Karen Selesky
@karenselesky.bsky.social
A little bit Victorian in tastes - starting with the Brontës. Mum to a tuxedo cat Mr Jaggers. At work at UFV
Reposted by Karen Selesky
I hope all of us university instructors in humanities fields can find the energy and the joy to take students‘ education seriously. Don’t give up. Do what you can to set frameworks which enable rigorous study and which disincentivize dishonest work. Hold onto the students who appreciate the effort.
History majors have lower unemployment than computer science majors.
Folks with humanities graduate degrees are more sought after by corporate recruiters than those with MBAs.
Study history! Get a job!
Folks with humanities graduate degrees are more sought after by corporate recruiters than those with MBAs.
Study history! Get a job!
December 13, 2025 at 6:46 AM
I hope all of us university instructors in humanities fields can find the energy and the joy to take students‘ education seriously. Don’t give up. Do what you can to set frameworks which enable rigorous study and which disincentivize dishonest work. Hold onto the students who appreciate the effort.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
On AI cannibalism:
"Calculators expanded reasoning; the printing press spread knowledge. ChatGPT, by contrast, doesn’t extend cognition—it automates it, turning thinking itself into a service. Rather than democratizing learning, it privatizes the act of thinking under corporate control."
"Calculators expanded reasoning; the printing press spread knowledge. ChatGPT, by contrast, doesn’t extend cognition—it automates it, turning thinking itself into a service. Rather than democratizing learning, it privatizes the act of thinking under corporate control."
"the very programs best equipped to study the social and ethical implications of AI were being defunded, even as the university promoted the use of OpenAI’s products across campus. This isn’t innovation—it’s institutional auto-cannibalism."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 8, 2025 at 6:36 AM
On AI cannibalism:
"Calculators expanded reasoning; the printing press spread knowledge. ChatGPT, by contrast, doesn’t extend cognition—it automates it, turning thinking itself into a service. Rather than democratizing learning, it privatizes the act of thinking under corporate control."
"Calculators expanded reasoning; the printing press spread knowledge. ChatGPT, by contrast, doesn’t extend cognition—it automates it, turning thinking itself into a service. Rather than democratizing learning, it privatizes the act of thinking under corporate control."
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Please see vsawc.org/events/ for more details!
November 28, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Please see vsawc.org/events/ for more details!
Reposted by Karen Selesky
"Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has slashed international study permits by 65 per cent for 2026 in its first federal budget."
What?! Why?!
I do not understand why this is a budget item. Entirely baffling. Devastating for Canadian unis/colleges.
universityaffairs.ca/news/budget-...
What?! Why?!
I do not understand why this is a budget item. Entirely baffling. Devastating for Canadian unis/colleges.
universityaffairs.ca/news/budget-...
Budget cuts international student permits by 65 per cent in 2026 - University Affairs
Carney government also proposes $1.7 billion to recruit international researchers.
universityaffairs.ca
November 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
"Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has slashed international study permits by 65 per cent for 2026 in its first federal budget."
What?! Why?!
I do not understand why this is a budget item. Entirely baffling. Devastating for Canadian unis/colleges.
universityaffairs.ca/news/budget-...
What?! Why?!
I do not understand why this is a budget item. Entirely baffling. Devastating for Canadian unis/colleges.
universityaffairs.ca/news/budget-...
Reposted by Karen Selesky
I'm teaching an article I've taught 10 times before, so I tried comparing my discussion questions with ChatGPT's.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
October 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I'm teaching an article I've taught 10 times before, so I tried comparing my discussion questions with ChatGPT's.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Cheating with an LLM is the easiest thing in the world for a student to do, but it creates a massive, laborious headache for a prof, if you intend to take it seriously. There’s meetings, emails, discussions, moral dilemmas. It’s just incredibly burdensome, on top of everything else right now.
I had 9 meetings about students using Chat GPT/LLMs on their papers today.
If you want to know why professors burn out, ask anyone trying to teach critical thinking and writing skills to Freshmen....
