Heidi Backes
@heidibackes1.bsky.social
Prof of Spanish lit and cultural history / Gothic fiction / Fascism / Memory & Trauma Studies / Monograph SPECTRAL SPAIN out now with U of Wales Press (2024) / Currently working on Fascist Female Gothic
Pinned
I'm excited to share that I have signed a contract with @uniwalespress.bsky.social for my next book, "Fascist Female Gothic: National Catholicism and the Politics of Fear in Spanish Fascist Women's Writing, 1937-1945," which will be published in their Gothic Literary Studies series.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Universities: investing millions so students ”develop literacy in the language of AI”
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
December 6, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Universities: investing millions so students ”develop literacy in the language of AI”
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
Also universities: defunding the humanities so students are illiterate in ordinary languages
Reposted by Heidi Backes
They are beating people who maybe once had a broken taillight and sending them to foreign slave prisons while freeing the worst fraudsters and every corrupt pol. The juxtaposition is so stark and appalling.
NEW: The commutation Trump issued to David Gentile wipes away all further fines & restitution.
Gentile had been sentenced to 7 years for his role in a $1.6B scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.
Prosecutors had been seeking $15.5M in forfeiture.
www.justice.gov/pardon/media...
Gentile had been sentenced to 7 years for his role in a $1.6B scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.
Prosecutors had been seeking $15.5M in forfeiture.
www.justice.gov/pardon/media...
December 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
They are beating people who maybe once had a broken taillight and sending them to foreign slave prisons while freeing the worst fraudsters and every corrupt pol. The juxtaposition is so stark and appalling.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Another significant Modern Languages department under threat. What does it say about current arrangements that learning about other cultures is being systematically devalued and disallowed?
⛔ Second statement in one week #saveleicesterml #saveleicesterlanguages
Following last week’s formal letter to the University of Nottingham, AHGBI has now issued a second statement—this time to the University of Leicester—regarding the proposed closure of its Department of Modern Languages.
Following last week’s formal letter to the University of Nottingham, AHGBI has now issued a second statement—this time to the University of Leicester—regarding the proposed closure of its Department of Modern Languages.
December 3, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Another significant Modern Languages department under threat. What does it say about current arrangements that learning about other cultures is being systematically devalued and disallowed?
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Trump: "Under Boot Edge Edge - another grossly incompetent. Get on his bicycle, ride to work. What they do is they take the fiber optics & they take fiber, try to hook it into copper. And fiber and copper don't mix. You can't do it...you saw that by the helicopter crash. You saw that into the plane"
December 2, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Trump: "Under Boot Edge Edge - another grossly incompetent. Get on his bicycle, ride to work. What they do is they take the fiber optics & they take fiber, try to hook it into copper. And fiber and copper don't mix. You can't do it...you saw that by the helicopter crash. You saw that into the plane"
Reposted by Heidi Backes
talking to reporters last night, Trump claimed of Hegseth's double tap strike that "I don't know anything about it," then moments later claimed "I don't who you're talking about" when asked his plan to pardon the former Honduran president
December 1, 2025 at 3:39 PM
talking to reporters last night, Trump claimed of Hegseth's double tap strike that "I don't know anything about it," then moments later claimed "I don't who you're talking about" when asked his plan to pardon the former Honduran president
Reposted by Heidi Backes
I found a flowchart which helps you navigate the IT landscape
October 1, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I found a flowchart which helps you navigate the IT landscape
Reposted by Heidi Backes
In 2022, Biden earmarked billions of dollars to help former coal communities. It was the largest investment in Appalachia since LBJ's 1960s’ war on poverty.
But Trump won West Virginia 70% to 28% in 2024. And now he's taking away the funding Biden gave them.
When are they going to learn?
But Trump won West Virginia 70% to 28% in 2024. And now he's taking away the funding Biden gave them.
When are they going to learn?
‘Deeply demoralizing’: how Trump derailed coal country’s clean-energy revival
Biden earmarked billions for former coal communities in Appalachia – and his successor came and took it away
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:26 AM
In 2022, Biden earmarked billions of dollars to help former coal communities. It was the largest investment in Appalachia since LBJ's 1960s’ war on poverty.
But Trump won West Virginia 70% to 28% in 2024. And now he's taking away the funding Biden gave them.
When are they going to learn?
But Trump won West Virginia 70% to 28% in 2024. And now he's taking away the funding Biden gave them.
When are they going to learn?
Reposted by Heidi Backes
I doubt LLM's ability to radically progress for a lot of reasons, including: they won't work without my blog.
Really. My blog is in Common Crawl, and the AI companies are adamant they need *all* of that, and much more too, without a license.
Uh okay so your tech is not "intelligent" at all.
Really. My blog is in Common Crawl, and the AI companies are adamant they need *all* of that, and much more too, without a license.
Uh okay so your tech is not "intelligent" at all.
November 30, 2025 at 4:40 AM
I doubt LLM's ability to radically progress for a lot of reasons, including: they won't work without my blog.
Really. My blog is in Common Crawl, and the AI companies are adamant they need *all* of that, and much more too, without a license.
Uh okay so your tech is not "intelligent" at all.
