Erica Steiner
@ericasteiner.bsky.social
Celtic Studies PhD in progress @ Sydney Uni: ancient/medieval tattooing.
Finds rabbit holes & side quests irresistible!
Environmental humanities • Geomythology • Historical body modifications • Medieval mistranslations, misnomers & mysteries.
Finds rabbit holes & side quests irresistible!
Environmental humanities • Geomythology • Historical body modifications • Medieval mistranslations, misnomers & mysteries.
Reposted by Erica Steiner
We have extended our call for new committee members to November 10th! This time around, we are especially looking for postgraduate students and ECRs with experience to fill our editor roles, as well as a social media manager. #medievalsky #academicsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/10/02/c...
ceraejournal.com/2025/10/02/c...
Call for New Committee Members
Ceræ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies is an open-access, award-winning, peer-reviewed journal directed by a committee of international graduate students and early caree…
ceraejournal.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
We have extended our call for new committee members to November 10th! This time around, we are especially looking for postgraduate students and ECRs with experience to fill our editor roles, as well as a social media manager. #medievalsky #academicsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/10/02/c...
ceraejournal.com/2025/10/02/c...
Hwæt #classicsky #medievalsky #earlymodernsky!
🗣️ Ceræ's annual EOI for new committee members is now open for next year's #openaccess Volume 13.
🗣️ Editorial experience not required - but enthusiasm is.
🗣️ Applications from graduates and ECRs prioritised.
🗣️ DM/email/visit website for more info.
🗣️ Ceræ's annual EOI for new committee members is now open for next year's #openaccess Volume 13.
🗣️ Editorial experience not required - but enthusiasm is.
🗣️ Applications from graduates and ECRs prioritised.
🗣️ DM/email/visit website for more info.
Happy Monday! A reminder that we're seeking new committee members for Ceræ's 13th volume, including editors, a social media manager, and a fundraising officer. Postgraduate students welcome! See link below for details:
ceraejournal.com/2025/10/02/c...
#medievalsky #academicsky #earlymodernsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/10/02/c...
#medievalsky #academicsky #earlymodernsky
Call for New Committee Members
Ceræ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies is an open-access, award-winning, peer-reviewed journal directed by a committee of international graduate students and early caree…
ceraejournal.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Hwæt #classicsky #medievalsky #earlymodernsky!
🗣️ Ceræ's annual EOI for new committee members is now open for next year's #openaccess Volume 13.
🗣️ Editorial experience not required - but enthusiasm is.
🗣️ Applications from graduates and ECRs prioritised.
🗣️ DM/email/visit website for more info.
🗣️ Ceræ's annual EOI for new committee members is now open for next year's #openaccess Volume 13.
🗣️ Editorial experience not required - but enthusiasm is.
🗣️ Applications from graduates and ECRs prioritised.
🗣️ DM/email/visit website for more info.
Last week I said the hardest, most heartbreaking of goodbyes to my beloved Kiara. 17 years old, but in declining health for the last year or so, she passed peacefully in her garden, in the warm spring sunshine, held by her humans until the very end. We love you forever, darling little puss-face.
September 24, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Last week I said the hardest, most heartbreaking of goodbyes to my beloved Kiara. 17 years old, but in declining health for the last year or so, she passed peacefully in her garden, in the warm spring sunshine, held by her humans until the very end. We love you forever, darling little puss-face.
A key point has been missed, and for once it's not the AI that's the issue. C-14 dating of MSS doesn't date a text, it only dates the medium on which a text was written. Parchment was valuable, rarely manufactured for a specific text, and frequently recycled. 1/🧵
#ancientsky #classicsky #medievalsky
#ancientsky #classicsky #medievalsky
Dating ancient manuscripts using radiocarbon and AI-based writing style analysis | PLOS One
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Dating ancient manuscripts using radiocarbon and AI-based writing style analysis
Determining by means of palaeography the chronology of ancient handwritten manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls is essential for reconstructing the evolution of ideas, but there is an almost compl...
journals.plos.org
June 5, 2025 at 11:12 PM
A key point has been missed, and for once it's not the AI that's the issue. C-14 dating of MSS doesn't date a text, it only dates the medium on which a text was written. Parchment was valuable, rarely manufactured for a specific text, and frequently recycled. 1/🧵
#ancientsky #classicsky #medievalsky
#ancientsky #classicsky #medievalsky
Wow. Unbelievable that this study passed #ethics approval at the University of Zurich, and ridiculous it was considered 'low risk'. The members of that ethics committee need to be disciplined alongside the research team. And no journal should go anywhere near this study or the research team.
