Ray Laurence
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raylaurence1.bsky.social
Ray Laurence
@raylaurence1.bsky.social
380 followers 250 following 79 posts
Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University.
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Reposted by Ray Laurence
thedailyshow.com
Your cat when you're choking to death in your apartment
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
theconversation.com/the-roman-em...
The Roman empire built 300,000 kilometres of roads: new study
A new comprehensive map reveals the true scale of the ancient Roman road network – but it is still incomplete.
theconversation.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:45 AM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
Tampere - Finland!
June 7, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
ullamr.bsky.social
@raylaurence1.bsky.social giving a talk at Stockholm. How does a multi-species mobility look like? #AncientBluesky ⚱️🦋
The titlepage (Donkeys, mules and camels)
June 4, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
ullamr.bsky.social
@raylaurence1.bsky.social today from Tampere on age #AncientBluesky ⚱️🦋
The title page
June 6, 2025 at 11:12 AM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
Bleak winter!
May 30, 2025 at 2:19 AM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
Age in antiquity workshop next week!

research.tuni.fi/trivium/frid...
Friday 6th June: Age, Aging and Ancestors in Ancient and Medieval Societies | Trivium | Tampere Universities
Trivium – Tampere Centre for Classical, Medieval, and Early Modern Studies is organizing a one-day symposium on Age, Aging and Ancestors in Ancient and Medieval Societies.
research.tuni.fi
May 28, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
nic33.bsky.social
bsr.ac.uk/thomas-ashby...
Thomas Ashby Abroad: A Photographic Record of the 1914 Journey - a new virtual exhibition on the BSR website - bsr.ac.uk
Discover the new virtual exhibition “Thomas Ashby and the other side of the world” on our digital platform: https://virtualexhibitions.bsr.ac.uk/omeka-s/s/thomas-ashby-and-the-other-side-of-the-world/...
bsr.ac.uk
April 20, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
leabeness.bsky.social
Wonderful work being done on Thomas Ashby and the Roman roads of Italy by Macquarie graduates @janetwade.bsky.social and @nic33.bsky.social using the photo archive of @bsrome.bsky.social.
@raylaurence1.bsky.social @emlynkd.bsky.social @resaustrales.bsky.social @awaws.org
bsr.ac.uk/thomas-ashby...
May 18, 2025 at 12:46 AM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
Roads!

Next week in Stockholm!!
May 28, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
davidrafferty.bsky.social
We have a blog post up on our new Open Access book "How Republics Die: creeping authoritarianism in ancient Rome and beyond". Find the post here: doi.org/10.58079/13xuq and the book itself (with all the chapters in downloadable PDF) here: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Screenshot from the blog post: "Our work is a response to the wave of political science scholarship which appeared after Donald Trump's first election to the US Presidency in 2016, which dealt with the broad concept of "democratic decay" I As historians of Rome, we read that scholarship and saw a lot in it that looked like the Late Roman Republic and the early Augustan monarchy (conventionally dated to 133 BCE - 14 CE): terms like constitutional rot, autocratic legalism, and democratic breakdown are all easily applicable to Rome. Of course, it's not new to compare modern democracies to Rome, especially the United States of America. One problem is that these comparisons are often pretty superficial, and we didn't want to do that: nothing in this book is as 'clickbaity' as "This Is Why Bernie Sanders Is Like The Gracchi", Or "How Donald Trump is Like Sulla, Julius Caesar, and Augustus". There is an understandable scholarly scepticism about comparing the Roman political system to modern systems: are they not just too different? But, as we editors argue in the first chapter ("New Perspectives on Old Problems/Old Perspectives on New Problems"), comparisons can be made responsibly-if due care is taken. If we are interested in the struggle for power among institutions (and this is what contemporary democratic decay scholarship is largely about), then Rome was a suitably complex institutional environment. More complex than many modern..."
May 17, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
gtconway.bsky.social
April 5, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
nothoodlum.bsky.social
True ✅
April 6, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
corabeth.bsky.social
Today is World Autism Awareness Day, in Autism Awareness Week, which is in Autism Awareness Month. Spare a thought today for all the autistic people who really hate April!
But in the spirit of awareness... I've been quiet on social media lately because I've been working on a Big Autism Project...
April 2, 2025 at 8:02 AM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
This inspires a new approach to the 20 minute academic conference paper!

@ascs in Auckland early 2026!
hunterw.bsky.social Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · Apr 1
In his 1957 filibuster, Strom Thurmond said "Negroes ... are not so well qualified to vote as are the white people.”

A Black senator just broke the record Thurmond set with that speech.
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/cory-bo...
Cory Booker Just Gave The Longest Speech In The History of The US Senate
Only two men have spoken on the floor of the U.S. Senate...
talkingpointsmemo.com
April 2, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
corybooker.com
I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent, when we must speak up.
April 2, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
partialhistorians.bsky.social
🌟Early Release - Gladiator II with Alexandra Sills 🌟

We consider the highs and lows of Gladiator II with @belovedofoizys.bsky.social, whose research focuses on the representation of gladiators. This fantastic interview is out now for our wonderful patreons 🥳

www.patreon.com/posts/122599...
Pedro Pascal plays General Acacius and Paul Mescal plays Lucius in Gladiator II. In this photo from Paramount Pictures Acacius has charged Lucius in the arena and appears to tackle him as part of their encounter.
March 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
adamparkhomenko.bsky.social
People are taking things into their own hands
March 28, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
aoc.bsky.social
We will not be distracted.
We will not be discouraged.
We’ve got our eyes on the prize.

And we will build the prosperous, free nation for all that we deserve.

The time to organize is now.

OcasioCortez.com
March 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
rgoodlaw.bsky.social
The Atlantic has now published the Signal texts with attack plans in response to administration denials.

I worked at the Pentagon.

If information like this is not classified, nothing is.

If Hegseth is claiming he declassified this information, he should be shown the door for having done so.
March 26, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
profgalloway.com
The lying and the staggering incompetence around this is astounding. And dangerous.
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · Mar 26
After the Atlantic published the texts this morning, Tulsi Gabbard is confronted today on why she lied in her testimony to the Senate yesterday. She says she misremembered.
March 26, 2025 at 4:37 PM
raylaurence1.bsky.social
So, we reach end of week 4 of the academic year and are given an inkling of what Macquarie Uni is about to inflict on its employees.

futurecampus.com.au/2025/03/20/a...
Another savings plan at Macquarie U
Management at Macquarie University warns academics the times are changing and so must the way they work - and yes redundancies are mentioned.
futurecampus.com.au
March 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Ray Laurence
ullamr.bsky.social
US is now a fascist totalitarian country?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found
France’s research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched
www.theguardian.com
March 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM