lindsay thomas
@lindsaythomas.net
academic and aspiring person who likes winter.
contemporary lit, digital stuff.
i’ve written about sci fi, national security and fiction, the humanities, bunkers, and chatbots. now writing about novels and how long they are.
https://lindsaythomas.net
contemporary lit, digital stuff.
i’ve written about sci fi, national security and fiction, the humanities, bunkers, and chatbots. now writing about novels and how long they are.
https://lindsaythomas.net
@wearehighered.bsky.social has designed a quick survey to gather information about current state and federal attacks on higher ed, program closures, budget cuts, etc. There is a lot happening all over, and a lot that isn’t being reported on. Take a moment to document it here:
Campus Tracker — We Are Higher Ed
www.wearehighered.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
@wearehighered.bsky.social has designed a quick survey to gather information about current state and federal attacks on higher ed, program closures, budget cuts, etc. There is a lot happening all over, and a lot that isn’t being reported on. Take a moment to document it here:
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Cornell Chapter of the AAUP
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
The Cornell AAUP chapter has consistently stated that any deal with the Trump administration would be strategically unwise and a betrayal of Cornell’s principles. This remains the case. We ar…
aaup-cornell.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Cornell Chapter of the AAUP
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Late to the party on this, but I like how this ends: “Confronting the material effects of AI on inequalities of wealth and power is even more critical, and the outcome of that struggle is hard to predict. What I do feel certain about, however, is that we need an active strategy.” Yes!
Wrote a short piece arguing that higher ed must help steer AI. TLDR: If we outsource this to tech, we outsource our whole business. But rejectionism is basically stalling. If we want to survive, schools themselves must proactively shape AI for education & research. [1/6, unpaywalled at 5/6] +
Opinion | AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It.
If we want to stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.
www.chronicle.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Late to the party on this, but I like how this ends: “Confronting the material effects of AI on inequalities of wealth and power is even more critical, and the outcome of that struggle is hard to predict. What I do feel certain about, however, is that we need an active strategy.” Yes!
Reposted by lindsay thomas
DEAR GRAD STUDENTS,
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
CFP: The Data of Post45 Literature and Culture (Online Graduate Workshop)
How has encroaching climate disaster impacted how the future is imagined in science fiction novels? What can a century of NYT bestsellers lists tell us about trends in mainstream publishing? And how c...
docs.google.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
DEAR GRAD STUDENTS,
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
Yes. The right takes us way more seriously than we take ourselves.
I didn’t get the wording down precisely, so I won’t quote it, but one of the things that hit hard in the room:
Reactionaries waging culture wars against the humanities have a more accurate account of our power than we do. And our humility is not admirable, but an abdication of responsibility.
Reactionaries waging culture wars against the humanities have a more accurate account of our power than we do. And our humility is not admirable, but an abdication of responsibility.
October 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Yes. The right takes us way more seriously than we take ourselves.
Reposted by lindsay thomas
cornell alums sign and share and fight and then some docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Alumni in Support of Cornell’s Independence, Democracy, and Academic Freedom
Please add your name below if you agree to be a signatory of the following message to be delivered to the Cornell Board of Trustees:
Dear Members of the Cornell Board of Trustees,
Ongoing attacks on A...
docs.google.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:56 PM
cornell alums sign and share and fight and then some docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
All of these books are FANTASTIC. I was blown away — in different ways — by each one and they were each a joy to read. The world is dark but scholarship continues to amaze
We are so excited to announce the shortlist for the ASAP/16 Book Prize!
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
October 6, 2025 at 1:58 PM
All of these books are FANTASTIC. I was blown away — in different ways — by each one and they were each a joy to read. The world is dark but scholarship continues to amaze
Reposted by lindsay thomas
We are so excited to announce the shortlist for the ASAP/16 Book Prize!
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
October 2, 2025 at 10:29 PM
We are so excited to announce the shortlist for the ASAP/16 Book Prize!
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
A small bright spot. Does this mean that university administrators will stop doing this administration’s illegal work for them??
BREAKING: WE WON!!!
💥 💥 💥
Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.
