Frances Bell
@franrbell.bsky.social
VAP in History at Bates College; W&M and Woodson Institute alum. Researching mobility, the Haitian revolutionary diaspora, and freedom-seeking in the early United States. Handy with a knitting needle, happy on a bicycle. She/her.
Pinned
Frances Bell
@franrbell.bsky.social
· Nov 5
Bowie says, do you need to be checking social media? Or could you be doing whatever this is?
Reposted by Frances Bell
In the summer of 1950 most US newspapers ran an AP story about how race had become the main issue in the upcoming Georgia governor's race. Segregationist Herman Tallmadge, governor from '47 to '55 and then a Senator until 1981 made a name for himself by refusing to "apologize for being a white man."
December 21, 2025 at 10:57 PM
In the summer of 1950 most US newspapers ran an AP story about how race had become the main issue in the upcoming Georgia governor's race. Segregationist Herman Tallmadge, governor from '47 to '55 and then a Senator until 1981 made a name for himself by refusing to "apologize for being a white man."
Reposted by Frances Bell
“The day the government announced it would end [TPS] for Haiti, Sophie barely slept. Her fear reemerged as she thought about her two children, ages eight and four, and her husband, who had finally found some peace in Flatbush, Brooklyn, among NYC’s largest concentration of Haitian immigrants.”
As the U.S. Moves to End Haiti’s TPS, Families Brace for the Unthinkable - Documented
The decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haiti has left thousands of families facing the prospect of returning to a country engulfed by violence and political collapse.
documentedny.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:11 PM
“The day the government announced it would end [TPS] for Haiti, Sophie barely slept. Her fear reemerged as she thought about her two children, ages eight and four, and her husband, who had finally found some peace in Flatbush, Brooklyn, among NYC’s largest concentration of Haitian immigrants.”
Reposted by Frances Bell
I am a student at Brown in communication with a friend at RIBC.
There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI.
Spread the word.
www.ribc.org/donate-blood/
There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI.
Spread the word.
www.ribc.org/donate-blood/
Donate Blood
Check your eligibility to donate blood, learn about the process and why blood matters, and enroll in a RIBC Donor Loyalty Rewards programs.
www.ribc.org
December 13, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I am a student at Brown in communication with a friend at RIBC.
There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI.
Spread the word.
www.ribc.org/donate-blood/
There is an urgent need for blood donations to support RI. Donations in NY, NJ, MN, NB, DE or NJ can help supply RI.
Spread the word.
www.ribc.org/donate-blood/
Reposted by Frances Bell
AS A PROFESSOR, I AM ASKING
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
Longer statement from Brown University:
"We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition. They have been transported to local hospitals."
"We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition. They have been transported to local hospitals."
December 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
AS A PROFESSOR, I AM ASKING
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
Active shooter reported at Brown University. Shelter in place if you are on or near campus. Heartbroken. 🗃️
December 13, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Active shooter reported at Brown University. Shelter in place if you are on or near campus. Heartbroken. 🗃️
Currently tuned in to the great @wwozneworleans.bsky.social, listening to a NOLA big band transition from the Star Spangled Banner to...the Flintstones theme song. Glorious.
December 12, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Currently tuned in to the great @wwozneworleans.bsky.social, listening to a NOLA big band transition from the Star Spangled Banner to...the Flintstones theme song. Glorious.
🎶 "I am a lineman for the county, and I drive everywhere/searchin' in the sun for another climbing bear..." 🎶
www.tiktok.com/@accuweather...
www.tiktok.com/@accuweather...
An Arizona lineman successfully coaxed a bear off a utility pole after it climbed to the top and was in danger of being electrocuted. The bear eventually got down from the pole and ran away unharmed.
TikTok video by AccuWeather
www.tiktok.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:23 PM
🎶 "I am a lineman for the county, and I drive everywhere/searchin' in the sun for another climbing bear..." 🎶
www.tiktok.com/@accuweather...
www.tiktok.com/@accuweather...
Reposted by Frances Bell
Fellow Frederick Douglass fans should join us on Dec. 10 for the "Frederick Douglass' Fell's Point" walking tour fullstorybaltimore.tours/our-tours/#f...
December 1, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Fellow Frederick Douglass fans should join us on Dec. 10 for the "Frederick Douglass' Fell's Point" walking tour fullstorybaltimore.tours/our-tours/#f...
Reposted by Frances Bell
I learned about two projects that are supporting people to get food.
This one allows you to cover someone's groceries: findagrocerybuddy.com/become-a-don...
This one allows you to cover someone's groceries: findagrocerybuddy.com/become-a-don...
Become a Donor | Find a Grocery Buddy
Fund a verified grocery order through Find a Grocery Buddy. Pay securely via PayPal — we’ll place the Instacart order and send you proof of delivery.
findagrocerybuddy.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I learned about two projects that are supporting people to get food.
This one allows you to cover someone's groceries: findagrocerybuddy.com/become-a-don...
This one allows you to cover someone's groceries: findagrocerybuddy.com/become-a-don...
And if you want to know more, Prof. Theoharis's chapter “A Life History of Being Rebellious: The Radicalism of Rosa Parks" went down a treat with my students last year! 🗃️
Today is the 70th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest. Six myths: 1) She wasn't old or tired. 42 years old that day, she had a "life history of being rebellious" & had spent two decades helping to turn the Montgomery NAACP into a more activist branch alongside ED Nixon and Johnnie Carr.
December 1, 2025 at 3:42 PM
And if you want to know more, Prof. Theoharis's chapter “A Life History of Being Rebellious: The Radicalism of Rosa Parks" went down a treat with my students last year! 🗃️
Reposted by Frances Bell
The scholars I follow here are brilliant, politically astute, funny, and quick. It's a pleasure to watch them bat around issues on Bluesky.
