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Society for the Study of the Past

@socstudyofthepast.bsky.social

290 followers 80 following 16 posts

The Society for the Study of the Past is a new subject organisation that believes solidarity with the oppressed, liberation of the occupied and a more just future are core concerns of the historian. 🍉 Join us! ⬇️ societyforthestudyofthepast.com

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Society for the Study of the Past @socstudyofthepast.bsky.social · Aug 18

Submissions for papers have now closed, but you are welcome to participate in our annual meeting on the 6th - 7th October without giving a paper! Fill in this form to join us: tinyurl.com/sspattend. We will share the programme soon and look forward to seeing you there!

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Workshops4Gaza @workshops4gaza.bsky.social · 1d

A new piece by us up on Substack: "Against Colonial Conferencing," where we reflect on the akademic conference circuit as an integral part of the global tourism industry, as well as the destruction of Native Hawaiian and Palestinian lands and knowledge.

open.substack.com/pub/workshop...

Against Colonial Conferencing: A w4g screed against the phenomenon of academic conferences in general

workshops4gaza
October 07, 2025

If you are thinking of visiting my homeland, please don’t. We don’t want or need any more tourists, and we certainly don’t like them. If you want to help our cause, pass this message on to your friends. Thank you.

“Lovely Hula Lands” by Haunani Kay-Trask

Recently, the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) announced that it will be convening its 2026 annual conference in Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

The call for proposals describes Hawai‘i as a “space, place, and time through which to collectively reflect on, respond to, and reckon with settler colonial and U.S. imperial desires and designs that continue to shape everyday life and futures.” So far, neither the participants nor the conveners appear to see a contradiction between the theme of the conference and its very material and environmental impact, in which hundreds of primarily North American scholars and their families will flock to a place that is actively under U.S. colonial military occupation.

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Dr Hannah Čulík-Baird @opietasanimi.com · 21h

Kelly Nguyen and Adriana Vazquez, my two amazing colleagues in Classics at UCLA, are holding a workshop on critical classical reception pedagogy this week! humanities.ucla.edu/news/classic...

Welcome to the reception: UCLA professors bring new voices, viewpoints to study of classics - UCLA Humanities

The approach aims to make ancient Greek and Roman studies more accessible — even more personal — to more students.

humanities.ucla.edu

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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 18h

For those going to AAR/SBL in Boston next month, come join us to talk about @cbzeichmann.bsky.social’s Radical Antiquity!

AUTHOR MEETS CRITICS: CHRIS ZEICHMANN'S RADICAL ANTIQUITY: FREE LOVE ZOROASTRIANS, FARMING PIRATES, AND ANCIENT UPRISINGS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD 1:00PM-3:30PM
GRAND BALLROOM B (FOURTH FLOOR), MARRIOTT COPLEY PLACE

CO-SPONSORED WITH REDESCRIBING CHRISTIAN ORIGINS SEMINAR, SBL

IN RADICAL ANTIQUITY, CHRIS ZEICHMANN CONSIDERS A WIDE VARIETY OF COMMUNITIES IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD THAT WERE ORGANIZED ANARCHICALLY, DEMONSTRATING THAT THERE IS A LONG HISTORY OF RADICAL, NON-HIERARCHICAL HUMAN COLLECTIVES. IN THE VEIN OF GRAEBER AND WENGROW'S DAWN OF EVERYTHING, BUT WRITTEN FOR A POPULAR AUDIENCE, RADICAL ANTIQUITY INVITES SCHOLARS TO REFLECT ON HOW WE CAN MAKE OUR SCHOLARSHIP ACCESSIBLE TO NON-SCHOLARLY READERS, AS WELL AS HOW OUR RESEARCH MIGHT HAVE MORE THAN AN ANTIQUARIAN RELEVANCE.

• ERIN ROBERTS, MODERATOR
• CHANCE BONAR, PANELIST (10 MINS)
• ANDREW DURDIN, PANELIST (10 MINS)
• NAOMI GOLDENBERG, PANELIST (10 MINS)
• GILLIAN LE FEVRE, PANELIST (10 MINS)
• KEVIN WING-CHUI WONG, PANELIST (10 MINS)
• RITA LESTER, PANELIST (10 MINS)
CHRISTOPER B. ZEICHMANN, RESPONSE (10 MINS)
OPEN DISCUSSION (50 MINS)

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Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 1d

This is the 2nd anniversary of the start of a genocide that made Gaza the most dangerous place on earth for children— that has raised a mirror to the rot at the core of our world.

Never has it been clearer that none of us are free until Palestine is free.

inthesetimes.com/article/gaza...

On Parenthood and Genocide

A new mother and scholar of forced displacement writes about Israel's mass murder of Palestinian children in Gaza.

inthesetimes.com

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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 1d

"It feels as if everything has vanished. Not only the tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza erased without graves, without records, as if they had never existed – so many other things have been hollowed out: basic conceptions of morality, decency, compassion, humanity, hope, future."

