Disney-Owned National Geographic Lays Off Last of Its Staff Writers The 19 remaining editorial staff were notified in April that the cuts were coming

Disney really is the worst. I had no idea they owned Nat-Geo! Of course they'd cut science and knowledge for that bottom line.

www.thewrap.com/national-geo...

Getting a PhD and then working outside academia is dope. My advisees who’ve done that are more or less uniformly happy and feel that they’re using the skills they trained on. (I talked to one today who just landed a great gig). Just wanted to convey that to anyone it might benefit.

This was both a powerful and artful memento mori: an elegant woman looking into the mirror, and rapidly aging with the paper flap. This was printed in 1510 Germany, #skystorians

I do think tech companies are underestimating the amount of
- new account fatigue
- new app fatigue
- useless upgrade fatigue
- terms of service fatigue

Archaeologists Find Iliad “Catalog of Ships” Papyrus Inside Egyptian Mummy - Arkeonews Archaeologists in Egypt’s Oxyrhynchus have discovered a Roman-era tomb containing mummies with golden tongues and a rare papyrus

This is just so cool. A Roman-era mummy recently excavated in Egypt contained a fragment of papyrus with a section of the Iliad.

There are currently 6 permanent full time history jobs in the whole UK. 500+ PhDs being produced a year - not all of whom will want to pursue an academic year but likely most, and of course years will stack up onto each other. What a sector.

Great news: in England it is #NationalTeaDay Meaning it's time for Pieter van Roestraten, a Dutch painter working in England. And, by a wonderful coincidence, he was born on this day in 1630.

“Over on Twitter, they’re” shhhhh. Shhh.

Shh.

#CFP Female Networks of Knowledge: Natural History between Private and Public Spaces (Vienna, November 19-20, 2026), due May 30.

Conference explores how women shaped scientific knowledge via networks that crossed the domestic, social, and institutional from early modern to 19th c. #envhist #histstm

Eleonora Cappuccilli: Female Prophecy in Early Modern European Religion - The Norwegian Institute in Rome Institute SeminarEleonora Cappuccilli is a researcher at the University of Toronto and the University of Oslo, and a visiting researcher at the Norwegian Institute in Rome in Spring 2026.

Coming up May 5 -

Female Prophecy in Early Modern European Religion
Speaker: Eleonora Cappuccilli
Organizer: The Norwegian Institute in Rome, University of Oslo

www.hf.uio.no/dnir/english...

OK, fellow early modernists, this I'm teaching the grad seminar on early modern Europe for the first time in 5 years. What monographs in English, preferably in paperbook/ebook formats, can you recommend that work well in seminar instruction? And thanks! #earlymodern 🗃️

When you feel imposter syndrome sneaking up on you, just remember that JD Vance lectured the Pope on theology.

Do any #earlymodern #skystorians know of online courses available along the lines of Spanish or Portuguese 'for historians'?

Vacancy for a three-year post-doc position at the Universiteit van Amsterdam!

This postdoc position, part of the European Research Council (ERC)-sponsored 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐀𝐃𝐄 project, seeks to understand the long legacies of blockades on the post-war order.

Someone in the archive, examining an old document, wearing gloves.

Our MA Early Modern Studies trains you in palaeography, book history & archival research skills, plus options in information & literary studies, history & language.
Join us for a taster lecture, learn more about the course & ask questions
📅1 May 2-3:30pm BST online
app.geckoform.com/events-embed...

PAST Early Modern Legal: Online Overview A one-day online introduction to Early Modern Legal records.

On 11 June 2026, I'm running an online intro to early modern legal records, part of The National Archives' Practical Archival Skills Training #TNAPAST workshops. More details can be found via the link. For accompanying on-site workshops, see the below thread www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/past-early...

The 1953 cancellation of a Fulbright on political grounds: “A Fulbright award granted last April to Dr. Naphtali Lewis of Brooklyn College to study in Italy during the next academic year has been canceled by the State Dept. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, Republican of Wisconsin, said here yesterday."