The mods of r/ChangeMyView shared the sub was the subject of a study to test the persuasiveness of LLMs & that they didn't consent. There’s a lot that went wrong, so here’s a 🧵 unpacking it, along with some ideas for how to do research with online communities ethically. tinyurl.com/59tpt988
From the changemyview community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the changemyview community
tinyurl.com
April 27, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Wow. Unbelievable that this study passed #ethics approval at the University of Zurich, and ridiculous it was considered 'low risk'. The members of that ethics committee need to be disciplined alongside the research team. And no journal should go anywhere near this study or the research team.
Our opening @ceraejournal.bsky.social conference keynote, @jkeskiah.bsky.social, on the origins of dreams in Gregory the Great: dreams can be a product of a full (or an empty) stomach, and holy men can discern dreams by a secret taste. Well, I have just one response to that: MEDIEVAL CHEESE DREAMS!
April 26, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Our opening @ceraejournal.bsky.social conference keynote, @jkeskiah.bsky.social, on the origins of dreams in Gregory the Great: dreams can be a product of a full (or an empty) stomach, and holy men can discern dreams by a secret taste. Well, I have just one response to that: MEDIEVAL CHEESE DREAMS!
Most #medievalsky and #earlymodernsky conferences, even online ones, are expensive 🤑.
Not so for @ceraejournal.bsky.social's conference! It really is just under $10 (USD), which is even less in £ and € (and only $15 AUD!) Our first session starts in just 30 minutes!
ceraejournal.com/programme/
Not so for @ceraejournal.bsky.social's conference! It really is just under $10 (USD), which is even less in £ and € (and only $15 AUD!) Our first session starts in just 30 minutes!
ceraejournal.com/programme/
April 26, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Most #medievalsky and #earlymodernsky conferences, even online ones, are expensive 🤑.
Not so for @ceraejournal.bsky.social's conference! It really is just under $10 (USD), which is even less in £ and € (and only $15 AUD!) Our first session starts in just 30 minutes!
ceraejournal.com/programme/
Not so for @ceraejournal.bsky.social's conference! It really is just under $10 (USD), which is even less in £ and € (and only $15 AUD!) Our first session starts in just 30 minutes!
ceraejournal.com/programme/
The 2nd annual @ceraejournal.bsky.social #onlineconference is this week, 26-27 April! 🎉
🗣️Heaps of fantastic papers over our unique 30-hour continuous schedule - which allows for equitable access to the conference irrespective of location.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/04/21/i...
🗣️Heaps of fantastic papers over our unique 30-hour continuous schedule - which allows for equitable access to the conference irrespective of location.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/04/21/i...
It’s Conference Week!
The 2nd annual Ceræ conference, organised around the theme of Dreams, Visions, and Utopias, will begin this weekend on 26–27 April! Because our conference is truly an international a…
ceraejournal.com
April 21, 2025 at 10:42 AM
The 2nd annual @ceraejournal.bsky.social #onlineconference is this week, 26-27 April! 🎉
🗣️Heaps of fantastic papers over our unique 30-hour continuous schedule - which allows for equitable access to the conference irrespective of location.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/04/21/i...
🗣️Heaps of fantastic papers over our unique 30-hour continuous schedule - which allows for equitable access to the conference irrespective of location.
#medievalsky #earlymodernsky
ceraejournal.com/2025/04/21/i...
🚨Open call for papers🚨
Attention #earlymedieval and #lateantiquity colleagues at all career stages!
JAEMA accepts submissions from all disciplines and geographical foci - and the submission deadline for Issue 1 of the 2025 Volume is fast approaching.
#medievalsky #ancientsky #CFP #skystorians
Attention #earlymedieval and #lateantiquity colleagues at all career stages!
JAEMA accepts submissions from all disciplines and geographical foci - and the submission deadline for Issue 1 of the 2025 Volume is fast approaching.
#medievalsky #ancientsky #CFP #skystorians
The submissions deadline for the first issue of the Australian Early Medieval Association is rapidly approaching - papers need to be submitted by April 30 to be considered for the first issue!
See our website for more details: aema.org.au/journal/
See our website for more details: aema.org.au/journal/
March 18, 2025 at 12:17 PM
🚨Open call for papers🚨
Attention #earlymedieval and #lateantiquity colleagues at all career stages!
