Threats to the humanities as institutions like my own tend to get a lot of attention, but the decimation of our disciplines is happening rapidly at regional public schools across the US, which serve far more students. Students at every university & college deserves access to humanities education.

"I examine...government subsidies and transfers; the employment of foreign labor; charitable giving; and Islamic banking and finance... in #Kuwait, #Qatar, #Oman, and #SaudiArabia...I explore how these practices are carried out, by whom, for what purposes, and with what effects."

“”If it doesn’t rain in Tehran by late November, we’ll have to ration water. And if it still doesn’t rain, we’ll have to evacuate Tehran,” President Masoud Pezeshkian was cited as saying on Thursday by the SNN.ir semi-official news agency.” apnews.com/article/iran...

Ali's Ansari's latest on the ongoing power of nostalgia for ancient and modern monarchs in #Iran - he notes it is not so much about royal dynasties, but about the idea of savior figures leading restorations

I'm reviewing this book for the JAH; just wanted to put it on the radar of the nat sec crowd. Probably the most thorough and insightful account of Somalia I've encountered.

Thrilled to have this piece by Omar Muhammed & @fancynahyan.bsky.social out now. I'll be using it tomorrow in a talk at UC-Merced on "Where Do Pandemics Come From? Using Black Death Narratives to Rethink the Origin of Pandemics." Or the question we really need to ask: when are pandemics? A quick 🧵.

I did not realizing this book about #Khuzestan #Iran existed, but it sounds awesome and is 40% off with discount code UTXGIFTS through January 31, 2026 Bordering on War: A Social and Political History of Khuzestan, by Shaharzad Ahmadi (@utexaspress.bsky.social) utpress.utexas.edu/9781477329931/

A new report published today by the AAUP & @mesa1966.bsky.social finds that the weaponization of civil rights law has been central to attacks on campus speech over the past two years. Only one of 102 antisemitism complaints reviewed raise antisemitism claims unrelated to criticism of Israel. 🧵

New Journal of #Abbasid Studies special issue on #water - open access @degruyterbrill.bsky.social #medievalsky brill.com/view/journal...

I got my copy of "Civilizing Contention"! This beautiful book tells the story of how nonviolent action persisted throughout the Syrian war, shaped by both the agency of Syrian activists & the influence of international aid. Congratulations @rbkhoury.bsky.social on this important contribution!

Saudi female employment has continued to grow more than twice the gain in Saudi male employment. – Tim Callen

Look folks gen AI videos are out in the wild so if you weren't already being careful about sharing rage bait videos then now is a great time to start If you can't trace a video back to a trusted source then I recommend leaving it where it is, like a slice of bologna you found on the street

Too grim to bear. But as I read a stack of essays arguing that if we can just get things right in Gaza, it’ll be better next time, I’m indebted to those who are compiling the evidence that next time is now.

Allow me to summarize: 1. 5 IDF soldiers caught sexually molesting a Palestinian prisoner. 2. IDF files charges. 3. IDF AG faces enormous pressure from government to drop charges. Mob storms base where it happened. 4. IDF AG leaks video documenting the molestation. 5. IDF AG pushed out (continued)

This coming book looks excellent Storytelling, Seafaring, and Travel Writing: The Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean From @degruyterbrill.bsky.social brill.com/display/titl...

Here is a great book on the Nebi Musa festival and Palestinian identity, based on an award-winning dissertation

Florida's governor is telling public universities to stop hiring anyone on a H-1B visa. Expect other red states to follow suit.

{New book} Disability and War in the Late Middle Ages: Becoming, Surviving, Managing Edited by Ninon Dubourg and Christophe Masson www.arc-humanities.org/978180270164... Issues relating to disability and war remain largely overlooked by military and disability historians.

"If de Waal is anywhere close to right, this conflict will have killed 7.5 percent of the prewar population of Gaza in just two years. It already is, in proportional terms, deadlier than the wars in Yemen, Syria, Sudan and Ukraine." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...

Musk: X will delete all heuristics from its recommendation system within six weeks. ...the familiar logic of likes, replies, and reposts that shaped Twitter for years is about to disappear. In its place, Grok, the platform's in-house Al model, will read and watch more than one hundred million posts.

Most histories of hoodies go with 12th century monks as the originator, but I like to show my students this one from 5th-7th century Egypt.

From here on in, expect any historical quotation, speech or evidence that contradicts or embarrasses Trumpism to be erased, lost, or changed. Materials held by government agencies including the National Archives are especially vulnerable. Digitized material also. Hold on to published books you own.

