Christine Johnson
@christinkallama.bsky.social
Historian of Renaissance Germany. Author of _The German Discovery of the World: Renaissance Encounters with the Strange and Marvelous_. Also on Mastodon: @[email protected].
She/her
She/her
Reposted by Christine Johnson
No. It's donors. It's still obscene but it's not state money. What it does do, though, is reflect a higher ed environment in which university admins will ask donors for $54 million to pay off a coach but they'll never ask those same donors to fund the English or history or sociology departments
Are the people of Louisiana - one of the poorest and worst performing states in the nation on every metric - going to be paying him $54 million?
5:45 pm on Thanksgiving Eve?
Now THIS is how you news dump.
Now THIS is how you news dump.
November 27, 2025 at 2:53 AM
No. It's donors. It's still obscene but it's not state money. What it does do, though, is reflect a higher ed environment in which university admins will ask donors for $54 million to pay off a coach but they'll never ask those same donors to fund the English or history or sociology departments
Reposted by Christine Johnson
All of this thread, plus a favorite example from my own research: a computer transcription would pick up the "correct" signature of one of my guys writing his code name in a secret message but not the fact that underneath it he had (oops) accidentally started to sign his real name.
![Image of a manuscript letter in which Fabian von Lossainen, who is spying on Nicolaus Copernicus, accidentally starts to sign his real name with a flamboyant "F" (indicated by a red arrow added in the image) before realizing, "oh shit, I'm supposed to be using my code name for this letter, but I really can't be bothered to rewrite the whole thing" and therefore tries to overwrite the "F" with a signature of "H[ans] Liliental".](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ck7tlwhcwtuzuaihedldnzyc/bafkreidyzcolnplqub77kva6gz6s3piyeau4t57w6xrvoebjekcztj4iwa@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 6:19 AM
All of this thread, plus a favorite example from my own research: a computer transcription would pick up the "correct" signature of one of my guys writing his code name in a secret message but not the fact that underneath it he had (oops) accidentally started to sign his real name.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
NEW: Since the start of this year, more than 600 immigrant children have been placed in government shelters by ICE.
That number, which has not been previously reported, is the highest since recordkeeping began a decade ago.
That number, which has not been previously reported, is the highest since recordkeeping began a decade ago.
ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.
Under a zero tolerance policy, the first Trump administration separated immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. New data suggests separations are happening all over the count...
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:08 PM
NEW: Since the start of this year, more than 600 immigrant children have been placed in government shelters by ICE.
That number, which has not been previously reported, is the highest since recordkeeping began a decade ago.
That number, which has not been previously reported, is the highest since recordkeeping began a decade ago.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Isaac Chotiner tricked me into revealing that when I text "I'm on my way" I have in no way left the house yet.
isaac chotiner came to my house and tricked me into admitting we weren’t out of ice cream in front of my five year old daughter
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Isaac Chotiner tricked me into revealing that when I text "I'm on my way" I have in no way left the house yet.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
If you are not familiar with Contingent Magazine, check it out - it's broad and imaginative in its approach to history and what "writing about history" should look like. You can also support it through a one-time or monthly donation!
contingentmagazine.org
contingentmagazine.org
CONTINGENT
History is for everyone. Every way of doing history is worthwhile. Historians should be paid for their work.
contingentmagazine.org
November 24, 2025 at 7:44 PM
If you are not familiar with Contingent Magazine, check it out - it's broad and imaginative in its approach to history and what "writing about history" should look like. You can also support it through a one-time or monthly donation!
contingentmagazine.org
contingentmagazine.org
Agree on the sheer variety of (apparent) choices in the 21st century, but the questioning of the social order and attempts at self-(re)making are also not new phenomena.
Villagers in England in 1650 would know that their King had just been executed and the monarchy ended. 1/
🗃️
Villagers in England in 1650 would know that their King had just been executed and the monarchy ended. 1/
🗃️
It would never occur to a random dude born into a random small village in 1650 or whatever, "how does the social world work & what's my place in it? I could be anything, what do I want to be, what's good to be, what will gain me recognition & respect?"There just weren't many choices!
November 24, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Agree on the sheer variety of (apparent) choices in the 21st century, but the questioning of the social order and attempts at self-(re)making are also not new phenomena.
Villagers in England in 1650 would know that their King had just been executed and the monarchy ended. 1/
🗃️
Villagers in England in 1650 would know that their King had just been executed and the monarchy ended. 1/
🗃️
For the What's History Feed 🗃️.
