Mikki Brock
@mikkibrock.bsky.social
historian of religion, the supernatural, & gender in early modern Scotland | professor | views mine | she/her.
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Mikki Brock
@mikkibrock.bsky.social
· Oct 31
Announcing a brand new series launching this #Halloween 👻
Manchester Studies in the Supernatural explores how the #supernatural shapes human experience across time and place.
Bridging disciplines and challenging boundaries, it welcomes bold new research on the #occult and the #unseen
Manchester Studies in the Supernatural explores how the #supernatural shapes human experience across time and place.
Bridging disciplines and challenging boundaries, it welcomes bold new research on the #occult and the #unseen
Exciting Halloween news for scholars of things that go bump in the night:
Our new interdisciplinary series is here from @manchesterup.bsky.social! The series seeks proposals that examine the supernatural (broadly conceived) in innovative ways. Please get in touch if you have ideas or questions!
Our new interdisciplinary series is here from @manchesterup.bsky.social! The series seeks proposals that examine the supernatural (broadly conceived) in innovative ways. Please get in touch if you have ideas or questions!
Deeply depressing, but not surprising, from my alma mater.
Public universities have led the way in creating popular ethnic & gender studies programs, which are now being destroyed by aggressively regressive politicians & administrators, not because students aren't interested in these subjects, but because they are.
www.texastribune.org/2026/09/17/u...
www.texastribune.org/2026/09/17/u...
Majors related to race, gender cut at University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin rejected a department’s plan to keep the majors, a decision that came without public knowledge, an interim department chair told faculty.
www.texastribune.org
September 18, 2026 at 12:29 AM
Deeply depressing, but not surprising, from my alma mater.
my god this is awful
EXC: 90 programmes in Edinburgh University's College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are to be closed.
The casualties, which include 48 language and literature programmes, will be 'taught out', w/ no admissions after 2027.
@heraldscotland.bsky.social
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2655839...
The casualties, which include 48 language and literature programmes, will be 'taught out', w/ no admissions after 2027.
@heraldscotland.bsky.social
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2655839...
Ninety programmes to close at leading university as savings plan takes shape
According to the document, a total of 90 programmes will be “taught out” over the next several years, including 48 in the School of Language.
www.heraldscotland.com
September 17, 2026 at 8:20 PM
my god this is awful
Reposted by Mikki Brock
pleasant surprise. i would like to read whatever deranged dissent alito and thomas have written. i’m sure it will be some version of “MAIL FRAUD IS REAL AND I SAW IT IN THE CLOSET MAKING A BABY AND THE BABY LOOKED AT ME”
BREAKING: SCOTUS denies the Trump administration’s request to enforce the new U.S. Postal Service rule for the 2026 elections. Justices Alito and Thomas dissent.
More to come at Law Dork. www.lawdork.com
More to come at Law Dork. www.lawdork.com
![SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 26A305
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, ET AL. U.
CALIFORNIA, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[September 14, 2026]
The application for stay presented to JUSTICE JACKSON and by her referred to the Court is denied. The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court's preliminary injunction. And the equitable factors applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this Court do not favor a stay.
JUSTICE KAVANAUGH, concurring.
In my view, based on the briefing the Court has received at this interim stage, there is at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority. See 39 U. S. C. §401(2). But applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections. See 39
U. S. C. §3001(m); 5 U. S. C. §706(2)(A). For that reason, I concur in the denial of the application for stay.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreicqn5lewxb2bkaazujt77bmsjfq4ultwu2alo3emhvgsnpkotnwoy)
September 14, 2026 at 11:40 PM
pleasant surprise. i would like to read whatever deranged dissent alito and thomas have written. i’m sure it will be some version of “MAIL FRAUD IS REAL AND I SAW IT IN THE CLOSET MAKING A BABY AND THE BABY LOOKED AT ME”
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Ted Cruz is aggressively booed in Austin, Texas: “Ted, you suck!”
September 12, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Ted Cruz is aggressively booed in Austin, Texas: “Ted, you suck!”
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Not to brag, but our product has been foldable since 1828.
September 9, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Not to brag, but our product has been foldable since 1828.
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Could the relentless demonization of the humanities as woke, useless, and esoteric; systemic underfunding of humanities disciplines; and the STEM & AP-ification of high school have anything to do with this?
Though there has been a tiny recent increase in philosophy BAs earned in the US, overall, the number of students graduating with BAs in the humanities continues to decline.
Fewer and Fewer Students Earn Degrees in the Humanities - Daily Nous
20 years ago, nearly 15% of the undergraduate degrees conferred in the United States were in the humanities. As of 2025, that percentage is down to 8.1%. These figures are from a recent report by Huma...
dailynous.com
September 9, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Could the relentless demonization of the humanities as woke, useless, and esoteric; systemic underfunding of humanities disciplines; and the STEM & AP-ification of high school have anything to do with this?
So I’ve decided I have too many emails and not enough puppies. I have no room in my life to accommodate more of either, but I’ve decided the secret to happiness is surely having the right puppy to email ratio (kitties will also work!).
