Augusta McMahon

Can’t believe all these people are running a marathon through "war torn" Chicago today

#WarTorn Chicago

AAUP President Todd Wolfson unpacks the dangerous consequences of the Trump administration’s compact, which aims to exert ideological control over universities and colleges. As Wolfson makes clear, this partisan incursion into higher education affects ALL sectors.

@proftwolf.bsky.social

Maybe twice in 30 years as reviewer, once as editor.

Clay tablet engraved with cuneiform writing and what may be the world's first map: a geometric design made up of circles and triangles representing cities, territories, kingdoms, rivers and an ocean.

Illustrated map depicting a large river with several islands. On its banks are several walled defensive structures and palm trees.

Babylonian map of the world (© The Trustees of the British Museum) and c. AD 1620 Portuguese map of Basra, Iraq (© Hugo Refachinho / CC BY-SA 4.0). Despite both depicting the Shaṭṭ al-ʿArab river, they are completely different, showcasing maps' subjectivity

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

This. Many colleagues want to be helpful but clearly should just say no. Nagging reviewers is the worst part of my editor job.

It’s UChicago. Even an Assoc Prof in 1997 might well still be hanging on. I finished my PhD in 93, and when I returned in 22, well let’s say there were some familiar faces. Problem is which dept? at the moment there are 16 Hums depts (though maybe not for much longer)

The library has bound copies only until ca 1990-1991, unfortunately. Maybe his MA supervisor is still out there?

He might have been in the first cohort of the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH). Even now, paper versions of theses by students in this MA are not normally lodged with a library (main or departmental). They may be placed on Knowledge@UChicago but this is unlikely for 1997.

More UChicago Ph.D. Programs Will Pause Admissions The arts and humanities dean said “nearly all” faculty leaders preferred “a broader pause for the division.” Some social sciences programs also aren’t accepting new students.

No, we’d prefer to accept PhD applicants for 2026, but the previously lucky departments have joined with the unlucky in solidarity. Awesome colleagues! www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi...

A lot of overlap with subjects for which PhD admissions are paused for 2026 at UChicago. We are not unionised.

Thank you!

Looking forward to the President and Dean coming around asking ISAC and MES colleagues to please translate the Akkadian, Sumerian and Hittite ones 🙂

Please write the President, Provost and Dean of Arts and Humanities. Outrage appreciated, but details of the meaningful value of your degree are even more needed.

Thank you!

UChicago Freezing Ph.D. Admissions for Multiple Programs The indebted institution tasked committees of faculty and staff with planning for changes. But this week, a dean forged ahead and announced broad cuts. Two other units are also pausing admissions.

No PhD admissions for Middle Eastern Studies at UChicago in 2026. MES includes modern and all aspects of the ancient Near East: cuneiform languages, Egyptology, archaeology 🏺 www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...

Same.

Sadly real. As an alumna, write the dean and president!

Yes, not an ancient/ modern split at all. The Middle Eastern Studies dept admits grad students in both ancient and modern fields, although faculty working in the ancient fields are generally housed in ISAC while moderns are across the street. Classics is one of the “paused” departments also.

Also “paused”: CompLit, Middle Eastern Studies, Slavic Langs and Lit.

Not a hoax. This screenshot is a message sent to a Classics listserv by a colleague that summarises an email sent by the Arts and Humanities dean to faculty in the division. Real UChicago professor here, in Middle East Studies (one of the depts whose PhD admissions is “paused”).

He’s retired and I have his job. He should have done a lot more punching before he left.

Not a hoax (another UChicago professor here).

They’re Killing the Humanities On Purpose The crisis is not one of resources but of values.

UChicago’s phoenix is flying backwards into the ashes. #AcademicSky www.chronicle.com/article/they...

With Grant Cuts, Trump Pressures UCLA to Make Deal Like it did for prestigious private universities, the administration has cut off federal grants for UCLA, alleging it failed to address antisemitism. The UC system must tell the DOJ by today whether i...

The government is “using levers of power that are completely unrelated to the underlying allegations…Cutting off research for diabetes, cancer, heart disease will not improve the safety of Jewish faculty & students on campus & will not address antisemitism.”

—Mia McIver, AAUP Executive Director

FEATURED JOB: Klarman Postdoctoral Fellowship [Up to 3-Year Appointment] College of Arts & Sciences, Cornell University - New York

networks.h-net.org/jobs/68922/c...

#edusky #academicsky #humanities #socialsciences

If you want to hear the latest news from one of Iraq's most iconic sites, and how excavations work, episode 77 is for you

journal cover

New volume of IRAQ Vol. 86 (2024) www.cambridge.org/core/journal... @universitypress.cambridge.org @augustamcmahon.bsky.social @petramcreamer.bsky.social

A painting of a bird next to the words "I am no longer surprised by this bullshit"

Day 3 of the Summer Institute begins!

“Academic freedom is a job condition, not a privilege…this is a matter of democratic education.”

—Rana Jaleel, Chair of AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom & Tenure, Morning Plenary “Protecting Academic Freedom: How to Build an Effective Issue Campaign.”