Courtney (Dr. Version)

I had a student tell me that one of the reasons they think that less people are majoring in history is because "people find our future too depressing to learn about what has led to the current state of things" and, that's one explanation I've not heard before.

That’s my basic feeling. Thanks for the reinforcement.

The grades the most recent example of this is upset with did not have significant impact on their overall grade (and are largely the result of not reading previous feedback). They’ve grown a lot over the semester as a whole, but not on this.

A land fight pits a sacred Apache tradition against a copper mine An Apache girl comes of age in a traditional ceremony, possibly the last at Oak Flat before copper mining threatens to transform the sacred site in Arizona.

An Apache girl comes of age in a traditional ceremony.

The Post followed 11-year-old Lozen through her Sunrise Dance ceremony, possibly the last at Oak Flat in Arizona before the area is reopened to copper mining.

As a little treat for you, here's an #ArabicBible Advent calendar 🧵. Every day I'll post a verse from the Christmas story from one of the oldest Arabic Gospel lectionaries, Sinai ar. 72, dated 897 CE (and a few other texts in between). [2nd attempt, I won't be offended if you point out my nonsense.]

How do y’all deal with the end of semester “I’m really disappointed with my [grade on X assignment/overall grade/etc]… can I rewrite or do extra credit?” guilt-inducing emails?

I can’t let just one student rewrite something, but …

As a small group activity, it depends on the group of students. Which I know is the case with most things, but I find it particularly true with this.

I teach it in class first bc of how long it often takes students to get past the fact that they’re not arguing against “Idea A”

One assignment style I've discovered that AI cannot (yet) deal with is the "Four Sentence Essay." It has students essentially distill a whole paper into four sentences of argument between two opponents about whatever topic. It boggles the students' minds & AI just can't do the logic piece of it.

It's December 5th, the eve of the Feast of St Nicholas.

Happy Krampus Nacht for those who celebrate. Where St Nicholas will be out rewarding all the good children, Krampus will be whipping the naughty ones or stuffing them in his sack....

One might say students should be allowed to use AI in intro classes because it helps them understand new & challenging material better. But I say that it doesn't help them understand the material better because they do not yet have the skills to determine if AI is explaining the material accurately.

It actually is a great exercise in debate in general. You can't have a real debate if you're not even arguing the same thing. In the fake example above, yeah you're debating cats/dogs, but by arguing the opposite of the main claim only, you'll never convince someone to even consider your side.

Another resources:
- philpapers.org/archive/EART...

Good: They say dogs are better than cats bc dogs are easier to train. But I say that dogs are only easier to train because more time and research have gone into training dogs.

An example:

Bad: They say dogs are better than cats bc dogs are easier to train. But I say that cats are better than dogs because you don't have to board them when you go away for the weekend.

Sentence 2 is where most students struggle, bc their natural inclination is to argue against Idea A, not Idea B. Which means that they're essentially going off topic and starting a new argument.

the general format of a four-sentence essay is as follows:

1. They say [Idea A] because [Idea B]
2. But I say [Idea B] (isn't right/isn't good enough/etc.) because [Idea C]
3. They might say __D__
4. But I reply ___E__.

Sentence 3-4 also tend to have to have the "because" set up.

This is a pretty solid breakdown of the assignment: jessespafford.com/files/FourSe...

This is a quote from the article summing up both studies in Technology Review: "A multi-university team of researchers has found that chatting with a politically biased AI model was more effective than political advertisements at nudging both Democrats and Republicans to support presidential candidates of the opposing party. The chatbots swayed opinions by citing facts and evidence, but they were not always accurate—in fact, the researchers found, the most persuasive models said the most untrue things."

Two independent studies found that AI chatbots were better at persuading voters than political ads. The most persuasive bots also lied the most. This is something that humans working in psyops have known for decades. AI is psyops at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/04/1...

One assignment style I've discovered that AI cannot (yet) deal with is the "Four Sentence Essay." It has students essentially distill a whole paper into four sentences of argument between two opponents about whatever topic. It boggles the students' minds & AI just can't do the logic piece of it.

a cartoon of a teddy bear sleeping with a phone in its mouth ALT: a cartoon of a teddy bear sleeping with a phone in its mouth

Yesterday was my last day of classes. Today I legitimately can’t do anything but nap.

If that’s not a solid metaphor for what this semester has been like….

An End to Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns

Breaking: After contentious debates and three failed attempts at a vote, a federal vaccine committee decided on Friday to end the decades-long recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...

