Sam Barber
@barber-samj.bsky.social
Smith College/UMass Amherst | Art, architecture, material culture | Late Antiquity & the Early Middle Ages
"After Mr. Paul learned from his wife that the authorities were threatening to deport her without a hearing ... their lawyer filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego to halt her removal and secure her release.
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:26 PM
"After Mr. Paul learned from his wife that the authorities were threatening to deport her without a hearing ... their lawyer filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego to halt her removal and secure her release.
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her"
Reposted by Sam Barber
News to me, but apparently this article is out now in #openaccess!
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
November 26, 2025 at 3:08 AM
News to me, but apparently this article is out now in #openaccess!
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
I study the perfuming and ritualization of spaces associated with the memory of the Prophet Muhammad in early Islamic Medina. Part of a special issue on Scents in Medieval Material Culture
www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Sam Barber
I’m thrilled to share my new article, online and open access in Medieval Encounters! It’s called “Beyond Belief: Byzantine Statue Stories and their Absent Objects,” but it could be called “A Tale of Two Boars” 🐗 🐗
November 25, 2025 at 10:26 AM
I’m thrilled to share my new article, online and open access in Medieval Encounters! It’s called “Beyond Belief: Byzantine Statue Stories and their Absent Objects,” but it could be called “A Tale of Two Boars” 🐗 🐗
Reposted by Sam Barber
Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
Restoring our services – November 2025 update
In the coming weeks and months we will be restoring a number of key functions.
www.bl.uk
November 22, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Latest update from @britishlibrary.bsky.social says they are launching a new version of their main catalogue on Monday 8 December and around that time also launch an interim version of their Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue. Hooray!
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
www.bl.uk/stories/news...
Reposted by Sam Barber
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Protest and Public Space in Fourth-Century Rome
Popular discontent in Late Antiquity has traditionally been interpreted as a sign of social disfunction and urban decline – a framework that has underestimated the political agency exercised by non...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sam Barber
It strikes me that a lot of educational conversations around AI and cheating have to do with the uncomfortable coexistence of our institutions of learning as both hierarchical merit systems and spaces of knowledge acquisition/production
November 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
It strikes me that a lot of educational conversations around AI and cheating have to do with the uncomfortable coexistence of our institutions of learning as both hierarchical merit systems and spaces of knowledge acquisition/production
Reposted by Sam Barber
my most butlerian jihad coded belief is that we should probably make it illegal – and more importantly, we should work toward a cultural consensus that it is immoral – to design a computer program whose interface uses the first person
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
my most butlerian jihad coded belief is that we should probably make it illegal – and more importantly, we should work toward a cultural consensus that it is immoral – to design a computer program whose interface uses the first person
Reposted by Sam Barber
It's Julia Child Day (at Smith College)! Queen of the organized kitchen // download the special issue of Design Quarterly or a poster here walkerart.org/magazine/des...
November 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
It's Julia Child Day (at Smith College)! Queen of the organized kitchen // download the special issue of Design Quarterly or a poster here walkerart.org/magazine/des...
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Protest and Public Space in Fourth-Century Rome
Popular discontent in Late Antiquity has traditionally been interpreted as a sign of social disfunction and urban decline – a framework that has underestimated the political agency exercised by non...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:31 PM
How did the built environment shape social contention in Late Antiquity?
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very pleased that this article, which has been in Early Access for just shy of a year, is now also out in print www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sam Barber
ANUBIS: (presses button with paw) [guilty]
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
November 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
ANUBIS: (presses button with paw) [guilty]
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
OSIRIS: im sorry he does this when he's hungry
ANUBIS: (button) [guilty] [bad] [food]
OSIRIS: you already ate
ANUBIS: (button) [bad] [bad] [bad]
OSIRIS: he's right though we weighed your heart against the feather and its not looking good
Reposted by Sam Barber
more coverage of this administrative buzzword coup
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
November 19, 2025 at 12:45 PM
more coverage of this administrative buzzword coup
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
“vision new synergies of the future with the School of Human Expression”
"eliminating all the academic departments in a liberal arts college that is not hemorrhaging enrollment would be a very unusual step."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/n...
Reposted by Sam Barber
This isn’t “efficiency” it’s an ideological shift towards a Little England university system.
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:26 AM
This isn’t “efficiency” it’s an ideological shift towards a Little England university system.
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Nottingham is set to become the only Russell Group university with no modern languages or music degrees.
