The AHA has released a statement opposing the new Texas Tech University Course Content Guidelines, which prohibit content related to sexual orientation & gender identity in undergraduate courses, without defining these terms. Students deserve full and accurate histories. Read the statement:

Texas Tech has made the scholar at risk network’s list, joining universities in Colombia, Iran, Zimbabwe, and Serbia. Let’s see what the NY Times, the paper of record, the place that platformed Chris Rufo many times, has said about this over the past few months.

Excellent new film review by @deena-varner.bsky.social on Surveillance & Society’s blog, Blink. medium.com/surveillance...

1. In a draconian new policy, Texas Tech is banning writing about LGBTQ+ topics. The ban is the first don't say gay or trans policy to apply to students themselves. It applies to any thesis/dissertation moving forward. They are using AI to scan everything. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Texas Tech University System’s censorship of all content related to gender and sexuality is in contravention to Regents' Rules, e.g., 04.04.03: faculty must encourage "free inquiry in the classroom...and maintain a climate of mutual respect which will enhance the free interplay of ideas.”

It's been radio silence since this memo, excepting a message from the Provost to follow the chain of command (read: don't contact the Provost's office). This is far beyond what we were told to expect in the wake of the previous memo—when we were informed that we had to follow the "law" re: gender.

I am completely bereft. This has been going on for months, with varying degrees of guidance, but this one takes it. I am terrified of what's happening, for myself, my students, my colleagues, the public I serve. www.texastech.edu/downloads/25...

Our first post is an invitation! Join is to explore creative methods in carceral geography with these amazing people. Register here: events.humanitix.com/cgwg-worksho...

It was lovely working with @virvere.bsky.social on this wonderful review of Carceral Worlds: Legacies, Textures, and Futures, which foregrounds "how people feel and experience [a multiplicity of] carceralities."

This conversation among recent political prisoners captures so many subtleties and contradictions of social life in prison—and a plug for their new book, City Time

How we did it: Texas Won’t Study How Its Abortion Ban Impacts Women, So We Did

Ahed’s Knee seems to be about the nationalist/racist/bureaucratic/authoritarian state, but the film within the film (the critique within the critique)—the *sympathy* and *admiration* for Ahed Tamimi—is a brilliant take on the structural relationship between liberalism and state violence.

For the last time: The illegal / legal immigrant distinction is a manufactured crisis designed to mask deeper anxieties about white supremacy and generate support for nativist policies.

Employees of Texas universities are no longer permitted to travel to China for teaching, research, or any other professional purposes. Greg Abbott has unilaterally crippled ties between American and Chinese academics. gov.texas.gov/uploads/file...

This Black Friday, you'll probably notice the effects of inflation on price tags. What might not be so obvious though is its effect on the criminal legal system. Each year, inflation makes the system more punitive – and that's not a good deal. www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/06...

Jailbots are like every recent #AI #surveillance horror movie squared. I wonder if someone watched Megan and said, let's do that in prisons! one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5178...

I’m prepping a class about “literature of the fantastic” through the lens of political systems and social control. As the semester winds down, I was able to spend an entire Saturday doing little else but rereading Octavia Butler’s Kindred.

Since the 1990s, scholar-activists with lived experience in the criminal legal system have built a global movement. Tietjen Grant explores its history, impact, and future promise. www.ucpress.edu/blog-posts/s...

ICE Might Be Reading Your Encrypted Text Messages Paragon is an Israeli firm whose spyware product “Graphite” focuses on breaching encrypted messaging applications such as Telegram and Signal. ICE, the immigration agency, has already acquired the technology. www.newyorker.com/news/news-de...

since more people are coming here, here's the abolition resource guide I put together for those who may be interested! micahherskind.com/abolition-re...

I saw this ad last week and ordered the ebooks but also decided I wanted one of the books in paperback: The Black Antifascist Tradition. I figure we can learn a lot from Black people. #books #fascism #antifascism

Last class today re: narratives inspired by real crime events. While the skills and content of the course were important, students mostly talked about learning how to do literary criticism as a social practice, how to listen attentively and shape their thinking through argument.

I don't think I can stay on +wi++er much longer