@theecoalchemyst
Research fellow; consultant, grant-writer, and editor from Tsilhqot’in Nen, working in Haudenosaunee & Anishinaabe territories; PhD in Indigenous & global history from Queen’s University in Cataraqui (Kingston); Italian-Canadian, Irish (il/he/him)
Who was smuggling in 18th century Britain? My refreshed database for prosecutions for smuggling in England and Wales c. 1721-1732 is live with over 4,000 entries. From naval officers to farmers, smuggling was big business. #twitterstorians #earlymod #history
www.davidchansmith.net/smugglingdat...
Watch, as no professional academic associations in Ontario will get off their asses to march or stand in solidarity with their members’ very own students who oppose government defunding of OSAP.
universityaffairs.ca/news/student...
It was really good - lots of great discussions of Thyendenaega (Joseph Brant) and Sagoyewatha’s (Red Jacket) criticisms, using reason and Enlightenment principles, to point out the hypocrisy of the new republic’s values of freedom and rationality.
We had timely discussions in class today about the crisis of the British Empire & the American Revolution’s engagement with natural rights and human liberty, including not only the perspectives of women, enslaved people, & Indigenous people but also their critiques of the new republic in the 18th c.
A steel truss bridge stretches across a calm body of water at sunset. Warm golden light highlights the metal structure and the vehicles crossing it. A small boat moves along the water below, and buildings and low hills appear in the background beneath the orange sky.
The irony is breathtaking. uOttawa launches Francophonie Consultation 2026 asking "Does the University meet our community's needs?" while simultaneously eliminating the only French-language classics program in Ontario. #SOSClassicsUO #ONfr #LanguageRights #uOttawa #Ottawa #francophonie
For Canada's universities & federal funding agencies, the rules that we were taught which were supposed to govern professional life do not apply.
Talent is punished with poverty. Skills are a cost and delay. Integrity is a liability.
They can keep running on empty promises, but only for so long.
#earlymodern
84% of the time, “ChatGPT Health” killed a customer using their paid service as advertised
I honestly haven’t seen a postdoc advertisement recently that *doesn’t* discriminate based on time since defence or graduation.
Screenshot of a job advertisement specifying that applicants over two years out from their PhD will not be considered.
Why do postdocs so often say that they won’t consider applicants more than a few years out from their PhD? This seems needlessly discriminatory in an absolutely awful academic job market.
Thank you - it’ll be a while before it’s finalized but thanks all the same.
It’s been a year since I defended my PhD.
In that time, I’ve published my third peer-reviewed article in the journal-of-record for one of my fields, won multiple fellowships & a teaching award, submitted 2 new articles, and my book is now under review.
I look forward to what the next year brings.
The Greens are offering a different kind of politics – one that offers a sense of solidarity, camaraderie, and agency in an age of individualism.
Contests like this don’t just give us hope. They make us feel we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.
graceblakeley.substack.com/p/the-ground...
Please share widely! Open to grad students working in any area of Cdn history (with a preference for projects about southern ON). The award includes $5K research funds, a residency at the Wilson Institute for Canadian History, and the opportunity to give a public lecture.
Had a great session in class today on natural philosophy in the British Enlightenment, including the influence of Chinese philosophy and science on the west. We had lots of productive discussions about the history of scientific authority, materialism, and the global dimensions of natural philosophy.
The @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social version of "Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean" is out today! It includes an audiobook, which I recorded last December at a sound studio here in Washington, DC. Now you can read or listen to the book, even if you live outside of the US and Canada. #History 1/2
I have never before so highly anticipated an economic bubble’s burst. It literally cannot come soon enough.
Thus starts a vicious cycle: at research universities, fields that teach “skills,” rather than “produce research” are targeted for cuts. Nevermind that “research” gets defined as “generating IP for corporations to use to get rich”
This is mostly correct - but tenured academics in the humanities have largely failed to provide a compelling alternative.
All I hear from faculty is “we teach skills,” but most faculty don’t actually have experience using these skills outside the university. Most faculty need new experience.
Headline - students deserve more than a hollowed out student experience
My response to the Minister - and his suggestion that universities compress lectures into fewer days so students commute less. No way he’d agree for affordable and available student housing so students could have the full third level experience! #spéirgorm
Timeline of harm to Franco-Ontarian students:
Oct 2025: French classics program suspended
Jan 2026: "Reinstated" after pressure
Feb 2026: Re-suspended after 10 weeks
buff.ly/UtgW0vq
#SOSClassicsUO #ONfr #LanguageRights #uOttawa #Ottawa
The University of Calgary is folding its Classics and Religion department.
I was there a decade ago when Classics was its own department and I adored it, so I am very angry to see U of C further reducing its investment in a discreet Classics unit.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
In much of North America, despite claims to secularism, we live in deeply Christian societies, whether we want to or not.
If this belief system is a good thing for society or not is a question that is now playing out in real time for everyone’s view:
They had a chance to call it an *endowed throne* and they didn’t take it? How disappointing
Doug Ford, who mocks students for taking “basket weaving courses,” is a sick, hypocritical, spoiled little rich brat who is a menace to society. He cuts OSAP and lets universities raise tuition yet he never pursued higher-ed and simply made money off his father’s business before going into politics.
Welcome to Canada, where leftists are just cut from the same cloth as the corporate stooges whom they claim to be against. At a time when oligarchies are trying to rule the world, the Canadian left can’t even field decent leadership options. It’s so disappointing.
Une personne portant des gants tient une petite tablette en pierre rectangulaire gravée des mots « CIRAX PHOEBVS ». La tablette est posée parmi divers artefacts anciens disposés sur une table blanche, notamment un bol en céramique à motifs concentriques, un récipient en bronze avec anses, une petite figurine de deux personnages debout, une pièce ou médaille ronde, une vieille clé en fer, une hache en métal verdâtre et un petit étui contenant un fragment de feuille d’or étiqueté « L.05.02.114a ». L’ensemble semble préparé pour une étude ou un catalogage archéologique.
La plupart des étudiants universitaires lisent sur les artefacts anciens dans des manuels.
Les étudiants en Antiquité grecque et romaine à l'UOttawa travaillent directement avec eux au Musée d'antiquités classiques.https://buff.ly/UtgW0vq
#uOttawa #SOSÉtudesAnciennesUO #onfr
The University of Prince Edward Island is hiring a historian in Atlantic Canadian history! Details below…
www.upei.ca/hr/competiti...
Wilfrid Laurier Contract Faculty may be on strike as soon as this Mon, Feb 23. They teach ~40% of undergraduate courses at Laurier, yet account for less than 6% of the university's operating budget. Support their efforts and join this letter writing campaign: actionnetwork.org/letters/4dea...
Hideo Kojima warned my generation on our PS2s that reality was subject to perspective, not the other way around. 20 years later, false images and videos can destroy reputations and shape public opinion with very few guardrails. Thankfully, Metal Gear Solid prepared me for this age of misinformation.