Holger Syme
@literasyme.bsky.social
Historian of European theatre, working on early modern England and 20th & 21st-century Germany. Lover of archives. Professor at U of Toronto. Occasional theatre maker. Haphazard gardener. Full time dog person.
More: https://syme.dispositio.net
More: https://syme.dispositio.net
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Holger Syme
@literasyme.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Shakespeare – dispositio
dispositio.net
I haven't really maintained my blog but much of it remains relevant and is an open-access record of a decade's worth of research:
On Shakespeare: dispositio.net/category/sha...
Performance reviews: dispositio.net/category/per...
Theatre and Performance Studies pieces: dispositio.net/category/aca...
On Shakespeare: dispositio.net/category/sha...
Performance reviews: dispositio.net/category/per...
Theatre and Performance Studies pieces: dispositio.net/category/aca...
Reposted by Holger Syme
Look at those humanities degrees (though, let's be clear, all these places shutting down programs don't actually care what the data says)
July 17, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Look at those humanities degrees (though, let's be clear, all these places shutting down programs don't actually care what the data says)
Reposted by Holger Syme
It drives me bonkers that we have accepted a short-hand descriptor for computer algorithms that is wildly inaccurate in its description.
Current AI is not intelligent. Since it isn't intelligent, it's not even artificially intelligent.
At best it's an Artifice Intelligence.
Current AI is not intelligent. Since it isn't intelligent, it's not even artificially intelligent.
At best it's an Artifice Intelligence.
May 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
It drives me bonkers that we have accepted a short-hand descriptor for computer algorithms that is wildly inaccurate in its description.
Current AI is not intelligent. Since it isn't intelligent, it's not even artificially intelligent.
At best it's an Artifice Intelligence.
Current AI is not intelligent. Since it isn't intelligent, it's not even artificially intelligent.
At best it's an Artifice Intelligence.
So, hey Toronto theatre people — go see Threepenny Opera, which just opened in the new VideoCabaret space on Busy St. It’s raw, it’s in your face, it’s young, and it’s just as it should be. Yeah, I’m biased (most of the actors are former students), but this really is a kickass performance.
May 9, 2025 at 4:15 AM
So, hey Toronto theatre people — go see Threepenny Opera, which just opened in the new VideoCabaret space on Busy St. It’s raw, it’s in your face, it’s young, and it’s just as it should be. Yeah, I’m biased (most of the actors are former students), but this really is a kickass performance.
Longest line up I’ve ever seen for a Canadian election (first day of advance voting, University-Rosedale). I find this reassuring: Canadians know what’s at stake.
April 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Longest line up I’ve ever seen for a Canadian election (first day of advance voting, University-Rosedale). I find this reassuring: Canadians know what’s at stake.
Reposted by Holger Syme
"the president defied a Supreme Court ruling to return a man mistakenly sent to a gulag... and spoke of sending Americans to foreign concentration camps.
This is the beginning of an American policy of state terror, and it has to be identified as such to be stopped"
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror
This is the beginning of an American policy of state terror, and it has to be identified as such to be stopped"
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror
State Terror
A brief guide for Americans
snyder.substack.com
April 15, 2025 at 3:02 PM
"the president defied a Supreme Court ruling to return a man mistakenly sent to a gulag... and spoke of sending Americans to foreign concentration camps.
This is the beginning of an American policy of state terror, and it has to be identified as such to be stopped"
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror
This is the beginning of an American policy of state terror, and it has to be identified as such to be stopped"
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror
Reposted by Holger Syme
LIKE WHAT HAPPENED IN GERMANY?!?!?!
Trump: "I said to [the former hostages], was there any sign of love? Did Hamas show any signs of, like, help or liking you? Did they give you a piece of bread extra? Did they give you a meal on the side? Like what happened in Germany."
April 7, 2025 at 7:47 PM
LIKE WHAT HAPPENED IN GERMANY?!?!?!
Just whined about this in German, but in case any non-Germanophone theatre scholars here have thoughts: why is it that there's virtually no scholarly literature on the history of Berlin theatres, especially before the 1990s?
April 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Just whined about this in German, but in case any non-Germanophone theatre scholars here have thoughts: why is it that there's virtually no scholarly literature on the history of Berlin theatres, especially before the 1990s?
Gar nicht tagesaktuell, aber: wieso interessiert sich eigentlich fast kein deutscher Theaterwissenschaftler für die Geschichte der Berliner Theater? Zur Volksbühne vor Castorf? Nix. Zum Gorki vor 1990? Auch nix. Zum BE? Auf Deutsch nix. Auf Englisch, wenigstens David Barnetts monumentales Buch.
