Volker Schröder
@marphurius.bsky.social
280 followers 430 following 170 posts
Associate prof of French (emeritus) at Princeton. Working mostly on 17th-cy literature and culture, with a focus on bibliography, including manuscripts and prints. Research blog: anecdota.princeton.edu. Also on Mastodon: @[email protected]
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marphurius.bsky.social
The president of Bard College said the college would be “forced to reconsider getting the best people if they came from abroad.”
“It’s not patriotic,” Dr. Botstein said. “It harms the economy and has nothing to do with excellence.” - New York Times gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...
Trump’s H-1B Visa Fee Could Strain Universities and Schools
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Volker Schröder
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'A team of musicologists has unearthed the printed score of a previously unknown Purcell song, as well as the original manuscript for various keyboard compositions, partly in the composer’s own hand – the first Purcell autograph to be found for more than 30 years.' 1/3
‘Almost unheard of’: experts find more music by English composer Henry Purcell
Printed score and keyboard manuscript by Purcell, who died in 1695, unearthed in Worcestershire and Norfolk
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Volker Schröder
kojamf.bsky.social
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
Reposted by Volker Schröder
iobabooks.bsky.social
Recent changes to U.S. trade policies are affecting the book trade. The IOBA Board of Directors penned this letter reflecting our concerns. It was sent to U.S. Congress and Senate Committees.
Dear Chairman,

I'm writing to you as the President of the Independent Online Booksellers Association. IOBA is a U.S.-based, nonprofit, international trade organization benefiting member booksellers conducting business online, with many members also having brick and mortar retail operations.

The Executive Branch of the US government issued Executive Orders 14193, 14194, 14195, 14226, 14227, 14228, 14257, 14259, 14266, and 14298, all readable at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/ 

The stated intents of the Executive Orders were balancing trade and improving national security, but these Orders caused unintended, significant harm to the bookselling trade. Additionally, the Orders apply to trade in newly produced goods, but our members are unduly burdened as they trade mainly in used, collectible, and antiquarian books.

Books are tariff-free in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 9/2025, but Orders override that, and U.S. and non-U.S. booksellers are severely constrained by country-by-country ad valorem tariffs of 10% to 25% or a flat rate from $80 to $200 USD. Navigating uncertainty, major countries and blocs have suspended parcel shipments to the U.S., thus affecting our member booksellers. Particularly harmful is suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries. Books have low profit margin, and most online sales are for a single book, thus the ad valorem tariffs negate any profit on, and effectively stop, international sales to U.S. booksellers and retail customers.

Even a 10% levy on books, plus the undue burden of reportage, threatens the viability of the traditionally low profit bookselling business. Some of our member booksellers specialize in non-U.S. topics and source books from non-U.S. countries. Current tariffs effectively thwart these booksellers from sourcing inventory, and their businesses will fail if this is not remedied.

Our U.S. and non-U.S. member booksellers operate what is classified as a "small business," are self-employed, and their trade supports their families and their local economies. Current Executive Orders, as written, are causing both present and lasting harm to these booksellers.

I urge you to use the power of your position to influence key decision-makers, with the goal of amending Executive Orders, and other policies, to stop this harm.

Sincerely,
 
Jeffrey A. Rothermel
President, Independent Online Booksellers Association
marphurius.bsky.social
"The David Bowie Center in London is a new home for the singer's 90,000-item archive. It holds the key to his dramatic reinventions." (New York Times gift link): www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
When writing lyrics, for instance, Bowie sometimes used a cutup technique, jotting phrases down on paper, snipping them into fragments and then rearranging them.
marphurius.bsky.social
"Penske Media is the first major U.S. news company to challenge Google and its parent Alphabet in court over its growing use of artificial intelligence." (Wall Street Journal gift link): www.wsj.com/tech/ai/roll...
Rolling Stone Publisher Sues Google Over AI Summaries
Publisher alleges artificial-intelligence-generated answers steal its content and have reduced traffic and revenue for its sites.
www.wsj.com
Reposted by Volker Schröder
siefar.bsky.social
Upcoming Exhibition : "Women’s business/Businesswomen" (13 September 2025 - 11 January 2026)
Museum Plantin-Moretus/Prentenkabinet, Musea Antwerpen.
Sur les femmes de la famille Plantin-Moretus.
www.codart.nl/guide/agenda...
Women’s business/Businesswomen - CODART
www.codart.nl
Reposted by Volker Schröder
marphurius.bsky.social
"In this position piece, we expound on why universities must take their role seriously to a) counter the technology industry's marketing, hype, and harm; and to b) safeguard higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, and scientific integrity." zenodo.org/records/1706...
Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia
Under the banner of progress, products have been uncritically adopted or even imposed on users — in past centuries with tobacco and combustion engines, and in the 21st with social media. For these col...
zenodo.org
Reposted by Volker Schröder
stephenaguilar.com
Aw man I wish academics had headlines like this.

