Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · 6d

I am a massive fan of the dictionary

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 7d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

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Dr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.bsky.social · 21d

I'm sorry, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable permission to my voice and likeness? For what now? In any manner for any purpose???

This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Aug 15

But wait, there's more!
Here is another Call for Papers for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, this time together with my friend Adrián Rodríguez Avila. We invite papers on 'The Reckoning of Time in Medieval Scandinavia'.
Please share both these calls freely!

#medievalsky #imc2026 #oldnorse

International Medieval Congress
University of Leeds, 6–9 July 2026
Call for Papers
The Reckoning of Time in Medieval Scandinavia

Time is at the heart of medieval learning.
Some of the earliest attested manuscripts from medieval Scandinavia are Easter tables, historical writing went on to shape the composition of vernacular prose, and eschatologies both pagan and Christian guided the interpretation of the present.
For this strand, we invite 20-minute papers on any of the topics below and beyond. We especially encourage creativity and diverse
perspectives.
Computus, Easter tables, and related
manuscripts
Concepts of history
Time and memory
Notions of periodisation
Cosmologies and the rhythm of creation
Eschatological thought

Please submit abstracts of approximately 250 words and a short bio including name, pronouns, and affiliations to Adrián Rodríguez Avila (air27@cam.ac.uk) and Jonas Zeit-Altpeter (zeitaltpeter@uni-bonn.de) by the 19th of September.

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · 24d

There's still time for some last-minute abstracts! Deadline Friday 19 Sep! 🤗

Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Aug 14

Hi everyone! @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2025 was a wonderful experience for me -- so I'd love to do it again!
Here is a Call for Papers from Mary O'Connor and me, entitled Envisioning The Times: Writing the Past and Shaping the Future in Thirteenth-Century Norway.
#medievalsky #imc2026 #oldnorse

CfP for Leeds '26: Envisioning The Times: Writing the Past and Shaping the Future in Thirteenth-Century Norway
The thirteenth century witnessed immense changes in the political, legal, cultural, and literary life of Norway. The reign of Hákon Hákonarson brought an end to almost a century of civil wars while his son and successor Magnús Hákonarson lagabǿtir (‘the Lawmender’) undertook a major revision of the kingdom’s legislative systems. The reigns of both monarchs were characterised by political change, legislative
reform, growing international contacts, and cultural transformation. Alongside these changes, both kings were deeply invested in the
literary landscapes of their courts with each court becoming a hub of cultural and literary activity. Understanding how the past was
written and the ways in which texts could imaginatively shape the future offers insights into the politics, ideals, and cultural attitudes of
these two key monarchs.

In this session we invite papers which address any aspect of the political, legal, cultural, and literary life of the Norwegian court in the thirteenth century. We particularly welcome inter-disciplinary approaches which highlight the intersection of historical and literary trends shaping the political and milieu of the thirteenth century Norwegian court.
Topics/ themes may include but are not limited to:
Law codes and legal reform
Administrative reform
History of governance
Political expansion – including Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Faroes, Orkneys, and Scotland
Political contacts with Europe
Mirrors for Princes
Translations – Latin and other European vernaculars including French and
German
Kings sagas
Ecclesiastical history
Methodological approaches

Please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words by Friday 19 September and a brief biography to both Jonas Zeit-Altpeter
(zeitaltpeter@uni-bonn.de) and Mary Catherine O’Connor
(mary.oconnor@balliol.ox.ac.uk)

This session is sponsored by the Viking Society for Northern Research

Reposted by Jonas ZA

Laura @lauropea.bsky.social · Sep 3

The UK: saying the word 'Palestine' means you will be arrested and your name forever marked on a list of dangerous terrorists

Also the UK: a hate criminal got in trouble for calling for violence against a vulnerable minority? this is an absolute outrage

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Aug 28

Shockingly, I do! Why do I never have access to anything I need?

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Aug 15

But wait, there's more!
Here is another Call for Papers for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, this time together with my friend Adrián Rodríguez Avila. We invite papers on 'The Reckoning of Time in Medieval Scandinavia'.
Please share both these calls freely!

#medievalsky #imc2026 #oldnorse

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Aug 14

Hi everyone! @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2025 was a wonderful experience for me -- so I'd love to do it again!
Here is a Call for Papers from Mary O'Connor and me, entitled Envisioning The Times: Writing the Past and Shaping the Future in Thirteenth-Century Norway.
#medievalsky #imc2026 #oldnorse

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Reposted by Jonas ZA

Norse Hagiography Network @networknorse.bsky.social · Aug 5

CfP @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026:

New Studies in Old Norse Hagiography

Session Jointly Sponsored by the Norse Hagiography Network and the Viking Society for Northern Research

Deadline: August 24.

[Alt text in thread]

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Norse Hagiography Network @networknorse.bsky.social · Aug 5

CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social.

Deadline: August 31.

