Dr Victoria Austen
@vickyausten.bsky.social
2.4K followers 1.1K following 750 posts
Assistant Professor of Classics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Public Engagement Coordinator for @peoplingthepast.bsky.social Gif Enthusiast. My own unique mix of 🇬🇧🇨🇦🇺🇸 victoriaausten.com
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Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
sentantiq.bsky.social
live the the life of the mind, they said
Ken in pink shirt meme: my job is email
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
peoplingthepast.bsky.social
You can check out these top 5 videos, and all our other #PeoplingVideo content over at peoplingthepast.com/category/vid... /end
Graphic reads:
Video #1: Disability in Ancient Greece with Dr. Debby Sneed 
Video #14: Kara Cooney talks about Women and Power in Ancient Egypt  
Video #10: Katherine Blouin talks about the Cult of Isis 
Video #17 Tattoos in Ancient Egypt with Anne Austin https
Video #16: The Hyksos with Danielle Candelora
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
peoplingthepast.bsky.social
In celebration of our recent fifth birthday, Peopling the Past is counting down the top 5 of each of our media categories! Today we are giving a shout-out to the top 5 #PeoplingVideo contributions across the years /thread 🧵👇
Peopling the Past video logo
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
partialhistorians.bsky.social
Witness Augustus as you’ve never seem him, re-sculptured to look nothing like himself!

The scene is ostensibly Augustus driving a chariot of Tritons. The imagery includes Tritons holding a shield with an oak wreath (thought to be the clipeus virtutis) and Victoria.

#ReliefWednesday #AncientRome
Description from Kunsthistorisches Museum: “The cameo shows Augustus, clad in a toga – the heads of the figures are all modern – viewed from the front in a chariot being pulled through the sea by Tritons. The triumphant naval victor holds a branch in his right hand and a sceptre in his left. An oak wreath is attached to the parapet of the chariot, and a shell is attached to the end of the handle. While the two middle Tritons – one holding a horn in his right, the other a dolphin in his left – each raise an arm symmetrically as if pointing at Augustus, the two outer Tritons carry the symbols of his reign in front of him: the left holds a globe, on which a shield with an oak wreath (clipeus virtutis) flanked by two ibexes, and the right shows Victoria floating on the globe. The cameo was probably created soon after 27 BCE, when Augustus was awarded the oak wreath, which - together with the ibex - was also engraved on the back of the stone in the 16th century.”
vickyausten.bsky.social
That feeling when you can clear all the tabs once you’ve submitted a piece of writing 🤌🏻
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
marisakabas.bsky.social
"AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be re-consumed" so succinct! so good!
chibdm.bsky.social
Robin Williams' daughter has some quality thoughts on AI slop
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
angryblacklady.blacksky.app
you are no longer allowed to have imposter syndrome.

not after this bari omgwtf weiss situation.

you're literally not allowed to feel imposter syndrome ANYMORE
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
annieabrams.bsky.social
quick, while we still have people around who know some other mode, let’s fix it
phdhurtbrain.bsky.social
I worry that in schools they’re getting too much “active reading” training too early. Actively pulling information from a passage is a very useful skill, but is certainly not how you should engage with Gandalf inviting dwarves to your peaceful home for a raucous party.
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
laurenginsberg.bsky.social
Yup.
anisekstrong.bsky.social
I spend the whole dang first part of my career saying that comparisons between the modern United States and the late Roman Republic are often misleading and facile, and then...he just mints it right out...
Silver coin of Julius Caesar, which caused major controversy during his lifetime because only dead people were supposed to be on coins.
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
peoplingthepast.bsky.social
In the spirit of Halloween, October’s #ImageOfTheMonth is a particularly cursed item: a Roman curse tablet (defixio) from 1st–4th century CE London (British Museum 1934,1105.1).
This thin sheet of lead wishes ill-health to a woman named Tretia Maria /1
A thin lead sheet with holes pierced in it.
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
pixelfish.bsky.social
Love that Jane Goodall was all, “why yes, I do have jolly nice legs! Good job, legs,” when asked about the attitudes of jealous male scientists towards her body and image.
yasharali.bsky.social
1. I was so grateful to Alex Cooper for having Dr. Jane Goodall on Call Her Daddy earlier this year which brought Dr. Goodall’s life’s work and example to millions of young women who might have heard of her, or recognized her, but may not have known of the depth of her contribution.
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
toddedillard.bsky.social
I heard "there's artificial intelligence, and there's actual intelligence" and almost choked to death on this cough drop
merriam-webster.com
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
vickyausten.bsky.social
I am currently running a @wikieducation.bsky.social assignment with my Roman art and archaeology class and I guess I now have a new exhibit to discuss with the students 🙃
Also 1) these people woefully misrepresent how the platform works and 2) their focus on *bios* is so incredibly telling.
volts.wtf
We laugh at this shit -- I mean, how can you not? -- but it's serious: these guys want to infuse reactionary thinking into AI and then infuse AI into every nook & cranny of American life. They can't win the argument so they are trying to blunt-force their views onto us with money & power.
vickyausten.bsky.social
Grading my student journals is going well this morning 😅
Coffee spill on paper.
vickyausten.bsky.social
My whole approach to life right now.
amchristensen.bsky.social
Have a good day, folks. Things are really shitty. Find something, even something tiny, that brings you some respite-bearing joy.
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
sarahebond.bsky.social
Alright classicists and ancient historians, do you have someone you wish to nominate for the @scsclassics.bsky.social outreach prizes? The deadline is coming up on October 31, 2025, so please take a look at both the Forum and The Mary-Kay Gamel Outreach Prizes to see if your fav should be nominated.
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants | Society for Classical Studies
Awards Teaching and Advising Awards
www.classicalstudies.org
Reposted by Dr Victoria Austen
vickyausten.bsky.social
Well here’s a fun fact about my now-home state.
🎃 all hail the pumpkin king!
chigeek.bsky.social
The annual pumpkin display at the entrance of Governor Pritzker’s personal residence on Astor Street. He is the pumpkin king. Illinois produces the most pumpkins, including canned, than any other state in the U.S., twice as many as the next five states combined.
My photo taken last year of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s personal residence on Chicago’s Astor Street showcasing an impressive pumpkin and gourd display.