Nic Helms
@docsprock.bsky.social
Prof & Chair of English at Plymouth State University; Shakespeare, disability, and board games. (They/them)
https://nrhelms.org/
https://nrhelms.org/
Reposted by Nic Helms
San Francisco bookstores pull ‘Harry Potter’ books over J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans pledge
www.sfchronicle.com/...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
www.sfchronicle.com/...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
S.F. bookstores remove ‘Harry Potter’ over Rowling’s anti-trans fund
Two San Francisco bookstores removed the “Harry Potter” series from its shelves after J.K. Rowling said she would use franchise profits to support anti-trans rights efforts.
www.sfchronicle.com
June 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
San Francisco bookstores pull ‘Harry Potter’ books over J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans pledge
www.sfchronicle.com/...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
www.sfchronicle.com/...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
I need to frame this in my office so I can point to it daily.
I do these lectures and people ask me, “BUT WHAT ABOUT AI?!”
Which A.I.? Where? When? Under what conditions?
Telling me it’s inevitable and it changes everything is like asking me to critique policy in a Grimm’s fairytale.
Which A.I.? Where? When? Under what conditions?
Telling me it’s inevitable and it changes everything is like asking me to critique policy in a Grimm’s fairytale.
March 30, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I need to frame this in my office so I can point to it daily.
Reposted by Nic Helms
I do these lectures and people ask me, “BUT WHAT ABOUT AI?!”
Which A.I.? Where? When? Under what conditions?
Telling me it’s inevitable and it changes everything is like asking me to critique policy in a Grimm’s fairytale.
Which A.I.? Where? When? Under what conditions?
Telling me it’s inevitable and it changes everything is like asking me to critique policy in a Grimm’s fairytale.
March 30, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I do these lectures and people ask me, “BUT WHAT ABOUT AI?!”
Which A.I.? Where? When? Under what conditions?
Telling me it’s inevitable and it changes everything is like asking me to critique policy in a Grimm’s fairytale.
Which A.I.? Where? When? Under what conditions?
Telling me it’s inevitable and it changes everything is like asking me to critique policy in a Grimm’s fairytale.
Reposted by Nic Helms
As best as I can tell, the board has been running Columbia, and the board didn't so much surrender to Trump as draw up a list of demands for him to issue. The board, Trump, and the Free Press are all on the same page.
March 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
As best as I can tell, the board has been running Columbia, and the board didn't so much surrender to Trump as draw up a list of demands for him to issue. The board, Trump, and the Free Press are all on the same page.
Reposted by Nic Helms
Harvard has a $52 billion endowment. It can fucking stand up to Trump.
Some of the nation’s most prestigious universities have effectively appointed Trump as Provost. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Dismisses Leaders of Center for Middle Eastern Studies | News | The Harvard Crimson
Interim Harvard Dean of Social Science David M. Cutler ’87 dismissed the director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, professor of Turkish Studies Cemal Kafadar, and its associate director, Hist...
www.thecrimson.com
March 29, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Harvard has a $52 billion endowment. It can fucking stand up to Trump.
Reposted by Nic Helms
Unsurprisingly, @tressiemcphd.bsky.social is spot-on in this analysis: “A.I.’s most revolutionary potential is helping experts apply their expertise better and faster. But for that to work, there has to be experts.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
Opinion | Actually, A.I. Is Pretty Mid (Gift Article)
A.I. is just what we need in the post-fact era: less research and more predicting what we want to hear.
www.nytimes.com
March 29, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Unsurprisingly, @tressiemcphd.bsky.social is spot-on in this analysis: “A.I.’s most revolutionary potential is helping experts apply their expertise better and faster. But for that to work, there has to be experts.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
Reposted by Nic Helms
I always tell students that if you plan to get through university using LLMs for all your work, you are deliberately setting yourself up for failure after university.
Why would an employer hire/retain you if you are only able to produce the same banal LLM output anyone else would?
Why would an employer hire/retain you if you are only able to produce the same banal LLM output anyone else would?
Unsurprisingly, @tressiemcphd.bsky.social is spot-on in this analysis: “A.I.’s most revolutionary potential is helping experts apply their expertise better and faster. But for that to work, there has to be experts.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
Opinion | Actually, A.I. Is Pretty Mid (Gift Article)
A.I. is just what we need in the post-fact era: less research and more predicting what we want to hear.
www.nytimes.com
March 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I always tell students that if you plan to get through university using LLMs for all your work, you are deliberately setting yourself up for failure after university.