Photo shared by Christina Nguyen on December 04, 2025 tagging @naomi.marie__, @nathanmiller612, @rubyscher, @holaarepa, @birksg, @chefjholig, and @haihaimpls. May be an image of text that says 'AS SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, I.C.E. PAID US A VISIT AT AREPA YESTERDAY. OUR GM NAOMI & TEAM MEMBERS FOLLOWED OUR ICE PROTOCOL PERFECTLY, THE AGENTS LEFT & NO ONE WAS DETAINED. tO WHOEVER NEEDS THIS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WHEN IT COMES TO I.C.E. (1/5)'. christinanguyenmpls 11h We had an ICE scare yesterday and even though we’re afraid of the repercussions of being vocal, we feel that it’s also important to inform people that this is right at our front door. ICE is not some far away boogeyman. They are here right now, spreading fear in our community. We’re so grateful to our entire staff and their bravery. They did the right things and couldn’t have dealt with this situation in a better way. We are grateful to our community activists that came to support us from @miracmn @litosonlake and Monarcha. We hope that if you find yourself in the same situation, that you find these resources helpful. Peace and take care of each other ❤️

Photo by Christina Nguyen on December 04, 2025. May be an image of text that says 'IF I.C.E. COMES TO YOUR RESTAURANT: UNLESS THE AGENTS HAVE A SIGNED JUDICIAL WARRANT, THEY CANNOT ENTER A PRIVATE AREA LIKE THE KITCHEN WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION EVEN IF THEY LIE AND SAY THY DON'T NEED A WARRANT, STAND YOUR GROUND AND INSIST THAT YOU NEED PAPERWORK (2/5)'.

Photo by Christina Nguyen on December 04, 2025. May be an image of text that says 'IF I.C.E. COMES TO YOUR RESTAURANT: HAVE OTHER STAFF OR PEOPLE PRESENT RECORD THEM AND EVERYTHING THEY ARE SAYING. (PEOPLE DOING UNLAWFUL THINGS HATE BEING CAUGHT IN TH ACT) YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to REFUSE SERVICE & YOU CAN ASK M tO LEAVE YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY IF THY DON'T HAVE A WARRANT. (3/5)'.

WE ARE HEARTBROKEN THAT OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN THE TWIN CITIES ARE BEING TARGETED AND TERRORIZED BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION. THESE ARE REAL PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING USED AS POLITICAL PAWNS AND IT'S APPALLING. REGARDLESS OF THEIR LEGAL STATUS, THERE ARE SO MANY LATINOS & SOMALIANS WHO ARE AFRAID OF BEING DETAINED DUE TO MISTAKEN IDENTITY BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY MIGHT NOT GET DUE PROCESS & A FAIR TRIAL. THEY WILL JUST END UP IN DETENTION CENTERS & A LEGAL PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A BLACK HOLE. WE STAND IN SUPPORT OF OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, WHO ARE THE BACKBONE OF THIS COUNTRY. WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS, AMERICA IS NOT THE SAME PLACE. STAY SAFE OUT THERE & TAKE CARE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS. LOVE, HOLA AREPA & HAI HAI (5/5)

ICE raided a James Beard award winning restaurant & because the chef/owner was prepared, left emptyhanded:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OX6fOyHCRgeKJd5dHLMa7Q#/registration

AI Is Not Inevitable

join AAUP for a conversation with educators, educator unions, and the Collaborative Research Center for Resilience

zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Infographic reading: Searching for an opportunity to hone your technical writing skills?, tinyurl.com/open-call-2025-blog, digital methods for the humanities, programminghistorian.org

🔎 Searching for an opportunity to hone your technical writing skills?

Our English edition invites proposals for new original lessons or translations.

🔗 tinyurl.com/open-call-2025-blog


📩 Send us your proposal by 15 February 2026

#CallForPapers #DigitalHumanities

Lasagna, Meet Saag Paneer. A photo shows a serving of saag paneer lasagna.

While writing her cookbook, Khushbu Shah became convinced that a spinach lasagna could be greatly improved by swapping in the flavors of saag paneer for the filling. It’s a dish she jokingly refers to as “lasaagna.” nyti.ms/4ixPNHR

Fav thing to do in the last class is to have the students pick their top 3 readings that I *must* include the next time I teach the class. Then they get into small groups and have to produce a new top 3 list. Solidifies all that they got from the readings (and gives me some ideas for the future).

It’s legitimately the worst. 1/3-1/2 of students present, no one wants to talk, they’re all mad they have to take a final, and are all begging for extra credit despite not completing the majority of the actual assigned work.

Two of the schools I adjunct at have already emailed, texted, and called to solicit a donation for giving Tuesday. Yall know how much you pay me, right?

Trying to explain to non-academic friends how legitimately terrifying it actually is to be in academia right now is hard.