Disappearing people, disappearing morals – how two years has changed Gaza and Israel | Orly Noy

There can be no healing until the world stares into and acknowledges the void torn open by this conflict, says Israeli journalist Orly Noy

www.theguardian.com

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Sídhe Press @sidhepress.bsky.social · 1d

We are back with our next reading! Please join us on 2 November, 7 pm GMT on Zoom. More infos about the fundraisers we are reading for & tickets in the link & in our bio. #WeKeepTelling
buytickets.at/sdhepress/18...
@workshops4gaza.bsky.social @divyampersaud.com

Title: “We Keep Telling: a reading series for Gaza.” Text: “Online on Zoom. 2 November, 7pm GMT, tinyurl.com/wekeeptelling.” In the background is a painting of a dancing Palestinian woman in a white, short-sleeved thobe with red tatreez and a keffiyeh tied around her waist. Her long black hair is swirling around her and covering her face. A dove stands on one of her outstretched hands, and another dove dances around her other hand. In the lower left, the painting is signed “Marah.”

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Dr Hannah Čulík-Baird @opietasanimi.com · 1d

It is my pleasure to share the CFP for a special issue of #ResDiffJournal guest-edited by Yusi Liu, Chris Gipson, and Najee Olya, building on the Mountaintop Coalition's panel at the SCS earlier this year. "International Scholarship in a ‘Globalized’ World?" resdifficiles.com/internationa...

International Scholarship in a ‘Globalized’ World? CFP

At the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies and the Archaeological Institute of America in Philadelphia, the Mountaintop Coalition sponsored the joint panel, “Internationa…

resdifficiles.com

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Dr. Divya 🇵🇸🧿 (offline) @divyampersaud.com · 2d

Ok yall birthday drive ✨ we’ve got 23 hours to get as close to this goal as possible for the KIDS—besieged in Gaza City, yet taking exams this week💡

Spark Space is providing their electricity, but needs fuel for the generator. Let their sumud & sabr be a light. 667/1000 chuffed.org/project/spar...

🇵🇸 Gaza Needs Your Support: Help Build a Lifeline for Students and Remote Workers!

In Gaza, war has destroyed homes, blocked roads, and left countless people without work. Yet, amidst the rubble, hope remains. Students and remote workers face daily struggles—power outages, broken…

chuffed.org

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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 2d

I was told not to teach a class on the intellectual histories of Zionism and Anti-Zionism next year - not because they doubted I could teach it fairly, but because it would attract too many politicians scrutinizing the syllabus.

A society where that is a valid fear is no longer fully democratic.

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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 2d

If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.

CFP: A Time of Monsters

The monster has been here all along. It is a historical constant that manifests in wildly different ways across time, place, and culture. Whatever form it takes, the monster claws at categories; it un...

contingentmagazine.org

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Rakesh Khanna @blaftrakesh.bsky.social · 3d

When I was researching my book Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India, I learned of a 1000-year-old myth about Roman tech being used to build killer robots to guard the Buddha's remains in Pataliputra, and a Hungarian folklorist read my book & got excited about it, & she managed to dig up a🧵(1/3)

Romanised Pali manuscript of the Lokapannati

Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India
p. 60
Bhoota Vahana Yanta
Bhoota Vahana Yanta means “spirit movement machine.” The term is used
for several varieties of robot drone assassins and sword-wielding machine-
men mentioned in the Lokapannati, a Pali-language text written between
1000 and 1200 CE by Saddhammaghosa of Thaton, but concerning
events that took place much earlier, around 500 to 200 BCE.
According to the story, robots were first invented by engineers of the
early Roman Republic. These robots were used for commerce, in agriculture,
as a police force, and as executioners. The secret of how to build these
spirit-engines was fiercely protected. If any engineer dared to take the designs
out of the city, one of his own executioner robots would come after
him and kill him.
At that time, in Pataliputra (then in the kingdom of Magadha, now
Patna in the state of Bihar), there lived a young man who had heard of the
Romans’ magical androids. He became so determined to learn the secrets
of their manufacture and share them with the people of Magadha that he
arranged his own death. Then, on his deathbed, he vowed to be reincarnated
as a Roman.
This indeed took place. In his new life, the man grew up to join the
Roman guild of engineers. He even married the daughter of the Master
Robot-Maker, and had a son by her.
Once he learned the secrets of the Bhoota Vahana Yanta, the man resolved
to transfer the information back to Pataliputra. But he was well
aware that now, since he was a member of the guild, he would be killed as
soon as he left. So he cut a gash in his thigh, inserted the plans in his flesh,
and sewed the wound back up.

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Dr Hélène Maloigne @hmaloigne.bsky.social · 2d

🏺🗃️ 🤗 very excited to be at the @socstudyofthepast.bsky.social conference this week to talk abou the #HistoriansOfArchaeology online support group

You can sign up to join our meetings, co-working sessions, reading group and #Discord server anytime via this link:

forms.gle/KptYbPZ641Z8...

Historians of Archaeology - Online Support Group

Welcome to the Historians of Archaeology (HoA) Online Support Group! Please use this form to join the group and to join our mailing list. Membership to the group is free, all meetings will be hosted ...

forms.gle

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Society for the Study of the Past @socstudyofthepast.bsky.social · 3d

Tomorrow! Our first annual meeting 👇 and full programme here: societyforthestudyofthepast.com/annual-meeti...

Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past

Benjamin Thomas White @btwhite.bsky.social · 6d

I very highly recommend this article on genocide, historicide, and the archives of UNRWA.

doi.org/10.1093/hwj/...

Rescuing the UNRWA Archive: Saving Palestinian History amidst the Gaza Genocide

Abstract. Israel’s genocide in Gaza has entailed extensive attacks on Palestinian heritage and history, including institutional archives which preserve his

doi.org

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Dr. Divya 🇵🇸🧿 (offline) @divyampersaud.com · 7d

We're back. One link, six families and a displacement camp, reliable support every week. Today we highlight H & his toddlers, whose area is facing increased bombardment. You've kept them housed for nine months—stunning.

Help these families survive. 18/1500 by Saturday. chuffed.org/project/hope...

A square white graphic. On the left is a stylized ink illustration of a kestrel falcon in black on white, without outline just the black marks on its wings and face, drawn from behind. His wings are partly open and his head is turned to the right. In his beak is an anemone poppy in red ink with a green stem. On the right is the title "Keep hope alive: a gaza giving circle" in ink-effect font. The text says "We are a team of volunteers in the US and UK helping our friends on the ground keep their families and neighbors alive with food, water, & shelter. We distribute your contributions equally every week for sustainable support." In the bottom right corner in green text is the link https://tinyurl.com/HopeGivingCircle.

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Georgia Andreou @gmandreou.bsky.social · 7d

#BANEA2026 will take place in London, 22–24 April 2026, under the theme Production and Consumption of Knowledge in the Archaeology of West Asia.

Planned sessions include history & historiography, maritime archaeology, museums & heritage, among others.

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Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 7d

We're starting a new 'ArtsLab' (research network) in trans studies at Glasgow! It's very exciting and I hope that in time we can become a real centre for research in this field. Find out more - including details of our upcoming launch event - on our website: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/art...

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Ordinary Notes @hystericalblkns.bsky.social · 7d

Registration is open. Register for in-person and online.

www.yorku.ca/laps/the-alc...

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Bluesky mods aid genocide by banning Palestinians @pastures.myatproto.social · 7d

It's a good idea at this point to keep as many eyes as possible watching their livestream to make sure the genocidal regime knows the world cares what happens to them. Put it on in the background if you are busy doing something else

24/7 LIVESTREAM OF GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA

YouTube video by Global Sumud Flotilla

www.youtube.com

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Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 7d

Once again, it is *faculty*—not administrators—who brought this case and won. Including UC Faculty Association chapters of the AAUP.

Court Rules in AAUP v Rubio: Trump Admin Violated First Amendment

The AAUP and partners sued to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty members for ideological reasons.

www.aaup.org

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Brooklyn Institute @brooklyninstitute.bsky.social · 8d

Faculty Writing | Abdaljawad Omar, "Death has died in Gaza" | for @communispress buff.ly/nYQ9U89

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Archaeologists Resisting Far-Right Appropriation @a-rfa.bsky.social · 8d

🚨 NEW SEMINAR ALERT 🚨
On 14/10 Steph Halmhofer (@cultarchaeo.bsky.social) will speak on 'Manufacturing History', examining the relationship between pseudoarchaeology, conspiracy, and the far-right and highlighting its contemporary relevance. Go to archaeologistsrfa.wordpress.com/events/ to register.

Events

Upcoming Events Stephanie Halmhofer – Manufacturing History: Pseudo-archaeology, Conspiracy, and the Far-Right Date and Time: 17-07-2025, 17:30BST//09:30PDT To Register: About the Speaker: &#…

archaeologistsrfa.wordpress.com

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Joseph Howley @illdottore.bsky.social · 8d

On Oct 9, I'll be giving a lecture here in Paris where I try to connect my work on Roman book slavery with the present AI moment to think about technologies of text that run on extraction. You can RSVP here: ideasimagination.columbia.edu/events/josep...

The Book as Extractive Technology/Practice - Institute for Ideas and Imagination

ideasimagination.columbia.edu

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(Mar)Chella Ward @luxmea.bsky.social · 8d

Very excited for this next week! 🥳

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Dr Katherine Blouin @isisnaucratis.bsky.social · 11d

Will @asor-research.bsky.social @scsclassics.bsky.social @cacscec.bsky.social and @archaeological.org say something now that the genocidal weaponization of archaeology, which some of them are actively upholding and which we have been flagging for 2 years, is featured in the fancy Guardian?

(Mar)Chella Ward @luxmea.bsky.social · 13d

Nearly 2 yrs ago we ran an event standing against the Zionist weaponising of ancient history in Palestine. We worked so hard to make that knowledge mainstream - classicists called me a Nazi, an antisemite, a terrorist for doing so.

Today it’s in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

‘Tunnel vision’: how Israel is using archaeology to win US support for goals

Scientists say Netanyahu government and its US backers are trying to construct a history shorn of all complexity

www.theguardian.com

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