Myrna Moretti

In 2026, colleges must teach students that this is not the end of the world. We must teach hope. Current undergraduates can barely remember a time before the threats of climate change and authoritarianism loomed to catastrophic scale. Since 2010, the future depicted in TV, books, and games has been dystopian or apocalyptic, so for our current students the end of the world feels more familiar and realistic than a future with hope. Now we are asking them to choose majors and life paths when the desirability, indeed the very existence, of whole sectors of employment are in question, due to the overwhelming promises of LLMs and machine learning. As young people hear daily that vocation after vocation may vanish into automation’s maw, and that democracy, liberty, land, sea, and sky are all in jeopardy, despair is growing. Despair is very emotionally tempting. It means freedom from the responsibility to shape the future. This is a terrifying turning point, but many generations before us have faced such turning points, and met them. We can offer our students perspective. Only a few dozen institutions on Earth are more than 900 years old, and the vast majority are universities. The university system is not a house of straw to buckle in this storm: We are the rocks that have sheltered the knowledge, hope, and truth through tumults which have toppled kingdoms while classrooms endured. We can endure this, and be a guiding light through it, but only by recentering, by teaching citizens, not workers; power, not PowerPoint; aspiration, not apocalypse. Despair is how we lose. The classroom is where we battle it. All other battles flow from here. Ada Palmer is an associate professor of history at the University of Chicago.

This, from Ada Palmer as part of The Chronicle's survey of 11 scholars on the future of higher ed, is what I needed to end the week.

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Just saw this fascinating new #history of #computing article from @myrnamoretti.bsky.social — looking forward to reading the rest of it and seeing if I can work it into one of my classes:

“Here Comes the Future: Black Women and Early Digital Culture in Essence”
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Ahhh thank you so much for sharing!! I've been reading and teaching your work for years and this has absolutely made my day!! #fangirling

🇺🇸 Minnesota, Jan 23 is a general strike. Workers, students, families refusing business as usual after raids, disappearances, and deaths. How many lives must be destroyed before you join? Stand up. Demand justice.

Bradshaw and Jones: Representing Midlife Romance, Work, and Widowhood by Myrna Moretti Two of the most beloved gen-x writer heroines have been widowed in recent years: Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger). With the death of Big in the series…

Wrote a short post about class and income and widows and mid life romance in popular culture for CST Online

cstonline.net/bradshaw-and...

Extract from Rob Reiner's Wikipedia Filmography 1986 - Stand By zme 1987 - The Princess Bride 1989 - When Harry Met Sally 1990 - Misery 1992 - A Few Good Men

Rob Reiner: I'm going to make a coming of age drama, a fantasy adventure story, a romantic comedy, a psychological horror and then a courtroom drama.

Us: Across your entire career?

Reiner: In a 6 year period.

Us: That sounds-

Reiner: -Each one will be arguably the best movie in that genre.

TLWA - John Greyson, The World is Sick (sic) The World is Sick (sic)  Directed and produced by Michael Balser and John Greyson 1989 Toronto Living with AIDS Length: 00:43:08 The pilot tape for the TLWA…

Love this thread! Another vote on the Canadian Greyson train for his TV video essay: The World is Sick (sic). The level of humour and rage and he's a lovely person in real life to boot!

vimeo.com/821724287

Please join us on Dec. 12 @ 1pm EST to discuss alternative assessment with contributors to the recent JCMS Teaching Media "Experiments in Ungrading" double-issue. @stephbrown.bsky.social @briannajc.bsky.social @lisawj.bsky.social @jennblaylock.bsky.social Register here: forms.gle/vZrY7NH5Yk6X...

The exterior of Robarts Library, a large brutalist concrete structure, during the summer.

My faculty is hiring... again! The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto is looking for an Assistant Professor (Tenure Steam) in Knowledge Systems, Infrastructures, Communities, and Cultures. jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

Opinion: Gutting humanities signals the end of innovation in business and STEM Lose the humanities, and you lose the very ground of science and business that depend on it.

