Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · 11d

Burn. It. All. Down.

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 26

Attention early modernists! Now is a great moment for you to get a copy of Titian’s Icons. 60% discount on @psupress.bsky.social using code WHS25. It’s a beautiful book, and it won a major award, so it is worth having a copy on your shelf!

www.psupress.org/two_week_sal...

1 2

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 25

Good luck to all those starting the academic year today. This is going to be a tough year for Higher Ed. I will try to remember why I got into this: to help students realize that art shows us how many different ways humanity has manifest itself across time. The future is not yet written.

1 6

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 14

I do not know of a single public university president or chancellor who has even _tried_ making this point to the student body and their parents. It is such a pathetic abdication of leadership

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Mar 8

Here is UW - Madison's budget. Our <largest> funder is the federal government. 25%. It used to be the state. Either way, the university in its current form ceases to exist if these federal cuts really happen. But The. Public. Doesn't. Know. This. And our leaders are absent from the public debate.

38 110

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 12

you're sooooo right.

1

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 11

If my therapist does this, there will be hell to pay: "Ms. Swank uses A.I. to take unstructured notes from a visit and turn them into SOAP notes... (It stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan — a way of summarizing the visit and the next steps.)"

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 11

“The only part of the wine-program building process I missed was the tastings ... so far the A.I. can't recreate the joy of taking that sip.”... So far!!!!???? What are you even saying? Make it stop

1 1

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 11

I am giong to sound snooty, but if you can outsource your wine list to ChatGPT, you should not be running a place with a wine list.... and other stories from our dystopian present all wrapped up in one little article

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

21 Ways People Are Using A.I. at Work

Yes, it still makes plenty of mistakes, but it has become part of the job for many.

www.nytimes.com

2 5

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 8

Art Historians still live in the wake of Obama's derisive comment from 2014. Study after study shows that the humanities provide skills that are evergreen - the ability to critically assess sources and data far exceed the "skills' of any moment (see prompt engineering).
harpers.org/harpers-index

6 32

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 8

I serve as Chair of an art (and architectural) history department at a very large state school. We have over 100 majors. They are not "legacies." none of them. There is a world beyond the ivies.

3 27

Reposted by Christopher Nygren

Senate Gabe @senategabe.bsky.social · Aug 2

Oh please.

News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · Aug 1

COLBERT: You warned everyone…he would prosecute political enemies, cut Medicaid, alienate our allies, give tax cuts to the rich. I know you're not here to say 'I told you so' but would you like to?

HARRIS: You're correct. I did predict a lot of that. But what I did not predict was the capitulation.

2 9 35

Reposted by Christopher Nygren

Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · Aug 1

“American Academy of Arts&Sciences reports 96.3% of humanities grads age 23-32 fully employed. Earnings in humanitiess comparable to social/life sciences, job satisfaction levels too. A serious mismatch bw actual employment for hum grads +general perception."
www.mellon.org/voices/human...

Mellon Foundation

The Mellon Foundation makes grants to actively unlock the power in the arts and humanities that helps connect us all.

www.mellon.org

8 280 470

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Aug 1

One year ago today, we had to say goodbye to Zenzero, King of Cats and Loaf of Loafs.

Yesterday, we welcomed into our home Slinky. Like his name, he is long and squirmy. Z shall never be replaced, but I look forward to smothering this guy with love (the "cone of shame" will be off soon!)

kitten with a plastic cone around his head

kitten laying on a blue blanket as a human hand pets him

1 5

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 31

Very pleased to announce that my forthcoming book, Sedimentary Aesthetics: Painting on Stone and the Ecology of Early Modern Art, has been awarded a Millard Meiss Publication subvention. Get it from @yalepress.bsky.social in spring 2026!

www.collegeart.org/news/2025/07...

3

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 31

I’m going to disagree with you on this one. As Chair, _I’ve seen things_. Yes, I’ve also seen things that are deeply inappropriate and have no place in evals. But I also learned a great deal about what is going on in courses I don’t see. Faculty eval is not based solely on that. But I leaned.

1

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 30

I just threw up. This is embarrassing

1 1

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 29

I got the official jersey (no number) in fifth grade. In sixth grade I begged my parents to have the numbers added. Wire it for game 7 in 2016. Rest in peace, Ryno

Me wearing a cubs jersey with the number 23 visible on the back

4

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 29

I got the official jersey (no number) in fifth grade. In sixth grade I begged my parents to have the numbers added. Wire it for game 7 in 2016. Rest in peace, Ryno

1

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 25

Would be grateful if you could share

1

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 21

definite red cat energy.

Red cat sitting on the counter with its head stuck inside a box of take-out rice from a Chinese restaurant.

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 16

This is amazing. And the second post has a link to the actual job advert. This is not a hoax. Any university president ought to be able to write their own speeches. If they cannot, one might fairly argue that they are not qualified to lead an institution of higher ed.

Eric Weinberger @ericweinberger.bsky.social · Jul 15

The University of Texas will waste $325,000 of public money on a speechwriter for the President.

1 10

Reposted by Christopher Nygren

Alex MacLaren @alexmaclaren.bsky.social · Jul 15

Whole thread worth your attention

Roland Meyer @bildoperationen.bsky.social · Jul 2

AI-Slop is a product of platform capitalism, its reaction economies, filter aesthetics, recommendation algorithms, and monetization schemes. And these favor an aesthetic that elicits immediate engagement, reactions and responses, fine-tuned to sparkle, glow and visually pop out on mobile screens
5/

3 5

Reposted by Christopher Nygren

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · Jul 7

Whatever you do, don't use this online form to tell them to resign in shame.

Don't do that.

Do not do that.

Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · Jul 7

The New York Times is trying to reverse-engineer a pretext for their Mamdani piece; the product of what I'm imagining was a very panicked editorial meeting

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/u...

We Want to Hear From You: Are You Frustrated by Census and Racial Categories?

www.nytimes.com

56 180 710

Christopher Nygren @cnygren.bsky.social · Jul 5

I am very sorry. We had to say goodbye to this boy about 11 months ago. I still miss him dearly. May he enjoy all the treats, and may you remember him always.

Reposted by Christopher Nygren

Shana V. White (she/her) @shanavwhite.blacksky.app · Jul 4

After today, should make it crystal clear for everyone that "all lives matter" was a lie.

3 30 160