Sam Barber
@barber-samj.bsky.social
Smith College/UMass Amherst | Art, architecture, material culture | Late Antiquity & the Early Middle Ages
Believe it or not, this is even worse than it sounds. Unmissable.
An academic disliked an Oxford Very Short Introduction (145 pages) in his field so much that he wrote a 200 page book review attacking it. www.pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFi...
December 11, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Believe it or not, this is even worse than it sounds. Unmissable.
Reposted by Sam Barber
An academic disliked an Oxford Very Short Introduction (145 pages) in his field so much that he wrote a 200 page book review attacking it. www.pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFi...
December 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
An academic disliked an Oxford Very Short Introduction (145 pages) in his field so much that he wrote a 200 page book review attacking it. www.pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFi...
Reposted by Sam Barber
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
Reposted by Sam Barber
REPEAT AFTER ME (but really, after Neil Kraus):
Wage stagnation and underemployment are not problems that education can fix. We cannot "upskill" students into well-paying jobs that do. not. exist.
Wage stagnation and underemployment are not problems that education can fix. We cannot "upskill" students into well-paying jobs that do. not. exist.
Do not accept the premise that education is to blame for abysmal jobs outcomes.
“The fantasy economy's framing of economic inequality… focuses exclusively on education…deflects attention away from decades of public policies and changing business practices that have…contributed to stagnating wages”
“The fantasy economy's framing of economic inequality… focuses exclusively on education…deflects attention away from decades of public policies and changing business practices that have…contributed to stagnating wages”
December 9, 2025 at 6:21 PM
REPEAT AFTER ME (but really, after Neil Kraus):
Wage stagnation and underemployment are not problems that education can fix. We cannot "upskill" students into well-paying jobs that do. not. exist.
Wage stagnation and underemployment are not problems that education can fix. We cannot "upskill" students into well-paying jobs that do. not. exist.
Reposted by Sam Barber
can't stop watching this clip of a tesla Optimus teleoperator taking his headset off before properly logging out the robot
December 8, 2025 at 9:29 AM
can't stop watching this clip of a tesla Optimus teleoperator taking his headset off before properly logging out the robot
Reposted by Sam Barber
My new article has now been published in the 2025 volume of Traditio. I use a little examined episode on the lower Rhine in the late 350s with the aid of agricultural archaeology to reveal fiscal dependency relations between the Empire & Barbaricum, & the consequences of their rupture. #medievalsky
JULIAN’S BATAVIAN CAMPAIGN, AN EMBEZZLEMENT TRIAL IN BRITAIN, AND BARBARIAN ACCESS TO THE ANNONA MILITARIS | Traditio | Cambridge Core
JULIAN’S BATAVIAN CAMPAIGN, AN EMBEZZLEMENT TRIAL IN BRITAIN, AND BARBARIAN ACCESS TO THE ANNONA MILITARIS - Volume 80
doi.org
December 5, 2025 at 10:21 AM
My new article has now been published in the 2025 volume of Traditio. I use a little examined episode on the lower Rhine in the late 350s with the aid of agricultural archaeology to reveal fiscal dependency relations between the Empire & Barbaricum, & the consequences of their rupture. #medievalsky
Reposted by Sam Barber
Figurative Norman fonts in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Unwrapped.
December 7, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Figurative Norman fonts in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Unwrapped.
The mosaic was found only quite recently (in 2021) and it really is a stunner www.bbc.com/news/uk-engl...
December 7, 2025 at 4:25 PM
The mosaic was found only quite recently (in 2021) and it really is a stunner www.bbc.com/news/uk-engl...
Reposted by Sam Barber
Troy Story: The Ketton Mosaic, Aeschylus, and Greek Mythography in Late Roman Britain | Britannia | Cambridge Core
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Troy Story: The Ketton Mosaic, Aeschylus, and Greek Mythography in Late Roman Britain | Britannia | Cambridge Core
Troy Story: The Ketton Mosaic, Aeschylus, and Greek Mythography in Late Roman Britain
www.cambridge.org
December 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Troy Story: The Ketton Mosaic, Aeschylus, and Greek Mythography in Late Roman Britain | Britannia | Cambridge Core
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Sam Barber
When Frank Gehry submitted his first proposal for the Eisenhower Memorial, it included a mock-up for a monumental sculpture. The statue depicted Ike as neither the president nor general but rather as a "barefoot boy," which is how he described himself returning to Kansas in victory after WWII.
December 5, 2025 at 11:29 PM
When Frank Gehry submitted his first proposal for the Eisenhower Memorial, it included a mock-up for a monumental sculpture. The statue depicted Ike as neither the president nor general but rather as a "barefoot boy," which is how he described himself returning to Kansas in victory after WWII.
Reposted by Sam Barber
I wrote a book, it now has a cover, it's all feeling very real! Coming out (open access) in February, for all those with an interest in, well, religion, gender, and/or politics in Sri Lankan history.
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270309...
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270309...
Religion, Gender, and Politics in Medieval Sri Lanka - Arc Humanities Press
The early second millennium was a pivotal moment in the history of Theravāda Buddhism. Religious reforms carried out at Poḷonnaruva, then-capital of Sri L...
www.arc-humanities.org
December 3, 2025 at 8:01 AM
I wrote a book, it now has a cover, it's all feeling very real! Coming out (open access) in February, for all those with an interest in, well, religion, gender, and/or politics in Sri Lankan history.