JAEMA accepts submissions from all disciplines and geographical foci - and the submission deadline for Issue 1 of the 2025 Volume is fast approaching.
#medievalsky #ancientsky #CFP #skystorians
Attention #earlymedieval and #lateantiquity colleagues at all career stages!
JAEMA accepts submissions from all disciplines and geographical foci - and the submission deadline for Issue 1 of the 2025 Volume is fast approaching.
#medievalsky #ancientsky #CFP #skystorians
Another day ... another #CelticStudies programme under attack. Please sign the petition to send a strong message to the University of Western Brittany that Breton is highly valued internationally:
chng.it/cdStWfKmbz
The Master's of Celtic Languages and Cultures in Contact blog:
l3c.hypotheses.org
chng.it/cdStWfKmbz
The Master's of Celtic Languages and Cultures in Contact blog:
l3c.hypotheses.org
Avez-vous une minute pour aider cette campagne?
Sauvons les études celtiques de Brest ! / Save the Celtic studies in Brest !
chng.it
March 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Another day ... another #CelticStudies programme under attack. Please sign the petition to send a strong message to the University of Western Brittany that Breton is highly valued internationally:
chng.it/cdStWfKmbz
The Master's of Celtic Languages and Cultures in Contact blog:
l3c.hypotheses.org
chng.it/cdStWfKmbz
The Master's of Celtic Languages and Cultures in Contact blog:
l3c.hypotheses.org
Mixed feelings on this article. On the one hand, research about the educated female medieval experience is momentarily occupying the mainstream. But on the other hand, the closer you look at their methodology, the less helpful the results appear to be.
#medievalsky #medievalwomen #skystorians
1/🧵
#medievalsky #medievalwomen #skystorians
1/🧵
March 12, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Mixed feelings on this article. On the one hand, research about the educated female medieval experience is momentarily occupying the mainstream. But on the other hand, the closer you look at their methodology, the less helpful the results appear to be.
#medievalsky #medievalwomen #skystorians
1/🧵
#medievalsky #medievalwomen #skystorians
1/🧵
Do you have 'spare' time in April? ✅
Looking for an #independent #medievalsky & #earlymodernsky #onlineconference to attend? ✅
Abstract submissions have been extended for just one final week!
Our only submission limitations are chronological and thematic, (not geographic or methodological).
Looking for an #independent #medievalsky & #earlymodernsky #onlineconference to attend? ✅
Abstract submissions have been extended for just one final week!
Our only submission limitations are chronological and thematic, (not geographic or methodological).
We're delighted to announce the speakers for the 2025 Ceræ conference! @chloehouston.bsky.social from the University of Reading and @jkeskiah.bsky.social from the University of Helsinki will give keynote speeches on April 26 and 27. We are so glad to have them!
ceraejournal.com/conference-i...
ceraejournal.com/conference-i...
Conference 2025
Conference Dates & Venue The Ceræ Conference will be held on 26–27 April 2025. In 2024, the conference was organised in a unique continuous format over a 28-hour period in order to equitably ac…
ceraejournal.com
March 5, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Do you have 'spare' time in April? ✅
Looking for an #independent #medievalsky & #earlymodernsky #onlineconference to attend? ✅
Abstract submissions have been extended for just one final week!
Our only submission limitations are chronological and thematic, (not geographic or methodological).
Looking for an #independent #medievalsky & #earlymodernsky #onlineconference to attend? ✅
Abstract submissions have been extended for just one final week!
Our only submission limitations are chronological and thematic, (not geographic or methodological).
Rad new #Bowie mural unveiled in my neighbourhood. Fellow #skystorians: if medievalism describes post-medieval adaptions of artistic and intellectual medieval concepts/artefacts, then why isn't there a single word to refer to the same concept but with antiquity? #neologism
#ancientsky #medievalsky
#ancientsky #medievalsky
February 21, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Rad new #Bowie mural unveiled in my neighbourhood. Fellow #skystorians: if medievalism describes post-medieval adaptions of artistic and intellectual medieval concepts/artefacts, then why isn't there a single word to refer to the same concept but with antiquity? #neologism
#ancientsky #medievalsky
#ancientsky #medievalsky
Reposted by Erica Steiner
Teaching and studying languages is one of the core missions of universities. These languages include ancient ones, modern ones, mathematics, music, and coding languages. À bon entendeur, salut.
