lindsay thomas
@lindsaythomas.net
academic and aspiring person who likes winter.
contemporary lit, digital stuff.
i’ve written about sci fi, national security and fiction, the humanities, bunkers, and chatbots. now writing about novels and how long they are.
https://lindsaythomas.net
contemporary lit, digital stuff.
i’ve written about sci fi, national security and fiction, the humanities, bunkers, and chatbots. now writing about novels and how long they are.
https://lindsaythomas.net
So excited to read this Scott! Congratulations!!
January 6, 2026 at 5:33 PM
So excited to read this Scott! Congratulations!!
The SAD is hitting astonishingly hard this winter but I did read The Long Form by Kate Briggs and really loved it
December 28, 2025 at 12:52 AM
The SAD is hitting astonishingly hard this winter but I did read The Long Form by Kate Briggs and really loved it
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Reposted by lindsay thomas
U Minnesota Press's Spring 26 catalog, listing our new Critical Infrastructure Studies & Digital Humanities (in Debates in DH series), eds. Alan Liu, Urszula Pawlicka-Deger, @jamessmithies.bsky.social): z.umn.edu/spring26. Table of contents: www.upress.umn.edu/978151791608... @uminnpress.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 9:34 PM
U Minnesota Press's Spring 26 catalog, listing our new Critical Infrastructure Studies & Digital Humanities (in Debates in DH series), eds. Alan Liu, Urszula Pawlicka-Deger, @jamessmithies.bsky.social): z.umn.edu/spring26. Table of contents: www.upress.umn.edu/978151791608... @uminnpress.bsky.social
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Are you a grad student working on post-1945 culture? Could your research benefit from incorporating some data, even minimally? Want feedback from journal editors?
This Post45 Data Collective virtual workshop may be for you!
Applications are due DECEMBER 1: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
This Post45 Data Collective virtual workshop may be for you!
Applications are due DECEMBER 1: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
The Post45 Data Collective invites graduate students in the humanities or adjacent fields to explore cultural data reflexively and collaboratively in a mini-workshop hosted virtually on Friday, March 13. Details here: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
November 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Are you a grad student working on post-1945 culture? Could your research benefit from incorporating some data, even minimally? Want feedback from journal editors?
This Post45 Data Collective virtual workshop may be for you!
Applications are due DECEMBER 1: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
This Post45 Data Collective virtual workshop may be for you!
Applications are due DECEMBER 1: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
@wearehighered.bsky.social has designed a quick survey to gather information about current state and federal attacks on higher ed, program closures, budget cuts, etc. There is a lot happening all over, and a lot that isn’t being reported on. Take a moment to document it here:
Campus Tracker — We Are Higher Ed
www.wearehighered.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
@wearehighered.bsky.social has designed a quick survey to gather information about current state and federal attacks on higher ed, program closures, budget cuts, etc. There is a lot happening all over, and a lot that isn’t being reported on. Take a moment to document it here:
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Cornell Chapter of the AAUP
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
The Cornell AAUP chapter has consistently stated that any deal with the Trump administration would be strategically unwise and a betrayal of Cornell’s principles. This remains the case. We ar…
aaup-cornell.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Cornell Chapter of the AAUP
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Statement on Cornell’s agreement with federal government
aaup-cornell.org/2025/11/07/s...
Corporate capture of these models is a huge problem. Universities can do something about that. We should take up that challenge.
November 6, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Corporate capture of these models is a huge problem. Universities can do something about that. We should take up that challenge.
Late to the party on this, but I like how this ends: “Confronting the material effects of AI on inequalities of wealth and power is even more critical, and the outcome of that struggle is hard to predict. What I do feel certain about, however, is that we need an active strategy.” Yes!
Wrote a short piece arguing that higher ed must help steer AI. TLDR: If we outsource this to tech, we outsource our whole business. But rejectionism is basically stalling. If we want to survive, schools themselves must proactively shape AI for education & research. [1/6, unpaywalled at 5/6] +
Opinion | AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It.
If we want to stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.
www.chronicle.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Late to the party on this, but I like how this ends: “Confronting the material effects of AI on inequalities of wealth and power is even more critical, and the outcome of that struggle is hard to predict. What I do feel certain about, however, is that we need an active strategy.” Yes!
Reposted by lindsay thomas
DEAR GRAD STUDENTS,
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
CFP: The Data of Post45 Literature and Culture (Online Graduate Workshop)
How has encroaching climate disaster impacted how the future is imagined in science fiction novels? What can a century of NYT bestsellers lists tell us about trends in mainstream publishing? And how c...
docs.google.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
DEAR GRAD STUDENTS,
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
This March @post45data.bsky.social will be holding a free, online mini-workshop for grads working in the fields of contemporary literature and culture.
More info / abstract submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
1/4
Not an argument for keeping our heads up our own asses! Rather the opposite
October 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Not an argument for keeping our heads up our own asses! Rather the opposite
Yes. The right takes us way more seriously than we take ourselves.
I didn’t get the wording down precisely, so I won’t quote it, but one of the things that hit hard in the room:
Reactionaries waging culture wars against the humanities have a more accurate account of our power than we do. And our humility is not admirable, but an abdication of responsibility.
Reactionaries waging culture wars against the humanities have a more accurate account of our power than we do. And our humility is not admirable, but an abdication of responsibility.
October 22, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Yes. The right takes us way more seriously than we take ourselves.