Without humanities studies, I would not have been a very good scientist. My humanities classes were a master class in creativity, envisioning new futures and how to think. The skills we learned in our humanities classes brought creativity to all our endeavors.
www.deseret.com/opinion/2025...

a man wearing glasses is sitting at a desk in front of a computer monitor . ALT: a man wearing glasses is sitting at a desk in front of a computer monitor .

Hey, hey... @sigcisconf.bsky.social--@shothisttech.bsky.social's Special Interest Group for Computing, Information & Society--is on Bluesky!

Follow them if you're interested in #ComputerHistory or the social & political impact of digital technologies like #AI.

#histsci #histtech #histSTM 🗃️📜📚

a twenty something Chinese-Canadian man's face is shown in the foreground against the light from a ferris wheel in the background; the image is double exposed over green tiles and grass

Sharing creative stuff is scarier and more vulnerable than sharing research stuff but I worked with an amazing team to make this queer hopeful weird essay film and it's FINALLY screening online til June 29. Check out the link for details: becomeingotherwise.my.canva.site#screenings

I use text-recognition conversion in Adobe before adding to zotero and/or use the 'box' function in zotero, it still creates an annotation and you can see the text in the sidebar so works about equal to highlighting for me (except of course text is not searchable)

I'll take TV too!

Film + media history folks, I'm early in a new project that covers golden studio era Hollywood (1930-early '50s ish) and the maturing silent era (1910s-ish); what are your recs for labour/contract/women in these eras and/or feminist film history projects that have compelling methods (any era).

The ‘Sinners’ Movie Syllabus - AAIHS The 'Sinners' Movie Syllabus is a curated educational resource inspired by the 2025 film 'Sinners,' directed by Ryan Coogler. This syllabus delves into the multifaceted historical, cultural, and socia...

Now THIS is a syllabus #booksky #blackbooksky

www.aaihs.org/the-sinners-...

“In a world of polycrisis, the #climateemergency must not be neglected. Let’s continue to ensure our children’s future isn’t on the backburner, but front of mind, as we enter the voting booth.”

@forourkidscanada.bsky.social
#CanadaVotes2025

Corey Booker is at hour 15 on the senate floor and there are over 36,000 live viewers on YouTube alone right now.

being an indie bookseller in the helltimes has felt both very stable and very stabilizing, and part of me wishes everyone could be on my side of the counter for a little while, because I think it would help some of you be a little less cynical and doomy right now. so here is my VERY anecdotal data:

Took me one minute to email congress/senators, add a little note at the beginning. Why do libraries matter to you?

the four white female protagonists of sex and the city watch out Carrie's apartment window with their heads tilted to the left

But what kind of -ist will Brody play next? #oscars

@moschneids.bsky.social just won an award for hers!

a close up of a man 's face with the words toepick written above him Alt: a close up of a young white man's face with the words toepick written above him from the 1992 film The Cutting Edge

Can't believe I'd never seen The Cutting Edge!

Such a smart and snarky (in the best way!) article!

Streaming shot of laptop with 1980s sitcom Family Ties playing--pictured is Alex and Mallory Keaton using an early personal computer in the family's living room.

How did television help to shape early conceptions of personal computing & computer dating? See standout media studies scholar Dr. @myrnamoretti.bsky.social 's insightful (just published) Interfaces essay "Part of Our Lives Now: The Personal Computer on "Family Ties” "!

cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces

If you live in Wisconsin, you need to get involved with Susan Crawford's campaign now.

Far-right activists have been talking about this race since November.

If you live out of state, consider phone banking for crawford or throwing dough to her campaign or grassroots groups organizing for her.

A snowy day out canvassing with Eglinton Lawrence’s liberal candidate Vince Gasparro @vgasparro.bsky.social #onpoli #toronto

Excited to announce that we're looking for a tenure-track hire in Game Studies! Our department is home to two fantastic undergraduate programs in games/interactive media, and Canada's first MA in Game Studies program. Please share!

brocku.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/brocku...

'Suitcase of Love and Shame' is derived from personal audio reels--a bit different, but definitely interesting!

Also maybe obvious but tons of films from the 80s/90s like The Big Chill; Sex Lies Videotape, etc. feature 'home video' in domestic settings but non-family oriented ways.