Society for the Study of the Past
@socstudyofthepast.bsky.social
The Society for the Study of the Past is a new subject organisation that believes solidarity with the oppressed, liberation of the occupied and a more just future are core concerns of the historian. 🍉 Join us! ⬇️
societyforthestudyofthepast.com
societyforthestudyofthepast.com
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Let’s take a trip back to last week when we held our first ever annual meeting on the topic ‘Beyond Methodological Nationalism’. Thanks to all those who joined us, and those who were not able to will be able to catch up on the recordings soon! 🎥
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I am thrilled to announce the digital launch of our new book, Redefining Monuments! 📘 🎉 The @memstudiesassoc.bsky.social will host the event online on 11 December. José and I will be in conversation with Britt Baillie, @profdanhicks.bsky.social and Gal Kirn to discuss how we can redefine monuments!
December 8, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I am thrilled to announce the digital launch of our new book, Redefining Monuments! 📘 🎉 The @memstudiesassoc.bsky.social will host the event online on 11 December. José and I will be in conversation with Britt Baillie, @profdanhicks.bsky.social and Gal Kirn to discuss how we can redefine monuments!
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Refaat’a family is facing eviction. Please donate if you’ve been impacted by his life: chuffed.org/project/1093...
December 7, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Refaat’a family is facing eviction. Please donate if you’ve been impacted by his life: chuffed.org/project/1093...
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
The narrow answer to "why can't computer vision see the past?" is bc CV is linear algebra & I reject the premise that math is sight. But the big answer is that the data extraction industry is leveraging computer vision to engineer an anti-human future.
sonja-drimmer.squarespace.com/blog-1/2025/...
sonja-drimmer.squarespace.com/blog-1/2025/...
How to See the Past Seeing the Past — Sonja Drimmer
When I ask the question, "why can't computer vision see the past?" the narrow answer is because computer vision is linear algebra, and as an art historian I reject the premise that math is sight. ...
sonja-drimmer.squarespace.com
December 6, 2025 at 3:25 PM
The narrow answer to "why can't computer vision see the past?" is bc CV is linear algebra & I reject the premise that math is sight. But the big answer is that the data extraction industry is leveraging computer vision to engineer an anti-human future.
sonja-drimmer.squarespace.com/blog-1/2025/...
sonja-drimmer.squarespace.com/blog-1/2025/...
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
The next book in our recommended reads is Colonizing Palestine by Areej Sabbagh-Khoury which shows how, in the decades before the Nakba of 1948, Zionists settlements, including "left-wing kibbutzim," were integral to the slow displacement of Palestinians.
December 6, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The next book in our recommended reads is Colonizing Palestine by Areej Sabbagh-Khoury which shows how, in the decades before the Nakba of 1948, Zionists settlements, including "left-wing kibbutzim," were integral to the slow displacement of Palestinians.
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Archaeology from its inception had been a tool of regimes to steal and rewrite history. Its up to us in the discipline to constantly push back and push for changes and fight genocide and not give in to the money and prestige these same regimes offer us to shill their tyranny.
🚨IOF STEALING HERITAGE
The IOF stormed the town of Al-Maza'a Al-Sharqiyah in the West Bank and stole an ancient column from it!
Does the leadership of @asor-research.bsky.social - who had no problem hosting and partying with many 🇮🇱 archaeologists at their congress 2 weeks ago - have anything to say?
The IOF stormed the town of Al-Maza'a Al-Sharqiyah in the West Bank and stole an ancient column from it!
Does the leadership of @asor-research.bsky.social - who had no problem hosting and partying with many 🇮🇱 archaeologists at their congress 2 weeks ago - have anything to say?
December 5, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Archaeology from its inception had been a tool of regimes to steal and rewrite history. Its up to us in the discipline to constantly push back and push for changes and fight genocide and not give in to the money and prestige these same regimes offer us to shill their tyranny.
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
🚨IOF STEALING HERITAGE
The IOF stormed the town of Al-Maza'a Al-Sharqiyah in the West Bank and stole an ancient column from it!
Does the leadership of @asor-research.bsky.social - who had no problem hosting and partying with many 🇮🇱 archaeologists at their congress 2 weeks ago - have anything to say?