Free to download before November 5 - @yonatan.bsky.social's Between Yahwism and Judaism: Judean Cult and Culture during the Early Hellenistic Period (332–175 BCE)

Pennsylvania voters will decide the future of three state Supreme Court justices when they cast their ballots on Nov. 4. Who serves on the high court matters for everyone. From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, here are some decisions that have impacted communities living in cities across the state:

A key practice when it comes to course tech policies: Giving students rationales, and possibly relevant research/studies, to back up our policies. I want to persuade them as to why they themselves should want to avoid using AI, or keep their tech put away during class.

🚩Yesterday Saudi authorities executed Abdullah al-Derazi for alleged crimes committed as a child. Saudi authorities reached two horrific milestones: the 300th execution of 2025 & the 2nd execution of a person accused of committing crimes as a child. @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

If you're free this Thursday morning, I'll be giving a virtual lecture titled "The Real Lives of Blind Mesopotamians" as part of the 2025−2026 public lecture series hosted by the Bade Museum and Archaeological Research Facility at UC Berkeley. Come join the fun!

The Trump admin is now trying to induce universities nationwide to sign onto that appalling Compact for Higher Education. One small step we can all take is to write to our alma maters, to encourage leaders to publicly refuse the compact. I emailed President Blake at Georgia State University today.

Nap time #cats

I am happy to announce the publication of my latest book The Iraq Wars: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press). amazon.com/Iraq-Wars-Shor… An audio-book version is scheduled for release in December.

Philadelphia: come see my very first US book talk for America’s Middle East next Tuesday 10/21 at @perryworldhouse.bsky.social at Penn. Looking forward to the discussion! perryworldhouse.upenn.edu/events/book-...

Your yearly reminder that in 1972 the state of Hawaii changed the name of the holiday observed on the second Monday of October to Discoverers Day in honor of all discoverers a& particularly the Pacific navigators whose skill and courage populated the many islands spread across the vast Pacific Ocean

Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains over his treatment of indigenous peoples. The literal king and queen of Spain who sponsored his voyage thought he went far too far.

Medieval and Early Modern MENA Starter Pack (@brianjulrich.bsky.social)

I have organised an amazing roster of *virtual* presentations for the Centre for Gulf Studies at Exeter. Check out these incredible superstars, and register for the events (Tuesdays 17-18.30 London time) here: www.exeter.ac.uk/research/cen...

"If you don’t support us, how can we grow?” —Professor Karl Lorenz, Shippensburg University

more gutter antisemitism from Mary Rambaran-Olm (read down in the thread where she suggests that she supports murdering Jews)

Wow. h/t @samanthabrennan.bsky.social This looks really incredible. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

My review of Paula Fredriksen's Ancient Christianities is up at BMCR: Ancient Christianities: the first five hundred years – Bryn Mawr Classical Review share.google/agnGwlBZmvkJ...

“Because of ChatGPT, people assume that AI is just a chatbot, but AI is much broader." —Professor Sam Thangiah, Slippery Rock University

Yes!!!

Another (quite exciting looking!) book from Tübingen!!

Every day is a good day to protest the ongoing Gaza genocide, and I don't think every protest needs to mention Hamas's massacre. However, holding a special mass protest on the 7th Oct anniversary without acknowledgment of Hamas's massacres on that day, is a very different thing.

I actually used a chapter of this about #SaudiArabia's emerging comedy scene in a class last year:

Best piece I’ve read on Saudi’s comedy festival by a mile. Unlike standard critics of “-washing” (sports-washing, pink-washing, green-washing & now comedy-washing), Leber grapples w/ domestic drivers of regime behaviour—and w/ how many everyday Saudis feel. carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

The famed limestone ostracon listing workers and their reasons for missing work is from the reign of Ramses II, circa 1250 BCE. Making beer (for the Gods) and taking care of one’s mother and fetching stone for a scribe are indeed valid excuses for missing work. www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...

It seems that the situation in Morocco has spiraled out of control. Reports indicate that there are several civilian casualties and injuries in the streets due to severe violence by the police forces.

"For the fourth consecutive night, young people protested Tuesday under the banner of the online collective 'GenZ 212', a loosely organised movement mobilising mainly through gaming platform Discord." #Morocco

Morocco had some of its largest anti-government protests in years as police clashed with youth-led demonstrators. Read more: https://cnn.it/4nZrDHJ