Laurence Totelin
@ltotelin.bsky.social
Historian of Ancient Mediterranean science and medicine. Mother of two. Feminist. Plant lover. Trade unionist. Super Belgie. Welsh by adoption. Many typos.
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
I could pull out so much in this thread but “ah but that was bad science, we’re doing good science so we don’t need to learn any lessons” is a perpetual STEM bro problem.
1. Historically, eugenics was not a pseudoscience. It was *science* Almost every scientist, social scientist, academic, etc. believed in the validity of eugenics. You would have to search far & wide to find a scientist that didn't believe in some form of it. They taught it in college!
December 4, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I could pull out so much in this thread but “ah but that was bad science, we’re doing good science so we don’t need to learn any lessons” is a perpetual STEM bro problem.
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Fascinating painting of a very rare subject by Artemisia Gentileschi going up for auction tomorrow at Christie's: A mother presenting her newborn child to St. Blaise (San Biagio), identifiable by the wool comb, the instrument of his martyrdom. www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
December 1, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Fascinating painting of a very rare subject by Artemisia Gentileschi going up for auction tomorrow at Christie's: A mother presenting her newborn child to St. Blaise (San Biagio), identifiable by the wool comb, the instrument of his martyrdom. www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
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Oh my word. Vanished has made it to the Smithsonian’s list of best books of 2025.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
An annual tradition, @smithsonianmag.bsky.social asked contributors for their favorite science books of 2025. You can check out all our recommendations (including my own, @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's Is A River Alive?) here:
The Ten Best Science Books of 2025
From “experimental archaeology” to the mysterious appeal of exploration, the wide-ranging subjects detailed in these titles captivated Smithsonian magazine’s science contributors this year
www.smithsonianmag.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Oh my word. Vanished has made it to the Smithsonian’s list of best books of 2025.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
My roar reaching further than I ever imagined in its first 180 days in the wide world. Such lovely news on the night of this glorious moon.
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
Friends and colleagues at Essex have been worried about this for a long time, having already been through voluntary redundancies schemes and hiring freezes. One of many great universities hammered by 15+ years of inadequate and invidious HE policy in the UK - and no solution anywhere in sight.
It's official: 400 redundancies and a campus closure. At-risk staff will get a letter next week. Absolutely no serious consideration of any of the union's counterproposals.
Please share widely.
Please share widely.
December 2, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Friends and colleagues at Essex have been worried about this for a long time, having already been through voluntary redundancies schemes and hiring freezes. One of many great universities hammered by 15+ years of inadequate and invidious HE policy in the UK - and no solution anywhere in sight.
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
December's #MonumentoftheMonth is this lovely wall monument to an unknown Utrecht canon showing him being presented to the Virgin and Child by Saints James and Barbara churchmonumentssociety.org/monument-of-...
December 2, 2025 at 5:34 PM
December's #MonumentoftheMonth is this lovely wall monument to an unknown Utrecht canon showing him being presented to the Virgin and Child by Saints James and Barbara churchmonumentssociety.org/monument-of-...
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
This is the most important op-ed you'll read this week. The Trump administration is about to get rid of the birth-dose of hepatitis B vaccine. That is a deadly choice for many families. @helenouyang.bsky.social tells her story. Now call your member of Congress. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/o...
Opinion | My Father Died of Hepatitis B Before the Vaccine. We Must Not Go Back.
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:37 AM
This is the most important op-ed you'll read this week. The Trump administration is about to get rid of the birth-dose of hepatitis B vaccine. That is a deadly choice for many families. @helenouyang.bsky.social tells her story. Now call your member of Congress. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/o...
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
There isn't much of 2025 left, but Susanna Elm's new book promises to be the book of the year!!
The Importance of Being Gorgeous: Gender and Christian Imperial Rule in Late Antiquity
That cover is gorgeous, and it's open-access so you can just download it!
The Importance of Being Gorgeous: Gender and Christian Imperial Rule in Late Antiquity
That cover is gorgeous, and it's open-access so you can just download it!
December 1, 2025 at 7:53 AM
There isn't much of 2025 left, but Susanna Elm's new book promises to be the book of the year!!
The Importance of Being Gorgeous: Gender and Christian Imperial Rule in Late Antiquity
That cover is gorgeous, and it's open-access so you can just download it!
The Importance of Being Gorgeous: Gender and Christian Imperial Rule in Late Antiquity
That cover is gorgeous, and it's open-access so you can just download it!