The IOF stormed the town of Al-Maza'a Al-Sharqiyah in the West Bank and stole an ancient column from it!
Does the leadership of @asor-research.bsky.social - who had no problem hosting and partying with many 🇮🇱 archaeologists at their congress 2 weeks ago - have anything to say?
December 5, 2025 at 12:24 PM
🚨IOF STEALING HERITAGE
The IOF stormed the town of Al-Maza'a Al-Sharqiyah in the West Bank and stole an ancient column from it!
Does the leadership of @asor-research.bsky.social - who had no problem hosting and partying with many 🇮🇱 archaeologists at their congress 2 weeks ago - have anything to say?
The IOF stormed the town of Al-Maza'a Al-Sharqiyah in the West Bank and stole an ancient column from it!
Does the leadership of @asor-research.bsky.social - who had no problem hosting and partying with many 🇮🇱 archaeologists at their congress 2 weeks ago - have anything to say?
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
As of late, curator Erika Hirugami has been wondering if the curatorial field is poised to take a revolutionary stand against fascism. Why are curators not as politically active in the public sphere, as artists have been since the dawn of time?
The Cruelty of American Curatorial Silence
Many of my fellow curators, especially at institutions, have failed to speak out against fascism. What is it about being a curator that offers a free pass for political silence?
hyperallergic.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
As of late, curator Erika Hirugami has been wondering if the curatorial field is poised to take a revolutionary stand against fascism. Why are curators not as politically active in the public sphere, as artists have been since the dawn of time?
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Looking forward to our next @ics.bsky.social – British Museum seminar with another terrific group of speakers, incl @hardeepdhindsa.bsky.social @drmaimusie.bsky.social, Eleanor Newman & Joe Skinner. Register at link below!
Revisiting the Ancient Mediterranean World at the British Museum: Race & the representation of the other
Mon 15 Dec, 4pm, Senate House
Full details: shorturl.at/dbH6p
Speakers include: Hardeep Dhindsa (Birmingham Museums Trust), Mai Musié (UoL), Eleanor Newman (Oxford), Joseph Skinner (Newcastle)
Mon 15 Dec, 4pm, Senate House
Full details: shorturl.at/dbH6p
Speakers include: Hardeep Dhindsa (Birmingham Museums Trust), Mai Musié (UoL), Eleanor Newman (Oxford), Joseph Skinner (Newcastle)
Revisiting the Ancient Mediterranean World at the British Museum: Race and the representation of the other
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ics.sas.ac.uk
December 3, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Looking forward to our next @ics.bsky.social – British Museum seminar with another terrific group of speakers, incl @hardeepdhindsa.bsky.social @drmaimusie.bsky.social, Eleanor Newman & Joe Skinner. Register at link below!
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
🎥 Dr Shadia Abdrabo from ICOM Sudan shares her thoughts on the #ICOMDubai General Conference.
#museums #sudan #icom #icomuk #conference #icomsudan
👀See the full video and coverage of ICOM's General conference on our website: buff.ly/3DBMoxX
#museums #sudan #icom #icomuk #conference #icomsudan
👀See the full video and coverage of ICOM's General conference on our website: buff.ly/3DBMoxX
December 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM
🎥 Dr Shadia Abdrabo from ICOM Sudan shares her thoughts on the #ICOMDubai General Conference.
#museums #sudan #icom #icomuk #conference #icomsudan
👀See the full video and coverage of ICOM's General conference on our website: buff.ly/3DBMoxX
#museums #sudan #icom #icomuk #conference #icomsudan
👀See the full video and coverage of ICOM's General conference on our website: buff.ly/3DBMoxX
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
It's gift guide time!!!
The last Pasts Imperfect of 2025 is out! The incomparable @toriflee.bsky.social has our annual ancient world gift guide. Then, saving Sudan's cultural heritage, cats in Ancient China, Indigenous canoe-making, ancient disability, new ancient world journals by @yaleclassicslib.bsky.social & much more!
