Gillian Gower, PhD
@medievaliste.bsky.social
your least favorite professor’s least favorite professor
research: music, political culture, and identity in medieval England and beyond
“crystalline voice” - NYT
“talks a lot” - Reddit
editing and historical consulting glgower.com
research: music, political culture, and identity in medieval England and beyond
“crystalline voice” - NYT
“talks a lot” - Reddit
editing and historical consulting glgower.com
Pinned
Music and politics expert here. There is no music that is free from politics, because music is a human construct and whether or not we like to admit it, humans are all affected intimately by politics. Even music without words can express political ideas. You’re just noticing it for the first time.
Every medievalist on this platform is about to lose their mind
Helping The Kid with some research for a school project, and read this in one of his books. 🫠
January 6, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Every medievalist on this platform is about to lose their mind
should I dunk on this insane post about the 2026 academic job market or should I preserve my peace
January 6, 2026 at 3:41 AM
should I dunk on this insane post about the 2026 academic job market or should I preserve my peace
this morning I got a targeted ad for a local dumpster company, in case you wanted to know how the first monday of the year found me
January 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM
this morning I got a targeted ad for a local dumpster company, in case you wanted to know how the first monday of the year found me
I’m broadly in support of congestion pricing so this is encouraging news. I do wonder how it would work in a city with supersized urban sprawl like Los Angeles and I bet someone on this butterfly app wants to tell me
Congestion pricing is an unqualified success in NYC. It would be great to see it expanded to every city with decent public transit options. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Congestion pricing after one year: How life has changed.
How life has changed in the New York area, according to data on traffic, transit and the responses of 600 readers.
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:39 AM
I’m broadly in support of congestion pricing so this is encouraging news. I do wonder how it would work in a city with supersized urban sprawl like Los Angeles and I bet someone on this butterfly app wants to tell me
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
Don't forget folks: allowing yourself a vision of the future you'd want for our country and planet - not the one you'd settle for, not the one you fear, but the future of your dreams - isn't naive, it's a vital cognitive skill. That's how we articulate what we most value. What's worth fighting for.
Instead of whatever this is, we should have a government getting lots of new homes and apartments built, lots of clean energy built, lots of high speed rail and transit and bike lanes built, human rights for everyone, economic & healthcare opportunities for all, & innovation that leads the world.
January 4, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Don't forget folks: allowing yourself a vision of the future you'd want for our country and planet - not the one you'd settle for, not the one you fear, but the future of your dreams - isn't naive, it's a vital cognitive skill. That's how we articulate what we most value. What's worth fighting for.
the most fantastical part of WICKED (2024), a musical set in the magical land of Oz, is that professors are treated like celebrities
January 4, 2026 at 3:39 AM
the most fantastical part of WICKED (2024), a musical set in the magical land of Oz, is that professors are treated like celebrities
you can be Very Upset but it’s probably better to direct your Upsetness at the system and not the individuals caught up in it
January 3, 2026 at 11:42 PM
you can be Very Upset but it’s probably better to direct your Upsetness at the system and not the individuals caught up in it
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
The Wheel of Fortune turns for every leader sooner or later
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 066; p.66
@parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 066; p.66
@parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social
January 3, 2026 at 9:16 PM
The Wheel of Fortune turns for every leader sooner or later
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 066; p.66
@parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 066; p.66
@parkerlibcccc.bsky.social @corpuscambridge.bsky.social
they chose to release and publicize a photo of Hegseth with a giant wide-eyed emoji in the background. beyond unhinged
January 3, 2026 at 10:35 PM
they chose to release and publicize a photo of Hegseth with a giant wide-eyed emoji in the background. beyond unhinged
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
Double-checking quotes for my copy edits for my forthcoming book.
This speech about why England should make war on Spain (given in Charles I’s Privy Council April 1625) to gain colonies in the Caribbean is feeling relevant today.
This speech about why England should make war on Spain (given in Charles I’s Privy Council April 1625) to gain colonies in the Caribbean is feeling relevant today.
January 3, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Double-checking quotes for my copy edits for my forthcoming book.
This speech about why England should make war on Spain (given in Charles I’s Privy Council April 1625) to gain colonies in the Caribbean is feeling relevant today.