SUPER excited about these new MWG opportunities! Took a ton of work and years to get it off the ground. Highly recommend MWG members apply for these fully funded writing retreat opportunities!

Children are vulnerable human beings who need care, protection, and guidance but they are not property and a legal and social system that treats them like they are encourages abuse and mistreatment.

Legacies of Violence?: Catholic Militancy in Paris After the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre Abstract. This article traces continuities and changes in Parisian Catholic militancy after the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre (Aug. 24, 1572). It evaluates the rites of violence later reactivated by some of the killers, alongside a radicalized faction of their colleagues in the civic militia, who belonged to a younger generation and played a significant role in the later religious wars. Pursuing a forensic examination of the surviving manuscript sources, it provides a new perspective on the killers on Saint Bartholomew's Day by showing how these men were shaped by, and in turn reshaped, the transformation of Parisian society in the sixteenth century.

'Legacies of Violence? Catholic Militancy in Paris After the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre'

Robert Descimon and I have pubished our article with French Historical Studies (@sfhs.bsky.social), with special thanks to colleagues at @crh.ehess.fr @durhamhistory.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1215/0016...

News in Antwerp 400 years ago: a naval battle in the Strait of Hormuz.

I'm also a collector of kitschy fridge magnets. This is fascinating.

Maine Lawmakers Pass Ban on Large Data Centers The bill, which blocks centers that draw over 20 megawatts of power until late 2027, is headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

Maine lawmakers passed a ban on large data-center construction, making it the first state to enact such a measure as communities around the U.S. deal with fallout from the AI boom.

Don’t be reviewer #2!!

Open to all, not just historians of French and Francophone colonial history

At its core, the political economy of scholarship was never supposed to rely on ~$50k from a smelting fortune. Institutions have hollowed out their support, the feds have done the same, and all that's left is inadequate private funding.

I missed this post several months ago but discovered it for myself when I tried to access a bookmarked lesson plan yesterday. This is a HUGE loss for educators at all levels. (fwiw I could access the lesson I wanted on the Internet Archive) 🗃️ cc @oah.org @ncph.bsky.social @historians.org

A drawing of a man seated in a 16th-century interior with a window and a tapestry. He writes with a quill pen seated at a long table, on which rest a hat, books, letters, and various writing supplies https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/339953

One of the loveliest drawings out there. Anonymous, French, 16th century, Interior with a Man Writing on a Long Table, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray and brown wash, over faint sketch in graphite, 19.2 x 14.9 cm. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) #earlymodern #skystorians

#OpenAccess research article highlight!

'Books for old soldiers? Creating a library at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 1711-15', by Jason McElligott is now available through the following link:

@universitypress.cambridge.org

Job Opportunity!

Iberian Empires at Warwick University

A historical illustration of a group of individuals wearing hats, gathered around a table, with the text: "Hat Wars. New research reveals early modern England's relationship with hats."

An illustration depicts three individuals robbing a person on horseback. One individual is aiming a gun, another person is on the ground, and the person on the horse appears startled. The scene is set in a rural environment with trees. A text box reads: "Upon being robbed by three thieves, William Seabrook 'begg’d of them not to take away his Hat and make him go home bare-headed; then they threw down his Hat in the Road and left it".

A historical illustration depicting the trial of Charles I before the High Court of Justice in 1649. The scene shows Charles I wearing a hat, standing before a group of seated judges and officials in an ornate courtroom setting. The setting includes an audience and distinct period attire.

An illustrated scene depicts a historical courtroom setting with individuals wearing 17th-century attire. One person stands, gesturing, while another sits at a table with documents. A caption below explains radical Leveller John Lilburne, jailed in 1646, being ordered to appear at the House of Lords, and his defiant response.

From refusing to doff hats in court to resisting hat-snatching highway robbers, England’s relationship with hats goes far deeper than fashion. Read more about early modern England's hat wars in new research published in 'The Historical Journal'. 🎩 🔗 https://cup.org/47R0fGt