Alexis Shotwell
@alexisshotwell.bsky.social
Feminist theorist writing about imperfection and impurity as a good place to start, Ursula K Le Guin's anarchist communism, disability, ecology, racism, getting together to fix complex problems. Functional potter, year-round cyclist, queer, earnest.
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
November 14, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
i think its quite eye opening. in a sense trans women & trans people in general are by no means exceptional and many are of course complex and flawed people but there is something about moving beyond cisness that gives someone access to a self-consciousness and subjectivity that is enlightening.
transness is a gift. i need every trans woman to understand that by nature of their existence they have been blessed with the ability to pluck the strands of fate with their hands if they choose to. it is not always easy and it is not without hardship but every trans woman is capable of greatness.
November 14, 2025 at 1:38 AM
i think its quite eye opening. in a sense trans women & trans people in general are by no means exceptional and many are of course complex and flawed people but there is something about moving beyond cisness that gives someone access to a self-consciousness and subjectivity that is enlightening.
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
I always described this one as my "coming out" essay because it exposed my #neurodivergence in a vulnerable way I had never done before, BUT I had no idea it exposed the inner world of my #DissociativeIdentityDisorder until a decade later, in 2024 ...
open.substack.com/pub/karriehi...
open.substack.com/pub/karriehi...
November 13, 2025 at 11:24 PM
I always described this one as my "coming out" essay because it exposed my #neurodivergence in a vulnerable way I had never done before, BUT I had no idea it exposed the inner world of my #DissociativeIdentityDisorder until a decade later, in 2024 ...
open.substack.com/pub/karriehi...
open.substack.com/pub/karriehi...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Well, sorry to hear that Texas A&M isn’t interested in being an institution of learning
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Well, sorry to hear that Texas A&M isn’t interested in being an institution of learning
This looks really interesting; I spend a lot of time in my work teaching writing (both just, teaching writing, but also teaching writing as part of my teaching) thinking about how assignments can support neurodivergent students *and* faculty. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
Of Many Minds
Neurodiversity and Mental Health Among University Faculty and Staff
www.press.jhu.edu
November 14, 2025 at 12:57 PM
This looks really interesting; I spend a lot of time in my work teaching writing (both just, teaching writing, but also teaching writing as part of my teaching) thinking about how assignments can support neurodivergent students *and* faculty. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
I have for some time now told crows the story of my friend Marissa who tells stories to crows, and here at last is a story about that.
New story this morning! The Crow's Second Tale in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social ! www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-... This is one of my stories that is 100% not autobiographical except the part that is, which is that I tell stories to crows too, just in case.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies - The Crow’s Second Tale by Marissa Lingen
So Kiris knew, even at the age of five: no one should only know one story. Not even a crow, like in the song. And if she was the only one who had spotted the problem, she felt down to her five-year-ol...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:16 AM
I have for some time now told crows the story of my friend Marissa who tells stories to crows, and here at last is a story about that.
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Wowwwwww what the HELL
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
November 8, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Wowwwwww what the HELL
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Do yourself a favor and read this excellent wide-ranging interview with the activist-scholar Cathy Cohen!
“We have to be building political homes while also doing the door-knocking and organizing that builds power and changes lives. The duality of that work can be hard to hold.”
An interview with activist and scholar Cathy J. Cohen:
An interview with activist and scholar Cathy J. Cohen:
Building a Political Home - Boston Review
Activist and scholar Cathy J. Cohen on winning power in the midst of a “generational war.”
www.bostonreview.net
November 8, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Do yourself a favor and read this excellent wide-ranging interview with the activist-scholar Cathy Cohen!
There are many reasons to love Marissa Lingen, and this is one.
small child on the way out of the library, dragging his feet and chanting angrily: NO PIZZA, BOOKS! NO PIZZA, BOOKS!
me: What if...both?
Small child stares goggle-eyed for a very long moment, then continues his exit from the library, chanting happily: PIZZA AND BOOKS! PIZZA AND BOOKS!
me: What if...both?
Small child stares goggle-eyed for a very long moment, then continues his exit from the library, chanting happily: PIZZA AND BOOKS! PIZZA AND BOOKS!
