Alexis Christensen
@amchristensen.bsky.social
Human being. Educator. Archaeologist working in Italy. Struggling writer. Lover of 🐶 and 🐱 and well crafted things. Associate Prof (Lecturer) of Classics @ U of Utah. *all opinions are my own*
Just finished my last class with my ancient epic students. I’ve very much enjoyed working with them. They brought so much to the class intellectually and as people good to chat about the topic with. I’m walking away with some new things to chew on re epic thanks to them. One of the bright spots.
December 3, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Just finished my last class with my ancient epic students. I’ve very much enjoyed working with them. They brought so much to the class intellectually and as people good to chat about the topic with. I’m walking away with some new things to chew on re epic thanks to them. One of the bright spots.
This may be the most disheartening end of a semester in my career. There is no end of term euphoria feeling.
December 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
This may be the most disheartening end of a semester in my career. There is no end of term euphoria feeling.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
For #EgyptologyWednesday here’s an ancient template for how to do wall paintings. My 📷 from Made in Egypt at the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge
December 3, 2025 at 8:50 AM
For #EgyptologyWednesday here’s an ancient template for how to do wall paintings. My 📷 from Made in Egypt at the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
Somewhere in a Roman brickyard, around 1800 years ago, a fresh tile was drying ahead of firing - until a dog trotted straight across it.
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
December 2, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Somewhere in a Roman brickyard, around 1800 years ago, a fresh tile was drying ahead of firing - until a dog trotted straight across it.
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
I keep trying to open up this conversation with AI evangelists. Every “productivity gain” with AI serves who? What are you doing with all of that time you think you are saving? Is it making more stuff with AI? Is it providing even more value for your employer beyond what you are paid for?
Absolutely devastating account of the CSU's $17 million capitulation to ChatGPT, from a fellow faculty member watching it happen www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I keep trying to open up this conversation with AI evangelists. Every “productivity gain” with AI serves who? What are you doing with all of that time you think you are saving? Is it making more stuff with AI? Is it providing even more value for your employer beyond what you are paid for?
Why do car dealerships have the biggest flag poles/flags. Like super size versions. Bigger than the Capitol building.
December 2, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Why do car dealerships have the biggest flag poles/flags. Like super size versions. Bigger than the Capitol building.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
Snow is hitting Utah valleys for the first time this season. Here's a look at a few areas receiving snow this morning.
FULL FORECAST: bit.ly/48abxGl
FULL FORECAST: bit.ly/48abxGl
November 30, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Snow is hitting Utah valleys for the first time this season. Here's a look at a few areas receiving snow this morning.
FULL FORECAST: bit.ly/48abxGl
FULL FORECAST: bit.ly/48abxGl
amazing what a difference plants/trees make in a reconstruction.
November 29, 2025 at 3:37 AM
amazing what a difference plants/trees make in a reconstruction.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
My favourite of course was the Roman tile with a boot imprint...I can hear the potter cursing 2000 years later 🤣
#archaeology #Nottingham #Romans
#archaeology #Nottingham #Romans
November 28, 2025 at 2:09 PM
My favourite of course was the Roman tile with a boot imprint...I can hear the potter cursing 2000 years later 🤣
#archaeology #Nottingham #Romans
#archaeology #Nottingham #Romans
Ugh. Nightmare stuff.
My dad and I got stuck on one of those airplane rides that lift up and spin around when I was about 5. Hate spinning rides still.
My dad and I got stuck on one of those airplane rides that lift up and spin around when I was about 5. Hate spinning rides still.
Dad took me for a ride in a space ship and it stuck about 1/3rd of the way coming down.
November 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Ugh. Nightmare stuff.
My dad and I got stuck on one of those airplane rides that lift up and spin around when I was about 5. Hate spinning rides still.
My dad and I got stuck on one of those airplane rides that lift up and spin around when I was about 5. Hate spinning rides still.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
A simple, yet beautiful, map by @milosmakesmaps shows Italy’s topography and bathymetry. It’s always nice to see the Po Valley stand out so clearly.
November 27, 2025 at 2:26 PM
A simple, yet beautiful, map by @milosmakesmaps shows Italy’s topography and bathymetry. It’s always nice to see the Po Valley stand out so clearly.
And what will that 12% do?
The stock market's big bet on AI assumes that a universal plagiarism machine can throw 20 million Americans out of work in the next few years. If it wins the bet, the bottom drops out of the US economy; if it loses, the economy implodes from the top. www.yahoo.com/news/article...
