Alex Drace-Francis
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alexdrace.bsky.social
Alex Drace-Francis
@alexdrace.bsky.social

Cultural historian, modern Europe @uvahumanities.bsky.social. Books: The Making of Mămăligă (CEU Press); Networks, Narratives and Nations (Amsterdam UP). Amateur gardener.
https://www.uva.nl/en/profile/d/r/a.j.drace-francis/a.j.drace-francis.html .. more

Political science 47%
Sociology 22%
Pinned
OK here it is! Bernhard Stolz, A Bohemian in Bucharest: Reports from a world in transition. With unpublished letters of Dora Stolz and her sisters (1840-1845).
humanitas.ro/humanitas/ca...

First review is on an online shop webpage (as happens these days). I am glad it understands what I was trying to do. Mulţumesc dlui "Anticar"!
www.magazinul-de-carte.ro/carte/67fea/...
Un boem la Bucureşti : reportaje dintr-o lume în tranziţie de Bernhard Stolz,cu scrisori inedite de la Dora Stolz şi surorile ei (1840-1845)
Comandă online cartea
www.magazinul-de-carte.ro

yes, it went on pretending to expertise it didn't have for several more rounds - almost BorisJohnson levels of gaslighting and not giving a shit.

Have been working on this - got ChatGPT to write the below (well, I wrote the caption)
bsky.app/profile/alex...
Historians' work that Chat GPT can't do, part 748
(what annoys and wastes time - and would mislead a non-specialist - is it repeatedly pretending it can..)

"if you have time to learn to socialize with other human beings, then more power to you!"

View of Old Town

Union Canal Edinburgh

Romanian - la dracu'n praznic 'at the devil's feast [religious commemoration]'

Indeed - despite learning a lot of things about Russia that a lot of Russianists don't know.

Strong memories of this in my doctoral studies, also applying for jobs. Within academia, not working on Russia in my field wd get you laughed at.
Funnily, ordinary people (neighbours, nurses, any random 'what do you do?') thought it was fine to work on Balkan history
“Now let us consider the responsibility of academia in all these debates. Just imagine: From 1970 to 1980, US universities produced 900 books (roughly 90 per year) in the so-called field of Soviet and Slavic studies (colonial name, of course), and only 3% of them focused on non-Russians.”
An important text by Marina Solntseva on what anticoloniality and solidarity is not, and the mattering of indigenous lives in each and every context. Glad to see a link to our text with Selbi Durdiyeva that critically analyses selective anti-imperialism on the left berlinergazette.de/why-russias-...
“Now let us consider the responsibility of academia in all these debates. Just imagine: From 1970 to 1980, US universities produced 900 books (roughly 90 per year) in the so-called field of Soviet and Slavic studies (colonial name, of course), and only 3% of them focused on non-Russians.”

I have to say this begins well though:

Machine continues to bluff and obfuscate over several rounds of prompts

If a human did the above you would learn to avoid them

Historians' work that Chat GPT can't do, part 748
(what annoys and wastes time - and would mislead a non-specialist - is it repeatedly pretending it can..)
Small mirror - Roman

Maybe an offering to the river gods. An unusual find, but similar objects are found around the Danube in eastern Europe.

Found by anonymous and Bill & Anthony Yendall.

“Secrets of the Thames” exhibition.
#London Museum - Docklands

#FindsFriday #Roman

The best AI-detection/-avoidance software available is a well-compensated teacher who spends time getting to know their students and their work because they have small classes
My life's work lies in ruins

The Center for European Studies, the African Studies Center, the Carolina Asia Center, the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, the Institute for the Study of the Americas and the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies are all slated to close.
Now an annual tradition at History Workshop, members of the team share their "Radical Reads" for 2025.
Radical Reads 2025
History Workshop editors share their reflections on the radical books and films which have compelled them, fascinated them, and moved them throughout 2025.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
The CfP for the 20th Graduate Conference on European History is open!

Ruptures in European History: Individuals, Institutions, and Historical Practices in Times of Uncertainty,

15-17 April 2026 @ox.ac.uk
@oxhistoryfaculty.bsky.social

⬇️⬇️⬇️
2026graceh.wixsite.com/home/call-fo...

Also relevant that you have your syllabus for 2026-2027 mapped out now - planning, thinking

"AI can perform 91% of a historian’s job with 85% accuracy" - if a pseudo-plumber advertised their trade in this way, no way would you hire them

V good piece - also exemplifies well a specific quality of historical research which AI doesn't do, namely pausing for thought
What does Gen AI mean for the work of the historian and the value of historical experience, skills and craft?

'The Historian in the Age of AI' by @chriscampbell1.bsky.social.

New Comment article now available in 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society' bit.ly/4atErTB #Skystorians 1/2
And a Romanian phrase for when an irritating person makes you lose your temper is mi-a sărit muștarul, or “my mustard jumped off.”

Today I accidentally learned that both Metternich and Trump had third wives called Melanie who were 20+ years younger than them. Not sure what to make of this