Really. My blog is in Common Crawl, and the AI companies are adamant they need *all* of that, and much more too, without a license.
Uh okay so your tech is not "intelligent" at all.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
Anecdotally on twitter seeing a big shift the last few days from every AI slop account saying every other creative field is “over” and they’re in control now to now posting about how nobody likes them and it’s not fair and they’ll persevere and real artists respect and uplift eachother
November 30, 2025 at 12:27 AM
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
Reposted by Heidi Backes
How it started / How it’s going
November 30, 2025 at 12:49 AM
How it started / How it’s going
Reposted by Heidi Backes
A great essay on why close reading is a more radical methodology than most people think and why university managers don’t like those of us who teach it!
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 29, 2025 at 7:55 PM
A great essay on why close reading is a more radical methodology than most people think and why university managers don’t like those of us who teach it!
This entire thread is so important. I've had countless discussions with colleagues about this exact thing--which we are all seeing, too--just this semester alone.
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 3:18 PM
This entire thread is so important. I've had countless discussions with colleagues about this exact thing--which we are all seeing, too--just this semester alone.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Get set! Our #StAndrewsDay sale is days away! Browse our books and top-up your shopping lists...
https://edin.ac/32O7hNr
https://edin.ac/32O7hNr
November 26, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Get set! Our #StAndrewsDay sale is days away! Browse our books and top-up your shopping lists...
https://edin.ac/32O7hNr
https://edin.ac/32O7hNr
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Cover Reveal!
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
November 26, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Cover Reveal!
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
Reposted by Heidi Backes
This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
To bear out this rosy projection, HSBC assumes that OpenAI will become "as ubiquitous [...] as Microsoft 365" (345mm users worldwide) while bringing in 10x the number of users (3bn).
November 25, 2025 at 11:11 PM
This is why OpenAI is selling so aggressively to education at all levels—they want to create entire generations of users incapable of reading, writing and thinking without ChatGPT to hold their hands
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
And teachers and professors should call this out for what it actually is
Reposted by Heidi Backes
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
MS NOW confirms: The FBI is working with Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse to comply with illegal orders.
November 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
MS NOW confirms: The FBI is working with Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse to comply with illegal orders.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
“The account MAGANationX—with nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading ‘Patriot Voice for We The People’—is actually based in Eastern Europe.”
X's new About This Account feature reveals that some top accounts, including many MAGA influencers, are based in countries like Russia, India, and Nigeria (Jack Revell/The Daily Beast)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
November 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
“The account MAGANationX—with nearly 400,000 followers and a bio reading ‘Patriot Voice for We The People’—is actually based in Eastern Europe.”
Reposted by Heidi Backes
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Yall are going to be very surprised what this in response to.
The damned in hell are not more powerful for the fact that the fires do not consume them; it is part and parcel of their torment.
November 23, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Yall are going to be very surprised what this in response to.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
‼️Los franquistas pinchan en la Plaza de Oriente: unas 50 personas defienden la dictadura y critican la Ley de Memoria Democrática
www.eldiario.es/politica/fra...
www.eldiario.es/politica/fra...
Los franquistas pinchan en la Plaza de Oriente: unas 50 personas defienden la dictadura y critican la Ley de Memoria Democrática
La mayoría de avanzada edad, aunque con la presencia de varios menores, los presentes han reivindicado el legado del dictador en medio de un escaso despliegue de medios salteado por iconos y emblemas ...
www.eldiario.es
November 23, 2025 at 4:35 PM
‼️Los franquistas pinchan en la Plaza de Oriente: unas 50 personas defienden la dictadura y critican la Ley de Memoria Democrática
www.eldiario.es/politica/fra...
www.eldiario.es/politica/fra...
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Let’s not forget that this regime was supported internationally while starving people, jailing queer and roma people, unionists and supporters of the left, submitting women, and making islamophobia, antisemitism and Catholic fundamentalism some of its key messages. For four long decades.
Spain has too rosy a view of Franco’s regime. Let’s remind ourselves of its horrors | Giles Tremlett
Little is taught about the murderous, incompetent dictatorship – and now almost one in five young people say Franco was good for the country, says historian Giles Tremlett
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Let’s not forget that this regime was supported internationally while starving people, jailing queer and roma people, unionists and supporters of the left, submitting women, and making islamophobia, antisemitism and Catholic fundamentalism some of its key messages. For four long decades.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
An really important thing a lot of people don't realize about Trump is that he doesn't bully people he doesn't think he can bully.
Let’s be clear.
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social got Trump so charmed that Trump posted two photos of the two of them with Franklin Roosevelt’s portrait behind them AND one of just Mamdani and FDR’s portrait.
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social got Trump so charmed that Trump posted two photos of the two of them with Franklin Roosevelt’s portrait behind them AND one of just Mamdani and FDR’s portrait.
November 22, 2025 at 8:02 AM
An really important thing a lot of people don't realize about Trump is that he doesn't bully people he doesn't think he can bully.
Reposted by Heidi Backes
Well clearly that Mamdani news is the biggest thing that’s going to happen today and I can safely log o—-
November 22, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Well clearly that Mamdani news is the biggest thing that’s going to happen today and I can safely log o—-