I thought my entire department was ignoring me on scheduling something but it looking now like the emails I sent out on a listserv never went through. One anxiety relieved; another emerges.

Others have thought of this, I'm sure, but if time machines get invented, the study abroad/spring break course add-on opportunities are going to be amazing! (Yes, I am familiar with the novels of Connie Willis.)

Help me understand this article: is OSU eliminating an "integrated math" & an "English" major or "integrated math and English" major? I don't understand what this would be, but I can't believe a major research university is eliminating its English major! www.thelantern.com/2025/11/ohio...

Do English readers ignore instructions or do French readers ignore English signs? Mysteries of Paris. (in the locker area of the BnF Mitterrand.)

not that many people born before WW1 who could have had a facebook page.

I run across Seymour de Ricci (1881-1942) every so often & dip my toes into the rabbithole--one day I will fall in: bibliographer, Orientalist, a Montefiore, first wife a Dreyfus. Last biographical treatment = 8 pages in 1942? Daughter died in 2008. #bookhistory #Jewishstudies.

Upcoming lectures in eligion and Healthcare Lecture Series at Pitt-- #JewishStudies #ReligiousStudies. bioethics.pitt.edu/health-human... Next: Nov 11, 8 – 9 am EST, Online “In all your ways, know Him" (Proverbs 3:6) Meets "And you shall live by them" (Leviticus 18:5), Rabbanit Miriam Fenster

Senior art historians who work on "pre-modernity" as defined in your geographic area, take a look at this: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio.... Folks in related #earlymodern and other pre-modern areas share this widely.

Does your university sponsor a mock ancient olympics as part of the study of classics and religious studies? www.religiousstudies.pitt.edu/news/religio... #religiousstudies #classics #ancientworld

I thought I knew a lot about Reuchlin but it's great to discover avenues I hadn't even considered--looking forward to reading this new book. #earlymodern #Jewishstudies #ChristianHebraism reforc.com/news/music-r...

Settlement between Ohio attorney general and HUC on the rare book collection. www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-R...

My colleague Adam Lowenstein is such a great explainer of why horror films (and lit) are worth serious academic study. He even got me to watch a horror film once. www.as.pitt.edu/horror-studi...

With the decline of the humanities in American academia and the hard-sell to students to study anything that happened before 1800, I find it both annoying and gratifying that my university and the art museum next door feature 3 lectures on classical and early modern topics at the same time today!

I went to a lecture 10 days ago that I though Jill Joshowitz would be at. Her spouse said she had a scheduling conflict and he couldn't say what it was but it was a big deal. And now I know: www.timesofisrael.com/48-surreal-h...

Info about current and past job searches in academic Jewish studies here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... Info about other jobs and results of past searches, please share. (Note: I only post the name of the person hired once they have begun the position or with their permission ahead of that.)

“Syracuse University paused admission to 20 majors in the College of Arts and Sciences without faculty input” dailyorange.com/2025/09/coll...

Thursday September 25, 5-6:30 pm, Cathedral of Learning, 6th floor, Humanities Center

Interesting reading on academic freedom cases in Pittsburgh: I was not aware of the Turner case at all. www.publicsource.org/historic-pit...

It is not that hard for people who schedule events to take a calendar a year ahead, look up major Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu holidays on the Internet search engine of choice, and block them out. Cultural literacy should be part of the job.

This is terrible news--shocking given the generosity of the Schnitzer gift. In addition to being terrible on the merits, it seems terrible from a long-term perspective of cultivating relationships with donors. Take the money and run?

Our August issue, 29.4, is now available online! This issue opens with an open-access article by Yonatan Glazer-Eytan and Giuseppe Marcocci, "Material Culture and Early Modern Archivality: A Dialogue." brill.com/view/journal...

An interesting read. A comment says that a conference on Wolfson is in the works. I hope attention is paid to his library. When I used to spend time in the Widener JS seminar room c. 2000, saw a lot of his books on the upper shelves, seemingly un-cataloged. Marginalia and ephemera to be discovered!

There is an article on "The Dispatch" by a Yale faculty member that makes specious arguments, stereotypes academic disciplines, misreads the present political moment, and doesn't understand at all how university budgets work. Is this typical for this website (which I have never encountered before)?