“Stephen Aguilar (existential dread) is not expected to write today, per @mpolikoff.bsky.social
mikereiss.bsky.social
CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring) is not expected to practice today, per Mike Vrabel.
marphurius.bsky.social
Remember NFTs? - "Between 2021 and 2022, Christie’s reported a 96 percent decline in NFT sales, as M.K. Manoylov reported for the Block in 2022. More recently, a 2024 report from NFTevening found that 96 percent of NFTs are effectively “dead,” or not valuable." www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/c...
Christie's Helped Drive the Art World's NFT Craze. Now, the Auction House Is Shutting Down Its Digital Art Division
Once a booming sector, the nonfungible token art market has been contracting for years
www.smithsonianmag.com
Reposted by Volker Schröder
theartnewspaper.bsky.social
Banksy’s new mural at London’s Royal Courts of Justice—depicting a judge beating a protester—was revealed on Instagram and quickly covered up; officials have confirmed it will be removed.

buff.ly/auP8IqW
marphurius.bsky.social
"High school seniors had the worst reading scores since 1992 on a national test, a loss probably related to increases in screen time and the pandemic. Their math scores fell as well." - New York Times gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/u...
Reading Skills of 12th Graders Hit a New Low
www.nytimes.com
marphurius.bsky.social
"The Nazis seized tens of thousands of books from the Jewish Theological Seminary in Budapest, but the works are making their way back, including one being returned in New York this week." (New York Times gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/a...
Rebuilding a Historic Jewish Library, Book by Book
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Volker Schröder
npr.org
NPR @npr.org · Sep 4
A federal judge in Boston said she found it "difficult to conclude anything other than that [the Trump administration] used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities, and did so in a way that runs afoul of [federal law]."
Trump administration illegally froze billions in Harvard funds, judge rules
The ruling is a legal victory for Harvard but the White House says it will appeal the decision.
n.pr
marphurius.bsky.social
"What he did was to create dummy copies, “books” that looked like the originals on the outside, but with something else, at times blank pages, inside. He created fake tags to make the copies look real. He returned the dummy copies and left with the real manuscripts." rarebookhub.com/articles/3914
$216,000 Worth of Ancient Chinese Manuscripts Stolen from the UCLA Library Through an Elaborate Scam
Your source for everything about book collecting: rare & antiquarian books, book auctions, booksellers & collectors magazine, bibliography & more.
rarebookhub.com
Reposted by Volker Schröder
vincent-berthelier.bsky.social
URGENT : On cherche un⋅e vacataire à Paris Cité pour assurer un cours de lettres (méthode du commentaire, sur P. Corneille et R. Vivien), licence 1, le mardi de 12h à 15h au premier semestre.
Mes MP sont ouverts, et les retweets sont appréciés...
marphurius.bsky.social
Sounds like the stuff of an epistolary novel. (Check out Madame Deshoulières for inspiration.)
marphurius.bsky.social
I'm thinking mostly of 17th-18th century French ones, when epigrams functioned as mini-satires (with final "pointes" or "zingers") - maybe that's not the case in English epigrams, I don't know.
marphurius.bsky.social
Epigrams (when they're good)
marphurius.bsky.social
ArticleExpress could work for that - sometimes very fast, but it depends.