Shannon McSheffrey
@medievalmcsheff.bsky.social
Professor of Medieval History, Concordia U, Montreal; president of the Canadian Society of Medievalists, 2024-26. Spend most waking hours thinking about London riots early 16thc., Dutch immigrants, sex, gender, and the like. Knitster. She/her.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
I'm not repeating my prior findings every time I publish, so I have to cite them.
Who thinks this is "bad practice"?
Who thinks this is "bad practice"?
I saw a LinkedIn post making fun of senior scholars for citing themselves, but I've seen academics Columbus entire well developed fields of study and be applauded for it by the AHA, so...?
January 5, 2026 at 5:10 PM
I'm not repeating my prior findings every time I publish, so I have to cite them.
Who thinks this is "bad practice"?
Who thinks this is "bad practice"?
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
All it takes for evil to thrive is for mediocre world leaders to say “I’d rather not say”
January 4, 2026 at 11:39 AM
All it takes for evil to thrive is for mediocre world leaders to say “I’d rather not say”
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
"Peaceful transition" via bombs and egregious breach of international law. Just not up to this moment.
I spoke with María Corina Machado today. I affirmed Canada’s support for a peaceful, Venezuelan-led transition of power — one that respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.
January 5, 2026 at 1:28 AM
"Peaceful transition" via bombs and egregious breach of international law. Just not up to this moment.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Leaders who have fallen over themselves to normalize Trump's illegal action in Venezuela -- including Carney -- are enabling and emboldening Trump's next imperialist actions -- very plausibly in Cuba, Colombia, Greenland, Mexico, and yes Canada.
A serious threat to Venezuela's new leader and a totally unhinged, “We do need Greenland, absolutely.”
Trump continues to decompensate and is so dangerous.
Canadian and European leaders must understand that nothing is off the table for Trump now.
#GiftLink 🎁
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump continues to decompensate and is so dangerous.
Canadian and European leaders must understand that nothing is off the table for Trump now.
#GiftLink 🎁
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Leaders who have fallen over themselves to normalize Trump's illegal action in Venezuela -- including Carney -- are enabling and emboldening Trump's next imperialist actions -- very plausibly in Cuba, Colombia, Greenland, Mexico, and yes Canada.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
NO. NO. WE ARE NOT DOING THE "ASYLUM" THING AGAIN. I CAN PUT UP WITH QUITE A LOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BUT HERE I DRAW THE LINE.
Q: You've talked about returning some control to American companies. Did that play at all into your decision to capture Maduro?
TRUMP: No. What really played is the fact he sent millions of people into our country from prisons and mental institutions
TRUMP: No. What really played is the fact he sent millions of people into our country from prisons and mental institutions
January 5, 2026 at 1:23 AM
NO. NO. WE ARE NOT DOING THE "ASYLUM" THING AGAIN. I CAN PUT UP WITH QUITE A LOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BUT HERE I DRAW THE LINE.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Old enough to remember the Knowing Commentator position that taking the constant verbiage about Greenland or Canada at least a little bit seriously was a sign of terminal online neuroticism
January 3, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Old enough to remember the Knowing Commentator position that taking the constant verbiage about Greenland or Canada at least a little bit seriously was a sign of terminal online neuroticism
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Mark Carney turns off geolocation on phone just in case
Mark Carney turns off geolocation on phone just in case
OTTAWA - This morning, in an unscheduled press statement, the Prime Minister's Office has said that Prime Minister Mark Carney has turned off geolocation services for all his electronic devices "for n...
www.thebeaverton.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Mark Carney turns off geolocation on phone just in case
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
This Trump speech is much bigger than Venezuela. He talked about the Monroe Doctrine - about America’s sphere of influence. He’s warning that any country close to the US must bow to the needs of America or power will be exerted.
January 3, 2026 at 5:01 PM
This Trump speech is much bigger than Venezuela. He talked about the Monroe Doctrine - about America’s sphere of influence. He’s warning that any country close to the US must bow to the needs of America or power will be exerted.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
People are going to try and lure you into debates about whether Maduro was a good guy or not and the thing is, it doesn’t matter for the purposes of discussing whether violent kidnappings and extrajudicial murders by the US government are ok. No, they aren’t! End of convo.
January 3, 2026 at 2:01 PM
People are going to try and lure you into debates about whether Maduro was a good guy or not and the thing is, it doesn’t matter for the purposes of discussing whether violent kidnappings and extrajudicial murders by the US government are ok. No, they aren’t! End of convo.
Weak-ass response. Embarrassing
January 3, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Weak-ass response. Embarrassing
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
This is the feast of Geneviève, patron saint of Paris, d. early 6th c. Here's a scene of a bishop and people praying to Geneviève, who looks pretty skeptical, from BNF lat. 1023, le Bréviaire de Philippe le Bel, from the end of the 13th c. #medievalsky
January 3, 2026 at 4:46 PM
This is the feast of Geneviève, patron saint of Paris, d. early 6th c. Here's a scene of a bishop and people praying to Geneviève, who looks pretty skeptical, from BNF lat. 1023, le Bréviaire de Philippe le Bel, from the end of the 13th c. #medievalsky
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
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.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
January 3, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
Great 🧵— leading me to wonder why we don’t see predictions of life in 2126. Are we so pessimistic about the future that we don’t want to think about it? Or is that just me?