Why would an employer hire/retain you if you are only able to produce the same banal LLM output anyone else would?
Why would an employer hire/retain you if you are only able to produce the same banal LLM output anyone else would?
Reposted by Nic Helms
Presidents of R1s are run by board of Trustees who are conservative as heck and don’t want to see their corporate wealth deteriorate in the companies they hold. Presidents aren’t going to buck that.
March 9, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Presidents of R1s are run by board of Trustees who are conservative as heck and don’t want to see their corporate wealth deteriorate in the companies they hold. Presidents aren’t going to buck that.
Reposted by Nic Helms
The winner of this year’s @holbergprize.bsky.social tells @helenpacker.bsky.social why she rejects the vocational focus of education and the ‘trivialisation’ of the humanities
#AcademicSky #EduSky
#AcademicSky #EduSky
Gayatri Spivak: ‘I’m not teaching to get students an income’
Winner of 2025 Holberg Prize rejects vocational focus of education and ‘trivialisation’ of humanities
www.timeshighereducation.com
March 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
The winner of this year’s @holbergprize.bsky.social tells @helenpacker.bsky.social why she rejects the vocational focus of education and the ‘trivialisation’ of the humanities
#AcademicSky #EduSky
#AcademicSky #EduSky
Reposted by Nic Helms
A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warns against using the Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.
A Pentagon-wide email recently went out warning about Signal's vulnerability
A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warns against using the Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.
www.npr.org
March 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warns against using the Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.
Reposted by Nic Helms
Columbia's faculty doing what its administration did not: stand up for academic freedom. AAUP and AFT sue Trump administration for its illegal threats to cut off $400 million in funding to Columbia University.
March 25, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Columbia's faculty doing what its administration did not: stand up for academic freedom. AAUP and AFT sue Trump administration for its illegal threats to cut off $400 million in funding to Columbia University.
Reposted by Nic Helms
“But if we work with him, he’ll leave us alone”
“My first thought was, ‘This is a witch hunt’” Federal civil rights attorneys ordered by the Education Department to document the nationalities of protesters
New Trump demand to colleges: Name protesters — and their nationalities
The demand for student information came after the administration promised to deport non-citizens who participated in what it called “pro-jihadist protests”
wapo.st
March 25, 2025 at 12:56 PM
“But if we work with him, he’ll leave us alone”
Reposted by Nic Helms
A House committee working on state budget proposals voted in favor of eliminating funding for the Division of Arts, which helps provide funding to arts organizations and advance arts and culture in the state. They are also considering a proposal to shut down the New Hampshire State Library.
As federal cuts loom, NH lawmakers consider defunding state library and arts programs
A wave of art organizations and libraries are rallying public support for continued funding.
www.nhpr.org
March 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM
A House committee working on state budget proposals voted in favor of eliminating funding for the Division of Arts, which helps provide funding to arts organizations and advance arts and culture in the state. They are also considering a proposal to shut down the New Hampshire State Library.
Reposted by Nic Helms
Genie: No necromancy, no mind control, no extra wishes, no radical reordering of the economic system
Me: Aww man
Genie: Yeah, I know
Me: Fine. Wish 1, Section 1
Genie: wat
Me: Anyone with a net worth >$1 million must be followed by a belligerent Bostonian who calls them a fuckin idiot 2x a day
Me: Aww man
Genie: Yeah, I know
Me: Fine. Wish 1, Section 1
Genie: wat
Me: Anyone with a net worth >$1 million must be followed by a belligerent Bostonian who calls them a fuckin idiot 2x a day
March 24, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Genie: No necromancy, no mind control, no extra wishes, no radical reordering of the economic system
Me: Aww man
Genie: Yeah, I know
Me: Fine. Wish 1, Section 1
Genie: wat
Me: Anyone with a net worth >$1 million must be followed by a belligerent Bostonian who calls them a fuckin idiot 2x a day
Me: Aww man
Genie: Yeah, I know
Me: Fine. Wish 1, Section 1
Genie: wat
Me: Anyone with a net worth >$1 million must be followed by a belligerent Bostonian who calls them a fuckin idiot 2x a day
Reposted by Nic Helms
So glad I decided to go hard and attend the first day of the Early Modern Trans Studies conference today *after* the RSA / SAA twofer! It was a joy to see so many terrific papers and hang w the (rapidly expanding) premodern trans studies crew - and to taste the @badinfinity2.bsky.social book cake 🎂
March 23, 2025 at 9:33 PM
So glad I decided to go hard and attend the first day of the Early Modern Trans Studies conference today *after* the RSA / SAA twofer! It was a joy to see so many terrific papers and hang w the (rapidly expanding) premodern trans studies crew - and to taste the @badinfinity2.bsky.social book cake 🎂
Reposted by Nic Helms
Public schools in New Hampshire are primarily funded with state money but rely on federal dollars for about 5% of their budgets, according to the NH Fiscal Policy Institute.
