Starting another semester, year 24 that I've been at this. Time to do a little sowing, as it says on the Beaumont Tower here on campus.

The cookie making madness is nearing an end, 21 varieties this year!

I wrote a short tribute to my friend and mentor, Jurgis Elisonas (aka George Elison), known to many scholars for his work on early modern Japan. He is sorely missed! www.asianstudies.org/in-memoriam-...

Friends, please consider adding your name to this robust statement in defense of higher education and academic freedom: actionnetwork.org/forms/oregon...

The federal government is trying to extort your school by coercing American universities into joining its so-called "Compact”. This is a time for courage, not capitulation. Sign this alumni petition now to tell your school to reject the "Compact" and stand up for campus freedom.

No Kings in Lansing, MI!

Gryphius’s griffin, c. 1560

The new Piet Oudolf garden at Belle Isle in Detroit is beautiful!

Summer sights

Funky medieval lions on a tomb in the Igreja de São João in Figueiró dos Vinhos, Portugal

NO KINGS! Fascismo nunca mais! Protesting here in Lisbon in solidarity! #nokings

Dutch and Portuguese tiles in Lisbon, 17th Century at Convento dos Cardais.

If you agree that American has no kings, add ❌👑 to your name!

Collections in Lisbon

No kings protest here in Lansing, Michigan! #Nokings2025

250 years ago. No Kings! Rise up, America!

Thousands in Lansing! Hands off! #handsoff2025

Why isn’t every anti-Musk politician using this song to start their rallies? A plus, it’s got the best video ever made: youtu.be/z5rRZdiu1UE

Hundreds here in East Lansing wait for Tom Barrett, MI-7 rep. Too scared to come, I guess! #Indivisible

Rally for equality and inclusion in Lansing with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence!

The government is about to give OpenAI the ability to legally steal if we do not flood this page in the next 12 hours. OpenAI will have immunity from all lawsuits regarding copyright infringement. All other AI companies will follow. Do you despise AI? Dissent, retweet. Do something. #furry #art

This article is an excellent summary of our current conjuncture at Big State University (but I think it applies broadly across American academia, and perhaps beyond): www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...

God's pretzel? And a German guide to lapdogs!

Protest at Tom Barrett’s office with Indivisible MI-7! No Musk! No Kings!

Well done taming the animals, guys

We had a great showing of Fred Kudjoe Kuworno's "We Were Here: The Untold Story of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe" here at Michigan State on Wednesday. Despite a blizzard, a lot of folks came to hear about this important part of our shared history. statenews.com/article/2025...

Fun animal friends from long ago!

New old friends at the library! From an early modern Italian manuscript...

Back at it, here in Lansing. Fight on!

Detroit’s walls are cool

The first half of December is always a bit of a mess, but this is a fun distraction from grading. Happy Holidays, friends!

So, friends, I've been teaching early modern history for over 20 years and I feel like I can't teach the Reformation anymore. It's not that I don't think my lectures are effective, it's that I don't think the students have any connection to the subject. Has anyone felt this recently? #earlymodern

Another entry in the continuing drama, Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Obrigado, Mário Rui Ferreira! Um tesouro com mil anos encontrado no lixo www.publico.pt/2024/12/08/c...

Happy Thanksgiving to friends far and near!

Hi new friends! In case we haven't met, I'm a historian of 16th and 17th century Portugal and the Portuguese empire, mostly religious history. Currently working on religious life in Lisbon, 1550-1600; in the past I wrote about Jesuit missions in Asia and Brazil, and will probably get back to that!

I seem to be exercising on the same route as these guys

Got to see a lot of books in New Haven; shame they wouldn’t let me read any!

From a recent trip to the MSU Broad Museum with my students. Exciting pigs…

Hi Friends! If anyone's in New Haven later this week, we'll be discussing Goa and Portuguese India. macmillan.yale.edu/latam/events...

Saying goodbye to friends in Lisbon, until next year!

I've never read a book with a belt. Unbuckling it was a bit strange. Especially since it once belonged to the Inquisition...

Just a regular historian, but I love a good field trip to the museum!

Fred is a bit shaggy, but still cute

Fun new finds in my university’s collections! Nothing quite like doing a chronolgical search of the catalogue…

I can assure you, the work is progressing well. The combination of historical and ultra-modern techniques is nothing short of amazing.

Can confirm. The Louvre still does not suck, but the Italian galleries are like seeing art in a crowded train station.

The new BNF museum is awesome!

A merry Christmas to all!

Fred sends holiday wishes to friends far and near!