Carrie Beneš
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cebenes.bsky.social
Carrie Beneš
@cebenes.bsky.social
1.6K followers 440 following 220 posts
Medievalist, typography nerd, data wrangler, and occasional costume designer. Secret superpower = toasting the perfect marshmallow. Sfera Project co-PI. Would rather be in Rome.
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cebenes.bsky.social
Due October 10th >> The New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies returns 5-7 March 2026! Accepting abstracts on all topics in European & Mediterranean history, literature, art, music & religion (4c-17c): www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp

#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
September 23, 2025 at 1:06 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
The New College Conference on Medieval & Renaissance Studies returns 5-7 March 2026! Abstracts on all topics in European & Mediterranean history, literature, art, music & religion (4c-17c) are due 1 October 2025: www.newcollegeconference.org/cfp

#medievalsky #earlymodern #renaissance #CfP
June 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
cebenes.bsky.social
TBR.
sonjadrimmer.bsky.social Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · May 21
This article by my friend Nick Herman is one of my favorite works of scholarship from the last 5 years, which I'm revisiting this morning. It concerns tiny complaints about labor written by artists into the miniatures they painted in 15th-century manuscripts. doi.org/10.1086/715117
While more recent analyses have tended to complicate the clear delineation between the roles of masters and assistants (and between journeymen and apprentices), it remains clear that the two principal groups were frequently at loggerheads, as they shared obviously divergent goals: the former wanted to maximize profit in an increasingly integrated European economy, while the latter sought to preserve a system in which workers dictated the terms of their labor.119 A key source of conflict between masters and journeymen in particular was the regulation of time, and specifically the lengthening and horological objectification of the working day.
May 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM
cebenes.bsky.social
Yep, me too. 👇
homophonous.bsky.social S.J. Pearce @homophonous.bsky.social · May 21
👇 Absolutely true for me.
chloermckenzie.bsky.social Chloë R McKenzie @chloermckenzie.bsky.social · May 21
Success in academia often has more to do with luck, patronage and the job market than “hard work”.
Good academics acknowledge this.
I worked hard, but I was in the right place at the right time on occasion. Historians far more talented than I have fallen between the cracks.
May 21, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
jonbecker.bsky.social
Higher education faculty members should read two new articles and discuss them deeply as a department/unit/etc. The NYMag article about AI and cheating + the NYT article by the professor at U. of Florida about working under the DeSantis regime. They are connected; discuss those connections.
May 7, 2025 at 12:48 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
Tomorrow, 1pm EDT!

On behalf of @medievalacademy.bsky.social , Alison Perchuk and I are hosting an informal Community Hour for any/all premodernists affected by recent federal cuts. Please join us! #medievalsky #earlymodern #lateantiquity

www.themedievalacademyblog.org/maa-to-host-...
MAA to Host Community Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding
MAA to Host Community Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding Tuesday May 6th, 1 pm EDT Many of us have been shocked and appalled by the recent termination of
www.themedievalacademyblog.org
May 5, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
lisafdavis.bsky.social
Proud to add my name to this important message. #MedievalSky www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-c...
A Call for Constructive Engagement | AAC&U
A Call for Constructive Engagement
www.aacu.org
April 29, 2025 at 5:09 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
*One week from today* On behalf of @medievalacademy.bsky.social, Alison Perchuk and I are hosting an informal Community Hour for premodernists affected by recent federal cuts. Please join us—and share this announcement widely!

#medievalsky #earlymodern #lateantiquity
MAA to Host Community Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding
MAA to Host Community Discussion on Cuts to Federal Funding Tuesday May 6th, 1 pm EDT Many of us have been shocked and appalled by the recent termination of
www.themedievalacademyblog.org
April 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
homophonous.bsky.social
Starting point, this time, was “No way this guy is Cardinal Pizza Can Dance.”
April 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
cebenes.bsky.social
Thank you, Elizabeth Warren.
nehafge3403.bsky.social NEH Union - AFGE L3403 @nehafge3403.bsky.social · Apr 23
Read the entire letter here, which includes concerns regarding staff reductions, highlights the importance of #NEH #humanities projects in #Massachusetts, and asks ten critical accountability and clarifying questions, with a response requested by 5/12/25:

www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
April 23, 2025 at 2:30 AM
cebenes.bsky.social
Happy Earth Day from the #sferaproject!
#medievalsky #earlymodern #maphistory #bookhistory
(G. Dati, La sfera/The Globe, early 15c; BNCF Magl. XI.83, f. 7r)
April 22, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
nytpitchbot.bsky.social
Kind, decent, and compassionate, Pope Francis was badly out of step with contemporary western culture.
April 21, 2025 at 11:56 AM
cebenes.bsky.social
Donation page for the formerly-NEH-funded #sferaproject. The horrors persist, but so do we. 💪
lauramorreale.bsky.social Laura Morreale @lauramorreale.bsky.social · Apr 17
Many of you know I've been working on the La sfera project with scores of friends for about 5 years. We were thrilled to receive support to bring it to a larger public, and crushed when we lost it when it was nearly 70% complete. We are now seeking donations to finish it
www.sferaproject.org/donate
The La Sfera Project - Donate
On April 2, 2025, the Sfera Project PIs received notice that the federal government was terminating the $118,000 grant the Project was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities in August 20...
www.sferaproject.org
April 17, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
siueiris.bsky.social
If you’re feeling anxious and restless, check out these two free, public events hosted by ACH this week. On Wednesday, advocate for the NEH and IMLS to your elected officials. On Friday, learn to reach broad audiences through op-eds.
ach.bsky.social ACH @ach.bsky.social · Apr 4
Join us Wed, April 9th at 8am PT / 11am ET to contact your elected officials to advocate for the NEH and IMLS. We will provide links, talking points, messages, and scripts, including resources from colleagues such as the @humanitiesall.bsky.social. Register now:
Support the NEH: Virtual Direct Action Hour – ACH Membership
Help spread the word
members.ach.org
April 7, 2025 at 2:11 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
Important time-sensitive recommendations for anyone affected by yesterday's cuts:
ach.bsky.social ACH @ach.bsky.social · Apr 3
An email is on its way out to our members regarding strategies for navigating cuts to federal grant funding. However, we wanted to share that information here as well. We have aggregated information for actions regarding NEH grants, which include broader strategies as well.
April 4, 2025 at 2:26 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
Like many other #NEH -funded projects. the #sferaproject received notice yesterday that our grant has been cancelled. It's not yet clear what that means for the project, but we hope to have more info soon. Meanwhile, here's a screenshot of what they cancelled (our website-in-development):
April 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
drsurekhadavies.bsky.social
2. New Directions in Early Modern Cartography I.
A roundtable! Discussants: Tom Conley, Dana Leibsohn, @rmidura.bsky.social, Jessica E. Maier, and I.

