Janice Liedl
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jliedl.bsky.social
Janice Liedl
@jliedl.bsky.social
Historian at Laurentian University (Canada). Researching early modern crime and urban women's lives, but I can never stay away from questions of popular culture & history. Gamer, fan, fibre artist.
Pinned
Laurentian's faculty union is on strike after admin played at negotiating. Now hundreds of faculty activate our other superpowers to organize, inspire, & march the picket lines even in the bitter cold.
Reposted by Janice Liedl
Continuing (b/c I'm once more teaching my Austen class) my JANE AUSTEN GUIDE TO FACULTY MEETINGS
“Now and then, they were honoured with a call from her ladyship . . .She examined into their employments, looked at their work, and advised them to do it differently ” –Pride and Prejudice, ch. 30
A JANE AUSTEN GUIDE TO FACULTY MEETINGS
(an intermittent series)

"He said it, she knew, to be contradicted"--Persuasion, ch. 7

(on the distribution of service commitments)
"Every body allows that the talent of writing agreeable letters is peculiarly female."--Northanger Abbey, ch. 3
January 28, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
The research guide on Environmental History that I wrote for The National Archives, UK is now live! Includes research advice and resources on colonial environments, pollution, agriculture, and animal histories.

Available here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-yo...

#envhist #envhum
January 30, 2026 at 4:06 PM
I told you all that Niall Ferguson is a tool. Turns out that I understated the matter.
Looking at the list of 19 new CBS News commentators, the median number of times they appear in the searchable Epstein database is 2 and the mean is 100
January 31, 2026 at 6:57 PM
I'm still on strike (2 weeks on Monday) & sad that I'm not working with my students or writing the next chapter in my book but, instead, getting hundreds of faculty to the pickets. In my precious free time, I practice therapeutic stabbing (i.e. counted cross stitch).
January 31, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
We ended week 2 with more amazing solidarity from our community - on-campus, across Sudbury and countrywide

United we win!
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Nous avons terminé la deuxième semaine avec une solidarité incroyable de la part de notre communauté sur le campus, à Sudbury et dans tout le pays

Ensemble, nous vaincrons !
January 31, 2026 at 6:29 PM
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January 31, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
WRITING JOB: Editor/Writer for Impact Magazine at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration (our University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities). Good gig, excellent benefits and pay, I am not affiliated in any way but will buy you lunch if you get it.
Careers
The Principal Editor/Writer is responsible for a wide range of writing tasks for multiple platforms, producing online, digital, social media, and print content, often under tight deadlines. The candidate should be a driven storyteller with strong news judgement and experience writing and editing in a research setting. This role requires building relationships with advocates, academics, family members, and other stakeholders across the disability community to assist ICI’s research, training, and outreach programs. The Principal Editor/Writer must be creative while also possessing the ability to assess and address the needs of multiple clients. The successful candidate will need to work across communications teams (editorial, digital, and design) and be strategic in determining the concept, voice, and editorial direction of a wide range of print and digital projects. The Principal Editor/Writer will be responsible not only for developing stories and writing copy but also editing content for grammar, style, tone, branding, and appropriate language depending on the type of communication and target audience. This position will also supervise the production of at least one large-scale publication three times per year. The incumbent must be able to write for a variety of media types, including video, and have demonstrated knowledge of professional editorial practices and processes, with strong knowledge of AP Style.
hr.myu.umn.edu
January 31, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

1. Linear Algebra
2. Optical Mineralogy
3. Tolkien
4. Tudor/Stuart Britain
5. History of Canadian-American Relations
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:

1. Colonialism in the Middle East
2. History of the Automobile
3. Latin American Politics
4. The Old South
5. Modern History of East Asia
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
January 31, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
The absolute garbage pouring out of some people’s mouths & codebases has driven home to me how big the chasm is between competent programmers & ones who think they are.

