Michael Hancher
@michaelhancher.bsky.social
Sometime English professor, JHU and UMN; past president, Dictionary Society of North America. Victorian literature and art, book illustration, speech acts, interpretation, law.
https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/mh/
https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/mh/
Ceci n'est pas une pipe?
Singing and smoking with Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin 1745. Wig's off -- but dog at the right is wearing it instead! Painted by William Hogarth, born OTD in 1697.
November 10, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Ceci n'est pas une pipe?
A century of (academic) creative writing.
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
Google Books Ngram Viewer
Google Ngrams: creative writing, 1800-2022
books.google.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:36 PM
A century of (academic) creative writing.
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
All roads lead to Rome.
itiner-e.org
itiner-e.org
itiner-e
itiner-e.org
November 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
All roads lead to Rome.
itiner-e.org
itiner-e.org
Reposted by Michael Hancher
A landmark moment. Supervisor Connie Chan led a unanimous San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution honoring the #InternetArchive & establishing Internet Archive Day.
archive.org/embed/establ...
🧵
More ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/03/s...
#Wayback1T
archive.org/embed/establ...
🧵
More ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/03/s...
#Wayback1T
November 4, 2025 at 10:00 PM
A landmark moment. Supervisor Connie Chan led a unanimous San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution honoring the #InternetArchive & establishing Internet Archive Day.
archive.org/embed/establ...
🧵
More ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/03/s...
#Wayback1T
archive.org/embed/establ...
🧵
More ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/03/s...
#Wayback1T
Unfortunately (or not) it's true (as AI says) that AI still fails this basic Turing test.
November 3, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Unfortunately (or not) it's true (as AI says) that AI still fails this basic Turing test.
Gathering Leaves
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148658...
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148658...
Gathering Leaves
Spades take up leaves No better than spoons, And bags full of leaves Are light as balloons.
www.poetryfoundation.org
November 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Gathering Leaves
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148658...
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148658...
Reposted by Michael Hancher
The deadline (15 November) is fast approaching for our annual Peterson Fellowships! Peterson Fellowships support one researcher for four, full-time months of work on a project related to #19thC periodicals. Application guidelines and more can be found on our website: rs4vp.org/awards/peter...
Peterson Fellowship Guidelines – RSVP
Each year, the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals (RSVP) intends to grant one Linda H. Peterson Fellowship (henceforth, “the Peterson Fellowship”) in the amount of $20,000 to a single research...
rs4vp.org
October 31, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The deadline (15 November) is fast approaching for our annual Peterson Fellowships! Peterson Fellowships support one researcher for four, full-time months of work on a project related to #19thC periodicals. Application guidelines and more can be found on our website: rs4vp.org/awards/peter...
October 30, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Congratulations to Doug! and thanks for bringing @uminnpress.bsky.social into to its second creative century.
Doug Armato, who has helmed the 100-year-old press for 27 years, is retiring at the end of December. His tenure saw the expansion of the press’s list and the development of strong Indigenous studies, trade, and regional publishing programs.
University of Minnesota Press Director Retires
Doug Armato, who has helmed the 100-year-old press for 27 years, is retiring at the end of December. His tenure saw the expansion of the press’s list and the development of strong Indigenous studies,…
buff.ly
October 29, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Congratulations to Doug! and thanks for bringing @uminnpress.bsky.social into to its second creative century.
Just announced: Macaulay and English in India www.routledge.com/Macaulay-and... @routledgebooks.bsky.social
Macaulay and English in India
This book traces how the English language emerged from the nineteenth century as not only an imperial and bureaucratic language but also as a global one. It highlights the role of Thomas Babington Mac...
www.routledge.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Just announced: Macaulay and English in India www.routledge.com/Macaulay-and... @routledgebooks.bsky.social
Details at chapter 4, "The Lineage of the Ugly Duchess" (ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...).
October 27, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Details at chapter 4, "The Lineage of the Ugly Duchess" (ohiostatepress.org/books/titles...).
"Occasional vanity entries are not forbidden." (Chicago Manual of Style 15:31 Terms that should not be indexed.)
October 23, 2025 at 7:57 PM
"Occasional vanity entries are not forbidden." (Chicago Manual of Style 15:31 Terms that should not be indexed.)
"Common sense is the best guide." (Chicago Manual of Style 15:30 Choosing Index Terms.)
