Christine Johnson
@christinkallama.bsky.social
Historian of Renaissance Germany. Author of _The German Discovery of the World: Renaissance Encounters with the Strange and Marvelous_. Also on Mastodon: @christinkallama@mastodon.social.
She/her
She/her
Reposted by Christine Johnson
The @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social has been on fire lately, and this is oped is no exception. (And worth noting as an aside that no LLM could produce an article of this power and precision).
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
The Professor and the Pedophile | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Summers should choose the most straightforward path and resign. Should he refuse to, though, the University must cut ties with its former president to the greatest extent possible.
www.thecrimson.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social has been on fire lately, and this is oped is no exception. (And worth noting as an aside that no LLM could produce an article of this power and precision).
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
United Academics of the University of Oregon -- the faculty union at UO -- stands up to the Tr*mp administration's war on knowledge and education.
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
Oregon colleges say no to Trump administration higher ed compact
Higher education advocates say the compact equates to a loyalty oath and infringes on the academic freedoms that are inherent to many universities' missions.
www.opb.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:06 PM
United Academics of the University of Oregon -- the faculty union at UO -- stands up to the Tr*mp administration's war on knowledge and education.
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
#WOKE
#UAUO
#edusky
www.opb.org/article/2025...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
lest we forget the mutual interest in ⚪️
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
How Jeffrey Epstein Captivated Harvard
And how the university has yet to give a full accounting.
www.thenation.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:46 PM
lest we forget the mutual interest in ⚪️
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
driving Harvard-Epstein entanglements.
“His funds thus helped promote a current of thought that_promoted the idea that the existing order is the natural result of evolutionary selection and adaptation”
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
For the What's History Feed: 🗃️
My special issue on gardens and plants as laboratories of premodern science is out on @royalsocietypublishing.org #notesandrecords #nrrs #histplants #histsci #vegscilif #envhist with articles by me, Luzzini on minerals, @johedesan.bsky.social on Guy de La Brosse, Jalobeanu on Bacon, and Benharrech🌱
November 18, 2025 at 5:34 AM
For the What's History Feed: 🗃️
Reposted by Christine Johnson
I want to watch a six-part series on the Haitian Revolution 😕
November 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I want to watch a six-part series on the Haitian Revolution 😕
AI models don't "analyze"; at best they categorize and then spill out probabilistic language related to those categories. Hence the "autocomplete" of colonialist language. They can be trained away from colonialist language, of course, but they can't be trained to analyze.
📸 New research just out revealing disturbing problems with AI image captioning. AI models can now analyse both texts and images, and are trained on vast collections of human-created content spanning centuries. Some claims these models could soon help human historians interpret and explain the past.
November 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
AI models don't "analyze"; at best they categorize and then spill out probabilistic language related to those categories. Hence the "autocomplete" of colonialist language. They can be trained away from colonialist language, of course, but they can't be trained to analyze.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
it's easy to dunk on what is a risible, even unconscionable headline
it seems to me however that the emails throw a spotlight not so much on a "lost" New York, but rather a _new_ one -- the NYC that emerged after the 1980s, when the Reagan Revolution & globalization transformed the city,
1/
it seems to me however that the emails throw a spotlight not so much on a "lost" New York, but rather a _new_ one -- the NYC that emerged after the 1980s, when the Reagan Revolution & globalization transformed the city,
1/
November 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
it's easy to dunk on what is a risible, even unconscionable headline
it seems to me however that the emails throw a spotlight not so much on a "lost" New York, but rather a _new_ one -- the NYC that emerged after the 1980s, when the Reagan Revolution & globalization transformed the city,
1/
it seems to me however that the emails throw a spotlight not so much on a "lost" New York, but rather a _new_ one -- the NYC that emerged after the 1980s, when the Reagan Revolution & globalization transformed the city,
1/
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Anyway, it’s been an open secret for a long, long time that significant numbers of the mostly men professors at Harvard not only harass grad students but undergrads as well. They hold their power over students heads to try to coerce them into going along with the harassment, & sometimes also assault
November 15, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Anyway, it’s been an open secret for a long, long time that significant numbers of the mostly men professors at Harvard not only harass grad students but undergrads as well. They hold their power over students heads to try to coerce them into going along with the harassment, & sometimes also assault
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Thanks to @juansaaa.com for letting me know that this excellent Johnny Harris video on ICE enforcement is out. I talked to his producer for over an hour during the research process and I think it's a good overview of how we got here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDbt...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDbt...
