haitian Revolution.

Someone somewhere is already taking this on and infusing the work with all the courage that the subject matter deserves.
stephentotilo.bsky.social
SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year
Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File
www.gamefile.news