David Defries
@ddefries.bsky.social
Early medievalist studying collective memory, hagiography and Flanders. Working on a collaboration to look at early medieval Flanders from a global perspective.
Reposted by David Defries
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Fellowship
theonion.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Hey all,
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships.
Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits.
You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.
Reposted by David Defries
this is a must-read for anyone in higher ed.
“The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free.“
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
this is a must-read for anyone in higher ed.
Reposted by David Defries
when Michael Phelps was dominating US swimming there was endless coverage of all his genetic advantages. His wingspan, the way his body processed lactic acid, on and on and on. Nobody, not one person, floated the idea of kicking him out of the sport for genetic advantages
“I just have concerns about fairness in sport” - no, you don’t. There’s nothing fair about elite sports. You’re just looking for post hoc justification because we give you the ick
December 2, 2025 at 11:36 AM
when Michael Phelps was dominating US swimming there was endless coverage of all his genetic advantages. His wingspan, the way his body processed lactic acid, on and on and on. Nobody, not one person, floated the idea of kicking him out of the sport for genetic advantages
Reposted by David Defries
Looking forward to a rather busy Leeds! Delighted by the set of panels organised with @jakestattel.bsky.social!
@imc-leeds.bsky.social #IMC26
@imc-leeds.bsky.social #IMC26
December 2, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Looking forward to a rather busy Leeds! Delighted by the set of panels organised with @jakestattel.bsky.social!
@imc-leeds.bsky.social #IMC26
@imc-leeds.bsky.social #IMC26
Reposted by David Defries
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
December 1, 2025 at 11:09 AM
This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥
Reposted by David Defries
And we are offering 20% off pre-orders for Kathleen E. Kennedy's 𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 with the code KENNEDY2026:
www.concordia.ca/press/illumi...
www.concordia.ca/press/illumi...
November 25, 2025 at 9:51 PM
And we are offering 20% off pre-orders for Kathleen E. Kennedy's 𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 with the code KENNEDY2026:
www.concordia.ca/press/illumi...
www.concordia.ca/press/illumi...
Reposted by David Defries
And engaging in this kind of pedagogy is simply the entry-level version of when scholars do this, which I wrote about here. www.artforum.com/features/gen...
November 24, 2025 at 1:32 PM
And engaging in this kind of pedagogy is simply the entry-level version of when scholars do this, which I wrote about here. www.artforum.com/features/gen...
Reposted by David Defries
If you love insular manuscripts & have always wanted to visit Hereford Cathedral's chained library, 2026 is the year to come! Shaping Early Medieval Faith: The Hereford Gospels will run 30 March-12 September 2026. More details, including about the manuscript's palimpsest, coming soon.
November 19, 2025 at 2:23 PM
If you love insular manuscripts & have always wanted to visit Hereford Cathedral's chained library, 2026 is the year to come! Shaping Early Medieval Faith: The Hereford Gospels will run 30 March-12 September 2026. More details, including about the manuscript's palimpsest, coming soon.
Reposted by David Defries
Oh wow! This is what happens when you're photographing MSS & don't capture the text in the inner gutter. 1st, here's the photograph (made about 100 yrs ago) of the Codex Salernitanus, f. 82ra. Although that big tear of the page is obvious, the inner gutter hasn't been fully captured in the photo.
November 18, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Oh wow! This is what happens when you're photographing MSS & don't capture the text in the inner gutter. 1st, here's the photograph (made about 100 yrs ago) of the Codex Salernitanus, f. 82ra. Although that big tear of the page is obvious, the inner gutter hasn't been fully captured in the photo.
Reposted by David Defries
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Dorestad and Everything After @ Sidestone Press
Dorestad was the largest town of the Low Countries in the Carolingian era. As an inland port on the edge of the Frankish Empire, it functioned as an international hub, connecting the North Sea World w...
www.sidestone.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:18 PM
www.sidestone.com/books/dorest...
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Delighted to share that the proceedings of the Fourth Dorestad Congress are out now, available to read for free online!
This was a great conference to be a part of during Jan 2024, w/ @amwillemsen.bsky.social @scoupland.bsky.social @ccooijmans.bsky.social !
Reposted by David Defries
Uploaded: "The Zuidbarge and Zuidlaren hoards of 1860 and the Italian coinage of the late ninth century" (NC 2023) works.hcommons.org/records/mefb...
The Zuidbarge and Zuidlaren hoards of 1860 and the Italian coinage of the late ninth century
In early 1860 two late ninth-century coin hoards, both consisting primarily of large-flan Italian deniers, turned up in the eastern Dutch province of Drenthe. The similarity of the two deposits soon l...
works.hcommons.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Uploaded: "The Zuidbarge and Zuidlaren hoards of 1860 and the Italian coinage of the late ninth century" (NC 2023) works.hcommons.org/records/mefb...