Sat. March 22, 9:00-10:30am, Boston Marriott Copley Place – Provincetown Room – 4th Floor.

rsa.confex.com/rsa/2025/mee...
Screenshot from a conference program portal. Across the top is an advertising banner for HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY. A quotation from the book takes up most of the banner: “A history of how humans have created monsters out of one another.” On the right: “New from” followed by the University of California Press logo. Below this is the conference name: Renaissance Society of America Annual Meeting. RSA 2025 Boston. The panel title and info follows.
March 3, 2025 at 8:07 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
Last call! Sat March 8th in Sarasota @lauramorreale.bsky.social and I will be offering a PD teacher workshop on pre-modern maps and mapping, based on our NEH-funded work on the #sferaproject. Pls see details tinyurl.com/sferamar25 — we have extended the sign-up deadline to Wed March 5th.
PDF detailing "The World in the Renaissance: Digital Tools and Primary Sources", details at https://tinyurl.com/sferamar25.
March 3, 2025 at 10:22 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
First round of DMSI @ Leeds applications are due in TWO DAYS (30 Jan)! Come dive into medieval maps and digital mapping with me! I might even get to wear a sweater in July!

#medievalsky #earlymodern #skystorians #dh #maphistory

tinyurl.com/DMSI-2025-UK
Digital Medieval Studies Institute (DMSI) 2025 UK Edition Information
tinyurl.com
January 28, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
grubstreetwomen.bsky.social
I didn't know this wasn't well known! Here are some resources:

DHQ article on eebo and fingerprints specifically: www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/18/1...
January 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by Carrie Beneš
jeanneologist.bsky.social
Came across this and am genuinely alarmed at the idea that any of this is evidence for an LLM being a "very good historian" (a phrase which, incidentally, I previously heard used only by a pompous old bore trying to wow me with how many History Facts™ he knew while I was an underpaid museum guide).
The leading AI models are now very good historians
Three case studies with GPT-4o, o1, and Claude Sonnet 3.5, and what they mean
resobscura.substack.com
January 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
#skystorians #medievalsky #earlymodern #classicsbluesky #dh Please see and share the attached #AHA26 CFP on Historical Game Design in Research and Teaching from @rmidura.bsky.social and @eegraham.bsky.social!
CFP Historical Game Design in Research and Teaching AHA 2026
Historical Game Design in Research and Teaching Abstract: History is everywhere in games, from table-top role-playing games, to triple A console releases. Today’s scholars and students may sink hours ...
docs.google.com
January 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM
cebenes.bsky.social
#skystorians #earlymodern Please see and share the attached CFP for #AHA26 on Histories of Nostalgia.

(A topic near and dear to my heart. cf. 2011 Urban Legends, etc.)
Call for Papers, AHA 2026: Histories of Nostalgia The rise of MAGA drew scholarly attention to the politics of nostalgia, and subsequent events, most especially Donald Trump’s 2024 victory, have reaffirmed its power. This series of panels seeks to bring together an array of perspectives on and approaches to instances of nostalgia in Europe and North America, beginning in the early modern period. At a moment when nostalgia is seen as a technique of the right, these panels will explore a wider spectrum of how appeals have been made to tradition. Hobsbawm and Ranger’s Invention of Tradition serves as a model for the types of investigations we hope to bring together, but we are casting a wider net, looking at nostalgic uses of the past on two continents over four centuries (1500-1900). We hope to elicit submissions focusing on the motivations for an uses of nostalgic evocations of the past. Whereas The Invention of Tradition emphasized practices, especially ritual practices, we also encourage submissions from those working on appropriations and reinterpretations of the past in other forms. Possible themes include, but are not limited to: Historical representations (art, film, etc.) that communicate political messages Ceremonies that consciously evoke the past Political or religious rhetoric and its appeals to tradition  Historical monuments / memorials  Contests over a particular historical event Efforts to link a political figure or event with a particular predecessor In your proposal, please specify the period / circumstances in which your nostalgic interpretation occurred, the historical referent which this nostalgia evokes, and / or if (as in the case of "Make America Great Again") there is no precise referent. Please send a brief CV, a presentation title, and an abstract (up to 300 words) to Elizabeth McCahill (elizabeth.mccahill@umb.edu) and Nicole Breault (nabreault@utep.edu). Please detail any A/V requirements you might need.
January 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM