Gillian Mathys
@gillianmathys.bsky.social
Historian of Great Lakes | Associate Professor African history @ugent | Editor @CJAS_RCEA | Academic mom. I got very lucky.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fractured-pasts-in-lake-kivus-borderlands/28EE1FFBB2BDDA8814964DD39656B959
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fractured-pasts-in-lake-kivus-borderlands/28EE1FFBB2BDDA8814964DD39656B959
Pinned
Gillian Mathys
@gillianmathys.bsky.social
· May 20
My book Fractured Pasts in Lake Kivu's Borderlands can now be pre-ordered with a 20% discount
www.cambridge.org/be/universit...
www.cambridge.org/be/universit...
Please join us for our Lecture series in Global and regional History. First meeting, next week, Eric Jennings with "A global history of vanilla". For more on the lecture series: see www.grh.ugent.be/activities/
Unfortunately the lecture with Joachim Goma-Thethet had to be cancelled.
Unfortunately the lecture with Joachim Goma-Thethet had to be cancelled.
November 7, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Please join us for our Lecture series in Global and regional History. First meeting, next week, Eric Jennings with "A global history of vanilla". For more on the lecture series: see www.grh.ugent.be/activities/
Unfortunately the lecture with Joachim Goma-Thethet had to be cancelled.
Unfortunately the lecture with Joachim Goma-Thethet had to be cancelled.
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Jongens en meisjes, de organisatie die het dichtst bij mijn hart ligt, Een Hart Voor Vluchtelingen, heeft middelen nodig met het oog op de winter.
Met het weghalen van de middelen voor de daklozen door ons Anneleen, zitten ze in de shit.
Alle info op de prent en hier 👇
eenhartvoorvluchtelingen.be
Met het weghalen van de middelen voor de daklozen door ons Anneleen, zitten ze in de shit.
Alle info op de prent en hier 👇
eenhartvoorvluchtelingen.be
October 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Jongens en meisjes, de organisatie die het dichtst bij mijn hart ligt, Een Hart Voor Vluchtelingen, heeft middelen nodig met het oog op de winter.
Met het weghalen van de middelen voor de daklozen door ons Anneleen, zitten ze in de shit.
Alle info op de prent en hier 👇
eenhartvoorvluchtelingen.be
Met het weghalen van de middelen voor de daklozen door ons Anneleen, zitten ze in de shit.
Alle info op de prent en hier 👇
eenhartvoorvluchtelingen.be
The deadline for submitting a paper, panel or round table for the Biannual CRG African History is nearing. This year it's at Ghent University, and we'll be happy to welcome you!
aegis-eu.org/collaborativ...
aegis-eu.org/collaborativ...
CRG African History | AEGIS - African studies in Europe
aegis-eu.org
October 12, 2025 at 8:37 PM
The deadline for submitting a paper, panel or round table for the Biannual CRG African History is nearing. This year it's at Ghent University, and we'll be happy to welcome you!
aegis-eu.org/collaborativ...
aegis-eu.org/collaborativ...
Hello, I wrote a book. I am going to talk about it soon with Godefroid Muzalia and Koen Vlassenroot. You are all welcome on November 6 at the Egmont Institute in Brussels, but you'll have to register.
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
Fractured Pasts in Lake Kivu’s Borderlands - Egmont Institute
Prof. Dr. Gillian Mathys’ latest book provides an in-depth and historically grounded explanation of the ongoing conflict in East-Congo, beyond commonly assumed reductive narratives. As a historian wit...
www.egmontinstitute.be
October 10, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Hello, I wrote a book. I am going to talk about it soon with Godefroid Muzalia and Koen Vlassenroot. You are all welcome on November 6 at the Egmont Institute in Brussels, but you'll have to register.
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
www.egmontinstitute.be/events/fract...
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
New article 'Looking for the local: The Politics of Humanitarian Recruitment in DRC' reveals how aid agencies can fuel social tensions when the 'local' aid category interacts with existing discourses around belonging, authority, and territory muse.jhu.edu/pub/35/artic...
Project MUSE - Looking for the Local: The Politics of Humanitarian Recruitment in DRC
muse.jhu.edu
October 8, 2025 at 9:34 AM
New article 'Looking for the local: The Politics of Humanitarian Recruitment in DRC' reveals how aid agencies can fuel social tensions when the 'local' aid category interacts with existing discourses around belonging, authority, and territory muse.jhu.edu/pub/35/artic...
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
13 septembre 1958, le leader indépendantiste camerounais Ruben Um Nyobé est assassiné.
📸 L’armée française prend son cadavre en photo. Pour quelles raisons ?
Les explications de @kramondy.bsky.social dans cette vidéo : youtu.be/T_ragmYeyHA?...