November 8, 2025 at 12:16 AM
There are many reasons to love Marissa Lingen, and this is one.
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
The documentary I made with Miss Major 10 years ago is on Vimeo on Demand. If you want to spend some time with her on screen tonight and learn some abolitionist trans history while you're at it, it's free to rent with the code "shinebright" vimeo.com/ondemand/major
Watch MAJOR! Online | Vimeo On Demand
The award-winning documentary "MAJOR!" follows the life and campaigns of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a Black transgender elder who has been fighting for…
vimeo.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:08 AM
The documentary I made with Miss Major 10 years ago is on Vimeo on Demand. If you want to spend some time with her on screen tonight and learn some abolitionist trans history while you're at it, it's free to rent with the code "shinebright" vimeo.com/ondemand/major
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
"You make the best of it all and hope you can help make it a little better for the gurl after you."
- Miss Major, 2023 💔
- Miss Major, 2023 💔
October 14, 2025 at 1:11 AM
"You make the best of it all and hope you can help make it a little better for the gurl after you."
- Miss Major, 2023 💔
- Miss Major, 2023 💔
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Our plane to Spain is in the air!
🙌🙌
Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.
🙌🙌
Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.
October 10, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Our plane to Spain is in the air!
🙌🙌
Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.
🙌🙌
Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.
We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’
We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’
October 8, 2025 at 11:57 PM
“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.
We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’
We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
This week in rad Ottawa:
October Chain Fast for Palestinian Family Reunification;
Rallies of Allies for Court Support - Solidarity with Kebaowek;
Film Screening: Gaza Fights for Freedom (2019);
Sexual Bereavement - Queer Death Salon; & more! www.punchupcollective.org/reo-calendar/
October Chain Fast for Palestinian Family Reunification;
Rallies of Allies for Court Support - Solidarity with Kebaowek;
Film Screening: Gaza Fights for Freedom (2019);
Sexual Bereavement - Queer Death Salon; & more! www.punchupcollective.org/reo-calendar/
October 4, 2025 at 11:07 PM
This week in rad Ottawa:
October Chain Fast for Palestinian Family Reunification;
Rallies of Allies for Court Support - Solidarity with Kebaowek;
Film Screening: Gaza Fights for Freedom (2019);
Sexual Bereavement - Queer Death Salon; & more! www.punchupcollective.org/reo-calendar/
October Chain Fast for Palestinian Family Reunification;
Rallies of Allies for Court Support - Solidarity with Kebaowek;
Film Screening: Gaza Fights for Freedom (2019);
Sexual Bereavement - Queer Death Salon; & more! www.punchupcollective.org/reo-calendar/
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Alexis Shotwell on anarchism. New episode on podcast platforms & pls smash like & subscribe on YouTube: youtu.be/V3evGc0mF5Y)
October 2, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Alexis Shotwell on anarchism. New episode on podcast platforms & pls smash like & subscribe on YouTube: youtu.be/V3evGc0mF5Y)
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Out today: Drawing on nearly a decade of fieldwork, a sensitive, timely examination of how colonial power infiltrates family dynamics, enforces gendered mobility restrictions, shapes local economies. Checkpoint 300 by @casesofyou.bsky.social
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791984...
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791984...
September 23, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Out today: Drawing on nearly a decade of fieldwork, a sensitive, timely examination of how colonial power infiltrates family dynamics, enforces gendered mobility restrictions, shapes local economies. Checkpoint 300 by @casesofyou.bsky.social
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791984...
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791984...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
An excellent interview with @lydiajean.bsky.social! "As a geographer, I’m really interested in thinking through the different scales of the carceral state. We often talk about the state as if it’s a monolith, instead of as a multi-scalar and contradictory assemblage of institutions."
Abolition After Katrina | Lydia Pelot-Hobbs and David Stein
Countless people are left in harm’s way because of the state’s refusal to make evacuation plans. The hurricane ends up coming through weaker than expected—but then the levees break. Within hours, 80 p...
www.nplusonemag.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:27 AM
An excellent interview with @lydiajean.bsky.social! "As a geographer, I’m really interested in thinking through the different scales of the carceral state. We often talk about the state as if it’s a monolith, instead of as a multi-scalar and contradictory assemblage of institutions."