NH teachers warn students will suffer from Trump's Education Department cuts
Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut says the Trump administration's changes will strengthen local control.
www.nhpr.org
March 23, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Public schools in New Hampshire are primarily funded with state money but rely on federal dollars for about 5% of their budgets, according to the NH Fiscal Policy Institute.
Reposted by Nic Helms
“When it comes to protesters, we gotta make sure we treat all of them the same: Send them to jail,” Tuberville announced. “Free speech is great, but hateful, hate, free speech is not what we need in these universities.”
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“Send them to jail”: GOP officials keep saying Trump can arrest people for protesting
"Free speech is great, but..."
www.motherjones.com
March 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
“When it comes to protesters, we gotta make sure we treat all of them the same: Send them to jail,” Tuberville announced. “Free speech is great, but hateful, hate, free speech is not what we need in these universities.”
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Nic Helms
You probably already know that generative AI amplifies stereotypes and bias, but how bad is it? For months at @wired.com we’ve been interviewing experts and testing OpenAI’s Sora.
www.wired.com/story/openai...
www.wired.com/story/openai...
OpenAI’s Sora Is Plagued by Sexist, Racist, and Ableist Biases
WIRED tested the popular AI video generator from OpenAI and found that it amplifies sexist stereotypes and ableist tropes, perpetuating the same biases already present in AI image tools.
www.wired.com
March 23, 2025 at 2:02 PM
You probably already know that generative AI amplifies stereotypes and bias, but how bad is it? For months at @wired.com we’ve been interviewing experts and testing OpenAI’s Sora.
www.wired.com/story/openai...
www.wired.com/story/openai...
Reposted by Nic Helms
“Todd Wolfson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, a nat’l faculty rights group, described the move as the greatest incursion into academic freedom & free speech since Sen Joseph R. McCarthy’s crusade against communism in the 1950s.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/n...
Columbia University’s Concessions to Trump Seen as a Watershed
Threatened with losing $400 million in federal funding, the university agreed to overhaul its protest policies and security practices.
www.nytimes.com
March 23, 2025 at 7:01 AM
“Todd Wolfson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, a nat’l faculty rights group, described the move as the greatest incursion into academic freedom & free speech since Sen Joseph R. McCarthy’s crusade against communism in the 1950s.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/n...
Early Modern Neurodiversity Studies, represent!
Thank you so much to @shakeracepedagogy.bsky.social for having me on! What a fantastic conversation!
open.spotify.com/episode/5RnZ...
open.spotify.com/episode/5RnZ...
7: Neurodiversity & Shakespeare. Dr Wendy Lennon in conversation with Bridget Bartlett.
Shakespeare, Race and Pedagogy Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
March 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Early Modern Neurodiversity Studies, represent!
Reposted by Nic Helms
Thank you so much to @shakeracepedagogy.bsky.social for having me on! What a fantastic conversation!
open.spotify.com/episode/5RnZ...
open.spotify.com/episode/5RnZ...
7: Neurodiversity & Shakespeare. Dr Wendy Lennon in conversation with Bridget Bartlett.
Shakespeare, Race and Pedagogy Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
March 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Thank you so much to @shakeracepedagogy.bsky.social for having me on! What a fantastic conversation!
open.spotify.com/episode/5RnZ...
open.spotify.com/episode/5RnZ...
Reposted by Nic Helms
The first and most important thing to know about last night's Exec order is that it's intended to break current law and allow people throughout the federal gov look at yr tax returns. Beyond that it's intended to compel states to turn over all their data to the fed govt.
March 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The first and most important thing to know about last night's Exec order is that it's intended to break current law and allow people throughout the federal gov look at yr tax returns. Beyond that it's intended to compel states to turn over all their data to the fed govt.
Reposted by Nic Helms
Fantastic to chat with @docsprock.bsky.social one of the editors of ‘Water and Cognition in Early Modern English Literature’ in the book fair today 🌊🧠📚
March 22, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Fantastic to chat with @docsprock.bsky.social one of the editors of ‘Water and Cognition in Early Modern English Literature’ in the book fair today 🌊🧠📚