🤝 @sorbonne-universite.fr @cnrs.fr @aphg.bsky.social
📸 L’armée française prend son cadavre en photo. Pour quelles raisons ?
Les explications de @kramondy.bsky.social dans cette vidéo : youtu.be/T_ragmYeyHA?...
🤝 @sorbonne-universite.fr @cnrs.fr @aphg.bsky.social
Ruben Um Nyobé. Mort d’un leader
YouTube video by Sorbonne Université
youtu.be
October 7, 2025 at 12:39 PM
13 septembre 1958, le leader indépendantiste camerounais Ruben Um Nyobé est assassiné.
📸 L’armée française prend son cadavre en photo. Pour quelles raisons ?
Les explications de @kramondy.bsky.social dans cette vidéo : youtu.be/T_ragmYeyHA?...
🤝 @sorbonne-universite.fr @cnrs.fr @aphg.bsky.social
📸 L’armée française prend son cadavre en photo. Pour quelles raisons ?
Les explications de @kramondy.bsky.social dans cette vidéo : youtu.be/T_ragmYeyHA?...
🤝 @sorbonne-universite.fr @cnrs.fr @aphg.bsky.social
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
De Morgen published an op-ed by Prof. Gillian Mathys (UGent) & others: “Scrapping support for IOB: Flanders is shooting itself in the foot.” It warns that cutting IOB hurts knowledge, cooperation & reputation.
✍️ Sign & share: https://chng.it/8DhtrFSBpm
📖 Read (NL): https://loom.ly/Dg9QyZc
✍️ Sign & share: https://chng.it/8DhtrFSBpm
📖 Read (NL): https://loom.ly/Dg9QyZc
October 6, 2025 at 10:32 AM
De Morgen published an op-ed by Prof. Gillian Mathys (UGent) & others: “Scrapping support for IOB: Flanders is shooting itself in the foot.” It warns that cutting IOB hurts knowledge, cooperation & reputation.
✍️ Sign & share: https://chng.it/8DhtrFSBpm
📖 Read (NL): https://loom.ly/Dg9QyZc
✍️ Sign & share: https://chng.it/8DhtrFSBpm
📖 Read (NL): https://loom.ly/Dg9QyZc
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Gillian Mathys is hoofddocent Afrikaanse geschiedenis aan de UGent. De auteur schrijft dit opiniestuk samen met een tiental ondertekenaars.
Ondersteuning voor het IOB schrappen: Vlaanderen schiet zichzelf in de voet
www.demorgen.be
October 6, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Gillian Mathys is hoofddocent Afrikaanse geschiedenis aan de UGent. De auteur schrijft dit opiniestuk samen met een tiental ondertekenaars.
Waarom Vlaanderen echt de financiële ondersteuning voor het @IOB niet mag stopzetten
www.demorgen.be/meningen/ond...
www.demorgen.be/meningen/ond...
October 7, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Waarom Vlaanderen echt de financiële ondersteuning voor het @IOB niet mag stopzetten
www.demorgen.be/meningen/ond...
www.demorgen.be/meningen/ond...
Has anyone had some experience with letting students make annotated pdfs in part as a way to prevent them from just relying on AI summaries? There are always in class discussions, and there will be a kind of oral exam as well.
September 5, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Has anyone had some experience with letting students make annotated pdfs in part as a way to prevent them from just relying on AI summaries? There are always in class discussions, and there will be a kind of oral exam as well.
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
#RDC "Le Sang et la Boue de Jean-Gabriel Leynaud est un documentaire qui nous entraîne à Numbi, au Sud-Kivu, où hommes, femmes et enfants creusent à mains nues pour extraire le coltan, pris dans un engrenage violent et mondialisé" www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/...
Invité culture - Cinéma: «Le Sang et la Boue», la vie des creuseurs de RDC
Le Sang et la Boue de Jean-Gabriel Leynaud est un documentaire qui nous entraîne à Numbi, au Sud-Kivu, où hommes, femmes et enfants creusent à mains nues pour extraire le coltan, pris dans un engrenag...
www.rfi.fr
September 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
#RDC "Le Sang et la Boue de Jean-Gabriel Leynaud est un documentaire qui nous entraîne à Numbi, au Sud-Kivu, où hommes, femmes et enfants creusent à mains nues pour extraire le coltan, pris dans un engrenage violent et mondialisé" www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/...
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Wondering when you gain the confidence to just start going off on tangents
Yes! Still remember how a senior archaeology professor took a ten minute detour from his lecture to tell us how best to dispose of a body
Concerned that we are losing the necessary ratio. 15% of teachers/faculty should be irretrievably strange eccentrics. Every learning experience should have some element where in later life you can reflect with former classmates about how bizarre at least one (1) class per year was.