September 9, 2026 at 11:56 AM
So I’ve decided I have too many emails and not enough puppies. I have no room in my life to accommodate more of either, but I’ve decided the secret to happiness is surely having the right puppy to email ratio (kitties will also work!).
Reposted by Mikki Brock
I teach history. That's my profession. That's what I'm trained in, that's what I was hired to train students in. That's what all my experience and interest is in.
I don't know a thing about AI and I don't want to. So if you want to teach AI, go teach AI in your own fucking classroom.
I don't know a thing about AI and I don't want to. So if you want to teach AI, go teach AI in your own fucking classroom.
What the fuck does this even mean for a History classroom?
September 6, 2026 at 2:21 PM
I teach history. That's my profession. That's what I'm trained in, that's what I was hired to train students in. That's what all my experience and interest is in.
I don't know a thing about AI and I don't want to. So if you want to teach AI, go teach AI in your own fucking classroom.
I don't know a thing about AI and I don't want to. So if you want to teach AI, go teach AI in your own fucking classroom.
Reposted by Mikki Brock
“I mean, what is a utopia?” Margaret Cerullo, a sociology professor from Hampshire, said to me. “It’s a place where you can imagine that the world could be different.” @hannahgais.bsky.social with a lovely, heartbreaking obit for Hampshire College thebaffler.com/latest/class...
Class Dismissed | Hannah Gais
Private liberal arts schools were never going to kickstart the revolution. But the closure of Hampshire College further narrows the political imaginary.
thebaffler.com
August 31, 2026 at 9:28 PM
“I mean, what is a utopia?” Margaret Cerullo, a sociology professor from Hampshire, said to me. “It’s a place where you can imagine that the world could be different.” @hannahgais.bsky.social with a lovely, heartbreaking obit for Hampshire College thebaffler.com/latest/class...
Reposted by Mikki Brock
we genuinely need creative ways to punish corporations for this sort of low-stakes acquiescence
Google Maps has updated to label Lake Ontario as Lake America for users in the U.S., following an executive order signed by President Trump last week amid an escalating trade war with Canada. trib.al/5axpigr
August 30, 2026 at 7:15 PM
we genuinely need creative ways to punish corporations for this sort of low-stakes acquiescence
Reposted by Mikki Brock
I can't believe this London-based landowner is putting the iconic Glenelg to Skye ferry at risk. Support the local community - not millionaire financiers - and save the world famous Glenelg to Skye ferry by joining me and signing the petition today: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...
Save the Glenelg - Skye ferry!
This ten minute crossing is famous around the world - and is believed to be the last turntable style ferry anywhere. It's an iconic part of Skye's history, but it's under threat thanks to a wealthy la...
you.38degrees.org.uk
August 29, 2026 at 11:45 AM
I can't believe this London-based landowner is putting the iconic Glenelg to Skye ferry at risk. Support the local community - not millionaire financiers - and save the world famous Glenelg to Skye ferry by joining me and signing the petition today: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...
Reposted by Mikki Brock
the year is 2027. gas costs $83 and lettuce is at war with us. however every location on every map now says AMERICA
August 27, 2026 at 6:54 PM
the year is 2027. gas costs $83 and lettuce is at war with us. however every location on every map now says AMERICA
Reposted by Mikki Brock
I wrote about Dolly Parton in my latest @nytopinion.nytimes.com column.
Thank you.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...
Thank you.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...
Opinion | The Greatest Story Dolly Parton Ever Wrote Was Herself (Gift Article)
She didn’t see herself as a saint; she identified as something we needed even more: a writer.
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2026 at 11:20 AM
I wrote about Dolly Parton in my latest @nytopinion.nytimes.com column.
Thank you.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...
Thank you.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/o...
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Perhaps AI will be the grit that makes the pearl: making institutions articulate, for the first time in decades if not ever, what the hell they’re about and what an education is supposed to be for. (This from the MIT committee‘s report on AI)
August 27, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Perhaps AI will be the grit that makes the pearl: making institutions articulate, for the first time in decades if not ever, what the hell they’re about and what an education is supposed to be for. (This from the MIT committee‘s report on AI)
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Me, a US-based academic: I don’t care what any scholar believes, we all need to stand up publicly whenever someone’s academic freedom is threatened
Me, continuing: also, the first time this has happened, motivating me to sign my first ever open letter, is in late 2026, to a race scientist, in Ghent
Me, continuing: also, the first time this has happened, motivating me to sign my first ever open letter, is in late 2026, to a race scientist, in Ghent
August 23, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Me, a US-based academic: I don’t care what any scholar believes, we all need to stand up publicly whenever someone’s academic freedom is threatened
Me, continuing: also, the first time this has happened, motivating me to sign my first ever open letter, is in late 2026, to a race scientist, in Ghent
Me, continuing: also, the first time this has happened, motivating me to sign my first ever open letter, is in late 2026, to a race scientist, in Ghent
Reposted by Mikki Brock
"Texas Tech is using A.I. to ferret out books and other materials that touch on topics like sexual orientation and gender identity. Professors describe the effort as a dystopian academic nightmare, in which ideologues are wielding technology to sideline subject-matter experts."
