I resent this interruption of my misanthropy! Of course: what you describe sounds great. Happy to have the occasional chat about matters of common interest!
Ancient Historian @ UC Berkeley • 🇪🇸 🇺🇸 • Series Editor, Antiquity in Global Context (CUP) • VP Communications & Outreach, Society for Classical Studies • interests: humanities, world affairs, sports, electronic music • He/Him
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I resent this interruption of my misanthropy! Of course: what you describe sounds great. Happy to have the occasional chat about matters of common interest!
Actually, yes. You must be right. Probably more this than guidance from their professors...
I suspect this is a big part of it. But one also gets the sense that some applicants are being "coached" by their professors to reach out and make themselves visible -- the "hustle" component. I have always felt that the application itself can do this work. We really do read all of them carefully!
Confirming that a potential advisor or program is accepting new students, or seeking clarity about the application, is completely legitimate. Requesting some counsel on grad school applications in general, esp. for students from small schools, is also fine. But not a quasi-interview. My $0.02. 2/2
Requests by grad-school applicants in Hums/SSs to have Zoom meetings with potential PhD advisors are (i) premature (deciding on whom to work with, which is of course essential, comes *later* in process), (ii) ineffective as a form of "hustle," and (iii) untenable for overworked faculty. 1/2
[I'm a shameless user of filters, but this one is unfiltered]
By late summer, Northern California's hills turn from a brilliant gold to a more subdued golden brown. And every evening, at this time of year, there's a fleeting moment at sunset, about 5 minutes long, when they turn a pinkish red. It's very nice.
I saw at least one private university in a *very* blue state 😬
I am seeing some tenure-track ads in my field in which the institutions have stated that they are NOT willing to a sponsor a visa for the candidate. Is that . . . normal? Kind of stunned to see this, tbh.
I agree 100%. Trans rights are human rights. Non-negotiable and nothing left to discuss. If the opposition coalition that emerges excludes trans people, in any way, then I'm out.
The Golden Gate Bridge, with a patch of low-lying fog, as seen from Twin Peaks.
Yes. Looking forward to reading your piece, Nils!
When this is all over, people simply are not going to believe that there was ever a guy, "Curtis Yarvin," who was taken seriously by anyone. It will be seen as too stupid to be believed.
"We are super-duper excited—giggling, shaking, intoxicated—to announce our new Four-Factor Authentication Protocol. The increased security benefits are negligible, but it's a very dangerous world, little children, awash in what experts call "phishing" schemes, and your safety is our top priority."
It's a remarkably soft schedule, actually. No Clemson, no Miami, no FSU. 3 cross-country trips (Boston College, Virginia Tech, Louisville). We get SMU at home. 8-4 is imaginable.
A ranking of the "most unsettling questions of our times." 1. Is nuclear armaggedon a possibility? 2. Can we prevent environmental collapse? . . . 19. Do people think cereal is a soup? . . . 54. Is Cal football for real in 2025? . . . . 770,451,393. Can AIs suffer?
With a decidedly pejorative coloring, too... I think the (American) English words that best capture the semantics are probably "hick" or "redneck."
Tired: "Germany is too big for Europe, too small for the world." Wired: "Germany is WAY TOO GOD DAMN BIG for Greenland, too pathetically tiny for Brazil."
It is a great city.
This looks amazing. Wow. Love the section and chapter titles, too. 👍
That's not at all what I mean.
Noem warrants consideration here.
Well, yes. I think we agree. My point is that this really is not the moment for inside-the-tent fights over X or Y policy issue...
We'll hire you at Cal RIGHT NOW
But I still believe that a lot of the authoritarian movement depends on the animating presence of Trump as figurehead. Of course I could be wrong (as many are politely pointing out to me). Maybe the bumbling/undisciplined Trump is an *impediment* to authoritarian consolidation (!). We'll see.
with h/t to @kjephd.bsky.social for pluralist vs. zero-sum (vs. technocratic) as a super useful way to conceptualize (democratic) political orders
This (great) thread confirms my sense that the priority now is not to patch up coalitional differences. That's step two. The priority is to get everyone across the opposition to understand that we're not in a pluralist, politics-as-normal world. We're in a zero-sum world. The stakes are existential.
+13.5 at home seemed like a good deal to me
Straight into the Bluesky Hall of Fame.
And of course we respect your Hawaiian credentials here. 😂
Welcome to West Coast Bluesky, Anna! We normally make fun of East Coast Bluesky at this time, but circumstances this evening encourage a more communal stance.
The question—to my mind, an open question—is the extent to which the ascendancy of the whole movement depends on the animating spirit of its figurehead. My guess: a lot. But of course I could well be wrong. Maybe he's a *drag* on MAGA. Maybe it gets *worse* when he's gone. But I don't think so...