August 31, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Wondering when you gain the confidence to just start going off on tangents
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
The reactions by historians to *that* Nature paper are because we are routinely consistently told by both laypeople and too many STEM colleagues that our methods are irrelevant, nonexistent or inferior, and our fields pointless.
Our institutions agree.
Miss me with defending STEM in this moment.
Our institutions agree.
Miss me with defending STEM in this moment.
Reactions by historians here indicate that barriers for interdiscplinary work are robust, even may reflect hostile attitudes. Although they seem more rooted in different styles of thinking and communicating, rather than ideological differences.
August 30, 2025 at 4:03 AM
The reactions by historians to *that* Nature paper are because we are routinely consistently told by both laypeople and too many STEM colleagues that our methods are irrelevant, nonexistent or inferior, and our fields pointless.
Our institutions agree.
Miss me with defending STEM in this moment.
Our institutions agree.
Miss me with defending STEM in this moment.
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
I have successfully collaborated with scientists but that's key. We collaborated. They included historians from the beginning of the project. I wasn't hostile to their methods because they listened to and respected mine. The Nature article wasn't interdisciplinary - it excluded the other discipline.
Reactions by historians here indicate that barriers for interdiscplinary work are robust, even may reflect hostile attitudes. Although they seem more rooted in different styles of thinking and communicating, rather than ideological differences.
August 30, 2025 at 8:30 AM
I have successfully collaborated with scientists but that's key. We collaborated. They included historians from the beginning of the project. I wasn't hostile to their methods because they listened to and respected mine. The Nature article wasn't interdisciplinary - it excluded the other discipline.
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Ik herhaal: daders van seksueel geweld zijn:
Familielid of huisgenoot (24,9%)
Kennis (24%)
(Ex-)partner (12,9%)
Vriend(in) (6,8%)
Klasgenoot of medestudent (6,3%)
Leerkracht, begeleider, hulpverlener, geestelijke … (5,9%)
In slechts 16,6% van de gevallen is de pleger een onbekende.
Familielid of huisgenoot (24,9%)
Kennis (24%)
(Ex-)partner (12,9%)
Vriend(in) (6,8%)
Klasgenoot of medestudent (6,3%)
Leerkracht, begeleider, hulpverlener, geestelijke … (5,9%)
In slechts 16,6% van de gevallen is de pleger een onbekende.
August 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Ik herhaal: daders van seksueel geweld zijn:
Familielid of huisgenoot (24,9%)
Kennis (24%)
(Ex-)partner (12,9%)
Vriend(in) (6,8%)
Klasgenoot of medestudent (6,3%)
Leerkracht, begeleider, hulpverlener, geestelijke … (5,9%)
In slechts 16,6% van de gevallen is de pleger een onbekende.
Familielid of huisgenoot (24,9%)
Kennis (24%)
(Ex-)partner (12,9%)
Vriend(in) (6,8%)
Klasgenoot of medestudent (6,3%)
Leerkracht, begeleider, hulpverlener, geestelijke … (5,9%)
In slechts 16,6% van de gevallen is de pleger een onbekende.
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Jongens en meisjes,
Noëmi heeft nog boekskes over, opbrengst gaat naar de kinderopvangzaak:
kartonclub.org
Noëmi heeft nog boekskes over, opbrengst gaat naar de kinderopvangzaak:
kartonclub.org
(geen titel)
slow blog van een slow mom
kartonclub.org
August 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Jongens en meisjes,
Noëmi heeft nog boekskes over, opbrengst gaat naar de kinderopvangzaak:
kartonclub.org
Noëmi heeft nog boekskes over, opbrengst gaat naar de kinderopvangzaak:
kartonclub.org
Exactly this. Many other "scientists" just do not understand what historians do
Other historians have already pointed out why the article in question has flawed methods and data, so I won't discuss. The underlying issues are power, publication venues, & collaboration. 1) Nature articles on history are almost always framed as "scientists figured out what historians couldn't." 1/
A lot of responses from historians under this post/quote post, even attacks.
One of the main issues is that no historian was involved and it is based on a single book.
It is not my field, so i cannot and should not make arguments in favour or against.
But....
One of the main issues is that no historian was involved and it is based on a single book.
It is not my field, so i cannot and should not make arguments in favour or against.
But....
August 29, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Exactly this. Many other "scientists" just do not understand what historians do
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Other historians have already pointed out why the article in question has flawed methods and data, so I won't discuss. The underlying issues are power, publication venues, & collaboration. 1) Nature articles on history are almost always framed as "scientists figured out what historians couldn't." 1/
A lot of responses from historians under this post/quote post, even attacks.
One of the main issues is that no historian was involved and it is based on a single book.
It is not my field, so i cannot and should not make arguments in favour or against.
But....
One of the main issues is that no historian was involved and it is based on a single book.