October 23, 2025 at 5:51 PM
"Common sense is the best guide." (Chicago Manual of Style 15:30 Choosing Index Terms.)
Then came printers, dictionaries, and teachers.
I once went through the Linguistic Atlas of Late Mediaeval English to collect all the attested Middle English spellings of ‘through’ (476).
October 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Then came printers, dictionaries, and teachers.
Reposted by Michael Hancher
Happy National Dictionary Day! Celebrate by learning a new word and by reading up a bit on Noah Webster and his word hoard: www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/10/in-a...
In a Word: National Dictionary Day | The Saturday Evening Post
Why dictionary lovers celebrate Noah Webster’s birthday.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Happy National Dictionary Day! Celebrate by learning a new word and by reading up a bit on Noah Webster and his word hoard: www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/10/in-a...
Reposted by Michael Hancher
Fab editorial by @umnenglish.bsky.social faculty.
"Majoring in English is by no means a bad investment of a student’s time and tuition dollars. ... While graduates with English degrees may start out earning less than peers in other fields, they out-earn them in the second half of their careers."
"Majoring in English is by no means a bad investment of a student’s time and tuition dollars. ... While graduates with English degrees may start out earning less than peers in other fields, they out-earn them in the second half of their careers."
Counterpoint | Actually, English majors are thriving at the University of Minnesota
"As the chair of the English department, past English chair, and assistant dean of curriculum and instruction at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, we often find reports of the demise of ...
www.startribune.com
October 13, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Fab editorial by @umnenglish.bsky.social faculty.
"Majoring in English is by no means a bad investment of a student’s time and tuition dollars. ... While graduates with English degrees may start out earning less than peers in other fields, they out-earn them in the second half of their careers."
"Majoring in English is by no means a bad investment of a student’s time and tuition dollars. ... While graduates with English degrees may start out earning less than peers in other fields, they out-earn them in the second half of their careers."
fiction,nonfiction,creative nonfiction,literary fiction
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
Google Books Ngram Viewer
Google Ngrams: fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction, literary fiction, 1800-2022
books.google.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:37 AM
fiction,nonfiction,creative nonfiction,literary fiction
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
DUAI?
“Waymo driverless car stopped by Bay Area police during DUI operation”
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
“Waymo driverless car stopped by Bay Area police during DUI operation”
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Waymo driverless car stopped by Bay Area police during DUI operation
Police in one Bay Area city expected to spend Friday night looking for impaired drivers. Instead, they found themselves pulling over a car with no driver at all.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:56 PM
DUAI?
“Waymo driverless car stopped by Bay Area police during DUI operation”
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
“Waymo driverless car stopped by Bay Area police during DUI operation”
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children, ex libris C. K. Ogden archive.org/details/camb...
The Cambridge book of poetry for children : Grahame, Kenneth, 1859-1932 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
2 v. in 1 20 cm
archive.org
October 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children, ex libris C. K. Ogden archive.org/details/camb...
close reading, active reading
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
Google Books Ngram Viewer
Google Ngrams: close reading, active reading, 1800-2022
books.google.com
October 4, 2025 at 3:57 AM
close reading, active reading
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
books.google.com/ngrams/graph...
Reposted by Michael Hancher
We have some words for you.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
The NEW Twelfth Edition.
Made of paper.
11.18.2025
www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
The NEW Twelfth Edition.
Made of paper.
11.18.2025
www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...
September 25, 2025 at 4:13 PM
We have some words for you.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
The NEW Twelfth Edition.
Made of paper.
11.18.2025
www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
The NEW Twelfth Edition.
Made of paper.
11.18.2025
www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...
Reposted by Michael Hancher
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin ✨ figured out what stars are made of ✨ when she was just 25. 🔭🧪
Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students.
I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:
Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students.
I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:
September 24, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin ✨ figured out what stars are made of ✨ when she was just 25. 🔭🧪
Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students.
I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:
Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students.
I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:
AI is like karaoke. Discuss.
September 24, 2025 at 9:02 PM
AI is like karaoke. Discuss.
Reposted by Michael Hancher
The Dictionary of Old English. Interview with Stephen Pelle.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NEi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NEi...
The Dictionary of Old English. Interview with Stephen Pelle.
YouTube video by Bologermanica
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2025 at 11:31 PM
The Dictionary of Old English. Interview with Stephen Pelle.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NEi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NEi...