Natasha F.
@natashaf.bsky.social
🇿🇦 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Ancient Greek Literature. Also on a mission to inspire younger students to read more widely than their assigned novels and textbooks.
Pinned
Natasha F.
@natashaf.bsky.social
· Oct 22
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative
Since antiquity, the story of Susanna has inspired interpretations that focus on its visual dimensions. The auditory dimension of the narrative has received much less attention. While some scholars...
www.tandfonline.com
I was a bit nervous about joining the Septuagint Society of South Africa in 2024 - but the first paper I delivered there has just been published in the Journal of Early Christian History!
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Natasha F.
Are 16 days of activism against gender-based violence enough?
Our survey data suggest not, given how many Africans say men are "sometimes" or "always" justified in physically disciplining their wives.
Read our latest piece in @thecontinent.org for more.
#VoicesAfrica #16DaysOfActivism #StopGBV
Our survey data suggest not, given how many Africans say men are "sometimes" or "always" justified in physically disciplining their wives.
Read our latest piece in @thecontinent.org for more.
#VoicesAfrica #16DaysOfActivism #StopGBV
November 29, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Are 16 days of activism against gender-based violence enough?
Our survey data suggest not, given how many Africans say men are "sometimes" or "always" justified in physically disciplining their wives.
Read our latest piece in @thecontinent.org for more.
#VoicesAfrica #16DaysOfActivism #StopGBV
Our survey data suggest not, given how many Africans say men are "sometimes" or "always" justified in physically disciplining their wives.
Read our latest piece in @thecontinent.org for more.
#VoicesAfrica #16DaysOfActivism #StopGBV
Reposted by Natasha F.
How can we sleep for grief?
By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old.
By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old.
November 29, 2025 at 7:27 PM
How can we sleep for grief?
By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old.
By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old.
I teach in a country where our universities tend to use English as the language of instruction, even though very few students speak it as their first language. All our ancient language courses are structured on the assumption that students have little to no formal understanding of English grammar.
Still think about my Latin professor who 5 weeks into the semester realized that the class didn’t know English grammar well enough for him to be able to explain Latin, so the class suddenly became a simultaneous English grammar & Latin class
November 28, 2025 at 10:54 AM
I teach in a country where our universities tend to use English as the language of instruction, even though very few students speak it as their first language. All our ancient language courses are structured on the assumption that students have little to no formal understanding of English grammar.
Reposted by Natasha F.
This essay by @johannawinant.bsky.social is beautiful on what can happen in the classroom, and on the importance of *argument* to literary studies. I especially like how she writes about helping students to "believe in their own significance"
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 26, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This essay by @johannawinant.bsky.social is beautiful on what can happen in the classroom, and on the importance of *argument* to literary studies. I especially like how she writes about helping students to "believe in their own significance"
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Reposted by Natasha F.
even when AI is surveying reputable sources, we shouldn't forget that summarizing and synthesizing are interpretive activities that involve selecting what is most significant or salient to ongoing discussions. even if AI were unbiased, this is creative work that we should be doing.
November 24, 2025 at 3:48 AM
even when AI is surveying reputable sources, we shouldn't forget that summarizing and synthesizing are interpretive activities that involve selecting what is most significant or salient to ongoing discussions. even if AI were unbiased, this is creative work that we should be doing.
Reposted by Natasha F.
Five New Roman-Era Theatrical Masks Unearthed in Kastabala, Including a Rare Depiction of an Elderly Philosopher - Arkeonews
arkeonews.net/five-new-rom...
arkeonews.net/five-new-rom...
Five New Roman-Era Theatrical Masks Unearthed in Kastabala, Including a Rare Depiction of an Elderly Philosopher - Arkeonews
Archaeological excavations in Kastabala, located in Türkiye’s southern Osmaniye province, revealed five additional theatrical mask reliefs
arkeonews.net
November 20, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Five New Roman-Era Theatrical Masks Unearthed in Kastabala, Including a Rare Depiction of an Elderly Philosopher - Arkeonews
arkeonews.net/five-new-rom...
arkeonews.net/five-new-rom...
Reposted by Natasha F.
This study show that using poems to jailbreak LLMs is... super effective? What the heck.