I had GaTech at -4.5 so I'm good
What happened?
If I'm wrong -- if a more disciplined version of the regime puts a more effective authoritarian consolidation into warp speed, locking this system into place for a generation -- then one really does have to consider leaving the country, if possible. Those are the stakes, as I see 'em.
The whole edifice depends on a kind of "juice" that no one else in that circle possesses. Not even close, in fact.
For all we know, he's fine and will live to 105. But if he goes, I predict the whole thing will collapse. I don't think things will carry on this way, and I don't think they'll get worse. There might be a burst of violence -- and that's obviously worrying -- but it will be the end of the nightmare.
It has to be plausible, though. I'm not sure any editor would allow this plot point.
Provost sees opportunity to make the whole episode a "teachable moment," and offers interested faculty a $50 gift card at Starbucks to teach an overload, one-unit seminar in Summer 2026 on the incident.
Careful. This is dangerously close to a CONFESSION.
No love for the humble working group?? 😂
And the members of the English department learn of this not from the provost, or even the chair, but rather when one of them stumbles across a sophomore's TikTok with a mock serious news segment on it.
They set up a When2Meet poll to schedule an all-department interview but THEY CANNOT FIND A TIME THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.
his learning didn't help him much when he encountered the balrog did it tho
Oh no; totally kidding. The "queen of Latin inscriptions" (Mommsen) is *thoroughly* investigated, and the non-naming of enemies is like the very first thing students learn about it!
Some things hurt less than you imagine they will (stubbed toe, bee sting, falling off your bike). Some things hurt about as much as you imagine (a shot at the doctor, getting hit by a fastball). And some things hurt WAY MORE than is reasonable. Stepping barefoot on a LEGO is in this category.
I wonder if I should delete my post so that no one sees it and steals my idea 🤔
I seriously hope you're not going to say that Mark Antony doesn't appear by name in the Res Gestae. I'm working on a 10K word article on that and simply will not be scooped at the last minute.
I might go with nuclear fission—mostly, though, as a *latent* force, either for bad (nothing less than the obliteration of life on planet earth) or good (unparalleled source of energy).
May he spend eternity stepping barefoot on stray LEGO blocks.
Will definitely read! Thanks for sharing.
Where would you place an interpretation of a poem?
Got it.
I understand why you have responded in this way to my post, and am interested in your perspective, but for the record (and fwiw), I myself am about as far from "firewalling" disciplines and defending patches of scholarly "turf" as one who nevertheless identifies as an historian can be...
Do you think that a mathematical proof and the question of, say, why the Great War erupted in 1914 belong to the same domain of what we can know about the world? [It's an honest question, not a challenge]
Definitely.
This was funny even before I knew what it was about. Now? Definitely funnier.
Where the spread of (mis)information in revolutionary Paris sits on that gradient is perhaps slippery. But I'm all for innovation and cross-disciplinary adventures!
What's interesting is that some historical problems *can* be solved! We operate on a long and smooth methodological gradient, from quantification and something like scientific proof, at one end, all the way to circumstantial reasoning, counterfactual speculation, moral judgment, etc., on the other.
Just chiming in to say that it is the *thinking* differently that seems most salient to me. The divergence here is less about professional practices, comparative resources, and scholarly methods than it is about fundamentally different epistemologies. Most historical problems cannot be "solved."
I think the circumstances warrant maximum harping on precisely this point.
Perhaps. Today, in the first lecture of a big survey course with mostly first-year students, I made a concerted effort to warn them about the deleterious effects of AI on their minds—but then completely forgot to urge them to take notes by hand and not on their laptops...
I don't think so.
Yeah, it IS a lot of stuff. Berkeley is always *comprehensive* when it comes to any personnel matters. I have mixed feelings about that, but fwiw, this has always been the way here...
I believe it means required but please no more than three.
NEW: Tenure-track position in History at UC Berkeley in the GLOBAL HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY. We are casting a wide net here: *all* periods, places, and fields are under consideration. I'm on the search committee, so do let me know if you have questions.
And so begins year 25.
Just as there are certain things that only people on TV do. Pouring milk into the cereal bowl and then leaving the milk carton on the table is one. I have never witnessed such a barbarism in the wild.
I didn't even know there had been another school shooting today. I was actually responding to a post on a different topic (the AI-induced suicide). My god.
Indeed. I do recognize that my thread invites a "read the room, bro" response (not *your* response), so I should perhaps say that I am acutely aware of how lucky I have been, and that my individual pocket of fulfillment is shot through with a deep consciousness of the disasters all around me.