Full ruling here:
💥 💥 💥
Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.
Full ruling here:
Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law – #261 in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10685) – CourtListener.com
Judge William G. Young: ORDER entered. FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW, PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(Sonnenberg, Elizabeth) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/30/2025: # 1 Main Document) (J...
www.courtlistener.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM
A small bright spot. Does this mean that university administrators will stop doing this administration’s illegal work for them??
Every day is stupider
September 18, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Every day is stupider
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Grad students, please submit!!!
ASAP Members! Are you a grad student who presented at our conference last year in NYC? Submit for this year’s Grad Student Paper Prize! Swipe to see the guidelines! Submissions due OCT 1!
September 12, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Grad students, please submit!!!
Reposted by lindsay thomas
David Christensen, @mellymeldubs.bsky.social & I wrote about the Seattle Public Library open checkout dataset. The data is idiosyncratic and imperfect—but also a rare, detailed look at book popularity over time. Excited to see how others put it to use!
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
Seattle Public Library’s Open Checkout Data: What Can It Tell Us About Readers and Book Popularity More Broadly? | Journal of Open Humanities Data
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) publishes anonymized, open-access checkout data for every item in its collection, dating from 2005 to the present. To our knowledge, it is the only U.S. library to release checkout data by title with this level of temporal detail: one dataset records exact timestamps for print book checkouts, while another provides monthly aggregates across all formats (e.g., ebooks, audiobooks, print books). Because U.S. book sales data is largely inaccessible outside the publishing industry, SPL’s open checkout data offers a rare and valuable alternative. But how well does it generalize beyond Seattle? Does it reflect book sales? And what can it tell us about readers more broadly?
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com
August 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
David Christensen, @mellymeldubs.bsky.social & I wrote about the Seattle Public Library open checkout dataset. The data is idiosyncratic and imperfect—but also a rare, detailed look at book popularity over time. Excited to see how others put it to use!
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
Not surprising but depressing nonetheless
Cornell Reportedly Nears Up to $100 Million Settlement With Trump Admin to Restore Frozen Federal Funding
Cornell is reportedly in talks with the Trump administration to soon close on a settlement to pay up to $100 million to restore its frozen federal funding.
www.cornellsun.com
August 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Not surprising but depressing nonetheless
Reposted by lindsay thomas
New dataset on bestsellers from 40+ countries, with consistent coverage for France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the U.S.
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
July 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
New dataset on bestsellers from 40+ countries, with consistent coverage for France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the U.S.
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
I spent the weekend in Milwaukee doing one of my favorite Extremely Wholesome Activities: the Riverwest 24! It’s a 24-hour bike relay race typically completed in teams and involving the surrounding community. I biked over 60 miles, slept too little, and had a blast with old friends. Always a delight
July 28, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I spent the weekend in Milwaukee doing one of my favorite Extremely Wholesome Activities: the Riverwest 24! It’s a 24-hour bike relay race typically completed in teams and involving the surrounding community. I biked over 60 miles, slept too little, and had a blast with old friends. Always a delight
Dreaming of creating our own university, a free one, where we just learn and teach stuff, not controlled by business people, and no one is expelled or has their degree revoked for legal activities unrelated to academic conduct. Call me crazy
July 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Dreaming of creating our own university, a free one, where we just learn and teach stuff, not controlled by business people, and no one is expelled or has their degree revoked for legal activities unrelated to academic conduct. Call me crazy
Reposted by lindsay thomas
This is now a thread of ICE arrests in small towns and rural places in New York State. If you see a Facebook post, news article, or other documentation of detentions, please let me know, and I'll add them.
What it’s like right now to be one of the *many* sole Asian American families in small predominantly white towns around NYS.
July 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
This is now a thread of ICE arrests in small towns and rural places in New York State. If you see a Facebook post, news article, or other documentation of detentions, please let me know, and I'll add them.
We will abolish ICE. And dismantle DHS.
July 2, 2025 at 1:21 AM
We will abolish ICE. And dismantle DHS.