If you want to know why professors burn out, ask anyone trying to teach critical thinking and writing skills to Freshmen....
October 28, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Cheating with an LLM is the easiest thing in the world for a student to do, but it creates a massive, laborious headache for a prof, if you intend to take it seriously. There’s meetings, emails, discussions, moral dilemmas. It’s just incredibly burdensome, on top of everything else right now.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
I hate hate hate being morally certain a submission is AI "assisted" (at best). Honestly I miss the good old days of students plagiarizing from library books.
October 7, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I hate hate hate being morally certain a submission is AI "assisted" (at best). Honestly I miss the good old days of students plagiarizing from library books.
19C Bluesky hive mind: if you were teaching a Brontë course in the new year - like I am- would you teach Shirley or Villette? Don’t have time for both, have taught Shirley in the past. I prefer Villette but am wondering about the students engaging with it. Thoughts welcome
September 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM
19C Bluesky hive mind: if you were teaching a Brontë course in the new year - like I am- would you teach Shirley or Villette? Don’t have time for both, have taught Shirley in the past. I prefer Villette but am wondering about the students engaging with it. Thoughts welcome
Reposted by Karen Selesky
William & Mary University in Virginia is looking for an assistant professor of Global Victorian Literatures. Application deadline is November 9. williammary.wd12.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WM/det... #C19th #19th-c
williammary.wd12.myworkdayjobs.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:55 PM
William & Mary University in Virginia is looking for an assistant professor of Global Victorian Literatures. Application deadline is November 9. williammary.wd12.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WM/det... #C19th #19th-c
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Come be my colleague! Research Chair in Trans Studies position open at @uvic.ca www.uvic.ca/faculty-staf...
SOSC/HUMS 250-108 - Faculty & staff - University of Victoria
Inspired by and honouring place, we are a community-minded, globally engaged university where we transform ideas into meaningful impact.
www.uvic.ca
September 12, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Come be my colleague! Research Chair in Trans Studies position open at @uvic.ca www.uvic.ca/faculty-staf...
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Now on the BARS Blog: CfP: 'Sex in the Long Nineteenth Century' - Romance, Revolution and Reform Journal 2026 Conference
See all the details here: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6071
Please share widely!!
See all the details here: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6071
Please share widely!!
July 25, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Now on the BARS Blog: CfP: 'Sex in the Long Nineteenth Century' - Romance, Revolution and Reform Journal 2026 Conference
See all the details here: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6071
Please share widely!!
See all the details here: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6071
Please share widely!!
Reposted by Karen Selesky
If you live in Canada and believe you're immune from an Orwelian future, please be aware that the Edmonton School District just banned 200 books, including six of mine, from its school libraries.
August 29, 2025 at 8:52 PM
If you live in Canada and believe you're immune from an Orwelian future, please be aware that the Edmonton School District just banned 200 books, including six of mine, from its school libraries.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Original Inquiry: A Guide to Research for Undergraduates is an interdisciplinary guide to original research tailored to the needs of first- and second-year college students, regardless of major 🔎✨
Take a closer look: buff.ly/2sTEj0E
#NewAtBroadview
Take a closer look: buff.ly/2sTEj0E
#NewAtBroadview
August 25, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Original Inquiry: A Guide to Research for Undergraduates is an interdisciplinary guide to original research tailored to the needs of first- and second-year college students, regardless of major 🔎✨
Take a closer look: buff.ly/2sTEj0E
#NewAtBroadview
Take a closer look: buff.ly/2sTEj0E
#NewAtBroadview
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Here's an excellent opportunity for anyone working on Margaret Oliphant! Please help spread the word. This special issue is looking for more contributors.
CFP: Special Issue of Women’s Writing on Margaret Oliphant at 200 (Proposal Deadline: 12/1/25) | NAVSA
navsa.org
July 23, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Here's an excellent opportunity for anyone working on Margaret Oliphant! Please help spread the word. This special issue is looking for more contributors.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Either colleges produce graduates who have been transformed by 4 years of study in ways that are valuable but hard to quantify, or they produce interchangeable widgets with pieces of paper that say they jumped through a series of hoops, probably with the assistance of chatbots because who wouldn't?
July 13, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Either colleges produce graduates who have been transformed by 4 years of study in ways that are valuable but hard to quantify, or they produce interchangeable widgets with pieces of paper that say they jumped through a series of hoops, probably with the assistance of chatbots because who wouldn't?
I hate that when opening a pdf in Adobe it says “this appears to be a long document. Save time by reading a summary.” I want my students and myself to engage with the details!!
June 3, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I hate that when opening a pdf in Adobe it says “this appears to be a long document. Save time by reading a summary.” I want my students and myself to engage with the details!!
Finally getting the tattoo I had originally planned back when I finished the PhD
May 15, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Finally getting the tattoo I had originally planned back when I finished the PhD
Reposted by Karen Selesky
What many students don’t understand is humanities profs don’t assign writing to get the product. We are extending invitations to know yourself. If you conjure AI, it doesn’t impact us. You cheat only yourself. And knowing yourself today is the best defense you’ve got against fascism.
April 26, 2025 at 7:03 PM
What many students don’t understand is humanities profs don’t assign writing to get the product. We are extending invitations to know yourself. If you conjure AI, it doesn’t impact us. You cheat only yourself. And knowing yourself today is the best defense you’ve got against fascism.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
April 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Message from the bookstore noting that once the tariffs are in place they won't be able to get OUP books for fall classes unless they are already in stock in Canada. Given my recent bad luck with OUP anyway, this is confirming my "switch to @broadviewpress.bsky.social" plan.
March 26, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Message from the bookstore noting that once the tariffs are in place they won't be able to get OUP books for fall classes unless they are already in stock in Canada. Given my recent bad luck with OUP anyway, this is confirming my "switch to @broadviewpress.bsky.social" plan.
Reposted by Karen Selesky
Nova Scotia has proposed legislation increasing political interference in universities.
Political interference in education isn’t just an American phenomenon. It’s alive and well in Canada too.
Politicians should not dictate the priorities of universities.
#StopNSBill12 app.sosha.ai/s/bjdaDCVo
Political interference in education isn’t just an American phenomenon. It’s alive and well in Canada too.
Politicians should not dictate the priorities of universities.
#StopNSBill12 app.sosha.ai/s/bjdaDCVo
Stop Bill 12
app.sosha.ai
March 10, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Nova Scotia has proposed legislation increasing political interference in universities.
Political interference in education isn’t just an American phenomenon. It’s alive and well in Canada too.
Politicians should not dictate the priorities of universities.
#StopNSBill12 app.sosha.ai/s/bjdaDCVo
Political interference in education isn’t just an American phenomenon. It’s alive and well in Canada too.
Politicians should not dictate the priorities of universities.
#StopNSBill12 app.sosha.ai/s/bjdaDCVo
My Summer Course. Looking forward to it.
March 5, 2025 at 6:43 PM
My Summer Course. Looking forward to it.
Hello Hive Mind. Starting to think about a summer course on reading the gothic and need an Ann Radcliffe. I’ve taught the Italian before. And it’s a response to The Monk which I’m also teaching. broadview has The Romance of the Forest. And there’s always The Mysteries of Udolpho. Any thoughts?
January 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Hello Hive Mind. Starting to think about a summer course on reading the gothic and need an Ann Radcliffe. I’ve taught the Italian before. And it’s a response to The Monk which I’m also teaching. broadview has The Romance of the Forest. And there’s always The Mysteries of Udolpho. Any thoughts?
Reposted by Karen Selesky
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Faculty salaries have gone down very sharply over the past couple of generations, if you count the half of the faculty that does two-thirds of the teaching in higher ed as actual faculty www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/12/the-...
The crack-up - Lawyers, Guns & Money
I ran into the following economic dictum at Paul Krugman’s new Substack. The author is Rudi Dornbusch, who formulated it originally in the context of monetary policy and financial crises, but it clear...
www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com
December 28, 2024 at 4:25 PM
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