It is not my field, so i cannot and should not make arguments in favour or against.
But....
An abiding mystery of the French Revolution is solved — by epidemiology
The period of panic and unrest called the Great Fear was triggered by deliberately spread rumours, according to methods borrowed from pandemic playbooks.
The period of panic and unrest called the Great Fear was triggered by deliberately spread rumours, according to methods borrowed from pandemic playbooks.
August 29, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Other historians have already pointed out why the article in question has flawed methods and data, so I won't discuss. The underlying issues are power, publication venues, & collaboration. 1) Nature articles on history are almost always framed as "scientists figured out what historians couldn't." 1/
😅
August 29, 2025 at 8:41 AM
😅
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
⏰ The deadline for the Africa Thesis Award is approaching fast – submit your Africa-related thesis by 30 September!
More information ➡️ www.ascleiden.nl/content/afri...
More information ➡️ www.ascleiden.nl/content/afri...
August 23, 2025 at 8:00 AM
⏰ The deadline for the Africa Thesis Award is approaching fast – submit your Africa-related thesis by 30 September!
More information ➡️ www.ascleiden.nl/content/afri...
More information ➡️ www.ascleiden.nl/content/afri...
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
August 22, 2025 at 2:20 PM
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
This is an important thread on the difficulties of establishing legal accountability for genocide in Rwanda, and why the absence of legal accountability does not mean that people were not implicated in creating the conditions for genocide
The dismissal of charges against Agathe Habyarimana demonstrates the difficulty in establishing accountability for genocide and crimes against humanity. Madame Habyarimana, more than almost any individual, was responsible for creating the conditions for genocide in Rwanda.
French judges dismiss genocide case against Rwanda's former first lady
French judges dismissed a long-running case against Agathe Habyarimana, widow of Rwanda’s former president, ruling there was insufficient evidence to link her to the 1994 genocide that killed around 8...
ca.news.yahoo.com
August 22, 2025 at 12:23 PM
This is an important thread on the difficulties of establishing legal accountability for genocide in Rwanda, and why the absence of legal accountability does not mean that people were not implicated in creating the conditions for genocide
Reposted by Gillian Mathys
Elevator says no.
Als je jarenlang een verrottingsstrategie toepast op de federale instellingen, waaronder het Rijksarchief, dan breekt de veer uiteindelijk.
En daarom is één van onze belangrijkste archieven nu vleugellam door één (1!) kapotte lift.
standaard.be/binnenland/d...
Als je jarenlang een verrottingsstrategie toepast op de federale instellingen, waaronder het Rijksarchief, dan breekt de veer uiteindelijk.
En daarom is één van onze belangrijkste archieven nu vleugellam door één (1!) kapotte lift.
standaard.be/binnenland/d...
Door één kapotte lift in het Rijksarchief ligt heel veel onderzoek plat: “Het is Kafka op speed”
Een kapotte lift in het Brusselse Rijksarchief blokkeert talloze onderzoekers en mensen op zoek naar hun antwoorden over hun familiegeschiedenis: “Onze archieven zijn klinisch dood.”
standaard.be
August 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Elevator says no.
Als je jarenlang een verrottingsstrategie toepast op de federale instellingen, waaronder het Rijksarchief, dan breekt de veer uiteindelijk.
En daarom is één van onze belangrijkste archieven nu vleugellam door één (1!) kapotte lift.
standaard.be/binnenland/d...
Als je jarenlang een verrottingsstrategie toepast op de federale instellingen, waaronder het Rijksarchief, dan breekt de veer uiteindelijk.
En daarom is één van onze belangrijkste archieven nu vleugellam door één (1!) kapotte lift.
standaard.be/binnenland/d...
Kafka op speed door een kapotte lift. België is stelselmatig een aantal instellingen aan het onderfinancieren. Het rijksarchief is er daar één van, en dat leidt tot onaanvaardbare toestanden zoals nu, waar een kapotte lift voor maanden problemen zorgt, een draadje.
www.standaard.be/binnenland/d...
www.standaard.be/binnenland/d...
Door één kapotte lift in het Rijksarchief ligt heel veel onderzoek plat: “Het is Kafka op speed”
Een kapotte lift in het Brusselse Rijksarchief blokkeert talloze onderzoekers en mensen op zoek naar hun antwoorden over hun familiegeschiedenis: “Onze archieven zijn klinisch dood.”
www.standaard.be
August 22, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Kafka op speed door een kapotte lift. België is stelselmatig een aantal instellingen aan het onderfinancieren. Het rijksarchief is er daar één van, en dat leidt tot onaanvaardbare toestanden zoals nu, waar een kapotte lift voor maanden problemen zorgt, een draadje.
www.standaard.be/binnenland/d...
www.standaard.be/binnenland/d...