November 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
This study show that using poems to jailbreak LLMs is... super effective? What the heck.
This review by Ruth Scodel! She cautiously recommends the new accessible history on Homer's world, but minces no words in warning about certain inaccuracies.
#ClassicsBluesky
bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.11...
#ClassicsBluesky
bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.11...
November 20, 2025 at 3:22 PM
This review by Ruth Scodel! She cautiously recommends the new accessible history on Homer's world, but minces no words in warning about certain inaccuracies.
#ClassicsBluesky
bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.11...
#ClassicsBluesky
bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.11...
Reposted by Natasha F.
"Students are highlighting the same sentences in the same passages and writing down the same main ideas and details, producing identical written responses."
But will spend tens of millions of dollars on a standardized reading curriculum and PD around standardized teaching. #TeacherSky
open.substack.com/pub/adrianne...
open.substack.com/pub/adrianne...
The Cost of Standardization
What We Lose When Every Classroom is the Same
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:33 AM
"Students are highlighting the same sentences in the same passages and writing down the same main ideas and details, producing identical written responses."
Reposted by Natasha F.
Farewell to Textual Criticism? | Bible & Interpretation article by Ronald Hendel
Farewell to Textual Criticism? | Bible Interp
Search
bibleinterp.arizona.edu
November 17, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Farewell to Textual Criticism? | Bible & Interpretation article by Ronald Hendel
Still can't believe there was a time when I thought ancient Greek vase paintings were boring.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pa...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pa...
November 8, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Still can't believe there was a time when I thought ancient Greek vase paintings were boring.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pa...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pa...
Reposted by Natasha F.
The German word ‘Pferd’ and its Dutch cognate ‘paard’ are horses of mixed breed parentage.
Their common ancestor came from Latin ‘paraverēdus’ (substitute post-horse), a word composed of an Ancient Greek element and a Gaulish one.
Zoom in on my new infographic to learn everything about it:
Their common ancestor came from Latin ‘paraverēdus’ (substitute post-horse), a word composed of an Ancient Greek element and a Gaulish one.
Zoom in on my new infographic to learn everything about it:
November 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
The German word ‘Pferd’ and its Dutch cognate ‘paard’ are horses of mixed breed parentage.
Their common ancestor came from Latin ‘paraverēdus’ (substitute post-horse), a word composed of an Ancient Greek element and a Gaulish one.
Zoom in on my new infographic to learn everything about it:
Their common ancestor came from Latin ‘paraverēdus’ (substitute post-horse), a word composed of an Ancient Greek element and a Gaulish one.
Zoom in on my new infographic to learn everything about it:
Reposted by Natasha F.
“I tell my students, who believe passionately in explaining the work they’re sharing, ‘You know, when you’re dead, you can’t go around explaining this thing—it has to be right there on the page.’ ” —Louise Glück buff.ly/uXAASEg
November 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM
“I tell my students, who believe passionately in explaining the work they’re sharing, ‘You know, when you’re dead, you can’t go around explaining this thing—it has to be right there on the page.’ ” —Louise Glück buff.ly/uXAASEg
Few authors do epigraphs as well as Ali Smith does. Pictured here, the first epigraph from the novel The Accidental.
November 4, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Few authors do epigraphs as well as Ali Smith does. Pictured here, the first epigraph from the novel The Accidental.
Reposted by Natasha F.
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Reposted by Natasha F.
How did artists of the early modern period depict African people?
Join our online course (13 Nov–11 Dec) to explore how these images shaped ideas about race and ethnicity in Europe — from saints and magi to portraiture and decorative arts.
warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
#ArtHistory
Join our online course (13 Nov–11 Dec) to explore how these images shaped ideas about race and ethnicity in Europe — from saints and magi to portraiture and decorative arts.
warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
#ArtHistory
The Representation of African People in Early Modern European Art & Culture
Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.
warburg.sas.ac.uk
November 3, 2025 at 11:28 AM
How did artists of the early modern period depict African people?
