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Jana Byars

@janalena.bsky.social

1.1K followers 890 following 150 posts

Michigander in Amsterdam, early modern historian, avid reader of mystery and horror, hobby cook, nascent weaver, yoga teacher, podcast host with the New Books Network, Detroit sports fan, Basset Hound lover, slowly but surely becoming a tough old bird.

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 1d

same.

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 1d

Natural teacher, the charming @davidmwhitford.bsky.social joined me on @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social to talk about The Making of a #Reformation Man: #MartinLuther and Construction of #Masculinity @routledgehistory.bsky.social #EarlyModern #skystorians #BookSky📚💙

newbooksnetwork.com/hosts/index

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 6d

Purse? Handbag? Pocketbook? They all matter. Great @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social chat with Kathleen Casey about The Things She Carried: A #CulturalHistory of the #Purse in America @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
#skystorians #FashionHistory #USHistory #WomensHistory

newbooksnetwork.com/the-things-s...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 7d

I know I'm late to this party, but today I learned about the Lutheran Insulter today and it has changed my life. Thanks @davidmwhitford.bsky.social

ergofabulous.org/luther/?

Lutheran Insulter

Insults by Martin Luther

ergofabulous.org

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 8d

I don't know if I get points for this but I've always loathed "Millennial Gray." Writing that surrounded by my orange-brown, gold, and deep blue walls.

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 9d

I'm reading an essay published by an old-school archaeologist in the 1980s and everything about it is wild.

Um, so...my friend managed to start a fire with this mirror on a random date in 1971, so now I know that the Olmecs might have done it that way...

Holy mackerel. Different world.

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 13d

So great. Students love monster babies.

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 13d

The ludicrous idea that Tylenol causes autism reminds me a lot of the pre-modern idea monstrous births were the result of women having bad thoughts. Sketchy science aside it is just another way to control (and vilify!) women. I'm so tired.
#skystorians #earlymodernist #feminism #monsters #Tylenol

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 13d

@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social opens up the entire world.

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · 23d

Wonderful @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview with Spike Bucklow about his new @reaktionbooks.bsky.social release, The Year: An #Ecology of the #Zodiac. It defies genre, maybe even summation. Loved it. #BookSky📚💙 #anthropology #folklore #astrology #Skystorians

newbooksnetwork.com/year

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 18

Oh, this was fun! The marvelous Philip Carr-Gomm and I chatted on @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about his @reaktionbooks.bsky.social 2010 A Brief History of Nakedness. Listen, read, and check out the photos! #BookSky 📚💙 #Religion #Druidry #Nudity #WitchSky

newbooksnetwork.com/a-brief-hist...

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 15

Check out this quick and fun @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social chat with David de Boer about The #EarlyModern #Dutch Press in the Age of Religious Persecution" @oxunipress.bsky.social
#skystorians #Netherlands #Reformation #AcademicSky #Press #BookSky📚💙 #AcademicSky

newbooksnetwork.com/the-early-mo...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 12

newbooksnetwork.com/haint-country

Matthew R. Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, "Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers" (UP of Kentucky, 2024) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 12

And now for some good storytelling. Matt Sparks and Olivia Sizemore talk about Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers. @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social #Folklore #Appalachia #GhostStories #hauntings #Folktales #Kentucky

newbooksnetwork.com/haint-country

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 7

Smart and delightful book, equally enjoyable @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview. @domford.bsky.social Mytholudics: Games and Myth @degruyterbrill.bsky.social
#GameTheory#Folklore #Myth #PopularCulture
newbooksnetwork.com/mytholudics

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 5

Spoke to one of my academic heroes for this @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview! Samuel Kline Cohn, Popular Protest and Ideals of #Democracy in Late #Renaissance #Italy @oxunipress.bsky.social #skystorians #EarlyModern #politicalhistory

newbooksnetwork.com/popular-prot...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Aug 4

Back from holidays and ready to catch up. Check out this @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social beauty with with Michael Green about @inekehuysman.bsky.social Private Life and Privacy in the #EarlyModern #LowCountries @brepols.net #Netherlands #Skystorians #Renaissance
newbooksnetwork.com/private-life...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jul 1

Check out my @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview about The #Witch Studies Reader edited by @gentlemanjane.bsky.social and Soma Chaudhuri @dukepress.bsky.social
#GenderStudies #FeministStudies #decolonial #WomensHistory #postcolonial #witchcraft

newbooksnetwork.com/the-witch-st...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jul 1

newbooksnetwork.com/the-witch-st...

Soma Chaudhuri and Jane Ward, "The Witch Studies Reader" (Duke UP, 2025) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jul 1

newbooksnetwork.com/the-witch-st...

Soma Chaudhuri and Jane Ward, "The Witch Studies Reader" (Duke UP, 2025) - New Books Network

newbooksnetwork.com

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jun 24

This makes me miss teaching!

Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jun 24

This one was fun! @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview with #ArtHistory Andrea Beyer to talk about Benvenuto Cellini and the Embodiment of the Modern Artist @reaktionbooks.bsky.social

#ArtHistory #skystorians #EarlyModern #Renaissance
newbooksnetwork.com/benvenuto-ce...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jun 24

Give a listen to my @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview with Enrique Fernandez and Darlene Abreu-Ferreira about Death and Gender in the Early Modern Period @degruyterbrill.bsky.social. #HistoryofDeath #GenderStudies #skystorians #EarlyModern #BookSky 📚💙

newbooksnetwork.com/death-and-ge...

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Jana Byars @janalena.bsky.social · Jun 12

New @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview with David de Boer and Geert Janssen over @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social Refugee Politics in #EarlyModern Europe. #skystorians #BookSky📚💙 #EarlyModernist #Refugee #Migration #Renaissance #WarsofReligion

newbooksnetwork.com/refugee-poli...

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