Jen Baird
@jenbaird.bsky.social
730 followers 500 following 100 posts
Professor of Archaeology at Birkbeck, University of London. Director of Carena Institute of Sustainable Archaeologies. Excavator of archives. Syria, Romans, photographs, Dura-Europos. Newfoundlander.
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Reposted by Jen Baird
historyworkshop.org.uk
How has paperwork served as a tool of empowerment for people who often find power elusive?

In our latest podcast, a group of historians, archivists, and activists met at the Raphael Samuel History Centre (@rshc.bsky.social) to discuss the hidden history of paperwork 🗃️🎙️
Changing The Record
How has paperwork served over time as a radical tool for empowerment and change?
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
jenbaird.bsky.social
They’re largely from secondary contexts so it’s difficult to be precise, but mostly third century CE
jenbaird.bsky.social
Term is coming up, time to decorate those office doors
drdanstewart1.bsky.social
Apropos of nothing, here's some posters I made for outside my office in case anyone wants them. Text on one edited from @blacktrowel.bsky.social, the other from an Eco article (both cited of course). If you'd like the PDF files, just email me. #antifascist #AncientBluesky 🏺
A poster titled "Don't Panic! How to fight fascism as a student of the past". 14 points are listed: 1. Document. 2. Work Together. 3. Leverage your skills. 4. De-escalate. 5. Beware entryism. 6. Know the tools of fascism. 7. Solidarity over charity. 8. Thank local, plan big. 9. Money works. 10. Get trained. 11. Grow your roots. 12. Push through discomfort. 13. Stay safe. 14. Remember, tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil. A poster entitled "How to Spot a Fascist". Taken from an Umberto Eco 1995 Article in the New York Review of Books. 14 signs are listed: 1. The cult of tradition. 2. The rejection of modernism. 3. The cult of action for action's sake. 4. Disagreement is treason. 5. Fear of difference. 6. Appeal to social frustration. 7. The obsession with a plot. 8. The enemy is both weak and strong. 9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. 10. Contempt for the weak. 11. Everybody is educated to become a hero. 12. Machismo and weaponry. 13. Selective populism. 14. Un-fascism through Newspeak.
jenbaird.bsky.social
Massive congrats to Juliet, of @bbkhistorical.bsky.social, on her first publication, documenting the important corpus of bone dolls from Dura-Europos. Juliet's PhD is exploring the archaeology of childhood from the archives of the site. 🥳
Black and white archival photograph of fragments of Roman-period bone dolls from Dura-Europos
jenbaird.bsky.social
Join us in Aarhus for RAC/TRAC 2026!

Rubina Raja and I have organised a session on "Archival Fieldwork" in archaeology and welcome submissions

Details on how to apply and attend here: www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk/ractrac-2026... (Deadline October 10)
Call for Papers « Roman Archaeology Conference
Roman Archaeology Conference
www.romansocietyrac.ac.uk
Reposted by Jen Baird
lesleymcf.bsky.social
Come along to a gathering around contemporary art and archaeology on Arran at 4pm- 6pm on the 8th August!
www.ticketsource.co.uk
Reposted by Jen Baird
jessicareinisch.bsky.social
Talked to @nature.com last week about scientific conferences in the past, present and future
jenbaird.bsky.social
If only there was an existing national body, funded by the govt, who had the relevant expertise, eh?
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Emlyn! Yes we really must finally have that coffee, before too long!
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Alasdair!
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Julia! We're so fortunate with our historian colleagues, and really couldn't have done this without them cheering us on (especially @jessicareinisch.bsky.social)!
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Juliet! Can't wait to talk to you more about it next time I see you!
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Alexandra, me too! So excited to have support for our MAs (so hard these days, you know what it's like).
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Colleen :)
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks, Rhi! It has been a wild and wonderful few months!
jenbaird.bsky.social
There will be more news and events soon! It has been incredible (during dark times for universities, and the world, in so many ways) to be able to develop this, and think about the future, with @lesleymcf.bsky.social and Esther Breithoff.
jenbaird.bsky.social
Thanks to an incredibly generous former student, we have some wonderful news for archaeology at Birkbeck: a new institute.

The Carena Institute of Sustainable Archaeologies will enable research projects, support global collaborations, and fund studentships as well.

www.bbk.ac.uk/research/cen...
Carena Institute of Sustainable Archaeologies - Birkbeck, University of London
www.bbk.ac.uk
jenbaird.bsky.social
And with an amazing external examiner! ☺️