While it’s possible I’ll squeeze in another post this month, it seems unlikely at the moment… So I thought I’d reflect on what I’ve written here this year (with handy links in case you want to catch up!).
Academic Culture
My most popular posts this year (as is often the case) were about academic culture. One Bad Apple, on spotting toxic people in academia, is my most read new post of the year. I also wrote about not making a rod for your own back by expecting too much of yourself in this crazy COVID year, following a post on academic parenthood during a pandemic. I also fessed up to having nominal aphasia, aka I am (very very) bad with names. Maybe you are too! I talked about how it impacts my working life and it got a bit of traction on twitter.
Medieval Studies
I shared a modern take on the Decameron and shared my paper on male solidarity from last year’s Gender and Medieval Studies conference.
Wider Society
I reflected on the spirit of Good Friday in this coronavirus year, on transphobia and the importance of bodily autonomy, and funnily enough have two posts on statues: on white monuments and Black Lives Matter, and on embodiment and the Mary Wollstonecraft-inspired statue. And finally, a post on the anniversary of the Notre Dame fire, thinking about what lasts and what we love.
Thank you for reading along with me this year! It’s been a pleasure. And you can find me contributing to my departmental blog, History at Northampton, over here too.
Rachel E. Moss 