Professional update: this summer my family will be moving out of Michigan and (back!) to Texas. My wife and I will be joining the faculty at Abilene Christian University (which is where we met!). I’ll be in the History and Global Studies department, and she’ll be in the Graduate Scool of Theology.

Syriaca.org is hosting it's third annual summer workshop on digital humanities for Syriac Studies. If you are interested in learning DH skills, our data model, and how you can be a part of the work we're doing, please consider applying for the workshop.

Students, if you’re thinking about dropping a note to that teacher or professor about what their class/project/mentorship has meant to you, but you worry it will be cringe or cheesy, let me just tell you they will coast on the fuzzy feelings prompted by that note for months, if not years

Research associate position at the University of Oxford: Women in Syriac Christianity, 1500-1800 my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Women in Syriac Christianity, 1500-1800

my.corehr.com

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:

AHA Opposes Restrictions on Teaching and Learning at Texas Tech University - AHA

The AHA has released a statement strongly opposing the new Texas Tech University Course Content Guidelines. The guidelines impose a “strict prohibition” on content related to “Sexual Orientation and G...

historians.org

with degrees in Religious Studies and the history of religion.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins.me · 4mo ago

Hire more religion reporters.

It is with great sorrow that we share the news that Averil Cameron has passed away. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her and her work. Further information will be shared in due course.

She was an wonderful scholar and an absolutely lovely human being. I'm heartbroken.

Sarah E. Bond@sarahebond.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Hearing that the splendid Dame @averilcam.bsky.social has passed. She was an amazing scholar. She will be missed. Please note her memoir and remember to cite her as one of the pivotal founders of the field we now call Late Antiquity. www.brepols.net/products/IS-...

given the modern conservative fascination with Sparta it's at least a little funny that they've engineered a situation in which Persia is able to level a dramatically uneven battlefield by forcing the conflict into a narrow pathway

Blake Emerson@blakeprof.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Water not big missiles shoot far.

According to Academic Freedom Index, an annual benchmarking report compiled by researchers at Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, the decline in university autonomy in the US has been faster than in places such as Hungary, India and Turkey. 😮😡 www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Decline in U.S. University Autonomy, Index Shows

Drop in institutional autonomy of 50 percent since 2015 means country is now only rated as “moderate” by experts.

insidehighered.com

Posted as self-criticism.

can you teach something at Texas A&M? just follow this flowchart. www.chronicle.com/article/insi... via @jasperjsmith.bsky.social and @mzahneis.bsky.social

Careers for History Majors, revamped and updated for 2026, conveys the value of the undergraduate study of history through clear graphs and informal prose. Readers will find hard data, practical advice, and answers to common questions from students and their parents. 🗃️

Careers for History Majors - AHA

Studying History Can Enrich Our Lives The Value of a History Degree With clear data and informal prose, Careers for History Majors equips readers with data, practical advice, specific strategies, and ...

historians.org

JUST IN: Texas A&M professor Melissa McCoul sues over firing linked to gender-related content in youth literature class. TX Gov. Abbott called for her firing. Among the defendants: former POLITICO owner & NOTUS founder, Robert Allbritton. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

#1 in McCoul v. Texas A&M University System (S.D. Tex., 4:26-cv-00865) – CourtListener.com

COMPLAINT against All Defendants (Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ATXSDC-35013427) filed by Melissa McCoul. (Reichek, Amanda) (Entered: 02/04/2026)

storage.courtlistener.com

Two brave Texas Tech history majors speak on the record here. One would like to ask the Chancellor, "should I drop out?" www.texastribune.org/2026/02/04/t...

The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.

New Texas School Prayer Law Seems a Tad Fuzzy www.patheos.com/blogs/therel...

New Texas School Prayer Law Seems A Tad Fuzzy

Texas has a new prayer in public school law that went into effect September 1.  It's not clear if there has been any public school praying going on yet,

patheos.com

With all the AI spyware built into Windows 11 and AI's inability to prevent spewing protected information if prompted, some university lawyers should really investigate whether teachers using Windows 11 violates FERPA.

Publicly funded research should be publicly available!

Caroline (Carrie) T. Schroeder@ctschroeder.bsky.social · 10mo ago

NEH Collaborative research grant program now explicitly prohibits digital projects. Output should be a book or journal issue. FFS www.neh.gov/grants/resea...

I have been informed by the good folks at @gorgiaspress.bsky.social that my translation of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (aka 2 Baruch) is officially in print, though I don't have a hard copy yet. Here's a link: www.gorgiaspress.com/maccabees-3-...

3-4 Maccabees and the Apocalypse of Baruch According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation

This volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars.

gorgiaspress.com

History majors have lower unemployment than computer science majors. Folks with humanities graduate degrees are more sought after by corporate recruiters than those with MBAs. Study history! Get a job!

If forced to recommend a prayer for Texas school children, I'd probably go with Psalm 10.

Michelle Boorstein@michelleboorstein.bsky.social · 11mo ago

NEW: Texas has a new law offering schools the right to set aside time during the school day for prayer. The attorney general today issued a statement encouraging "children to begin with the Lord’s Prayer, as taught by Jesus Christ" www.oag.state.tx.us/news/release...

Our team has been working on a major Open Education Resource (OER) about U.S. legal history for teaching and learning. If you are teaching U.S. legal history, we hope that EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW will help you and your students. Check out our initial launch site at: teachinglegalhistory.unl.edu

I was so happy to participate in the original roundtable discussion and this publication that came out of it. Many thanks to Dave Michelson for his work to bring this together!

A poem from this morning.