AI can replace nearly 12% of U.S. workers: MIT study
The study simulated over 151 million U.S. workers interacting with AI tools to measure automation potential
www.yahoo.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 PM
And what will that 12% do?
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
📢 #CfP #medievalsky #Ovid
📜Teaching with Ovid: An online pedagogy symposium
📅12-13 June 2026
📃The International Ovidian Society and the Societas Ovidiana invite paper proposals on any aspect of teaching Ovid in the classroom
📲Details: shorturl.at/RiviU
⏰Submission deadline: Friday 16 January 2026‼️
📜Teaching with Ovid: An online pedagogy symposium
📅12-13 June 2026
📃The International Ovidian Society and the Societas Ovidiana invite paper proposals on any aspect of teaching Ovid in the classroom
📲Details: shorturl.at/RiviU
⏰Submission deadline: Friday 16 January 2026‼️
November 27, 2025 at 12:13 PM
📢 #CfP #medievalsky #Ovid
📜Teaching with Ovid: An online pedagogy symposium
📅12-13 June 2026
📃The International Ovidian Society and the Societas Ovidiana invite paper proposals on any aspect of teaching Ovid in the classroom
📲Details: shorturl.at/RiviU
⏰Submission deadline: Friday 16 January 2026‼️
📜Teaching with Ovid: An online pedagogy symposium
📅12-13 June 2026
📃The International Ovidian Society and the Societas Ovidiana invite paper proposals on any aspect of teaching Ovid in the classroom
📲Details: shorturl.at/RiviU
⏰Submission deadline: Friday 16 January 2026‼️
is there a good, popular book (i.e. non-academic) that discusses the Antikythera Mechanism? Both how it may work and how we've learned about it?
November 27, 2025 at 2:07 AM
is there a good, popular book (i.e. non-academic) that discusses the Antikythera Mechanism? Both how it may work and how we've learned about it?
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
this is pretty solid spiritual advice tbh
“Be prudent, be wise, be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth. Use it in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, how to create, how to act on your own, how to form authentic friendships.”
“Be prudent, be wise, be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth. Use it in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, how to create, how to act on your own, how to form authentic friendships.”
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
this is pretty solid spiritual advice tbh
“Be prudent, be wise, be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth. Use it in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, how to create, how to act on your own, how to form authentic friendships.”
“Be prudent, be wise, be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth. Use it in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, how to create, how to act on your own, how to form authentic friendships.”
Name a PlayStation 2 game.
The same friend who informed me that a PS2 could play dvds and so convinced me to buy my first gaming console, gave me a copy of this. I played way too many hours of it.
The same friend who informed me that a PS2 could play dvds and so convinced me to buy my first gaming console, gave me a copy of this. I played way too many hours of it.
November 27, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Name a PlayStation 2 game.
The same friend who informed me that a PS2 could play dvds and so convinced me to buy my first gaming console, gave me a copy of this. I played way too many hours of it.
The same friend who informed me that a PS2 could play dvds and so convinced me to buy my first gaming console, gave me a copy of this. I played way too many hours of it.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
Its politicians are busy hyping Winter Olympics in 2034—when there’s currently no skiable snow in 2025—but it’s this looming disaster that will decide whether Salt Lake City (and regional population of 2.8 million), is still habitable, let alone a winter sports Mecca.
www.sltrib.com/news/environ...
www.sltrib.com/news/environ...
Toxic dust from the Great Salt Lake could cost Utah billions, report warns
The dust blowing from the dry bed of the Great Salt Lake is creating a serious public health threat, two environmental nonprofits warn, that policymakers and the scientific community aren’t taking ser...
www.sltrib.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Its politicians are busy hyping Winter Olympics in 2034—when there’s currently no skiable snow in 2025—but it’s this looming disaster that will decide whether Salt Lake City (and regional population of 2.8 million), is still habitable, let alone a winter sports Mecca.
www.sltrib.com/news/environ...
www.sltrib.com/news/environ...
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
An amazing atmosphere in a game is a silent screenplay.
No dialogue, no exposition…just a whole narrative carried on mood alone.
And when done right…
what you remember isn’t just what happened, but how it felt.
That’s what stays with you 💙😊
No dialogue, no exposition…just a whole narrative carried on mood alone.
And when done right…
what you remember isn’t just what happened, but how it felt.
That’s what stays with you 💙😊
November 26, 2025 at 8:15 PM
An amazing atmosphere in a game is a silent screenplay.
No dialogue, no exposition…just a whole narrative carried on mood alone.
And when done right…
what you remember isn’t just what happened, but how it felt.
That’s what stays with you 💙😊
No dialogue, no exposition…just a whole narrative carried on mood alone.