Why the US is deporting so many people
YouTube video by Johnny Harris
www.youtube.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Thanks to @juansaaa.com for letting me know that this excellent Johnny Harris video on ICE enforcement is out. I talked to his producer for over an hour during the research process and I think it's a good overview of how we got here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDbt...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDbt...
For the What's History Feed. 🗃️
The @thegsa.bsky.social is looking for a new editor for its flagship journal, the German Studies Review; anticipated started date: June 1, 2026. Further details about the position and applications/nominations are available here: tinyurl.com/ypfxpkdr
CfA: GSR Editor | German Studies Association
tinyurl.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:33 PM
For the What's History Feed. 🗃️
A "geographically expansive" district, notes Politico. But that's not the politically relevant fact. Tennessee's 7th District was designed to scoop up part of Nashville, one of three districts the formerly D-held 5th was split across in R-led gerrymander.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenness...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenness...
November 15, 2025 at 6:11 PM
A "geographically expansive" district, notes Politico. But that's not the politically relevant fact. Tennessee's 7th District was designed to scoop up part of Nashville, one of three districts the formerly D-held 5th was split across in R-led gerrymander.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenness...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenness...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Dank! So much lighter weight than I thought? I wonder if at least some of this cloth was purposely produced for the Guinea trade (would love to have some sense of the manufacturers) Permit me to observe that this is the most wonderful resource (and works perfectly for the English trade as well)
Check out the entry on perpetuanen - wool cloth traded to Guinea Coast (dutchtextiletrade.org/textiles/per...). Silesian linen. The others I’m not sure about…
Perpetuanen - Dutch Textile Trade
A serge (twill-woven wool), hot-pressed and durable fabric made in England, Flanders and Holland. Typically dyed in a single color: blue, green, red (scarlet), sometimes purple, yellow, brown. Traded ...
dutchtextiletrade.org
November 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Dank! So much lighter weight than I thought? I wonder if at least some of this cloth was purposely produced for the Guinea trade (would love to have some sense of the manufacturers) Permit me to observe that this is the most wonderful resource (and works perfectly for the English trade as well)
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Wonderful news on a (literally) dark day here. Note who's *actually* protecting these institutions: the people who work and study there, not leadership
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Wonderful news on a (literally) dark day here. Note who's *actually* protecting these institutions: the people who work and study there, not leadership
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Once again, the AAUP takes the lead in defending higher education. If you teach or conduct research in higher education, join now @aaup.org
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 15, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Once again, the AAUP takes the lead in defending higher education. If you teach or conduct research in higher education, join now @aaup.org
Reposted by Christine Johnson
You'll ignore this, but every time you tweet angrily about crap like that Nuzzi piece you're confirming NYT editors' intuitions/incentivizing more of it. The entire intellectual/journo model here is, "Does this person get people angry? Yes? OK they're provocative/get talked about. Write about her."
November 14, 2025 at 5:58 PM
You'll ignore this, but every time you tweet angrily about crap like that Nuzzi piece you're confirming NYT editors' intuitions/incentivizing more of it. The entire intellectual/journo model here is, "Does this person get people angry? Yes? OK they're provocative/get talked about. Write about her."
Reposted by Christine Johnson
1. These changes aren’t about budgets or enrollments.
2. My colleague has been deeply involved in this :waves hands: all along the way. What he shares here isn’t performative handwringing wrapped in clever rhetoric.