This is a fantastic opportunity for historians off the tenure track (including NTT, contingent, and independent scholars, archivists and librarians, museum workers and other public history folks) to spread the word about their publications.
✍🏽📚📄
This is a fantastic opportunity for historians off the tenure track (including NTT, contingent, and independent scholars, archivists and librarians, museum workers and other public history folks) to spread the word about their publications.
✍🏽📚📄
Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...
Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians
Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...
contingentmagazine.org
November 24, 2025 at 7:44 PM
For the What's History Feed 🗃️.
This is a fantastic opportunity for historians off the tenure track (including NTT, contingent, and independent scholars, archivists and librarians, museum workers and other public history folks) to spread the word about their publications.
✍🏽📚📄
This is a fantastic opportunity for historians off the tenure track (including NTT, contingent, and independent scholars, archivists and librarians, museum workers and other public history folks) to spread the word about their publications.
✍🏽📚📄
Reposted by Christine Johnson
“I asked ChatGPT” “I asked Claude” I asked this horseshoe crab and he said your ass wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the Triassic
November 23, 2025 at 9:50 PM
“I asked ChatGPT” “I asked Claude” I asked this horseshoe crab and he said your ass wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the Triassic
The "demanding practice" of Christianity here means standing for the very long Divine Liturgy and fasting regularly.
Not standing for hours outside the Broadview ICE facility in protest, not fasting in solidarity with the hungry (or to help feed the hungry).
Not standing for hours outside the Broadview ICE facility in protest, not fasting in solidarity with the hungry (or to help feed the hungry).
This piece is well done but the reporting doesn't match the description of the "demanding practice of Christianity" being the draw. Unless they mean them being drawn to the idea of putting demands on other people who don't share their ideological beliefs www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/u...
November 23, 2025 at 11:55 PM
The "demanding practice" of Christianity here means standing for the very long Divine Liturgy and fasting regularly.
Not standing for hours outside the Broadview ICE facility in protest, not fasting in solidarity with the hungry (or to help feed the hungry).
Not standing for hours outside the Broadview ICE facility in protest, not fasting in solidarity with the hungry (or to help feed the hungry).
Reposted by Christine Johnson
the only thing musk should be remembered for
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 2:23 PM
the only thing musk should be remembered for
Research and teaching in the humanities doesn't require a lot of resources! Cutting humanities programs is an ideological, not a budgetary, choice.
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
"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
November 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Research and teaching in the humanities doesn't require a lot of resources! Cutting humanities programs is an ideological, not a budgetary, choice.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
This entire thread is 💯
Make sure to read down to “The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.”
Make sure to read down to “The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.”
Home Alone makes changes to the Die Hard formula that render it hard for me to enjoy. The McClain character should feel overawed. And in theory having Kevin be a child versus adults achieves that. But the thing is: Kevin is a god. It's not just Tom & Jerry. This is some random punks versus Anansi.
November 23, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This entire thread is 💯
Make sure to read down to “The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.”
Make sure to read down to “The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.”
An ingenious solution to the blight that is big-time college athletics!
AI pushers seem to think people want books and movies generated by AI, but I've never heard them offer AI-generated football games.
November 23, 2025 at 7:41 PM
An ingenious solution to the blight that is big-time college athletics!
Reposted by Christine Johnson
If you think what we do is worthwhile and want to help us do it better, consider joining our board! *very low time commitment*
If you’d like to join our board, drop us a line!
Contingent Board Nominations
Contingent is looking for some new board members! We’re looking for folks who are committed to the magazine’s mission and want to help us shape how we carry it out in a changing media and academic lan...
contingentmagazine.org
November 23, 2025 at 12:39 AM
If you think what we do is worthwhile and want to help us do it better, consider joining our board! *very low time commitment*
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Just heard that after 27 years on Louisiana’s death row, Chris “Jimmie” Duncan is finally getting out. Not exactly sure when, but I’m told he’ll be home for Thanksgiving.
This is wonderful news.
Here’s my 2009 piece on the forensic fraud that got him convicted:
This is wonderful news.
Here’s my 2009 piece on the forensic fraud that got him convicted:
Forensics Fraud?
Experts say this video shows a doctor manufacturing evidence. So why is a man still on death row?
reason.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Just heard that after 27 years on Louisiana’s death row, Chris “Jimmie” Duncan is finally getting out. Not exactly sure when, but I’m told he’ll be home for Thanksgiving.
This is wonderful news.
Here’s my 2009 piece on the forensic fraud that got him convicted:
This is wonderful news.
Here’s my 2009 piece on the forensic fraud that got him convicted:
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Elon Musk's ideas on history directly impact his personal and professional decisions
Clip from: "The Fall of Rome: Debunking Elon Musk"
See full video on YouTube, Archaeology with Flint Dibble: youtu.be/s2fEaglzsR0
Clip from: "The Fall of Rome: Debunking Elon Musk"
See full video on YouTube, Archaeology with Flint Dibble: youtu.be/s2fEaglzsR0
November 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Elon Musk's ideas on history directly impact his personal and professional decisions
Clip from: "The Fall of Rome: Debunking Elon Musk"
See full video on YouTube, Archaeology with Flint Dibble: youtu.be/s2fEaglzsR0
Clip from: "The Fall of Rome: Debunking Elon Musk"
See full video on YouTube, Archaeology with Flint Dibble: youtu.be/s2fEaglzsR0
Reposted by Christine Johnson
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Why on earth would I want this? No one wants a “high quality” pastiche of Hemingway from an MFA. That’s basically the literal opposite of what an MFA trains people for.
November 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Why on earth would I want this? No one wants a “high quality” pastiche of Hemingway from an MFA. That’s basically the literal opposite of what an MFA trains people for.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
I'm honored that BLACK RELIGION IN THE MADHOUSE is on this list of @sciencenews.bsky.social's 10 favorite books of the year and among so many important works.
MORE EVERYTHING FOREVER is one of @sciencenews.bsky.social's 10 favorite books of the year! 🎉😭
Thrilled to be in such excellent company with @sho-walter.bsky.social @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social @judithweisenfeld.com @biologycarly.bsky.social @dhbaron.bsky.social @alicelovejoy.bsky.social & more!
Thrilled to be in such excellent company with @sho-walter.bsky.social @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social @judithweisenfeld.com @biologycarly.bsky.social @dhbaron.bsky.social @alicelovejoy.bsky.social & more!
These are Science News’ favorite books of 2025
Books about AI, Mars and infectious disease were among our top reads this year.
www.sciencenews.org
November 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I'm honored that BLACK RELIGION IN THE MADHOUSE is on this list of @sciencenews.bsky.social's 10 favorite books of the year and among so many important works.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
From my perspective? I’d rather universities simply not address the crisis at all unless they are fully committed to removing structural organizational stressors.
I’m exhausted by exhortations to self care and wellness from the same folks who are knowingly amplifying my grinding anxiety.
I’m exhausted by exhortations to self care and wellness from the same folks who are knowingly amplifying my grinding anxiety.
Any university programming intended to address the massive faculty mental health crisis that does not include investments to remove organizational stressors is bullshit. Faculty are not weak, they’re underwater for structural reasons ffs.
November 20, 2025 at 12:03 PM
From my perspective? I’d rather universities simply not address the crisis at all unless they are fully committed to removing structural organizational stressors.
I’m exhausted by exhortations to self care and wellness from the same folks who are knowingly amplifying my grinding anxiety.
I’m exhausted by exhortations to self care and wellness from the same folks who are knowingly amplifying my grinding anxiety.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
November 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
Reposted by Christine Johnson
The @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social has been on fire lately, and this is oped is no exception. (And worth noting as an aside that no LLM could produce an article of this power and precision).
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
The Professor and the Pedophile | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Summers should choose the most straightforward path and resign. Should he refuse to, though, the University must cut ties with its former president to the greatest extent possible.
www.thecrimson.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social has been on fire lately, and this is oped is no exception. (And worth noting as an aside that no LLM could produce an article of this power and precision).
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
United Academics of the University of Oregon -- the faculty union at UO -- stands up to the Tr*mp administration's war on knowledge and education.
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
Oregon colleges say no to Trump administration higher ed compact
Higher education advocates say the compact equates to a loyalty oath and infringes on the academic freedoms that are inherent to many universities' missions.
www.opb.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:06 PM
United Academics of the University of Oregon -- the faculty union at UO -- stands up to the Tr*mp administration's war on knowledge and education.
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
lest we forget the mutual interest in ⚪️
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
How Jeffrey Epstein Captivated Harvard
And how the university has yet to give a full accounting.
www.thenation.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:46 PM
lest we forget the mutual interest in ⚪️
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...