April 7, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Gar nicht tagesaktuell, aber: wieso interessiert sich eigentlich fast kein deutscher Theaterwissenschaftler für die Geschichte der Berliner Theater? Zur Volksbühne vor Castorf? Nix. Zum Gorki vor 1990? Auch nix. Zum BE? Auf Deutsch nix. Auf Englisch, wenigstens David Barnetts monumentales Buch.
Reposted by Holger Syme
Friends, we are disappointed to report that our NEH grant was terminated overnight. The same was true for thousands of other projects. Please join us in protesting these outrageous actions by the Trump administration. aaslh.org/take-action-...
Take Action to Save the National Endowment for the Humanities
After effectively shutting down the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) this week, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency is now targeting the National Endowment fo...
aaslh.org
April 3, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Friends, we are disappointed to report that our NEH grant was terminated overnight. The same was true for thousands of other projects. Please join us in protesting these outrageous actions by the Trump administration. aaslh.org/take-action-...
Reposted by Holger Syme
The claim that the destruction of essential civilizational institutions is being done in the name of the Jews is itself a form of antisemitism—cultural vandalism carried out in our name.
That, my friends, is rank bullshit.
That, my friends, is rank bullshit.
April 1, 2025 at 1:56 AM
The claim that the destruction of essential civilizational institutions is being done in the name of the Jews is itself a form of antisemitism—cultural vandalism carried out in our name.
That, my friends, is rank bullshit.
That, my friends, is rank bullshit.
Reposted by Holger Syme
I'm not a particularly fancy man, but I've been in academia a long time, and I don't recall "don't ever discuss material that's extraneous to the class" ever having been mentioned as a "core tenet" of academic freedom.
Could someone give me an example of a college course in which climate change is clearly not relevant?
March 30, 2025 at 3:30 AM
I'm not a particularly fancy man, but I've been in academia a long time, and I don't recall "don't ever discuss material that's extraneous to the class" ever having been mentioned as a "core tenet" of academic freedom.
I did my PhD in the US. My first academic job was at a US university. I don't feel closer to any scholarly association than the SAA (@saaupdates.bsky.social). But unfortunately that connection, at least in non-virtual form, is over for me for now. I just can't imagine entering the US anymore.
March 2, 2025 at 9:40 PM
I did my PhD in the US. My first academic job was at a US university. I don't feel closer to any scholarly association than the SAA (@saaupdates.bsky.social). But unfortunately that connection, at least in non-virtual form, is over for me for now. I just can't imagine entering the US anymore.
I'm sort of puzzled that no-one appears to have written at length about Robert Icke's work as a director. Even essay-length discussions barely exist. Why is that? (Not that I need projects to distract me from THE BIG BOOK, but this feels like something SOMEONE should do....)
February 19, 2025 at 9:15 PM
I'm sort of puzzled that no-one appears to have written at length about Robert Icke's work as a director. Even essay-length discussions barely exist. Why is that? (Not that I need projects to distract me from THE BIG BOOK, but this feels like something SOMEONE should do....)
Reposted by Holger Syme
Art should be funded like science. To properly fund art, you fund failure. Funding failure will give you occasional excellence. Creating any art with the aim of it being popular enough to make money, will give you consistent mediocrity. Arists need funding to play and fail because that's the process
Let me tell you about the weird business that delivers art into our lives, and the impact it has on the long-term careers of artists. This is a thread prompted by yet another article on authors' incomes, and the inevitable reactions from the 'people-would-pay-if-it-was-worth-it-to-them' brigade. 1/
January 7, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Art should be funded like science. To properly fund art, you fund failure. Funding failure will give you occasional excellence. Creating any art with the aim of it being popular enough to make money, will give you consistent mediocrity. Arists need funding to play and fail because that's the process
Reposted by Holger Syme
Attempting to gather Shakespeareans- please reach out with additions as you find them! Still many authors and publishers not here. I hope that changes soon…
go.bsky.app/DT4J8Ky
go.bsky.app/DT4J8Ky
November 19, 2024 at 5:56 AM
Attempting to gather Shakespeareans- please reach out with additions as you find them! Still many authors and publishers not here. I hope that changes soon…
go.bsky.app/DT4J8Ky
go.bsky.app/DT4J8Ky
Reposted by Holger Syme
Seen some demand for a Shakespeare starter pack, so I’ve half-heartedly made one. I know I’m missing A LOT of people, so if you’re a scholar/student/practitioner working on/with/against Shakespeare, let me know and I’ll add you (someone else can do an early modern one!)
go.bsky.app/UrSRue1
go.bsky.app/UrSRue1
November 18, 2024 at 8:22 PM
Seen some demand for a Shakespeare starter pack, so I’ve half-heartedly made one. I know I’m missing A LOT of people, so if you’re a scholar/student/practitioner working on/with/against Shakespeare, let me know and I’ll add you (someone else can do an early modern one!)
go.bsky.app/UrSRue1
go.bsky.app/UrSRue1
A study that doesn't show what the authors think it shows. What we do learn from their survey is a) that it is very difficult to define what "good" poetry is; and b) many general readers prefer poetry that one might find in a Hallmark card. Sad, but hardly surprising.
