Dr. Anu A Harju

Well, if you're looking for a distraction from politics, come on over to the weird and wonderful world of medical history! If you ever wondered what would happen if you needed a leg amputated in 1832, or if you had a toothache in 1765 - look no further. Bloodlettings! Bodysnatchers! I got it all.

Grief labour on Instagram: Resilient influencers and... Drawing on the postfeminist notion of resilience, in this article we explore female influencers in grief who, after losing their spouse, share...

New open access publication in Nordic Journal of Media Studies on #grief and #Instagram #influencers

"Grief labour on Instagram: Resilient influencers and platformed grief", authored by my wonderful colleague Linda Pentikäinen @helsinki.fi and myself @koneensaatio.fi

sciendo.com/it/article/1...

You can find all the #DDD17 panel sessions listed in the document below - check out the presenters in our 'Politics of Digital Afterlife' panel.

The document will be updated regularly, so you should be able to find the final programme via the link in due course:

ddd17.sites.uu.nl/panel-sessio...

Excited about the upcoming #DDD17 conference and our panel on the Politics of #Digital #Afterlife with many wonderful colleagues. My collaborator, visual artist and photographer @sadekahra.bsky.social and I will be talking about "Authorship, Data, the Techno-Affective Contours of Digital Afterlife".

Rebecca Solnit: ‘Fiction is treated as the most literary, aspirational – f*** that’ The prolific non-fiction writer returns to her favourite themes of hope and uncertainty in her cheerful new book, ‘No Straight Road Takes You There’. In a conversation with Hannah Ewens, she…

“The future does not depend on what we can imagine. It often exceeds our imagination in both wonderful and terrible ways. Preparing to meet it is partly accepting the sheer unpredictability of it and partly in being ready to meet and participate in what arises.”

And if you're curious about my new book The Space of the World, this blog introduces the key ideas of the book to whet your appetite. Thanks to @lseinequalities.bsky.social

Also, if you're on TikTok, please donate your data so we can better understand how the platform works:

Peering inside his TikTok viewing history, one user finds it is 'not just raw, pointless data' A new tool created by researchers at the Queensland University of Technology is allowing people to see themselves through the eyes of the algorithm.

It's launch day for the data donation platform we're using to explore Australians' relationship with the TikTok algorithm(s) - fantastic ABC Story Lab piece here. Includes links to the project and platform so you can sign up now and help us track the TikTok election! www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...

Episode 22: Meta hate speech policy changes with Lucinda Nelson Read Them Sideways · Episode

Relevantly to International Trans Day of Visibility, the new Read Them Sideways episode discusses recent changes to the Meta hate speech policies, with a particular focus on transgender and queer people. Listen to hear @lucinda-nelson.bsky.social lend her expertise!

open.spotify.com/episode/5Fhb...

Just one week left to shared your nominations for the ASDS Book Award and Public Engagement Award. We'd love to hear from you ⬇️

Tell AI Companies They Do Not Have the Right to Use Your Work I just sent a letter telling AI companies they do not not have the right to use my work. Use the Authors Guild's letter template to send your own.

In terms of practical advice, consider consulting @societyofauthors.bsky.social. They previously produced guidance on this area: societyofauthors.org/2023/06/07/a...

The Authors Guild have created a template email addressed to Meta asserting your rights: actionnetwork.org/letters/auth...

This is further proof that AI companies are free-riding on the work of authors, which makes effective legal regulation that gives creators proper transparency and control all the more urgent. We're working with our partners in the creative sector to urgently make this case to the Government.

We are disappointed but not surprised that Meta has used millions of pirated books to develop its AI systems.

As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting.

But what can authors do? Read here:
societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

@societyofauthors.bsky.social

Have you seen the Atlantic's database of work stolen by Meta to train its AI? I just found a lot of my work listed. Members might like to check for their own:

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Very interesting, will definitely have a read!

Catania <3

After regularly visiting this beautiful city for nearly ten years, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend this academic year in Sicily on a #research #visit at the University of Catania.

