Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Aug 7

A few years ago a student told me their hobby was "resin casting." I had to look it up. I was familiar with woodworkers filling holes in big wood slabs to make cool tables, and mesmerizing resin woodturning videos (www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cu4...) but covering stuff in plastic for fun - new to me.

Stunning Applewood Resin Bowl | Black & Pink Swirls with a Twist!

YouTube video by Ken Moon

www.youtube.com

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Aug 7

We didn't use this ad from 3 Systems for copyright reasons, but it shows the company playing with the tension between woodwork (natural, artisinal, virtuous!) and epoxy (artificial, industrial, maybe not something to be so proud of).

Text in the middle says "Building. Chemistry. Together." Two people, perhaps father and son, paddle a cedar-strip canoe on a calm river with grass and trees in the background.

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Aug 7

Thanks to @nichecanada.bsky.social for running this piece, which has been stetwing for a while. It's part of a larger project exploring how plastic got out of the factory and into the craft and DIY universe.

NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · Aug 7

Today @robinshistory.bsky.social's DIY wooden canoe project reveals deeper truths about plastic, sustainability, masculinity, and the contradictions of modern maker culture, in "Crafting the Plasticene."

niche-canada.org/2025/08/07/c...

#makerculture #canoes #plastics #envhist

Crafting the Plasticene

Robins' DIY wooden canoe project reveals deeper truths about plastic, sustainability, masculinity, and the contradictions of modern maker culture.

niche-canada.org

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Reposted by Jonathan Robins

NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · Aug 7

Today @robinshistory.bsky.social's DIY wooden canoe project reveals deeper truths about plastic, sustainability, masculinity, and the contradictions of modern maker culture, in "Crafting the Plasticene."

niche-canada.org/2025/08/07/c...

#makerculture #canoes #plastics #envhist

Crafting the Plasticene

Robins' DIY wooden canoe project reveals deeper truths about plastic, sustainability, masculinity, and the contradictions of modern maker culture.

niche-canada.org

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Reposted by Jonathan Robins

Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · Jun 26

Important news for the #envhist crowd: We are hiring an Associate Professor of Environmental History!

www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Application deadline is August 7.

Some tips for those interested from abroad in thread 👇

Associate Professor in Environmental History (281801) | University of Stavanger

Job title: Associate Professor in Environmental History (281801), Employer: University of Stavanger, Deadline: Thursday, August 7, 2025

www.jobbnorge.no

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · May 12

#ramp season here. We're in a drought but the snow melt left enough water in the soil to get things green

A basket with ramps in it in front of a field of ramps

A river with a flat field full of green ramps and a few trees growing

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · May 6

ChatGPT did find the error with further prompting, but then made other unrequested substitutions. There is no prompt-engineering out of this. LLMs cannot do basic things that researchers actually need (fast OCR and text clean-up that's more usable than the formatting mess Adobe typically produces)

Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · May 6

I keep trying to humor colleagues who say they are using LLMs across their research programs. Meanwhile, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity all failed to be honest in a simple OCR task. ("held", which is a typo in this transcript, is always presented as "head.")

Text from a transcript. It reads: I can remember 1973, Fred Fettrow was head of manufacturing, and I was held
of sales and marketing. We went to the board of directors and told them the recycling rate
on aluminum was about 24 percent at the time and we were going to drive it to 50 or 60

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Apr 15

Glad to see Gastropod tackling "seed oils," but this episode could have used a food historian. B. napus oil is a staple in some Chinese cuisines! People all over the world have been eating flax, cotton, sesame, sunflower, mustard and other "seed oils" for millenia. gastropod.com/seed-oil-sca...

Seed Oil Scare: The Curious Case of Canola - Gastropod

What's the deal with canola. Listen in for the science and history of this former engine lubricant turned social media scare story.

gastropod.com

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Feb 27

The lost art of the hand drawn chart (Owen, Prosperity without progress, 1984). I feel like all the new data viz tools are making charts worse, not better...

A chart showing abaca prices and the US business cycle 1830-1940

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Reposted by Jonathan Robins

Timothy Scarlett @timscarlett.bsky.social · Feb 23

I am very pleased to share that Michigan Technological University is hosting a virtual career fair for job seekers in Cultural Resources Management ( #CRM ) and allied fields in the heritage sector! 1/x
mtu.joinhandshake.com/stu/career_f...

Sign In | Handshake

mtu.joinhandshake.com

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Feb 18

World History Association members: look for a membership-wide vote on a resolution opposing scholasticide in Gaza later today. Add to the pressure on the AHA's leadership. members.thewha.org/general/cust...