Most depressing scientific report ever?
People read human and AI poetry:
• Of the 5 poems rated most likely to be human, 4 were actually AI
• AI was rated more beautiful, inspiring, meaningful + profound
• “people prefer AI-generated poetry to human-authored poetry”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
People read human and AI poetry:
• Of the 5 poems rated most likely to be human, 4 were actually AI
• AI was rated more beautiful, inspiring, meaningful + profound
• “people prefer AI-generated poetry to human-authored poetry”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2024 at 7:23 PM
A study that doesn't show what the authors think it shows. What we do learn from their survey is a) that it is very difficult to define what "good" poetry is; and b) many general readers prefer poetry that one might find in a Hallmark card. Sad, but hardly surprising.
Reposted by Holger Syme
go.bsky.app/Cz4onhE building this as we go so wave if you want to be on it. And hello.
November 15, 2024 at 3:07 PM
go.bsky.app/Cz4onhE building this as we go so wave if you want to be on it. And hello.
Reposted by Holger Syme
The first round Call for Participation for BSA Conference 2025 is open!
#BSA2025 'Practising Shakespeare: new collaborations, expanding horizons' will be hosted by the University of York, 25-28 June. View the full CfP www.britishshakespeare.ws/conference/
#BSA2025 'Practising Shakespeare: new collaborations, expanding horizons' will be hosted by the University of York, 25-28 June. View the full CfP www.britishshakespeare.ws/conference/
November 12, 2024 at 9:12 PM
The first round Call for Participation for BSA Conference 2025 is open!
#BSA2025 'Practising Shakespeare: new collaborations, expanding horizons' will be hosted by the University of York, 25-28 June. View the full CfP www.britishshakespeare.ws/conference/
#BSA2025 'Practising Shakespeare: new collaborations, expanding horizons' will be hosted by the University of York, 25-28 June. View the full CfP www.britishshakespeare.ws/conference/
I haven't really maintained my blog but much of it remains relevant and is an open-access record of a decade's worth of research:
On Shakespeare: dispositio.net/category/sha...
Performance reviews: dispositio.net/category/per...
Theatre and Performance Studies pieces: dispositio.net/category/aca...
On Shakespeare: dispositio.net/category/sha...
Performance reviews: dispositio.net/category/per...
Theatre and Performance Studies pieces: dispositio.net/category/aca...
Shakespeare – dispositio
dispositio.net
November 17, 2024 at 10:07 PM
I haven't really maintained my blog but much of it remains relevant and is an open-access record of a decade's worth of research:
On Shakespeare: dispositio.net/category/sha...
Performance reviews: dispositio.net/category/per...
Theatre and Performance Studies pieces: dispositio.net/category/aca...
On Shakespeare: dispositio.net/category/sha...
Performance reviews: dispositio.net/category/per...
Theatre and Performance Studies pieces: dispositio.net/category/aca...
Right now, this place really feels like Twitter did well over a decade ago, except the numbers are growing way faster than anything I've ever experienced on any platform. I was kind of ready to give up on most social media, but I think I'm changing my mind.
November 16, 2024 at 11:34 PM
Right now, this place really feels like Twitter did well over a decade ago, except the numbers are growing way faster than anything I've ever experienced on any platform. I was kind of ready to give up on most social media, but I think I'm changing my mind.
Reposted by Holger Syme
Ich habe ein Starterpack mit Theatermacher:innen, -kritiker:innen und -wissenschaftler:innen erstellt (Einzelpersonen und Gruppen, nicht Häuser). Wenn ich euch hinzufügen soll, kommentiert gerne!
go.bsky.app/VXKUkp1
go.bsky.app/VXKUkp1
November 15, 2024 at 4:06 PM
Ich habe ein Starterpack mit Theatermacher:innen, -kritiker:innen und -wissenschaftler:innen erstellt (Einzelpersonen und Gruppen, nicht Häuser). Wenn ich euch hinzufügen soll, kommentiert gerne!
go.bsky.app/VXKUkp1
go.bsky.app/VXKUkp1