Join our online course (13 Nov–11 Dec) to explore how these images shaped ideas about race and ethnicity in Europe — from saints and magi to portraiture and decorative arts.
warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
#ArtHistory
Join our online course (13 Nov–11 Dec) to explore how these images shaped ideas about race and ethnicity in Europe — from saints and magi to portraiture and decorative arts.
warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
#ArtHistory
"Yet education’s vocation has never been speed. Its vocation has been the cultivation of reflective freedom, the ability to pause before conclusion." - Sandy Leaton Gray
I wrote a blog post on AI and the need for sapience. Pause. Enjoy.
"If AI will one day become the infrastructure of knowledge, then the role of educational institutions is to ensure that knowledge remains tethered to meaning". #AI #HEI #EduSky @drleatongray.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/2025/10/...
November 2, 2025 at 8:26 AM
"Yet education’s vocation has never been speed. Its vocation has been the cultivation of reflective freedom, the ability to pause before conclusion." - Sandy Leaton Gray
I was a bit nervous about joining the Septuagint Society of South Africa in 2024 - but the first paper I delivered there has just been published in the Journal of Early Christian History!
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative
Since antiquity, the story of Susanna has inspired interpretations that focus on its visual dimensions. The auditory dimension of the narrative has received much less attention. While some scholars...
www.tandfonline.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:51 AM
I was a bit nervous about joining the Septuagint Society of South Africa in 2024 - but the first paper I delivered there has just been published in the Journal of Early Christian History!
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Susanna Cries: Attending to the Auditory Dimension of the Susanna Narrative www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Visited the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre yesterday. 10/10 - truly a fantastically curated exhibition. Paleontological insight and evidence perfectly balanced with Basotho legends and proverbs.
Also spotted @amayor.bsky.social's The First Fossil Hunters in the museum café!
Also spotted @amayor.bsky.social's The First Fossil Hunters in the museum café!
October 2, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Visited the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre yesterday. 10/10 - truly a fantastically curated exhibition. Paleontological insight and evidence perfectly balanced with Basotho legends and proverbs.
Also spotted @amayor.bsky.social's The First Fossil Hunters in the museum café!
Also spotted @amayor.bsky.social's The First Fossil Hunters in the museum café!
Reposted by Natasha F.
An old military maxim often attributed to Napoleon is “an army marches on its stomach” and I feel the same way that a university thinks via its library. The slow and steady financial diminution of research libraries and the librarians who staff them is, to me, a slow-rolling higher Ed catastrophe.
October 1, 2025 at 1:32 PM
An old military maxim often attributed to Napoleon is “an army marches on its stomach” and I feel the same way that a university thinks via its library. The slow and steady financial diminution of research libraries and the librarians who staff them is, to me, a slow-rolling higher Ed catastrophe.
Reposted by Natasha F.
Great news!
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
September 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Great news!
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
Reposted by Natasha F.
Don urges African Scholars to embrace Classics as Africa’s heritage - Tribune Online
tribuneonlineng.com/don-urges-af...
tribuneonlineng.com/don-urges-af...
Don urges African Scholars to embrace Classics as Africa’s heritage
By Eniola Shobiye A professor in the Department of Classics, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Olakunbi Olasope, has urged African scholars to stop viewing Classics only through the lens of Gr…
tribuneonlineng.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Don urges African Scholars to embrace Classics as Africa’s heritage - Tribune Online
tribuneonlineng.com/don-urges-af...
tribuneonlineng.com/don-urges-af...
Reposted by Natasha F.
(21) The Silence of the Frogs - by Armand D'Angour
armanddangour.substack.com/p/the-silenc...
armanddangour.substack.com/p/the-silenc...
The Silence of the Frogs
Tacitly poking fun at Dead Poets
armanddangour.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 6:11 PM
(21) The Silence of the Frogs - by Armand D'Angour
armanddangour.substack.com/p/the-silenc...
armanddangour.substack.com/p/the-silenc...
Reposted by Natasha F.
It’s the Autumnal Equinox in the UK today.
Persephone’s Katabasis, Demeter’s goodbye.
Persephone’s Katabasis, Demeter’s goodbye.
September 22, 2025 at 8:41 AM
It’s the Autumnal Equinox in the UK today.
Persephone’s Katabasis, Demeter’s goodbye.
Persephone’s Katabasis, Demeter’s goodbye.