And when done right…
what you remember isn’t just what happened, but how it felt.
That’s what stays with you 💙😊
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really.
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
November 26, 2025 at 3:29 PM
For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really.
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
Oooh, looks cool! Will be sharing with my sports students in the spring.
Publication day! I spent so long building a mahoosive dataset and GIS that it would be a waste not to share the results. The Greeks didn't build many amphitheatres, but gladiatorial epigraphy has been found on huge numbers. Where did eastern gladiators fight?
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Venues for Spectacle in the Greek East: Architectural Adaptation and Cultural Adoption
PDF | The scarcity of canonical amphitheatres in the culturally Greek eastern parts of the Roman empire has been used as evidence to suggest a... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Res...
www.researchgate.net
November 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Oooh, looks cool! Will be sharing with my sports students in the spring.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
🏺 Archaeology question:
Say I've found some shell midden that has been removed from its original context and placed into a secondary context. But I know that its org. location is likely one of the middens nearby. Is there a way for me to test to determine its org. location, like an XRF for shell?
Say I've found some shell midden that has been removed from its original context and placed into a secondary context. But I know that its org. location is likely one of the middens nearby. Is there a way for me to test to determine its org. location, like an XRF for shell?
November 26, 2025 at 6:23 PM
🏺 Archaeology question:
Say I've found some shell midden that has been removed from its original context and placed into a secondary context. But I know that its org. location is likely one of the middens nearby. Is there a way for me to test to determine its org. location, like an XRF for shell?
Say I've found some shell midden that has been removed from its original context and placed into a secondary context. But I know that its org. location is likely one of the middens nearby. Is there a way for me to test to determine its org. location, like an XRF for shell?
Yeah, that’s pretty bad. Gonna send this to my wife who was a graphic designer and see what she has to say.
Remember how Utah Republicans collectively had a conniption over drag performers in the Paris Olympics opening ceremonies?
I would like to argue that the logo for the 2034 Olympics in Utah is a far worse crime against decency.
What the hell is that font? Was Wingdings unavailable.
I would like to argue that the logo for the 2034 Olympics in Utah is a far worse crime against decency.
What the hell is that font? Was Wingdings unavailable.
November 25, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Yeah, that’s pretty bad. Gonna send this to my wife who was a graphic designer and see what she has to say.
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
The Central Mediterranean Penal Heritage Project (CMPHP) is an important project using remote-sensing methods to scan premodern prisons. They have now found medieval graffiti on Sicily & game boards etched by prisoners archaeologymag.com/2025/11/anci... Publication: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Ancient prison graffiti in Sicily reveals games and fears of Early Modern inmates
Graffiti from a Sicilian castle prison reveals gameboards and ship carvings that shed light on Early Modern inmates’ daily lives.
archaeologymag.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:04 AM
The Central Mediterranean Penal Heritage Project (CMPHP) is an important project using remote-sensing methods to scan premodern prisons. They have now found medieval graffiti on Sicily & game boards etched by prisoners archaeologymag.com/2025/11/anci... Publication: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Met up with a former student who did a great undergrad research project with me. She’s applying for a PhD now. She’s done some really cool work for her master’s on photography at Pompeii. It was so wonderful to see how successful she’s been doing really cool work!! #TinyJoys
November 25, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Met up with a former student who did a great undergrad research project with me. She’s applying for a PhD now. She’s done some really cool work for her master’s on photography at Pompeii. It was so wonderful to see how successful she’s been doing really cool work!! #TinyJoys
Reposted by Alexis Christensen
Nice extinction history article.
Steller’s sea cows are one of my favorite extinction encounters in museums. I discuss them in chapter 8 on playful figures (examples from @mnhn.fr & Smithsonian NatHist) and chapter 1 on forms (example from @nathist.bsky.social )
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Steller’s sea cows are one of my favorite extinction encounters in museums. I discuss them in chapter 8 on playful figures (examples from @mnhn.fr & Smithsonian NatHist) and chapter 1 on forms (example from @nathist.bsky.social )
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
November 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Nice extinction history article.
Steller’s sea cows are one of my favorite extinction encounters in museums. I discuss them in chapter 8 on playful figures (examples from @mnhn.fr & Smithsonian NatHist) and chapter 1 on forms (example from @nathist.bsky.social )
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Steller’s sea cows are one of my favorite extinction encounters in museums. I discuss them in chapter 8 on playful figures (examples from @mnhn.fr & Smithsonian NatHist) and chapter 1 on forms (example from @nathist.bsky.social )
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...