Wow. The University of Chicago, a world-class institution whose humanities faculty in the past has included Homi Bhabha & Lauren Berlant & Ralph Ellison & Hannah freaking Arendt, is getting rid of basically every graduate department involving the acknowledgment that other cultures & languages exist.

#JewishStudies jobs--dept websites are always behind. If you have information on who got these jobs please send me an email. I will only post confirmed and public info. If you were on or involved in the search and it was cancelled, you can also let me know. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Sometimes we get cynical about the places we work. But my institution does a lot of important work and people should recognize that. Go to this one first-- probably the most important ophthalmology research in the world and then cycle through the other examples: www.pitt.edu/research-mat...

If I remember, Henry Rosovsky, legendary Harvard dean, said that parking was always the #1 contentious issue among faculty. Now listening to a university town hall webinar and OMG the vice-chancellor for operations and finance feels obligated to answer several questions that came in about parking.

"My Oxford Year"--not my cup of tea. but not quite as bad as I expected. My quick takes (mild spoilers): 1) Enjoyed the shots of @magdalenoxford.bsky.social but the fictional world of film definitely slights the role of the porters (and swipe cards).

Can people (in this case museum staff) no longer distinguish between factual errors and differences in interpretation? www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

I love my frequent trips to @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social but I am enjoying my time this summer in the @theulspeccoll.bsky.social and learning to say "classmark" instead of "shelfmark." Travel is broadening!

The June issue of the JEMH is out! #earlymodern

good news! modern science has fulfilled the alchemist dream. bad news! it was only for like a second and it will take a really long time to make a scrooge mcduck vault if they have to go proton by proton

The discussion of a great book continues.

Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity (@stanfordpress.bsky.social) has launched (at Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh)!

This was a great event. Enjoyed hearing a range of interesting perspectives on this terrific book and @elirubin.bsky.social 's responses.

While the gospels say that Judas led the Romans to Jesus, a new theory is gaining traction with some Biblical scholars. There is evidence, some say, that Judas merely shared Christ's location on an insecure group chat that accidentally included several Roman officials and journalists.

Today, I wish to express a sentiment that is unusual for me: Fair Harvard-- Fight! Fight! Fight!

@richardprimus.bsky.social offers the counter-Dayenu for our time.

Academia is seriously under threat. So we have to celebrate good things when we can: a former grad student wrote me Monday to tell me she was awarded tenure; a first-year undergrad has done great work for @footprints-heb.bsky.social; my department hosted a great lecture last night.

There is even more than this article mentioned that has been defunded already of under threat-- at least 2 NEH grants for Yiddish literature; a Judaica librarianship program funded by the IMLS. The NEH senior scholar program has been a key element of the Center for Jewish History.

DEADLINE APPROACHING: JWA is accepting applications for the 2025-26 Rising Voices Fellowship! This program for teens offers a unique curriculum exploring Judaism, feminism, and social justice. Apps due April : buff.ly/433VF5X

It is an old maxim that news about Harvard will travel halfway around the globe even when there is the exact same news about many other research universities. #Academia

It's Pitt Day of Giving. Yes, one of those. But if enough people give just $5 to the Religious Studies Department, we get in the running for some of the bigger matches. (I mean, do feel free to give more than $5 if you would like.) pittdayofgiving.com/campaigns/re... #Pitt #ReligiousStudies

Spaces still available for this workshop in Toronto! All nationalities welcome. There will be no discussion of Canada-US political relations or ice hockey on the agenda. #earlymodern #bookhistory #Jewishstudies

The last Doges abdicated in Venice and Genoa in 1797 and I see no reason to bring the office back.

I learn the same lesson every semester. Students do not read announcements on canvas. If I want students to know about something (a lecture, an extra-credit opportunity, extra office hours with me for optional close reading of primary sources, etc.) I have to say it in class.

Gilda Slifka Internship Program (June 9 through August 1, 2025) at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (Brandeis University, USA) Paid residential internship for undergrad and grad students studying at US and international universities Application due March 12, 2025 www.brandeis.edu/hbi/programs...

Oxford Summer Institute on Modern & Contemporary Judaism: theme ‘Jewish Citizenship & Belonging—Between Identity, Responsibility & Sacrifice’, application deadline 28 Feb, details ochjs.ac.uk/call-for-app... #modernJudaism

#Hebrew #ManuscriptStudies #Workshop: Application deadline 21 Feb, details ochjs.ac.uk/call-for-app... #codicology #palaeography #arthistory