48 courses on the line. We’re fighting it.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Sam Barber
UMass-Amherst is hiring “a specialist in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world” !
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor - History of Art & Architecture | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
November 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
UMass-Amherst is hiring “a specialist in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world” !
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Reposted by Sam Barber
ROFL. Eco is not wrong. He's not wrong at all.
November 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
ROFL. Eco is not wrong. He's not wrong at all.
Reposted by Sam Barber
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
To be honest, I had no idea that Merriam-Webster is based in Springfield
Merriam-Webster, the country’s oldest dictionary publisher which is headquartered in Springfield, just released an updated Collegiate edition with 5,000 new entries.
Merriam-Webster goes old school with first new hardcover Collegiate dictionary in 22 years
Merriam-Webster, the country’s oldest dictionary publisher which is headquartered in Springfield, just released an updated Collegiate edition with 5,000 new entries.
www.wbur.org
November 18, 2025 at 1:44 PM
To be honest, I had no idea that Merriam-Webster is based in Springfield
Reposted by Sam Barber
The serpent head of the Oseberg Viking ship, carved in 820, and shown for the first time to the public in the Oslo Historical Museum
November 18, 2025 at 10:35 AM
The serpent head of the Oseberg Viking ship, carved in 820, and shown for the first time to the public in the Oslo Historical Museum
Reposted by Sam Barber
Academia thrives on status and its aspirational pursuit. For universities, the status conferred by “prestigious journals,” many rolled up into these publishing conglomerates, is “worth” the price paid for it.
Likewise, the accrued, supposed status is why the sector can’t break free of them.
Likewise, the accrued, supposed status is why the sector can’t break free of them.
"academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it... The dominant four collectively generated... $12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024."
November 18, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Academia thrives on status and its aspirational pursuit. For universities, the status conferred by “prestigious journals,” many rolled up into these publishing conglomerates, is “worth” the price paid for it.
Likewise, the accrued, supposed status is why the sector can’t break free of them.
Likewise, the accrued, supposed status is why the sector can’t break free of them.
Reposted by Sam Barber
Congratulations to @rachelschine.bsky.social for winning the Best Book Award from the Middle East Medievalists association for her book, Black Knights: Arabic Epic and the Making of Medieval Race! Brava!!! 🍾🍾🍾
Here's the link, if you haven't already read it: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Here's the link, if you haven't already read it: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Black Knights
A new account of racial logics in premodern Islamic literature. In Black Knights, Rachel Schine reveals how the Arabic-speaking world developed a different form of racial knowledge than their Europe...
press.uchicago.edu
November 14, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Congratulations to @rachelschine.bsky.social for winning the Best Book Award from the Middle East Medievalists association for her book, Black Knights: Arabic Epic and the Making of Medieval Race! Brava!!! 🍾🍾🍾
Here's the link, if you haven't already read it: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Here's the link, if you haven't already read it: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Reposted by Sam Barber
What a thrill to read Jess Plant’s article on “Plastic Approaches to Roman Design” - open access, in the new issue of Art History!
November 13, 2025 at 3:19 PM
What a thrill to read Jess Plant’s article on “Plastic Approaches to Roman Design” - open access, in the new issue of Art History!
I must admit that I didn't have a movie based on an early Christian apocryphal text starring Nicholas Cage on my 2025 bingo card
apnews.com/article/carp...
apnews.com/article/carp...
Nicolas Cage's 'The Carpenter's Son' turns an apocryphal text about Jesus' youth into a horror film
Filmmaker Lotfy Nathan has turned the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas into a supernatural thriller called “The Carpenter’s Son,” starring Nicolas Cage.
apnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I must admit that I didn't have a movie based on an early Christian apocryphal text starring Nicholas Cage on my 2025 bingo card
apnews.com/article/carp...
apnews.com/article/carp...
Reposted by Sam Barber
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Early Career Rescue Fellowship
www.uni-konstanz.de
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Reposted by Sam Barber
Reposted by Sam Barber
A recent study found that more than *20 percent* of UCDavis students relied on SNAP benefits—
November 7, 2025 at 6:44 PM
A recent study found that more than *20 percent* of UCDavis students relied on SNAP benefits—
Reposted by Sam Barber
BREAKING: Cornell caved.
Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...
Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...
November 7, 2025 at 5:11 PM
BREAKING: Cornell caved.
Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...
Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...