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
“Scholarly effort is in decline everywhere as never before. Indeed, cleverness is shunned at home and abroad. What does reading offer to pupils except tears?”
this guy has his finger on the pulse amirite
www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-p... 🗃️
this guy has his finger on the pulse amirite
www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-p... 🗃️
‘Doing the Readings’
Dr Will Pooley (Associate Professor in Modern History), University of Bristol The students, we often grumble, don’t read the secondary readings we set for class. Every year, we find ourselves press…
www.history-uk.ac.uk
November 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
“Scholarly effort is in decline everywhere as never before. Indeed, cleverness is shunned at home and abroad. What does reading offer to pupils except tears?”
this guy has his finger on the pulse amirite
www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-p... 🗃️
this guy has his finger on the pulse amirite
www.history-uk.ac.uk/history-in-p... 🗃️
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
This fragment of Roman mosaic was discovered under the site of the Bank of England as it was being rebuilt in 1805. A year later it was purchased by the British Museum, where it can still be seen today. #MosaicMonday
December 1, 2025 at 8:04 AM
This fragment of Roman mosaic was discovered under the site of the Bank of England as it was being rebuilt in 1805. A year later it was purchased by the British Museum, where it can still be seen today. #MosaicMonday
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
The consultancy Nous takes hundreds of thousands of pounds from universities, leaves the exact same path of destruction everywhere, and keeps trying to avoid transparent contracts.
We’re urgently need control over consultancy spent in #UKHE, @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
We’re urgently need control over consultancy spent in #UKHE, @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
‘Nousferatu’: the notorious consultancy advising Edinburgh uni amid 'huge' cuts
Scotland’s largest university has turned to Nous Group at the same time as it is making savings that could lead to nearly 2,000 job losses. Staff say they were misled about the extent of its work.
www.theferret.scot
November 30, 2025 at 10:02 AM
The consultancy Nous takes hundreds of thousands of pounds from universities, leaves the exact same path of destruction everywhere, and keeps trying to avoid transparent contracts.
We’re urgently need control over consultancy spent in #UKHE, @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
We’re urgently need control over consultancy spent in #UKHE, @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
The issue with using those consultancy firms is that they are creating bubbles. Demand for the "in high demand" courses may fall in a few years, and then we will be back in the same situation, except worse. 1/2
And the problem of all senior managers in #UKHE taking the exact same market advice & data from about three consultancies…
A national strategy and stable funding would put an end to these perverse incentives.
A national strategy and stable funding would put an end to these perverse incentives.
November 30, 2025 at 10:52 AM
The issue with using those consultancy firms is that they are creating bubbles. Demand for the "in high demand" courses may fall in a few years, and then we will be back in the same situation, except worse. 1/2
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![A cat in a book from 1663. The title of the book: "Parnassus Medicinalis Illustratus. Oder: Ein neues/ und dergestalt/ vormahln noch nie gesehenes Thier- Kräuter- Und Berg-Buch" (SUB Göttingen. Exemplar mit der Signatur: 4 MAT MED 42/3]).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wwym6cglvbd5odxfkykn2uh2/bafkreiehkhjzuju56d5fupgm6fnus7omtr33gxbm2f5wm3hb76kya4k54y@jpeg)
June 30, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
Just a friendly reminder on this hallowed day of overconsumption via @earthlyeducation.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Just a friendly reminder on this hallowed day of overconsumption via @earthlyeducation.bsky.social
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Wonderful to see this report out. Integral to the design and initial implementation of this project was the brilliant Dr Leah Hewerdine (who just so happens to have been my former PhD student 🤗)
New report on how people engage with archaeology is out - Trowel and Error: A Public User Needs Survey. Lots to digest but key conclusions are: 1) archaeologists risk undervaluing and hiding ourselves, our practices and the role we play in society... www.archaeologyuk.org/our-work/tro...
Trowel and Error
A Public User Needs Survey for Archaeology
www.archaeologyuk.org
November 27, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Wonderful to see this report out. Integral to the design and initial implementation of this project was the brilliant Dr Leah Hewerdine (who just so happens to have been my former PhD student 🤗)
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A public service adults appreciate, but which has robbed the kids of their joy.
If you want some good news this morning, I showed my three boys the PM doing the six/seven thing and now they have all stopped doing it.
November 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
A public service adults appreciate, but which has robbed the kids of their joy.
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One of my colleagues went to a seminar at Berkeley and when someone asked a question Derrida brushed it off saying ‘what you ask may be important but it is not interesting’.
November 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
One of my colleagues went to a seminar at Berkeley and when someone asked a question Derrida brushed it off saying ‘what you ask may be important but it is not interesting’.
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
#MosaicMonday
Fragment of a floor mosaic depicting a woman with a sistrum, probably priestess of Isis cult -Late #Roman period, 4th century AD - from a domus in #Carthage, #Tunisia - now in the British Museum.