2. My colleague has been deeply involved in this :waves hands: all along the way. What he shares here isn’t performative handwringing wrapped in clever rhetoric.
academeblog.org/2025/11/13/t...
My colleague has captured what is currently happening at my institution. I have found the chipper rhetoric announcing it particularly depressing.
My colleague has captured what is currently happening at my institution. I have found the chipper rhetoric announcing it particularly depressing.
The Eternal Synergy of the Spotless Mind
BY ADAM RZEPKA A large public university is wiping out all of its humanities departments. It isn’t sure why. As I write this, our Interim Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS…
academeblog.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
1. These changes aren’t about budgets or enrollments.
2. My colleague has been deeply involved in this :waves hands: all along the way. What he shares here isn’t performative handwringing wrapped in clever rhetoric.
2. My colleague has been deeply involved in this :waves hands: all along the way. What he shares here isn’t performative handwringing wrapped in clever rhetoric.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
3. ALLIES: We have big plans coming up.
On 11/17, join us to hear updates from the strike line and to learn more about what you can do to support baristas' fight to end union busting and win a fair contract.
RSVP here - us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
On 11/17, join us to hear updates from the strike line and to learn more about what you can do to support baristas' fight to end union busting and win a fair contract.
RSVP here - us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Stop Buying Starbucks Solidarity Call. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
On Thursday, Nov. 13 over 1,000 Starbucks baristas in 40+ cities launched a national open-ended, unfair labor practice strike. These workers are putting it all on the line to fight for whats right, an...
us06web.zoom.us
November 14, 2025 at 1:18 AM
3. ALLIES: We have big plans coming up.
On 11/17, join us to hear updates from the strike line and to learn more about what you can do to support baristas' fight to end union busting and win a fair contract.
RSVP here - us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
On 11/17, join us to hear updates from the strike line and to learn more about what you can do to support baristas' fight to end union busting and win a fair contract.
RSVP here - us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Reposted by Christine Johnson
Using this post to once again hype my feed of independent and nonprofit journalism.
Read and share their work, and if you can, financially support those who are important to you. Journalism is expensive. Accountability journalism even more so.
Read and share their work, and if you can, financially support those who are important to you. Journalism is expensive. Accountability journalism even more so.
Other folks have said it, but let me just note that:
(1) lots of talented, must-read journalists have been let go from their jobs over the last year
(2) millions of Americans are abandoning current media outlets and looking for new alternatives
Seems like a sure-fire business opportunity here?
(1) lots of talented, must-read journalists have been let go from their jobs over the last year
(2) millions of Americans are abandoning current media outlets and looking for new alternatives
Seems like a sure-fire business opportunity here?
November 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Using this post to once again hype my feed of independent and nonprofit journalism.
Read and share their work, and if you can, financially support those who are important to you. Journalism is expensive. Accountability journalism even more so.
Read and share their work, and if you can, financially support those who are important to you. Journalism is expensive. Accountability journalism even more so.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
November 11, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by Christine Johnson
A plea as well to break the link that meaningful work = paid employment.
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
A plea as well to break the link that meaningful work = paid employment.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
BREAKING: We won!
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
November 10, 2025 at 5:48 PM
BREAKING: We won!
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
Today the 3rd Circuit Court ordered the @post-gazette.com to restore our contract it illegally tore up 5 years ago. That’s our health care, PTO, right to a 40-hr. work week, short-term disability and so much more we’ve struck for 3+ years.
pghguild.com/2025/11/10/p...
Reposted by Christine Johnson
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
November 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I got this useful bon mot from a middle school teacher recently.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
In response to, “I DONT UNDERSTAND,” he calmly said, “okay what steps have you taken to understand?”
And that’s when I realized that a lot of folks have no steps.
Reposted by Christine Johnson
It’s really important to note who filed the lawsuit: faculty and staff. Once again, not administrators.
November 7, 2025 at 1:06 AM
It’s really important to note who filed the lawsuit: faculty and staff. Once again, not administrators.