Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 58m

Two fan studies scholars winning bar trivia with an answer about Supernatural feels a little too on the nose but here we are.

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 6h

my article with Rachel Marks, "The plausible deniability playbook: how white victimhood narratives evade moderation," is now out. we look at the interplay of what doesn't violate TOS and what doesn't make people feel like they are being racist. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The plausible deniability playbook: how white victimhood narratives evade moderation

In this paper, we examine how victimhood discourses are used to circulate white nationalism and how this interfaces with social media moderation. In particular, we investigate how white nationalist...

www.tandfonline.com

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Reposted by Mel Stanfill

UCF Texts & Technology PhD @ucftandt.bsky.social · 9h

Our first information session for the T&T PhD is in ONE WEEK on Wednesday, October 15. Be sure to sign up to learn more about our program!

UCF Texts & Technology PhD @ucftandt.bsky.social · 8d

Thinking about pursuing a PhD with T&T? We've got TWO upcoming information sessions. The first will be Wednesday, October 15 at 6pm. Sign up here! applynow.graduate.ucf.edu/register/?id...

Texts & Technology PhD October Open House

applynow.graduate.ucf.edu

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 12h

yay, congrats!

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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 3d

Earlier this year, Dr. Jane Goodall sat down for an interview for Brad Falchuk’s new Netflix series, Famous Last Words.

The premise of the series is to interview people on the condition that the interview not air until the subject has passed away.

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 4d

on one hand, i feel like it's reasonable to do as many reviews as i receive, which does vary per year. on the other hand, i had to add them up recently and i am averaging doing 10 per year but not getting 10 per year, so i don't know.

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Reposted by Mel Stanfill

Ann Monster Lipton @annmlipton.bsky.social · 6d

oh so judges recuse themselves based on their wives' political activities now. interesting

Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social · 6d

BREAKING: At Trump DOJ request, Judge Michael Simon (Obama) recuses from Oregon's suit over activation of its National Guard for immigration enforcement/ICE security. New Judge Karin Immergut (Trump). DOJ argued comments by Simon's wife @RepBonamici about case merited recusal.

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 6d

We are losing something by having newsrooms where everyone who has more than a few years’ experience has gotten fired. I don’t fault a young writer for not knowing about things that happened before she was born. But now there are no editors to help give context to these stories, either.

Prince with “Slave” written on his face, in protest of his unfair recording contract, including lack of ownership of his master recordings.

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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 7d

Hey authors, the official list of Anthropic works is available for searching.

secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup

Submit a Claim

secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com

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Reposted by Mel Stanfill

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 7d

People think they’re taking down a rich intellectual sinecure but they’re mostly terrorizing committed public servants who make $58,000 a year after 15 years of experience at a school that has to budget creatively so students can access textbooks.

Emily Farris @emayfarris.bsky.social · 7d

This new column by @tressiemcphd.bsky.social makes me think about when I recently had to talk to the police for yet another safety plan, I tried to “lighten” the mood by saying that we all knew this wasn’t my first rodeo. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

For at least the past 15 years, my colleagues in academia have grappled with angry letters to university officials for doing their jobs. They have weathered campaigns for their firing. They have contended with an internet army obsessed with doxxing them, their parents, their kids. I’ve been contacted by the F.B.I. more than once in my career. Not because I hold any important state secrets or know a biker gang but because one of my colleagues has lived with so much sustained harassment from right-wing “activists” that it has become a matter of federal concern. Watch lists (one of which was constructed by Kirk’s organization) do not distinguish between public intellectuals at wealthy enclaves and hoi polloi who teach popular classes at cash-strapped schools. In either case, an army of trained provocateurs stands ready to destroy their lives to prove their bona fides as conservative activists.

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 7d

that's my student!

UCF Texts & Technology PhD @ucftandt.bsky.social · 7d

T&T students @helloemi.bsky.social‬ and Carol Stinnett recently published "Admiration to Alienation: Assessing Fan Response to Celebrity Weight Loss Using Representation Theory." Check it out! www.emerald.com/books/edited...

Admiration to Alienation: Assessing Fan Response to Celebrity Weight Loss Using Representation Theory

Abstract. This chapter explores the complex dynamics of fan engagement with celebrity weight loss narratives on Instagram using media scholar Stuart Hall’s

www.emerald.com

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Reposted by Mel Stanfill

Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 8d

(solemnly) You've had mail.