If and when visiting Sicily, make sure to spend some days in Catania, too.

You’re very welcome! Are you following the Death Online Research Network events? We organise a conference every year. Last October it was in Helsinki and the next one will be in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2026 (perhaps in May?)

Interested in participating in research relating to #data after #death?

Read more below on the doctoral research by @dannysnow.bsky.social

ASDS Online events series. How do we decide where we die? Wednesday 26 March, Virginia Rammou Religious Freedom at the End of Life: Legal & Social Barriers to Minority Funeral Practices in Italy Thursday 17 April, Giorgio Scalici Death situated in life: personhood, pregnancy loss, and the politics of death Wednesday 14 May, Aimee Middlemiss The radical fact of death in contemporary political theory Wednesday 25 June, Tomás Speziale The invisibility of perinatal bereavement Wednesday 16 July 2025, Maria Papalampropoulou

💬 We're excited to announce a new series of free online events from ASDS!

From March to July, we'll hear from a range of speakers about their research, with opportunities for discussion.

Full list of dates and topics below. Booking now open.

deathandsociety.org/online-event...

We must all thank Alondra Nelson for putting some essential points on the table about AI: www.techpolicy.press/three-fallac...

Vet found hanging draped in trans flag The suicide letter they won't publish

I'm sad to share that the trans vet that took her life outside the VA last week was apparently Elisa Rae Shupe.

She's someone many of us know - she was responsible for the mass email leak that let us know how the ADF, Heritage, etc planned to enact trans eradication we see today.

RIP Elisa.

Hello, Bluesky community. Given the fact that Bluesky does not (yet) operate with algorithmic recommendations, it would be useful to like less and retweet/ share more, in order to find each other quickly. Thanks 😇

Death and Institutions Death and Institutions - Processes, Places and the Past; Institutions play a crucial role in shaping experiences of end-of-life care, death and bereavement, yet research is often limited to specific s...

Exciting new #book in #death #studies coming out this spring, Death and Institutions: Processes, Places and the Past (Bristol University Press), edited by @katewoody.bsky.social, Helen Frisby and Bethan Michal-Fox @deathstudiespod.bsky.social

bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/death-and-in...

Call it by its name: A coup. February 1, 2025

It’s a coup! Please read or listen to Robert Hubbell’s newsletter!
open.substack.com/pub/roberthu...

This book sounds like one not to miss, particularly if you’re interested in datafication, the historical echoes of eugenics and anti-immigration movements in the context of techno-surveillance and algorithmic discrimination.

Will try and tune in tomorrow!

Missed this in December, but good #books are always worth sharing!

Our chapter w/ @jnkka.bsky.social "Streaming Death: Terrorist Violence, Post-death Data and the Digital Afterlife of Difficult Death" features in this fabulous collection offering different takes on difficult death. Have a listen 😊

Registration for DDD17 #conference “The Politics of Death” has opened!

In our panel "The Politics of Digital Afterlife" @sadekahra.bsky.social and I will discuss how authorship of digital afterlife iterations shapes its techno-affective contours and thus the memory of the dead.

ddd17.sites.uu.nl

Puhutaan piilevistä vaikutuksista – Tekoälyn vastuullisuus luovan työn ja ympäristön näkökulmista | Alusta! | Tampereen korkeakouluyhteisö Tekoälyn kaltaiset uudet ja kiehtovat teknologiat innostavat meitä leikkimään teknologialla ja kokeilemaan sen mahdollisuuksia. Emme välttämättä tule ajatelleeksi, että jokainen kokeilu kuitenkin kulu...

Kuinka paljon #tekoäly kuluttaa luonnonvaroja ja energiaa? Eliisa Vainikka, Anne Soronen, Saara-Maija Kallio ja Laura Seppälä kirjoittavat Tampereen yliopiston Alusta-lehdessä tekoälyn piilevistä haittavaikutuksista.

@alustalehti.bsky.social

Small step for a journal but a giant leap for the humankind!