Reposted by David Defries
Will you be in Vienna in mid-December? If so, you can come hear me give the annual IMAFO lecture on editing the East Frankish royal charters! You know you want to... #charterrific
November 13, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Will you be in Vienna in mid-December? If so, you can come hear me give the annual IMAFO lecture on editing the East Frankish royal charters! You know you want to... #charterrific
Reposted by David Defries
Today (Thursday, 13 November, 4.45 p.m.) at Warsaw Late Antique Seminar: Stuart Airlie (University of Glasgow), Body Horror of the Empress and Dark Palaces of the Emperor: Rulers and Resentment c.400-c.1100. In-persona and on Zoom.
November 13, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Today (Thursday, 13 November, 4.45 p.m.) at Warsaw Late Antique Seminar: Stuart Airlie (University of Glasgow), Body Horror of the Empress and Dark Palaces of the Emperor: Rulers and Resentment c.400-c.1100. In-persona and on Zoom.
Reposted by David Defries
Reposted by David Defries
Oh hey, that's me! Very much looking forward to giving this talk at ITU next week!
Friends! On November 19th at 16:00, in Auditorium 3 at the ITU, we are hosting a talk by Florence Smith Nicholls. The talk is titled How to be a video game archaeologist. You can read about it here: digitalplay.itu.dk/event/floren...
How To Be A Video Game Archaeologist - A talk by Florence Smith Nicholls | Center for Digital Play
How To Be A Video Game Archaeologist - A talk by Florence Smith Nicholls
digitalplay.itu.dk
November 10, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Oh hey, that's me! Very much looking forward to giving this talk at ITU next week!
Reposted by David Defries
Here is Mahmood Mamdani describing the time in 1965 when the FBI inadvertently introduced him to Karl Marx. This took place in Pittsburgh, and was in response to a SNCC visit to Alabama during which he met Martin Luther King.
November 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Here is Mahmood Mamdani describing the time in 1965 when the FBI inadvertently introduced him to Karl Marx. This took place in Pittsburgh, and was in response to a SNCC visit to Alabama during which he met Martin Luther King.
Reposted by David Defries
November 6, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by David Defries
this great article by @debtcollective.bsky.social lays out really clearly what's been on my mind all day: everybody better get real familiar with municipal finance real quick
www.inthered.org/p/zohran-won...
www.inthered.org/p/zohran-won...
Zohran Won Main Street—Now He Must Face Wall Street
Mamdani will face a looming threat to his progressive agenda: debt
www.inthered.org
November 5, 2025 at 11:24 PM
this great article by @debtcollective.bsky.social lays out really clearly what's been on my mind all day: everybody better get real familiar with municipal finance real quick
www.inthered.org/p/zohran-won...
www.inthered.org/p/zohran-won...
Reposted by David Defries
What historians see when people claim AI is solving mysteries that have baffled historians for years.
November 5, 2025 at 2:24 PM
What historians see when people claim AI is solving mysteries that have baffled historians for years.
Reposted by David Defries
@biblioracle.bsky.social:
“The root challenge of this dilemma is the transactional model of school, which emphasizes the product that can be graded as more important than the experience of learning.” www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
“The root challenge of this dilemma is the transactional model of school, which emphasizes the product that can be graded as more important than the experience of learning.” www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Writing Classes Are About Writing, Not AI-Aided Production
If we want students to learn to write, AI tools shouldn’t have much of a role. If we don’t think students need to learn to write anymore, I’m not sure what we’re doing here.
www.insidehighered.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM
@biblioracle.bsky.social:
“The root challenge of this dilemma is the transactional model of school, which emphasizes the product that can be graded as more important than the experience of learning.” www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
“The root challenge of this dilemma is the transactional model of school, which emphasizes the product that can be graded as more important than the experience of learning.” www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Reposted by David Defries
There is a whole series of Italian fakes from this period, and I would very much place this coin alongside them with a large question mark!
November 2, 2025 at 3:05 PM
There is a whole series of Italian fakes from this period, and I would very much place this coin alongside them with a large question mark!
Reposted by David Defries
A silver coin issued by Duke Grimoald III in southern Italy, c. 788, showing his and Charlemagne's monogram.
November 2, 2025 at 10:03 AM
A silver coin issued by Duke Grimoald III in southern Italy, c. 788, showing his and Charlemagne's monogram.
Reposted by David Defries
Today may be the feast of All Saints, but it is also specifically the feast of Audomar, d. ca. 670. That's Saint Omer to you and me. This is one of those cases where I'd completely failed to reason through the French deletion of superfluous consonants from Latin name to French name...
November 1, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Today may be the feast of All Saints, but it is also specifically the feast of Audomar, d. ca. 670. That's Saint Omer to you and me. This is one of those cases where I'd completely failed to reason through the French deletion of superfluous consonants from Latin name to French name...
Reposted by David Defries
Some shameless self promotion if anyone happens to be in Chicago and wants a beer and a talk on medieval manuscripts.
October 31, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Some shameless self promotion if anyone happens to be in Chicago and wants a beer and a talk on medieval manuscripts.