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UCF Texts & Technology PhD @ucftandt.bsky.social · 8d

Want to study the intersection of humanities and technology at a smaller scale than a PhD? T&T also offers an interdisciplinary graduate certificate, Digital Humanities in the Age of AI. We'll be holding an information session Wednesday, November 5 at 6pm applynow.graduate.ucf.edu/register/?id...

Digital Humanities in the Age of AI Gradute Certificate Open House

applynow.graduate.ucf.edu

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 8d

if you're thinking about coming to do a #fanstudies PhD with me, here's your chance to learn more.

UCF Texts & Technology PhD @ucftandt.bsky.social · 8d

Thinking about pursuing a PhD with T&T? We've got TWO upcoming information sessions. The first will be Wednesday, October 15 at 6pm. Sign up here! applynow.graduate.ucf.edu/register/?id...

Texts & Technology PhD October Open House

applynow.graduate.ucf.edu

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Reposted by Mel Stanfill

Ann Monster Lipton @annmlipton.bsky.social · 8d

@archiveofourown.org

FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 8d

Trump: I'm not a fan of some of the ships you do. I'm a very aesthetic person and I don't like some of the ships you're doing, aesthetically.

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Dave Vanness @djvanness.bsky.social · 9d

A lot of people think that every international student admitted means one fewer spot for domestic students, when the opposite is more likely true - the tuition revenue international students bring allows public universities to provide substantial discounts to domestic students, improving access.

Nick Fleisher @nickfleisher.bsky.social · 9d

30% drop year over year!

Amid visa restrictions, international freshmen enrollment plummets at UW-Madison

This year’s number of international freshmen is the lowest recorded since at least 2015.

www.jsonline.com

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

i want to see the @theonion.com parody about 1902 that's just all Upton Sinclair-style "no food inspections, no problem!"

grimm ☀️ @mugrimm.bsky.social · 9d

This is doing numbers on social media right now and it's so depressing how people truly yearn for this shit and want to preserve that feeling indefinitely like a mausoleum of false memories.

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

added to my slides for this AI and copyright talk on Thursday, which is definitely not running short right now, ok.

Chris Sprigman @cjsprigman.bsky.social · 9d

Pam Samuelson, Matt Sag, Rebecca Tushnet, Ed Lee, and I filed an amicus in Thomson v. Ross. We urged the court of appeals to reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment to Thomson, and to hold that use of headnotes in AI training is fair use. drive.google.com/file/d/1zUot...

Ross_amicus 9-27 pdf.pdf

drive.google.com

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

and if that doesn't work, most academics are highly googleable and will email you a pdf of our work because what we care about is getting read.

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 9d

This is my regular reminder to everyone that jstor is open to the general public now; a free account there will give you access to 100 papers a year.

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 9d

regrettably if you try to point this out online you'll get yelled out by 79208 journalists going OH SO YOU WANT JOURNALISTS TO STARVE??? even if you're, say, a journalist yourself, and point out that while there are clearly no easy answers, the status quo isn't exactly working for society

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

snoopy is sitting at a table with his eyes closed and his hand on his face .

ALT: snoopy is sitting at a table with his eyes closed and his hand on his face .

media.tenor.com

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Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) @thetattooedprof.bsky.social · 9d

"one officer smiled for a selfie with her as she cried."

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

strong candidate for Transformative Work of the Day #3

aliendave @aliendave.bsky.social · 9d

Keystone ICE

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

also a strong candidate for Transformative Work of the Day

Matt B. @originalmattb.com · 10d

Music added. Hosted on YouTube as BSky video uploads always fail for me.

youtu.be/2x5-JtDhTns

Yakety N*zis

YouTube video by Matt B

youtu.be

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Mel Stanfill @melstanfill.bsky.social · 9d

strong candidate for Transformative Work of the Day

Rabbi Liza Analli 🔺️ @analgoddess770.bsky.social · 9d

David Attenborough covering the U.S horrors

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Reposted by Mel Stanfill

Fan Studies Network North America @fsnnorthamerica.bsky.social · 10d

Congrats to one of our 2025 FSNNA Conference headliners Mel Stanfill!!!

Make sure to register for our #fanstudies virtual conference if you want to be able to attend their roundtable on Oct 25!

▫️Registration 🔗: www.tickettailor.com/events/fanst...

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