Reposted by lindsay thomas
cornell alums sign and share and fight and then some docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Alumni in Support of Cornell’s Independence, Democracy, and Academic Freedom
Please add your name below if you agree to be a signatory of the following message to be delivered to the Cornell Board of Trustees:
Dear Members of the Cornell Board of Trustees,
Ongoing attacks on A...
docs.google.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:56 PM
cornell alums sign and share and fight and then some docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
All of these books are FANTASTIC. I was blown away — in different ways — by each one and they were each a joy to read. The world is dark but scholarship continues to amaze
We are so excited to announce the shortlist for the ASAP/16 Book Prize!
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
October 6, 2025 at 1:58 PM
All of these books are FANTASTIC. I was blown away — in different ways — by each one and they were each a joy to read. The world is dark but scholarship continues to amaze
Reposted by lindsay thomas
We are so excited to announce the shortlist for the ASAP/16 Book Prize!
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
October 2, 2025 at 10:29 PM
We are so excited to announce the shortlist for the ASAP/16 Book Prize!
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
Congratulations to all the nominees! We’ll announce the winner of the prize at the annual conference in a few weeks in Houston! See the ALT ID and thread for more information.
1/4
A small bright spot. Does this mean that university administrators will stop doing this administration’s illegal work for them??
BREAKING: WE WON!!!
💥 💥 💥
Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.
Full ruling here:
💥 💥 💥
Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.
Full ruling here:
Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law – #261 in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10685) – CourtListener.com
Judge William G. Young: ORDER entered. FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW, PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(Sonnenberg, Elizabeth) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/30/2025: # 1 Main Document) (J...
www.courtlistener.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM
A small bright spot. Does this mean that university administrators will stop doing this administration’s illegal work for them??
Every day is stupider
September 18, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Every day is stupider
Reposted by lindsay thomas
Grad students, please submit!!!
ASAP Members! Are you a grad student who presented at our conference last year in NYC? Submit for this year’s Grad Student Paper Prize! Swipe to see the guidelines! Submissions due OCT 1!
September 12, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Grad students, please submit!!!
Reposted by lindsay thomas
David Christensen, @mellymeldubs.bsky.social & I wrote about the Seattle Public Library open checkout dataset. The data is idiosyncratic and imperfect—but also a rare, detailed look at book popularity over time. Excited to see how others put it to use!
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
Seattle Public Library’s Open Checkout Data: What Can It Tell Us About Readers and Book Popularity More Broadly? | Journal of Open Humanities Data
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) publishes anonymized, open-access checkout data for every item in its collection, dating from 2005 to the present. To our knowledge, it is the only U.S. library to release checkout data by title with this level of temporal detail: one dataset records exact timestamps for print book checkouts, while another provides monthly aggregates across all formats (e.g., ebooks, audiobooks, print books). Because U.S. book sales data is largely inaccessible outside the publishing industry, SPL’s open checkout data offers a rare and valuable alternative. But how well does it generalize beyond Seattle? Does it reflect book sales? And what can it tell us about readers more broadly?
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com
August 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
David Christensen, @mellymeldubs.bsky.social & I wrote about the Seattle Public Library open checkout dataset. The data is idiosyncratic and imperfect—but also a rare, detailed look at book popularity over time. Excited to see how others put it to use!
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
openhumanitiesdata.metajnl.com/articles/10....
Not surprising but depressing nonetheless
Cornell Reportedly Nears Up to $100 Million Settlement With Trump Admin to Restore Frozen Federal Funding
Cornell is reportedly in talks with the Trump administration to soon close on a settlement to pay up to $100 million to restore its frozen federal funding.
www.cornellsun.com
August 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Not surprising but depressing nonetheless
It’s been great to get to know you and your work a bit, Pedro! I’m so glad the trip was a success!
July 31, 2025 at 6:24 PM
It’s been great to get to know you and your work a bit, Pedro! I’m so glad the trip was a success!
Reposted by lindsay thomas
New dataset on bestsellers from 40+ countries, with consistent coverage for France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the U.S.
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
July 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
New dataset on bestsellers from 40+ countries, with consistent coverage for France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the U.S.
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
Congrats to the authors @sdileonardi.bsky.social, @beccacohen.bsky.social, and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social on this major contribution! 🎉
🔗: doi.org/10.18737/386...
I also want the internet to know that one of the bonus checkpoints (you receive extra points for completing them) involved doing a ring toss from like 10 feet away, which I got on my FIRST TOSS (it also involved hula hooping, which I did not do well)
July 28, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I also want the internet to know that one of the bonus checkpoints (you receive extra points for completing them) involved doing a ring toss from like 10 feet away, which I got on my FIRST TOSS (it also involved hula hooping, which I did not do well)
I spent the weekend in Milwaukee doing one of my favorite Extremely Wholesome Activities: the Riverwest 24! It’s a 24-hour bike relay race typically completed in teams and involving the surrounding community. I biked over 60 miles, slept too little, and had a blast with old friends. Always a delight
July 28, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I spent the weekend in Milwaukee doing one of my favorite Extremely Wholesome Activities: the Riverwest 24! It’s a 24-hour bike relay race typically completed in teams and involving the surrounding community. I biked over 60 miles, slept too little, and had a blast with old friends. Always a delight
Dreaming of creating our own university, a free one, where we just learn and teach stuff, not controlled by business people, and no one is expelled or has their degree revoked for legal activities unrelated to academic conduct. Call me crazy
July 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Dreaming of creating our own university, a free one, where we just learn and teach stuff, not controlled by business people, and no one is expelled or has their degree revoked for legal activities unrelated to academic conduct. Call me crazy