February 17, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Teaching and studying languages is one of the core missions of universities. These languages include ancient ones, modern ones, mathematics, music, and coding languages. À bon entendeur, salut.
For reading other (non-fiction) books during class. More than once in primary and high school.
But my coolest teacher in year 10 history, let my best friend and I read other stuff in class if it was broadly relevant - and that, dear reader, is how we taught ourselves rudimentary hieroglyphics.
But my coolest teacher in year 10 history, let my best friend and I read other stuff in class if it was broadly relevant - and that, dear reader, is how we taught ourselves rudimentary hieroglyphics.
February 12, 2025 at 1:19 PM
For reading other (non-fiction) books during class. More than once in primary and high school.
But my coolest teacher in year 10 history, let my best friend and I read other stuff in class if it was broadly relevant - and that, dear reader, is how we taught ourselves rudimentary hieroglyphics.
But my coolest teacher in year 10 history, let my best friend and I read other stuff in class if it was broadly relevant - and that, dear reader, is how we taught ourselves rudimentary hieroglyphics.
Reposted by Erica Steiner
I made a list of these if you want to block them. I'm not sure that this will prevent them from working, but it might.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
The content scraper bots have arrived for "unrolling" people's threads.
Do not be the asshole scraping people's content to a third party website that's profiting off it without permission.
Do not be the asshole scraping people's content to a third party website that's profiting off it without permission.
February 1, 2025 at 2:25 PM
I made a list of these if you want to block them. I'm not sure that this will prevent them from working, but it might.
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
"The influence of the Ossian cycle has placed “Celts” at the heart of genre fantasy...this, in turn, has placed 18th- and 19th-century race science, British (and French) colonial expansion, and attempted cultural genocide at the heart of the fantasy genre." 👏👏
Brilliant!
#CelticStudies #literature
Brilliant!
#CelticStudies #literature
The Criticism Special closes out with a wonderful essay from @coimeas.bsky.social on the use of the Celtic in fantasy - but also, and more vitally, the use of fantasy in Celtic. It tackles a key problem - that "'The Celts' have become, for many people, a cultural phenomenon" more than a culture.
The Celts Meet Celtic Fantasy
What would it look like for dominant-language fantasy to engage with the living cultures, contemporary politics, and modern histories of Celtic-language communities?
strangehorizons.com
January 31, 2025 at 5:42 PM
"The influence of the Ossian cycle has placed “Celts” at the heart of genre fantasy...this, in turn, has placed 18th- and 19th-century race science, British (and French) colonial expansion, and attempted cultural genocide at the heart of the fantasy genre." 👏👏
Brilliant!
#CelticStudies #literature
Brilliant!
#CelticStudies #literature
Sure, labret use is one explanation for the dental wear in this population, but one I think is unlikely. There is no serious discussion of dental wear resulting from continual use of the mouth/teeth as a defacto third 'hand', no reference to recent studies on the topic.
#archaeology #skystorians 1/🧵
#archaeology #skystorians 1/🧵
🏺🧪🦣
Immensely interesting new, detailed and OA study suggesting cultural cheek piercing - like B in the image here, but one sided & potentially progressively enlarged from adolescence onwards - in a European 'Ice Age' culture 31.5-29.5 ka BP
Immensely interesting new, detailed and OA study suggesting cultural cheek piercing - like B in the image here, but one sided & potentially progressively enlarged from adolescence onwards - in a European 'Ice Age' culture 31.5-29.5 ka BP
January 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Sure, labret use is one explanation for the dental wear in this population, but one I think is unlikely. There is no serious discussion of dental wear resulting from continual use of the mouth/teeth as a defacto third 'hand', no reference to recent studies on the topic.
#archaeology #skystorians 1/🧵
#archaeology #skystorians 1/🧵
Not only is this a splendid essay featuring charming 19th c illustrations and poems dedicated to wombats in all their hirsute, rotund glory, I just can't get over the hysterical illustration of 'the common or native catte'. #Victoriana #Australianfauna #skystorians #arthistory
January 26, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Not only is this a splendid essay featuring charming 19th c illustrations and poems dedicated to wombats in all their hirsute, rotund glory, I just can't get over the hysterical illustration of 'the common or native catte'. #Victoriana #Australianfauna #skystorians #arthistory
This is the antidote to modern STEM exceptionalism and research chauvinism - a thorough literature review that looks beyond the last generation of research and shines a light on errors and mal-assumptions within the very foundations of a field. #ancientsky #archaeology
My piece is out! A history of archaeological scholarship on the potential for matrilineal societies in Iron Age Europe.