[Alt text in thread]

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Reposted by Jonas ZA

Fiona Campbell-Howes @fortrenn.bsky.social · Jul 10

I didn't notice this either, but if you're on Academia you can opt out of their AI nonsense by going to 'Account Settings' under your profile pic then 'AI Settings' on the left-hand side.

Sharon Greene @shazarch.bsky.social · Jul 10

WTAF. In my rage I almost missed the small print directing me to the page where I can opt to disable #AI making outputs of MY work. Seriously, the cyber world is driving my blood pressure up today! Daughter dealing with a #BitLocker débâcle too… 😭

Screen grab of an email from the website Academia telling me that an AI has created a podcast of one of my publications. It gives the options of listening to the 4.45 min audio and, in small print, the option to disable the production of AI outputs of my work

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Prof Katherine Schofield 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇪🇺 @katherineschof8.bsky.social · May 13

I’m one of those dodgy immigrants who came here on a spouse visa and got indefinite leave to remain after 12 months.

The incalculable harm I have done to the UK includes dedicating my life to public service, educating thousands of British young people, and paying more tax than I’ll ever get back.

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · May 8

als jemand der bei den game studies nur von außen zuschaut glaube ich, dass es ist sehr wichtig ist, erstmal den Streit zwischen ludology und narratology nachzuzeichnen 🤡

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · May 8

Interessanter Thread. Dieses ansprochene Problem wird noch verschärft, indem Prüfungen in Form von Hausarbeiten oft andere Kompetenzen abfragen als die im Seminar vermittelten. Keine Schreibübung vorher + kein Feedback nachher, aber das Schreiben selbst macht einen wesentlichen Teil der Note aus.

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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · May 8

I wrote about the widespread adoption of AI in education, and why there needs to be more resistance to it

open.substack.com/pub/irinadum...

What makes me mad about AI in education

How to crush a generation and tell them they're winning

open.substack.com

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · May 4

Ah, a textbook example of the orphan-crushing machine

A twitter post by @pookleblinky: Every heartwarming human interest story in america is like "he raised $20,000 to keep 200 orphans from being crushed in the orphan-crushing machine" and then never asks why an orphan-crushing machine exists or why you'd need to pay to prevent it from being used.

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Abi Stevens: MCM Ldn Oct @abistevensart.bsky.social · Apr 23

The anti-capitalist Bestiary is coming along nicely I think! 😎
#art #illustration #DisabledRights #TaxTheRich

A digital illustration of a griffin in green and yellow, in a style reminiscent of medieval bestiaries. It has a banner in its mouth that reads 'you are not a burden'.

An illustration in the same style, of a pink sphinx scowling, sitting and holding a banner over her shoulder tha reads 'tax the rich'.

Another illustration in the same style, of a green harpy woman with lilac hair and an angry expression. The banner she holds is pink and reads 'work does not equal worth'.

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 22

There's some additional irony in the fact that one of the women celebrated is Margarete Woltner, founder of Bonn's Department of Slavic Studies, which was unceremoniously shut down in 2012.

Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 22

Moreover, I don't see the ethical problems of generative AI addressed anywhere. Was this Midjourney model trained on illegally and/or unethically acquired data?

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 22

However, it's not like we don't know what these women looked like: there are actual pictures of them. The AI-generated version of them, displacing their actual faces, gives them a doll-like appearance in some cases: Amalie Kretzer is made noticeably slimmer, with larger eyes and dramatic eye shadow.

A picture generated by Midjourney based on Amalie Kretzer. It shows a young woman in front of the main building of the University of Bonn. From https://bilderinstitut.de/untaken-pictures-from-bonn.

A black-and-white portrait of Amalie Kretzer, a young woman wearing a serious expression. From https://bilderinstitut.de/untaken-pictures-from-bonn.

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 22

What a deeply strange exhibition at my home uni @unibonn.bsky.social. The goal is to show 'pictures that were unfortunately never taken' of female scientists (and scholars, one might add) of Bonn. These pictures are AI-generated.
bilderinstitut.de/untaken-pict...

Versäumte Bilder aus Bonn — Bilderinstitut

Her mit den Portr[AI]ts!

bilderinstitut.de

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 16

Hi! It's from Wendy Belcher, Writing Your Article in 12 Weeks. I just started working with it and it's life-changing stuff!!

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Jamie McKelvie @mckelvie.bsky.social · Apr 16

This is where your Harry Potter money goes

รℓσαɳε ℓყรɓεƭɦ 🏳️‍🌈 @sloanelysbeth.bsky.social · Nov 26

jk rowling funded a case going before the supreme court that argues it should be legal to discriminate against and persecute trans ppl.

yet still we have to listen to ‘centrists’ claiming she isn’t bigoted she just has ‘a difference of opinion’.

no trans ppl have a voice in these proceedings.

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 11

Danke für die Aufklärung!

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Jonas ZA @jonasza4.bsky.social · Apr 10

@stadtwerkebonn.bsky.social Hi! Warum kommt denn am Bonner Hbf ohne Erklärung mehrmals in Folge kein Flughafenbus - was ist da los?

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