This job has become more difficult over the last 25 years, and I spend more time on tedious administrative work than I would like. But I still have to pinch myself to believe that they actually pay me to do this. Even after 25 years, I continue to feel like I won the lottery. 8/8
And there is, finally, the material I work on (teaching & research). My interests have naturally evolved over the years, but the core is unchanged: the world(s) of ancient Rome. I am as fascinated by ancient Rome as I was when I first discovered it—maybe more so. And this, too, is priceless. 7/8
I have been lucky enough to be in a friendly and very stable department, where the majority of colleagues spend most of their careers, and this has enabled the slow building of life-long friendships. And that is simply priceless. 6/8
On the interpersonal/subjective side of the ledger, the trendline in my experience has been excellent. I still love to teach, despite the challenges we now face, and more than that, I like to get to know the students—all of them, from first-year undergrads through advanced graduate students. 5/8
But the overall trendline here is somewhere between very bad and catastrophic. I won't rehearse all of the all-too familiar problems: the corporatization of the university, the cratering of the job market, the denigration of the humanities, the threat of AI, the new authoritarian menace, etc. 4/8
There have been some bright spots over the last 25 years on the institutional and structural side. I would highlight (i) the large-scale digitization of materials (new data and dramatically enhanced accessibility) and (ii) improved equity and increased diversification of students and faculty. 3/8
As I reflect on the balance between continuity and change in my experience, I discern a key distinction between institutional and structural elements, on the one hand, and interpersonal and subjective ones, on the other. The trendlines of the former and the latter are *very* different. 2/8
I teach my first class of the new academic year tomorrow. It will be my 25th year in the profession. We are saturated with "discourse" on the state of higher ed these days, but as an academic, I'm afraid I simply can't help myself... A few remarks at the quarter-century mark of my career. 1/8
Exactly this.
The total failure to respond in any meaningful way to the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting (2012) was the moment the bottom fell out of our society. There have been other turning points, but to me, that episode exposed the *irredeemable* emptiness of our collective commitments to one another.
And that's that. We moved our younger son into his first-year dorm at San Diego State, did some (rather frenetic) last-minute shopping, and have now said our goodbyes. Lots of feelings!
"A lone, storm-battered island of rigorous thinking in an endless ocean of neoliberal mediocrity."
Hanging with the Filipino in-laws in San Diego. Love the energy ⬇️
“At night, Nero used to don a cap or wig and make a round of the taverns, or prowl the streets in search of mischief . . . One of his games was to attack men on their way home from dinner, stab them if they offered resistance, and then drop their bodies down the sewers.” Suetonius, *Nero* 26.
Think so
Amazing. What a great memory.
It was in Trastevere that he introduced me to spaghetti alle vongole. I never thought to order it (oddly), and he showed me the error of my ways. I think of him every time I get it (several times per visit to Rome)...
Oh dear. Michael was a giant—one of the great formalist readers of Latin poetry of the last century. And such a sweet and gentle man. I knew him mainly in connection with the American Academy in Rome, where his was always a voice of reason (sorely needed). A truly major loss.
Oh dear. Michael was a giant—one of the great formalist readers of Latin poetry of the last century. And such a sweet and gentle man. I knew him mainly in connection with the American Academy in Rome, where his was always a voice of reason (sorely needed). A truly major loss.
I have completed an exhaustive review of current events and some longer-term timelines and conclude that the vibes are not immaculate.
To declare it your "final" year—openly, publicly, for all the world of men and gods to see—is to play with fire, compadre.
I just wanted someone, anyone, to catch the niche reference. You made my day! 😂 (but yes, noted on the olive oil question)
look I'm not myself an astrophysicist so I can't say what effects it would have for a spate of tech bro frauds to crop saying "we can build a Dyson sphere around the solar system" while drizzling the wrong kind of olive oil in the pan but I think we should not try this
The latter phrasing is an acceptable alternative, but in the wake of so many smaller programs getting shuttered, I preferred the grand statement in this case...
The greatness of a university is a measure of its capacity for enabling synergies between a small number of big disciplines and the largest possible number of *small* ones. That's the magic of the modern university and a big part of its unique and priceless contribution to humanity.
Ok, fine. We'll include the dumb Kuiper Belt inside our Dyson sphere.
Hey guys! What are you up to this weekend? Dunno. Thinking about watching the game. Maybe build a Dyson sphere around the solar system (excluding the Kuiper Belt). And a little laundry, if we have time. Neat!
I'm so sorry, Shaily.
I'm sorry, Matt. I wish I had words.
I'm guessing you're either a Wisconsinite or a Yankees fan!