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Reconciliation is neither possible nor desirable, since there was never a positive relationship in the first place. Nonetheless...
Canada’s “elbows up” nationalism may look like resistance to Trump, but it risks repeating the colonial violence it claims to oppose. Ellen Gabriel and @seancarleton.bsky.social warn that patriotism built on erasing Indigenous struggles makes real reconciliation impossible.
Resisting Canada’s ‘elbows up’ colonialism
Canada’s new “elbows up” nationalism frames itself as resistance to Trump and US expansionism—but it risks recycling colonial myths. By glossing over the Mohawk Resistance and ongoing land theft, patr...
canadiandimension.com
September 21, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reconciliation is neither possible nor desirable, since there was never a positive relationship in the first place. Nonetheless...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/19/t...
At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans
Federal agents hurled tear gas and pepper spray into a crowd of about 100 protesters who attempted to block vans from entering and exiting a U.S. Immigration and Customs holding facility in Broadvi…
www.chicagotribune.com
September 19, 2025 at 4:24 PM
At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/19/t...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Special issue of Humana.Mente on Philosophy and Disability
biopoliticalphilosophy.com/2025/09/20/p...
biopoliticalphilosophy.com/2025/09/20/p...
Philosophy and Disability, Special Issue of Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies
1. A Cartography of Philosophy on/of Disability – Introduction by Chiara Montalti & Brunella Casalini ( 2. The Epistemological Significance of Blindness in Plato’s Rep…
biopoliticalphilosophy.com
September 20, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Special issue of Humana.Mente on Philosophy and Disability
biopoliticalphilosophy.com/2025/09/20/p...
biopoliticalphilosophy.com/2025/09/20/p...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
I had never really thought about the fact that The Lord of the Rings is the 500,000+ word version of “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” but here’s the explanation.
Since this whole debate is still happening, and since we are still not listening I will summarize what I understand the argument to be in the Lingua Franca of white nerds: Lord of the Rings analogies.
white cis men blocking people of color and other members of vulnerable communities because their risk factor is a lot different than ours is peak white nonsense.
It's also how I know they don't give a shit about us.
It's also how I know they don't give a shit about us.
September 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I had never really thought about the fact that The Lord of the Rings is the 500,000+ word version of “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” but here’s the explanation.
Looking forward to celebrating Laura Hall's new book on settler colonialism and horror at @octopusbooks.ca this Thursday!
octopusbooks.ca/events/35655...
octopusbooks.ca/events/35655...
Book Launch: Bloodied Bodies, Bloody Landscapes by Laura Hall | Octopus Books
Ottawa's progressive independent bookstore since 1969
octopusbooks.ca
September 17, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Looking forward to celebrating Laura Hall's new book on settler colonialism and horror at @octopusbooks.ca this Thursday!
octopusbooks.ca/events/35655...
octopusbooks.ca/events/35655...
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
Some good news: for the last four years, I have been quietly working on a new book titled *For the Long Haul: How to Stay in the Fight for a Better World*. I have signed a contract with @akpress.org and they will be co-publishing the book with @btlbooks.com. The book will be out next fall!
September 16, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Some good news: for the last four years, I have been quietly working on a new book titled *For the Long Haul: How to Stay in the Fight for a Better World*. I have signed a contract with @akpress.org and they will be co-publishing the book with @btlbooks.com. The book will be out next fall!
Reposted by Alexis Shotwell
You know what? I was raised by peaceniks and wasn’t even allowed to play with toy guns and Thich Nhat Hanh is my go-to theorist on empathy so my reaction to a lot of this is different from some of my friends and I don’t think these articles telling people how to feel are doing anything useful
September 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
You know what? I was raised by peaceniks and wasn’t even allowed to play with toy guns and Thich Nhat Hanh is my go-to theorist on empathy so my reaction to a lot of this is different from some of my friends and I don’t think these articles telling people how to feel are doing anything useful