Resolution Opposing Scholasticide in Gaza - World History Association

On January 30, 2025, the World History Association Officers and Council considered and affirmed a Resolution to Oppose Scholasticide in Gaza (full text below). The resolution responds to the dire situation facing the teaching, learning, and documentation of history in Gaza; the veto of a similar resolution by the American Historical Association Council in January 2025, and the mission of the World History Association to promote activities which will increase historical awareness, understanding among and between peoples and global consciousness. Strictly following WHA procedure, we now submit the resolution to a vote of the entire membership of the Association. If approved by a majority of the members voting, the resolution is affirmed as a measure of the WHA. Current members of the WHA received an email with login instructions to participate in the vote via ElectionRunner, the same secure election software that we use for our annual officer elections. The election will be open from February 18 - 25, 2025.

members.thewha.org

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Jan 22

Looks amazing! If there are any student favorites in the Edible Series, let us know!

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Reposted by Jonathan Robins

Brad Simpson @bradleyrsimpson.bsky.social · Jan 17

@historians.org is an utter disgrace. An undemocratic betrayal of its members voices. An organization that does nothing to defend our Palestinian colleagues from murder and scholasticide will do nothing to defend out profession from domestic opponents. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Historians' council vetoes Gaza scholasticide condemnation

American Historical Association convention-goers overwhelmingly passed the statement on Jan. 5, but the group’s top elected body has vetoed it without letting all AHA members vote.

www.insidehighered.com

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Jan 17

I want to see the minutes or a recording of this meeting. The resolution specifically addressed the AHA's mission in clear and direct ways. Members deserve a detailed response if leadership is so confident the proposal is incompatible with the AHA mission. Time to quit, or pack the nominating comte?

American Historical Association @historians.org · Jan 17

After careful deliberation and consideration, the AHA Council has vetoed the "Resolution to Oppose Scholasticide in Gaza" presented at the 2025 business meeting.

Business Meeting Resolution Update - AHA

Update as of January 17, 2025: The AHA Council deplores any intentional destruction of Palestinian educational institutions, libraries, universities, and archives in Gaza. The Council considers the “R...

www.historians.org

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Dec 12

looked up the release date (1993), now feel ancient.

Reposted by Jonathan Robins

Dolly Jørgensen @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social · Nov 11

Unexpectedly, I have two Greenhouse #envhum book talk slots still open this year: December 2nd and 9th.
If you had a relevant monograph published in 2023 or 2024 and could talk to us at 4pm Central European time (3pm in UK, 10am East Coast, etc.), let me know and we'll schedule you in!

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Nov 5

Got the collector item of the year

A round sticker that says I voted. A werewolf is tearing open its shirt in front of an American flag

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Oct 30

Collecting specimens (Asclepius syriaca I think?)

An open milkweed pod laying on a table. The pod holds small brown seeds attached to a silky white fiber.

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Reposted by Jonathan Robins

NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · Oct 16

#WorldFoodDay

"Chaga’s entry into the pantheon of superfoods ... came out of a relatively recent meeting of traditional knowledge and western biomedicine, accelerated by the Internet and a heady mix of bad history." - @robinshistory.bsky.social

niche-canada.org/2023/09/07/p...

Picking Stories, Selling Chaga: How History Helped Make Chaga a Superfood

Jonathan Robins investigates how history has been adapted to market chaga as a popular superfood.

niche-canada.org

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Oct 14

Job alert: Social Sciences at MTU seeks a new chair for an interdisciplinary department (including historians, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, political scientists, policy scientists)
www.employment.mtu.edu/cw/en-us/job...

Details - Department Chair, Social Sciences

www.employment.mtu.edu

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Oct 11

I'm hoping to find a collaborator in #egyptology for a paper who can weigh in on whether the hieroglyphs in this ad are a bunch of nonsense (or not?). Message me for details!

An advertisement for Palmolive soap. A woman dressed in ancient egyptian clothing holds a tray with two containers, in front of a scene depicting Egyptian hieroglyphs.

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Reposted by Jonathan Robins

Daniella M. @farsouthhistory.bsky.social · Oct 10

Sharks and Boletes and Sustainable Capitalism, oh my!
Check out the awesome collection of new (ish) books available to review for H-Environment #envhist #envhum #aghist #conservation #Sustainability #animalhist #ecocrit #envtech #envjustice #planthist
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Books Available to review for H-Environment

Books Available for Review for H-Environment Below are the books currently available for review for H-Environment. Interested in reviewing one? Please email me at [email protected] for DM me at @farso...

docs.google.com

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Oct 9

(as a special treat for #luddites , the conference will be low-tech: no projectors or powerpoints unless you bring your own, or force the room to huddle around a laptop)

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Jonathan Robins @robinshistory.bsky.social · Oct 9

#CFP closing October 15: submit proposals for panels, roundtables, individual papers, posters, and films for the Agricultural History Society annual conference www.aghistorysociety.org/2025-meeting...

2025 Meeting CFP — Agricultural History Society

Annual Meeting in St. Paul, MN

www.aghistorysociety.org

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