Pasts Imperfect (12.4.25)
This week, the one and only Tori Lee returns with her annual ancient world gift guide. Then, racing to preserve Sudan's cultural heritage, a new study on domestic cats assesses the leopard cats of anc...
pasts-imperfect.ghost.io
December 4, 2025 at 3:37 PM
It's gift guide time!!!
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For ABSOLUTELY NO REASON at all, did you know that the Critical Ancient World Studies volume has three chapters on critical philology which are all OPEN ACCESS?
December 2, 2025 at 9:31 PM
For ABSOLUTELY NO REASON at all, did you know that the Critical Ancient World Studies volume has three chapters on critical philology which are all OPEN ACCESS?
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Join us and help spread the word! This is coming up in a few days and we are still very low on signups. Though many of may be familiar with the term "pinkwashing," Khalil's work shows us how queer people in Palestine are targeted by the occupation in many more, sinister ways. Come learn with us!
Dec. 6: scholar and organizer Khalil will teach "On Blackmail and Other Settler Colonial Technologies in Occupied Palestine," on technologies of control, discipline, and surveillance within occupied Palestine and their implications for other colonial contexts. www.workshops4gaza.com/calendar/on-...
On Blackmail and Other Settler Colonial Technologies — Workshops 4 Gaza
Step 1: Donate to Sameer here (sugg. donation $40) Step 2: Register for “On Blackmail and Other Settler Colonial Technologies in Occupied Palestine” here In this workshop, scholar and o...
www.workshops4gaza.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Join us and help spread the word! This is coming up in a few days and we are still very low on signups. Though many of may be familiar with the term "pinkwashing," Khalil's work shows us how queer people in Palestine are targeted by the occupation in many more, sinister ways. Come learn with us!
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
some fantastic antiquity/premodern stuff on here, starting with two (2) offerings from @chancebonar.bsky.social!
Our longest yearly book list ever! Thirty six books by contingent historians for you to read, gift, and request for purchase at your library!
2025 Contingent Book List
When you’re shopping for books this season, consider a contingent scholar.
contingentmagazine.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
some fantastic antiquity/premodern stuff on here, starting with two (2) offerings from @chancebonar.bsky.social!
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
stunning new #OpenAccess article by Mauro Puddu and Peter van Dommelen on "Subaltern Identities in Punic and Roman Sardinia" - a sensitive and expansive decolonial approach to rural landscape www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Making Absence Present: Subaltern Identities in Punic and Roman Period Sardinia | Cambridge Archaeological Journal | Cambridge Core
Making Absence Present: Subaltern Identities in Punic and Roman Period Sardinia
www.cambridge.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:29 PM
stunning new #OpenAccess article by Mauro Puddu and Peter van Dommelen on "Subaltern Identities in Punic and Roman Sardinia" - a sensitive and expansive decolonial approach to rural landscape www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
As 2025 comes to an end, we are reflecting on almost a year of organising as archaeologists of conscience, holding our representative organisations to account in the face of their negligence, silence and complicity. drive.google.com/file/d/1QPy8...
November 29, 2025 at 6:31 PM
As 2025 comes to an end, we are reflecting on almost a year of organising as archaeologists of conscience, holding our representative organisations to account in the face of their negligence, silence and complicity. drive.google.com/file/d/1QPy8...
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
The American Anthropological Association, Middle Eastern Studies Association, & Society for the Study of the Past, showed their unwavering support for & solidarity w Palestinian people. We recommend archaeos nurture & promote these spaces, committed to equality, equity & justice
November 29, 2025 at 6:32 PM
The American Anthropological Association, Middle Eastern Studies Association, & Society for the Study of the Past, showed their unwavering support for & solidarity w Palestinian people. We recommend archaeos nurture & promote these spaces, committed to equality, equity & justice
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
"Philology served a carceral purpose, helping the state to map, classify, and control populations."
Vipin Krishna on policing language in colonial India.
www.historyworkshop....
Image: A depiction of thuggee strangling a traveller, unknown artist, 1830s. British Library via Wikimedia Commons.
Vipin Krishna on policing language in colonial India.
www.historyworkshop....
Image: A depiction of thuggee strangling a traveller, unknown artist, 1830s. British Library via Wikimedia Commons.