It happens in a transdisciplinary way. Many are outside of institutions. Or have a Ph.D. not obviously applicable to their work.
I learn so much from y'all. 🙏🏼
It happens in a transdisciplinary way. Many are outside of institutions. Or have a Ph.D. not obviously applicable to their work.
I learn so much from y'all. 🙏🏼
November 30, 2025 at 10:40 PM
The scholars I follow here are brilliant, politically astute, funny, and quick. It's a pleasure to watch them bat around issues on Bluesky.
It happens in a transdisciplinary way. Many are outside of institutions. Or have a Ph.D. not obviously applicable to their work.
I learn so much from y'all. 🙏🏼
It happens in a transdisciplinary way. Many are outside of institutions. Or have a Ph.D. not obviously applicable to their work.
I learn so much from y'all. 🙏🏼
Reposted by Frances Bell
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Finally catching up on Ken Burns's The American Revolution: it's interesting to think about the types of histories he wants to tell based on the talking heads. Alan Taylor & Jane Kamensky as regular interlocutors; Gordon Wood appearing for the first time, briefly, halfway through ep. 2. 🗃️
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Finally catching up on Ken Burns's The American Revolution: it's interesting to think about the types of histories he wants to tell based on the talking heads. Alan Taylor & Jane Kamensky as regular interlocutors; Gordon Wood appearing for the first time, briefly, halfway through ep. 2. 🗃️
🗃️
Haven't received as many contributions as usual for this year's lists--could be many things, but one aspect is surely that our ability to get this in front of people is much diminished. If you know folks whose stuff should be on here, please suggest it! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...
Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians
Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...
contingentmagazine.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:56 AM
🗃️
Reposted by Frances Bell
Hey historians 🗃️: Do you know of presses that publish short books (around 30K words / 90 pages plus notes)? I have been working on an article project that could easily turn into an great micro-history of that length, but I'm not sure it would make it to the usual full 60-90K words...
November 19, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Hey historians 🗃️: Do you know of presses that publish short books (around 30K words / 90 pages plus notes)? I have been working on an article project that could easily turn into an great micro-history of that length, but I'm not sure it would make it to the usual full 60-90K words...
Reposted by Frances Bell
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
Reposted by Frances Bell
CFP for Slavery North conference on "Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution" @umassamherst.bsky.social 7/9-7/12/2026, abstracts due 12/19/2025 #vastearlyamerica slaverynorth.com/event/call-f... 🗃️
Call for Abstracts: Academic Conference - Slavery North
Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution Call for Abstracts: Academic Conference Dates: Thursday, July 9 to Sunday, July 12, 2026 Location: Univers...
slaverynorth.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:27 PM
CFP for Slavery North conference on "Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution" @umassamherst.bsky.social 7/9-7/12/2026, abstracts due 12/19/2025 #vastearlyamerica slaverynorth.com/event/call-f... 🗃️
As @prisonculture.bsky.social has said, hope is a discipline!
HOPE IS A DECISION
November 5, 2025 at 4:30 AM
As @prisonculture.bsky.social has said, hope is a discipline!
Reposted by Frances Bell
Job alert: the University of Illinois Library is hiring a Humanities Librarian to serve as liaison to African-American Studies and English Literatures. I’m sure someone here would be a great fit for this job—& we’ve got a pretty phenomenal community here
Please share!
Please share!
Humanities Librarian - (African American Studies and English Literature)
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Job alert: the University of Illinois Library is hiring a Humanities Librarian to serve as liaison to African-American Studies and English Literatures. I’m sure someone here would be a great fit for this job—& we’ve got a pretty phenomenal community here
Please share!
Please share!
Bought - so excited to read this!
I am beyond excited (and nervous!) to announce that my first book, "The House Archives Built and Other Thoughts on Black Archival Possibilities" is available for sale!
This series of essay includes reworked talks, new reflections, and a lot of my heart
weherespace.myshopify.com/products/the...
This series of essay includes reworked talks, new reflections, and a lot of my heart
weherespace.myshopify.com/products/the...
October 17, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Bought - so excited to read this!
Reposted by Frances Bell
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!
The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/
The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/
October 13, 2025 at 4:37 PM
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!
The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/
The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/
Reposted by Frances Bell
As an instructor, I'd rather see your fever dream, No Doze-fueled 4AM essays written at an IHOP rather than anything generated by an LLM.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
I wrote a 15 page report on heraldic symbolism in medieval armor and weapon design for my art history class the night before it was due (8am class). Made up 90% of it (only found one book for reference) and got an A. GenAI could fucking never.
October 9, 2025 at 4:25 AM
As an instructor, I'd rather see your fever dream, No Doze-fueled 4AM essays written at an IHOP rather than anything generated by an LLM.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
Reposted by Frances Bell
If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.
CFP: A Time of Monsters
The monster has been here all along. It is a historical constant that manifests in wildly different ways across time, place, and culture. Whatever form it takes, the monster claws at categories; it un...
contingentmagazine.org
October 5, 2025 at 9:41 PM
If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.
Mind, when I was at W&M a few years ago, most grad students were still not being paid a living wage.
“The pilot will explore how AI can enhance teaching, research and university operations, while also gathering feedback to guide the responsible and effective use of AI across campus.”
William & Mary launches ChatGPT Edu pilot
By integrating artificial intelligence tools, the university is positioning itself at the forefront of higher education innovation.
news.wm.edu
October 2, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Mind, when I was at W&M a few years ago, most grad students were still not being paid a living wage.