Dark, dark times but this man is so inspiring
This @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social video is absolutely INCREDIBLE. The numbers he cites, the strategy and results they produced — it’s the future. When have you heard *any* campaign talk about this, ever? (Video split in 2 to fit in Bluesky’s limits)
July 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Dark, dark times but this man is so inspiring
“…while the U.S. academy is one of the nation’s greatest achievements and public goods, and while it’s worth fighting for, it needn’t be — and shouldn’t be — preserved in its present neoliberal form. There’s so much that can be reimagined.” May we all have your courage and clear-eyed vision, Shannon
June 30, 2025 at 4:57 PM
“…while the U.S. academy is one of the nation’s greatest achievements and public goods, and while it’s worth fighting for, it needn’t be — and shouldn’t be — preserved in its present neoliberal form. There’s so much that can be reimagined.” May we all have your courage and clear-eyed vision, Shannon
A fascinating dataset that will be of interest to sci-fi scholars and beyond. And co-authored by Cornell Lit in English grad student @teddyleane.bsky.social!
Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower was published in 1993 and starts in 2024—a 31-year leap. Are creators imagining futures that are closer or further away?
Explore a *new* dataset of 2.5k narrative works set in the future, each tagged with its release year and setting.
doi.org/10.18737/552...
Explore a *new* dataset of 2.5k narrative works set in the future, each tagged with its release year and setting.
doi.org/10.18737/552...
June 25, 2025 at 7:10 PM
A fascinating dataset that will be of interest to sci-fi scholars and beyond. And co-authored by Cornell Lit in English grad student @teddyleane.bsky.social!
Ok there is a lot going on and everything is as horrible as ever, but I have to be honest: 28 Years Later is a maliciously bad film. I went bc it was 90 degrees in London and the theater was air conditioned — and bc I love bad zombie movies and watch them all of the time. But this one is BEYOND bad
June 22, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Ok there is a lot going on and everything is as horrible as ever, but I have to be honest: 28 Years Later is a maliciously bad film. I went bc it was 90 degrees in London and the theater was air conditioned — and bc I love bad zombie movies and watch them all of the time. But this one is BEYOND bad
I wrote about mid-20th century speed reading and its surprising interest in novel reading. Come for descriptions of how to move your hand down the page to increase your eye span, stay for an argument about speed reading, like close reading, as a defense of human reading in an age of reading machines
Speed Reading the Novel: Reading Dynamics and the Value of Reading at Midcentury
Abstract. This essay explores the literary foundations of the mid-twentieth-century speed-reading craze. Focusing on the most popular speed-reading program
academic.oup.com
June 13, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I wrote about mid-20th century speed reading and its surprising interest in novel reading. Come for descriptions of how to move your hand down the page to increase your eye span, stay for an argument about speed reading, like close reading, as a defense of human reading in an age of reading machines
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Good time to point out that @post45data.bsky.social also hosts OPEN-ACCESS, SEARCHABLE, and CITABLE data on US literary prizes, Iowa writers, NYT bestsellers, and (my own contribution) the thousands of American writers sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts! data.post45.org/our-data.html
June 12, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Good time to point out that @post45data.bsky.social also hosts OPEN-ACCESS, SEARCHABLE, and CITABLE data on US literary prizes, Iowa writers, NYT bestsellers, and (my own contribution) the thousands of American writers sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts! data.post45.org/our-data.html
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Did your NEH proposal or project funding get killed off?
Please share it at this week's @ach.bsky.social virtual conference!
Testify to the impact!
Share what you had started!
Share what you hoped & dreamed!
Open to all 👇
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help us spread the word?
Please share it at this week's @ach.bsky.social virtual conference!
Testify to the impact!
Share what you had started!
Share what you hoped & dreamed!
Open to all 👇
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help us spread the word?
June 11, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Did your NEH proposal or project funding get killed off?
Please share it at this week's @ach.bsky.social virtual conference!
Testify to the impact!
Share what you had started!
Share what you hoped & dreamed!
Open to all 👇
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help us spread the word?
Please share it at this week's @ach.bsky.social virtual conference!
Testify to the impact!
Share what you had started!
Share what you hoped & dreamed!
Open to all 👇
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Help us spread the word?