Robyn Thum-O'Brien

Mom/Medievalist. PhD candidate at @umich. romance & medievalisms. museums & public humanities. bi/pan she/her. All opinions someone else's.

[Stephen Hopkins @phil_lol_ogist]

💕☠️Memento Mori, you lovely people ☠️💕

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

My 2 year old says "medieval" as "an evil " --- as in "an evil castle "--- and it is INCREDIBLE lol

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@GeorginaF_Homer Some things I have tried: a bubble machine & chalk do wonders, and don't require much outdoor space. Putting paint in a ziplock bag and taping it to the floor or backdoor for her to squish. Giving her a popsicle in the bath while you work sitting on the toilet.

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

Coming late 2023...

"Every child begins the world again..." ---Henry David Thoreau

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@MoiraDonegan I'm a mother, and, honestly, each pregnancy makes me MORE pro choice!! Like, I want this and it's STILL scary/physically challenging/exhausting etc.

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@bkadams Yes, yes, and kind of? I was left-handed, but taught myself to use my right, partly because of this...

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

Our two year's impression of @Aidan_OBrien13: putting on Aidan's baseball cap and wandering around attempting to say "phenomenology" over and over 🤷‍♀️😂

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@KzooICMS is next week! I am so excited to get to share space with all of these wonderful people:

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@MaggieRMyers @Prof_Dorsey @MollyHaney (that is definitely part of my motivation in asking the question... lol 😆)

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

#medievaltwitter What is the best book of scholarship on medieval romance that you've read? Especially more recent (post-2019ish) things?

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@DrChrisJensen @MGLeitch Definitely adding to my TBR.

I KNOW!! I am also finishing a paper, although I don't have anything as exciting as a Taylor Swift concert to motivate me lol.... very excited for Kzoo!

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@DrChrisJensen oooh thanks for these! I love @MGLeitch 's work, but somehow I had not heard of this collection

[Frog and Toad Bot @FrogandToadbot]

“Toad, Toad, wake up. It is May now.”

“What?” said Toad.

“Can it be May so soon?”

[Grad Employees' Org UMich @geo3550]

Our month-long strike was covered by @democracynow this morning! Like working people up and down the country, we're facing a cost of living squeeze while bosses like @UMichPrezOno rake in millions. We're proud to be fighting back against this inequality!
https://t.co/sisBcPuDW8

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@bailssullivan @cl6064003 @UMich Love *you* @bailssullivan ❤️😊

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

I am a graduate student @UMich and a member of GEO. Here's what my financial situation, and why we need an increase #livingwage 🧵:

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

@tbinimaize @UMich We are students, but don't take classes after year 2 or 3 in our program (I'm in 4 out of 6). I actually did take 2 years off to save. And as @geo3550 points out, the ‘raises’ offered by @Umich are below the rate of inflation – i.e., an effective pay cut vs. what was offered.

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

*sorry for any typos. As a medievalist, I could argue that they are actually intentional scholastic choices that push back against "standardized" spelling and syntax, but the truth is, I'm just tired 🫠

[Robyn Thum-O'Brien @itstoocliche]

I did not come to grad school to get rich, but I do believe that the instructors and researchers who keep this university running should be able to pay bills and meet monthly expenses. @UMPublicAffairs is really that an unreasonable ask?