And, horribly, the competent ones don’t think their code is that great while fully incompetent ones think “their” code is amazing.
January 31, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
People who hate universities are deciding on the future of universities and the end result will, unsurprisingly, be the dismantling of higher education.
January 31, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
yeah when we do it, it's just sparkling authoritarianism with a side note of ethnic cleansing
The WSJ is really in denial mode.
January 30, 2026 at 2:29 PM
I'm all agog! Thanks for letting us know.
I'm going back through it now and even though I was not very involved with that part of Caden's project, he cited a lot of my tweeps! @jliedl.bsky.social @danhf.bsky.social & of course @chriskempshall.bsky.social!
January 30, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
January 28, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Laurentian president today released an infuriating op-ed. She claims they can't negotiate because they already made their "best offer". What BS! Let Laurentian know that by supporting the Association in the poll. @lufappul.bsky.social www.thesudburystar.com/opinion/laur...
Laurentian can’t afford what faculty association is asking for: Wells - Take our poll
‘We have put forward in good faith our best offer possible for improved salaries, pensions, and workload,’ university president says.
www.thesudburystar.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:08 PM
If we weren't on strike, right now I'd be initiating placement systems for students wanting to start French as a Second Language courses. Spring registrations should open soon but now students will be waiting because LU admin doesn't value faculty time & expertise!
a woman says i love paperwork but this is crazy in front of a pile of papers
Alt: A young woman with long brown hair sits at a desk eyeing a mountain of files and shakes her head while she says, "I love paperwork but this is crazy"
media.tenor.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
Our cover this week.
January 29, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
I realize this may not be common knowledge, but the fact that a prior bill gave ICE funding does not mean that Congress does not have the power to change that prior bill. Prior Congresses can't bind the current Congress.
Things are terrible, but we need to be strategic right now.
January 29, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Their "up-to-date" update is five days old. Students have lost more than a week-and-a-half in their term while the administration appears to lollygag around!
January 28, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
I want to say a bit more about our initiative to hire scholars to 3yr Research Associate positions.

None of us know what the twinning of humanities research support and employment will look like in another 5(?) years. But we do know that we need it. As a matter of social and cultural health. 1/
Please share widely!

The JCB is hiring two three-year research associates for collaborative work on religions and freedoms in the early Americas.

Details at jcblibrary.org!
January 28, 2026 at 12:27 PM
The Google Form for picket sign-ups (week 3 & 4) opened four hours ago and @lufappul.bsky.social members show their commitment as they register for shifts they'll conduct in the bitter cold. 124! 125! 126! The list just keeps growing.

Let's go!
a man in a plaid shirt is standing in front of a wooden fence .
Alt: A man in a plaid shirt leans in front of a farm stand before standing up and announcing, "Let's go!"
media.tenor.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:17 AM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
"If the Minnesota resistance has an overarching ideology, you could call it 'neighborism'—a commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from. The contrast with the philosophy guiding the Trump administration couldn’t be more extreme."
Stop what you’re doing and read this piece, which is as powerful as you’d expect from @adamserwer.bsky.social witnessing the events of last week on the ground in Minnesota. “The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone.”
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
www.theatlantic.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:32 PM
An excellent walk-through of the problems with genAI in workplaces. I'm adding this to my resources to share with students but it might also help with Cousin Buck or other folks outside academe and education.
January 26, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Our students have just started a petition supporting Laurentian's faculty union. They recognize that the admin's foot-dragging does irreparable harm to their winter term & plans beyond. Alumni & community are also asked to sign and support!
Sign the Petition
Support LUFA – Appuyons l’APPUL
www.change.org
January 26, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
Hello! Are you in the UK/Canada/Aus/NZ? Did you discover RPGs through any of the paperback-book games released in the mid-1980s (Fighting Fantasy RPG, Advanced FF, Maelstrom, Dragon Warriors, Tunnels & Trolls)? Can I ask you a couple of questions for an article? Please get in touch.
January 25, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Janice Liedl
The headlines in this article in the Economist (UK) are great—better than almost any newspaper in the US
January 25, 2026 at 12:27 PM