This speech about why England should make war on Spain (given in Charles I’s Privy Council April 1625) to gain colonies in the Caribbean is feeling relevant today.
welcome to the bluesky seminar on political discourse. today we are going to make you unpack exactly what you mean when you say “anything”
January 3, 2026 at 10:21 PM
welcome to the bluesky seminar on political discourse. today we are going to make you unpack exactly what you mean when you say “anything”
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
What if none of these things is a distraction from the other things and instead they're all just horrible things
January 3, 2026 at 8:03 PM
What if none of these things is a distraction from the other things and instead they're all just horrible things
please do not make me start doing front-facing video about music and politics. I do not want to have to deal with creeps or DMCA takedowns
January 3, 2026 at 6:58 PM
please do not make me start doing front-facing video about music and politics. I do not want to have to deal with creeps or DMCA takedowns
I know everyone on this website is 38 and therefore too young but it is interesting as a British-American how many Americans either don’t know about or don’t remember the Falklands War
January 3, 2026 at 6:55 PM
I know everyone on this website is 38 and therefore too young but it is interesting as a British-American how many Americans either don’t know about or don’t remember the Falklands War
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
Ever relevant, this poem by Mary Oliver, especially today.
January 3, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Ever relevant, this poem by Mary Oliver, especially today.
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
A lot of people forget how in 2004 the Bush regime kidnapped the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and dumped him in Africa.
Is there any modern precedent for abducting a head of state?
Plenty of examples of coups, assassinations and domestic trials, including show trials, but this is like a Crusader Kings plot.
Plenty of examples of coups, assassinations and domestic trials, including show trials, but this is like a Crusader Kings plot.
January 3, 2026 at 2:36 PM
A lot of people forget how in 2004 the Bush regime kidnapped the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and dumped him in Africa.
They’re assuming that this is all the viewer will remember. It’s probably all Trump himself remembers, but I do need you all to understand that he does not know how to edit video and there are other people involved
100000% because of the scene in Forrest Gump with that song playing over helicopters flying in Vietnam.
January 3, 2026 at 6:21 PM
They’re assuming that this is all the viewer will remember. It’s probably all Trump himself remembers, but I do need you all to understand that he does not know how to edit video and there are other people involved
*taps sign*
Music and politics expert here. There is no music that is free from politics, because music is a human construct and whether or not we like to admit it, humans are all affected intimately by politics. Even music without words can express political ideas. You’re just noticing it for the first time.
January 3, 2026 at 6:17 PM
*taps sign*
If Jimi Hendrix wasn’t Black we would absolutely be hearing “Purple Haze” and his national anthem in Trump regime propaganda
“Scuze me while I rendition this guy”
January 3, 2026 at 6:13 PM
If Jimi Hendrix wasn’t Black we would absolutely be hearing “Purple Haze” and his national anthem in Trump regime propaganda
Basically. “Fortunate Son” = war song with a badass, masculine hook, so it works for their purposes
“It’s a catchy little number you can bop to”
January 3, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Basically. “Fortunate Son” = war song with a badass, masculine hook, so it works for their purposes
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
Forest gump TikTok presidency
January 3, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Forest gump TikTok presidency
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
building the case to the rest of the world isn’t to explain Trump’s actions are wrong—that’s clear. It’s to demonstrate elite dissent & rejection of Trump’s actions, to reassert Congress’s role in authorizing force, & to create the kind of public noisiness about policy that characterizes democracies
impeach him. try to do it once a month, if necessary. build the case over and over to not just the American people but to the world that this isn’t the way things should be here, that this isn’t the way we should use our power abroad.
January 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM
building the case to the rest of the world isn’t to explain Trump’s actions are wrong—that’s clear. It’s to demonstrate elite dissent & rejection of Trump’s actions, to reassert Congress’s role in authorizing force, & to create the kind of public noisiness about policy that characterizes democracies
At this point there is enough material for five doctoral dissertations on how these guys willfully misinterpret music
Trump posts footage of the Maduro raid set to "Fortunate Son" -- a protest song about the Vietnam War draft
January 3, 2026 at 5:43 PM
At this point there is enough material for five doctoral dissertations on how these guys willfully misinterpret music
Reposted by Gillian Gower, PhD
Specifically, a protest song about how the sons of the rich were able to avoid fighting, like fighting-age Donald Trump who got four deferments for being in college and another for bone spurs.
Trump posts footage of the Maduro raid set to "Fortunate Son" -- a protest song about the Vietnam War draft
January 3, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Specifically, a protest song about how the sons of the rich were able to avoid fighting, like fighting-age Donald Trump who got four deferments for being in college and another for bone spurs.