#History #art #Archaeology
Fragment of a floor mosaic depicting a woman with a sistrum, probably priestess of Isis cult -Late #Roman period, 4th century AD - from a domus in #Carthage, #Tunisia - now in the British Museum.
#History #art #Archaeology
November 24, 2025 at 8:07 AM
#MosaicMonday
Fragment of a floor mosaic depicting a woman with a sistrum, probably priestess of Isis cult -Late #Roman period, 4th century AD - from a domus in #Carthage, #Tunisia - now in the British Museum.
#History #art #Archaeology
Fragment of a floor mosaic depicting a woman with a sistrum, probably priestess of Isis cult -Late #Roman period, 4th century AD - from a domus in #Carthage, #Tunisia - now in the British Museum.
#History #art #Archaeology
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
this is amazing news - the HPV vaccine promises to eliminate cervical cancer in countries where uptake is high.
November 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
this is amazing news - the HPV vaccine promises to eliminate cervical cancer in countries where uptake is high.
My thoughts are too rude for good society. But also, why is a letter about the USA Liberal Arts system published in a UK newspaper? (A partly rhetorical question)
“Fears about “dumbing down” degrees or commodifying education can be addressed through market accountability and employer feedback.”
What do my liberal #arts people think about this hot-take…?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
What do my liberal #arts people think about this hot-take…?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
It’s time to stop worshipping the liberal arts | Letters
Letters: While such institutions have intrinsic value, that doesn’t mean they are entitled to be socially favoured or economically exceptional for ever, says Jianyang Geng
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:26 PM
My thoughts are too rude for good society. But also, why is a letter about the USA Liberal Arts system published in a UK newspaper? (A partly rhetorical question)
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
“Fears about “dumbing down” degrees or commodifying education can be addressed through market accountability and employer feedback.”
What do my liberal #arts people think about this hot-take…?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
What do my liberal #arts people think about this hot-take…?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
It’s time to stop worshipping the liberal arts | Letters
Letters: While such institutions have intrinsic value, that doesn’t mean they are entitled to be socially favoured or economically exceptional for ever, says Jianyang Geng
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:38 PM
“Fears about “dumbing down” degrees or commodifying education can be addressed through market accountability and employer feedback.”
What do my liberal #arts people think about this hot-take…?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
What do my liberal #arts people think about this hot-take…?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Sigh... very big sigh
Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage
Surprise move from chancellor means some university graduates in England may have to pay back debts sooner
www.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Sigh... very big sigh
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Nora's an OG internet friend so I'm biased to believe her, but I've seen this "tech revolution is over" take from multiple sources now (inc. ppl who work in robotics/ML/silicone valley etc). I'm a bit out of the loop for #histTech and philtech stuff & wondering if it's in the academic discourse too?
this is exactly why theres such a push for generative ai as the next thing because the smartphone is peak computer and the tech industry has been reduced to being an appliance maker when was the last big revolution in refrigerators or microwave ovens? tech as a growth sector is dead
November 26, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Nora's an OG internet friend so I'm biased to believe her, but I've seen this "tech revolution is over" take from multiple sources now (inc. ppl who work in robotics/ML/silicone valley etc). I'm a bit out of the loop for #histTech and philtech stuff & wondering if it's in the academic discourse too?
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
One thing with librarians is that they’re acutely aware of *who uses libraries* - many of us might go though our whole adult lives without setting foot in a library, but for people who are a little lost and need somewhere to be, they’re a lifeline.
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
November 26, 2025 at 7:38 AM
One thing with librarians is that they’re acutely aware of *who uses libraries* - many of us might go though our whole adult lives without setting foot in a library, but for people who are a little lost and need somewhere to be, they’re a lifeline.
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
'Kendall believes the government can neither be too directive and must allow curiosity-driven research to prosper. It should also not be too permissive, funding must be directed toward government priorities particularly when it comes to translation and application.' 1/3
A change in approach means research may never be the same again
A new dawn has broken has it not? James Coe looks at the politics of the government’s new approach to research and a change of direction for UKRI
wonkhe.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:06 AM
'Kendall believes the government can neither be too directive and must allow curiosity-driven research to prosper. It should also not be too permissive, funding must be directed toward government priorities particularly when it comes to translation and application.' 1/3
Reposted by Laurence Totelin
So I'm editing the Edinburgh Edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Relatedly, if you're in the UK and you or your library possess the deluxe large paper British edition (1912 or 1914 versions), please let me know. It's the version with Iguanodon footprints on the cover.
November 25, 2025 at 8:02 AM
So I'm editing the Edinburgh Edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Relatedly, if you're in the UK and you or your library possess the deluxe large paper British edition (1912 or 1914 versions), please let me know. It's the version with Iguanodon footprints on the cover.