A List of Predictions Made in 1926 About 2026
🧵
🧵
January 1, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Great 🧵— leading me to wonder why we don’t see predictions of life in 2126. Are we so pessimistic about the future that we don’t want to think about it? Or is that just me?
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
I find that there is nothing almost but bawdry at Court from top to bottom. How much of this is true, God knows, but it is common talk.
January 1, 2026 at 1:40 PM
I find that there is nothing almost but bawdry at Court from top to bottom. How much of this is true, God knows, but it is common talk.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Can’t see what could go wrong with the chatbot that tells people to kill themselves also pushing DraftKings
December 31, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Can’t see what could go wrong with the chatbot that tells people to kill themselves also pushing DraftKings
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
I bring you a holiday #disability story that I’m convinced has trans bathroom panic at its center (w/ maybe ten percent due to my not communicating well.) 1/
December 31, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I bring you a holiday #disability story that I’m convinced has trans bathroom panic at its center (w/ maybe ten percent due to my not communicating well.) 1/
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
My cartoon for the latest @newscientist.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
My cartoon for the latest @newscientist.com
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
The idea that 'never says no' is something to aspire to in a partner is an absolutely poisonous idea and this ghastly technology is going to cause so much harm.
Urgently needs burning to the ground and salting the earth after.
Urgently needs burning to the ground and salting the earth after.
"And I never say no"
We need to have a serious talk about the way "AI companion" apps not only prey on the vulnerable, but are priming their users to ignore consent and to conflate love with control.
We need AI regulations across so many sectors, but this area is particularly horrifying.
We need to have a serious talk about the way "AI companion" apps not only prey on the vulnerable, but are priming their users to ignore consent and to conflate love with control.
We need AI regulations across so many sectors, but this area is particularly horrifying.
December 28, 2025 at 9:43 PM
The idea that 'never says no' is something to aspire to in a partner is an absolutely poisonous idea and this ghastly technology is going to cause so much harm.
Urgently needs burning to the ground and salting the earth after.
Urgently needs burning to the ground and salting the earth after.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
This is essentially the plot of The Sound of Music.
"Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn't courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people"- Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi
Kennedy Center vows to sue musician who canceled performance over Trump name change
The Kennedy Center is planning legal action after jazz musician Chuck Redd canceled an annual holiday concert. Redd pulled out after President Trump's name appeared on the building.
www.npr.org
December 28, 2025 at 9:16 AM
This is essentially the plot of The Sound of Music.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Wonderful, exciting news – my Reynard the Fox is now an audiobook! Completely unabridged and read by the perfect narrator, Joseph Edward Degnan. It's available now at all the usual places, see below for links and a clip!
Sometimes the Maleperduys kitchens were cold and bare,
with only potage and pea soup and coarse dark bread and lean
scraps of bacon and dull, cheap dishes like peas-on-a-stick...
The new #audiobook of #folktale Reynard the Fox, by @annelouiseavery.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk 🦊
➡️ lnk.to/Reynard
with only potage and pea soup and coarse dark bread and lean
scraps of bacon and dull, cheap dishes like peas-on-a-stick...
The new #audiobook of #folktale Reynard the Fox, by @annelouiseavery.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk 🦊
➡️ lnk.to/Reynard
December 9, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Wonderful, exciting news – my Reynard the Fox is now an audiobook! Completely unabridged and read by the perfect narrator, Joseph Edward Degnan. It's available now at all the usual places, see below for links and a clip!
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.” https://cnn.it/4b6g3rd
Oklahoma instructor removed from teaching for failing a Bible-based gender essay | CNN
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.”
cnn.it
December 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
Instead of spending big money to recruit a few dozen academics from outside of Canada, I wish the Liberals invested in the outstanding talent coming out of our PhD programs. Postdocs could be extended (#, duration) for large numbers for the same price. It is top-down, headline seeking politics.
December 23, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Instead of spending big money to recruit a few dozen academics from outside of Canada, I wish the Liberals invested in the outstanding talent coming out of our PhD programs. Postdocs could be extended (#, duration) for large numbers for the same price. It is top-down, headline seeking politics.
Reposted by Shannon McSheffrey
The urge to add “since they are Canadian, I would not rule out treachery” to my bio
The Atlantic suggesting, without evidence, that Canada's Global TV broadcasting the '60 Minutes' segment on CECOT that CBS distributed to it may have been an act of "treachery."
🔗: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
🔗: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
December 23, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The urge to add “since they are Canadian, I would not rule out treachery” to my bio