A Texas University Becomes a Petri Dish for a Conservative Overhaul
Texas Tech is using A.I. to cut left-leaning content in its curriculum. Some say the effort to ferret out forbidden topics is a dystopian academic nightmare.
www.nytimes.com
August 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM
"Texas Tech is using A.I. to ferret out books and other materials that touch on topics like sexual orientation and gender identity. Professors describe the effort as a dystopian academic nightmare, in which ideologues are wielding technology to sideline subject-matter experts."
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Literally normalizing reproductive coercion out in public
JD Vance: "The Second Lady said, 'Well, you can have one of two things. You can be VP, or you can have a fourth child.' Ladies and gentlemen, I must be pretty persuasive, because I got both."
August 24, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Literally normalizing reproductive coercion out in public
Reposted by Mikki Brock
I’m absolutely baffled by this. Yes, cars, trains, scooters, and other motor-powered devices can go faster than people. And if you want a machine that can go faster than a person you wouldn’t build it to be person-shaped for a reason.
A humanoid robot beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter dash record at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday. It ran into a wall to stop and was carried away on a stretcher.
A Chinese Robot Beat Usain Bolt’s 100-Meter Record. Should We Be Impressed?
China’s humanoid robots are achieving superhuman feats of athleticism. But how that translates into the real world is still an open question, experts said.
nyti.ms
August 24, 2026 at 11:36 AM
I’m absolutely baffled by this. Yes, cars, trains, scooters, and other motor-powered devices can go faster than people. And if you want a machine that can go faster than a person you wouldn’t build it to be person-shaped for a reason.
Reposted by Mikki Brock
seems like the real problem here is that education is predicated on a desire to learn but run like a toll booth for the job market
that's not a tech issue
that's not a tech issue
August 22, 2026 at 6:35 PM
seems like the real problem here is that education is predicated on a desire to learn but run like a toll booth for the job market
that's not a tech issue
that's not a tech issue
If an AI "clone" can do what you do, you are not in a serious discipline, and you should not teach at a university. And if you are an institution passing word-guessing simulations off as "educators" because you value profit over authentic learning, then you are not a university at all.
August 22, 2026 at 5:14 PM
If an AI "clone" can do what you do, you are not in a serious discipline, and you should not teach at a university. And if you are an institution passing word-guessing simulations off as "educators" because you value profit over authentic learning, then you are not a university at all.
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Reducing higher education to pure credentialism.
August 22, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Reducing higher education to pure credentialism.
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Sounds about right
“The Trump administration has over 10 times as many of these super-rich appointees as the Biden, Obama, and George W. Bush administrations.”
'A Government of the Rich, by the Rich, for the Rich': Nearly 60 Top Trump Officials Worth $100 Million or More | Common Dreams
The Trump administration has over 10 times as many of these super-rich appointees as the Biden, Obama, and Bush administrations.
www.commondreams.org
August 18, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Sounds about right
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/
August 16, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/
Reposted by Mikki Brock
Behind the statistics are the students. Those going on to History at university make an important choice.
You'll gain perspective, insight and judgement - and how we need these now. You'll learn to analyse and articulate; you'll work with experts; and you'll likely thrive with subject you enjoy.
You'll gain perspective, insight and judgement - and how we need these now. You'll learn to analyse and articulate; you'll work with experts; and you'll likely thrive with subject you enjoy.
With A Level results published today, it's very welcome to see a 5% increase in students taking #History in 2026 compared with 2025.
At 5%, History sees the 5th highest increase in student numbers, 2025-26, across all subjects. Full details: bit.ly/3RMKL1x
#Skystorians 1/2
At 5%, History sees the 5th highest increase in student numbers, 2025-26, across all subjects. Full details: bit.ly/3RMKL1x
#Skystorians 1/2
History A-Level numbers, 2026 - RHS
This year's A-Level results are published on 13 August, with student enrolment figures available for the 57 subjects available this year, via the Joint Council for Qualifications (JQC), covering Engla...
bit.ly
August 13, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Behind the statistics are the students. Those going on to History at university make an important choice.
You'll gain perspective, insight and judgement - and how we need these now. You'll learn to analyse and articulate; you'll work with experts; and you'll likely thrive with subject you enjoy.
You'll gain perspective, insight and judgement - and how we need these now. You'll learn to analyse and articulate; you'll work with experts; and you'll likely thrive with subject you enjoy.
Reposted by Mikki Brock
One of the best parts of being a historian?
Changing my mind.
Sometimes one letter or one newspaper article sends me back to rethink everything I thought I knew.
That's not failure.
That's good history. 🗃️
Changing my mind.
Sometimes one letter or one newspaper article sends me back to rethink everything I thought I knew.
That's not failure.
That's good history. 🗃️
August 12, 2026 at 2:02 PM
One of the best parts of being a historian?
Changing my mind.
Sometimes one letter or one newspaper article sends me back to rethink everything I thought I knew.
That's not failure.
That's good history. 🗃️
Changing my mind.
Sometimes one letter or one newspaper article sends me back to rethink everything I thought I knew.
That's not failure.
That's good history. 🗃️