Policing Language in Colonial India
Vipin Krishna explores how colonial officials in nineteenth-century India turned linguistics into a tool for classification, surveillance, and control.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
December 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
"Philology served a carceral purpose, helping the state to map, classify, and control populations."
Vipin Krishna on policing language in colonial India.
www.historyworkshop....
Image: A depiction of thuggee strangling a traveller, unknown artist, 1830s. British Library via Wikimedia Commons.
Vipin Krishna on policing language in colonial India.
www.historyworkshop....
Image: A depiction of thuggee strangling a traveller, unknown artist, 1830s. British Library via Wikimedia Commons.
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
In Gaza, where universities lie in rubble and classrooms have been replaced by screens, education has refused to die.
Gaza’s Students Kept Studying Amid the Rubble. Now Universities Hope to Rebuild.
Palestinian students learned remotely, with flickering internet, through two years of Israel’s genocide. Now universities need funding to rebuild.
interc.pt
December 1, 2025 at 1:24 AM
In Gaza, where universities lie in rubble and classrooms have been replaced by screens, education has refused to die.
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
World AIDS Day. We remember.
December 1, 2025 at 1:19 PM
World AIDS Day. We remember.
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
"lessons from early medieval Europe echo into our own time - to see what happens when rich people act w/ impunity, when they hoard wealth for themselves & let others suffer, when they try to overthrow governments w/o consequences, when men use their power & position to [violate] vulnerable women."
new newsletter post from. me & @lollardfish.bsky.social as we reflect back on our recent book OATHBREAKERS after 1 year (with a paperback being release next week!)
read and share -->
buttondown.com/ModernMediev...
read and share -->
buttondown.com/ModernMediev...
Revisiting "Oathbreakers" 1 Year Later
Looking back and announcing a new event!
buttondown.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
"lessons from early medieval Europe echo into our own time - to see what happens when rich people act w/ impunity, when they hoard wealth for themselves & let others suffer, when they try to overthrow governments w/o consequences, when men use their power & position to [violate] vulnerable women."
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Some of you may be aware, but one of our beloved W4G comrades has been doxxed, fed jacketed, and harassed for months. This has had severe personal consequences. In addition, sign-ups for workshops and donations for Palestinians have decreased dramatically during this time. (1/6)
December 1, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Some of you may be aware, but one of our beloved W4G comrades has been doxxed, fed jacketed, and harassed for months. This has had severe personal consequences. In addition, sign-ups for workshops and donations for Palestinians have decreased dramatically during this time. (1/6)
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
If you’ve just come back from a long weekend celebrating genocide, consider paying reparations to people surviving an ongoing genocide you fund.
It’s not about guilt. Hope as an action for six families & a camp—click “weekly” or “monthly”:
It’s not about guilt. Hope as an action for six families & a camp—click “weekly” or “monthly”:
Keep Hope Alive: a Gaza Giving Circle
We are a team of volunteers in the US and UK, led by two sisters passionate about helping our friends on the ground keep their families and neighbors alive with food, water, & shelter. We saw that their...
chuffed.org
November 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM
If you’ve just come back from a long weekend celebrating genocide, consider paying reparations to people surviving an ongoing genocide you fund.
It’s not about guilt. Hope as an action for six families & a camp—click “weekly” or “monthly”:
It’s not about guilt. Hope as an action for six families & a camp—click “weekly” or “monthly”:
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
@philharland.bsky.social has a book coming out in Spring -already available for pre-order: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
Ethnic Relations in the Ancient Mediterranean
A fresh perspective revealing how ethnographic thinking shaped the sociocultural landscape of the ancient Mediterranean. With this book, Philip A. Harland presents a large-scale rereading of social ...
press.uchicago.edu
November 30, 2025 at 5:45 PM
@philharland.bsky.social has a book coming out in Spring -already available for pre-order: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Reposted by Society for the Study of the Past
Against Settler Colonialism: A Reading List
Against Settler Colonialism: A Reading List
From Turtle Island to Palestine, Indigenous people across the world continue to resist settler-colonial domination, extraction, and exploitation of their land and communities.
We center these tradi...
www.haymarketbooks.org
November 26, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Against Settler Colonialism: A Reading List