Genetics shows that women stayed put in Late Iron Age Dorset, while men moved to other groups.
January 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
This is the antidote to modern STEM exceptionalism and research chauvinism - a thorough literature review that looks beyond the last generation of research and shines a light on errors and mal-assumptions within the very foundations of a field. #ancientsky #archaeology
Each contribution is fabulous (having read the whole volume through more than once during editing!), but i'm extra proud of 'Meet Me in My World', Roxanne Bodsworth's scholarly and poetic retelling of Aislinge Óenguso from the feminine POV of Caer.
#medievalsky #celticstudies #feminist #literature
#medievalsky #celticstudies #feminist #literature
The eleventh volume of Ceræ journal is now live! This volume features three articles themed on 'Metamorphosis, Transformation, and Transmutation', two varia, and a record nineteen book reviews! Please, #medievalsky and #earlymodernsky, read on: ceraejournal.com/2025/01/22/c...
Ceræ Volume 11: Published!
2025 is upon us, and with it comes the publication of Ceræ’s eleventh volume, featuring three themed articles, two creative varia, and a record nineteen book reviews. This issue follows the theme o…
ceraejournal.com
January 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Each contribution is fabulous (having read the whole volume through more than once during editing!), but i'm extra proud of 'Meet Me in My World', Roxanne Bodsworth's scholarly and poetic retelling of Aislinge Óenguso from the feminine POV of Caer.
#medievalsky #celticstudies #feminist #literature
#medievalsky #celticstudies #feminist #literature
In recent weeks a whole bunch of new papers have been published in areas that are important to my research - with some amazing new insights ... and disappointments. One of my biggest let-downs has been the widely-shared article on ancient Peruvian #TattooHistory (www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...). 1/🧵
Hidden artistic complexity of Peru’s Chancay culture discovered in tattoos by laser-stimulated fluorescence | PNAS
Tattoos were a prevalent art form in pre-Hispanic South America exemplified by mummified
human remains with preserved skin decoration that reflects...
www.pnas.org
January 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
In recent weeks a whole bunch of new papers have been published in areas that are important to my research - with some amazing new insights ... and disappointments. One of my biggest let-downs has been the widely-shared article on ancient Peruvian #TattooHistory (www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...). 1/🧵
#Dream narratives are some of the most ubiquitous yet diverse genres of #medieval text, and we want to hear about your research! Ceræ is a fully independent digital-only journal, and our #CFP is looking for BOTH conference submissions and journal submissions.
#medievalsky #earlymodern #skystorians
#medievalsky #earlymodern #skystorians
January 20, 2025 at 12:36 PM
#Dream narratives are some of the most ubiquitous yet diverse genres of #medieval text, and we want to hear about your research! Ceræ is a fully independent digital-only journal, and our #CFP is looking for BOTH conference submissions and journal submissions.
#medievalsky #earlymodern #skystorians
#medievalsky #earlymodern #skystorians
Even though my Glücksschwein is wonky and looks more like a plucked, zesty hedgehog than a piglet, here's to hoping that 2025 will be a fruitful and prosperous year!
December 31, 2024 at 11:45 AM
Even though my Glücksschwein is wonky and looks more like a plucked, zesty hedgehog than a piglet, here's to hoping that 2025 will be a fruitful and prosperous year!
A worthy petition to reinstate a worthy program. I was fortunate to have formally studied Latin at school in years 7-12, and I've used it constantly since. I would argue some knowledge of Latin is essential to undertaking any form of historical research.
#academicsky #ancientsky #medievalsky
#academicsky #ancientsky #medievalsky
Save the Latin Excellence Programme Petition has now over 1,500 signatures. Help Latin to stay in the English state school classrooms. Circulate and sign at chng.it/tSYnmxZ4Rd
Sign the Petition
Save the Latin Excellence Programme - keep teaching Latin in state schools
chng.it
December 28, 2024 at 6:58 AM
A worthy petition to reinstate a worthy program. I was fortunate to have formally studied Latin at school in years 7-12, and I've used it constantly since. I would argue some knowledge of Latin is essential to undertaking any form of historical research.
#academicsky #ancientsky #medievalsky
#academicsky #ancientsky #medievalsky