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270309...
www.arc-humanities.org/978180270309...
Reposted by Sam Barber
1 Dec: Lk 2:1:
وكان فى تلك الايام خرج امر من قبل قيصر اغسطس ان يعدل الدنيا كلها
wa-kāna fī tilka l-ʔayyām ḫaraǧa min qibali Qayṣar ʔAġusṭus ʔamr ʔan yuʕaddala d-dunyā kulluhā
'In these days, a decree was issued by Emperor Augustus that [the number of people of]* the entire world should be measured'
وكان فى تلك الايام خرج امر من قبل قيصر اغسطس ان يعدل الدنيا كلها
wa-kāna fī tilka l-ʔayyām ḫaraǧa min qibali Qayṣar ʔAġusṭus ʔamr ʔan yuʕaddala d-dunyā kulluhā
'In these days, a decree was issued by Emperor Augustus that [the number of people of]* the entire world should be measured'
December 1, 2025 at 10:27 AM
1 Dec: Lk 2:1:
وكان فى تلك الايام خرج امر من قبل قيصر اغسطس ان يعدل الدنيا كلها
wa-kāna fī tilka l-ʔayyām ḫaraǧa min qibali Qayṣar ʔAġusṭus ʔamr ʔan yuʕaddala d-dunyā kulluhā
'In these days, a decree was issued by Emperor Augustus that [the number of people of]* the entire world should be measured'
وكان فى تلك الايام خرج امر من قبل قيصر اغسطس ان يعدل الدنيا كلها
wa-kāna fī tilka l-ʔayyām ḫaraǧa min qibali Qayṣar ʔAġusṭus ʔamr ʔan yuʕaddala d-dunyā kulluhā
'In these days, a decree was issued by Emperor Augustus that [the number of people of]* the entire world should be measured'
"After Mr. Paul learned from his wife that the authorities were threatening to deport her without a hearing ... their lawyer filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego to halt her removal and secure her release.
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:26 PM
"After Mr. Paul learned from his wife that the authorities were threatening to deport her without a hearing ... their lawyer filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego to halt her removal and secure her release.
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
Reposted by Sam Barber
News to me, but apparently this article is out now in #openaccess!
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
November 26, 2025 at 3:08 AM
News to me, but apparently this article is out now in #openaccess!
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Sam Barber
I’m thrilled to share my new article, online and open access in Medieval Encounters! It’s called “Beyond Belief: Byzantine Statue Stories and their Absent Objects,” but it could be called “A Tale of Two Boars” 🐗 🐗
November 25, 2025 at 10:26 AM
I’m thrilled to share my new article, online and open access in Medieval Encounters! It’s called “Beyond Belief: Byzantine Statue Stories and their Absent Objects,” but it could be called “A Tale of Two Boars” 🐗 🐗
Reposted by Sam Barber
Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
Restoring our services – November 2025 update
In the coming weeks and months we will be restoring a number of key functions.
www.bl.uk
November 22, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
Reposted by Sam Barber
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Protest and Public Space in Fourth-Century Rome
Popular discontent in Late Antiquity has traditionally been interpreted as a sign of social disfunction and urban decline – a framework that has underestimated the political agency exercised by non...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sam Barber
It strikes me that a lot of educational conversations around AI and cheating have to do with the uncomfortable coexistence of our institutions of learning as both hierarchical merit systems and spaces of knowledge acquisition/production
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
It strikes me that a lot of educational conversations around AI and cheating have to do with the uncomfortable coexistence of our institutions of learning as both hierarchical merit systems and spaces of knowledge acquisition/production
Reposted by Sam Barber
my most butlerian jihad coded belief is that we should probably make it illegal – and more importantly, we should work toward a cultural consensus that it is immoral – to design a computer program whose interface uses the first person
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
my most butlerian jihad coded belief is that we should probably make it illegal – and more importantly, we should work toward a cultural consensus that it is immoral – to design a computer program whose interface uses the first person
Reposted by Sam Barber
It's Julia Child Day (at Smith College)! Queen of the organized kitchen // download the special issue of Design Quarterly or a poster here walkerart.org/magazine/des...
November 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
It's Julia Child Day (at Smith College)! Queen of the organized kitchen // download the special issue of Design Quarterly or a poster here walkerart.org/magazine/des...
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Protest and Public Space in Fourth-Century Rome
Popular discontent in Late Antiquity has traditionally been interpreted as a sign of social disfunction and urban decline – a framework that has underestimated the political agency exercised by non...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sam Barber
ANUBIS: (presses button with paw) [guilty]
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
November 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
ANUBIS: (presses button with paw) [guilty]
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
Reposted by Sam Barber
more coverage of this administrative buzzword coup
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
November 19, 2025 at 12:45 PM
more coverage of this administrative buzzword coup
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
Reposted by Sam Barber
This isn’t “efficiency” it’s an ideological shift towards a Little England university system.
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:26 AM
This isn’t “efficiency” it’s an ideological shift towards a Little England university system.
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Sam Barber
UMass-Amherst is hiring “a specialist in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world” !
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor - History of Art & Architecture | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
November 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
UMass-Amherst is hiring “a specialist in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world” !
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...