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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.

@blindscholar.bsky.social

PhD in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East from Brandeis, postdoc at Stanford. Interests in disability, myth, economics, and materiality. More at www.blindscholar.com.

773 Posts1511 Follower449 Folgt
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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · 5d ago

My take is that everything is just about the right size in relation to everything else. I think that sums it up. My real question, though, is whether I should reread these and give them to my kids. I loooved Redwall as a kid—does it hold up?

Nora@lighthousenora.bsky.social · 2w ago

i would love your historical architecture take on the relative size of redwall abbey to its natural surroundings and inhabitants. like are we talking a tiny abbey in a tiny forest or what

madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · 5d ago

Happy Friday everyone, as promised, here is my personal theory on this. I think Redwall takes place in our world, after an apocalyptic event of the nuclear variety caused rapid but varied growth of all animals, including humans, leading to our extinction and their mental development. Okay? 🧵

Nora@lighthousenora.bsky.social · 2w ago

i would love your historical architecture take on the relative size of redwall abbey to its natural surroundings and inhabitants. like are we talking a tiny abbey in a tiny forest or what

Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · last wk.

Hello! WE are preparing for the launch of our first online course, and we need to fill two short-term contract roles, both with potential for ongoing or repeat engagement: 1. website and social media: build out site in accordance with design brief and provided assets (Kajabi experience preferred) 👇

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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · last wk.

We are hiring two short-term contract roles at Parchment & Clay! One will be a quick sprint before mid-August, while the video editing role will continue into October. Application info in thread. Please help us connect with great people!

Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · last wk.

Hello! WE are preparing for the launch of our first online course, and we need to fill two short-term contract roles, both with potential for ongoing or repeat engagement: 1. website and social media: build out site in accordance with design brief and provided assets (Kajabi experience preferred) 👇

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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · last wk.

We are hiring two short-term contract roles at Parchment & Clay! One will be a quick sprint before mid-August, while the video editing role will continue into October. Application info in thread. Please help us connect with great people!

Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · last wk.

Hello! WE are preparing for the launch of our first online course, and we need to fill two short-term contract roles, both with potential for ongoing or repeat engagement: 1. website and social media: build out site in accordance with design brief and provided assets (Kajabi experience preferred) 👇

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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · 2w ago

Yup. Analysis like this is like asking why NFL quarterbacks can only make 60% of passes. You can point out all their own errors, but the biggest factor remains that there is another team trying to stop them!

Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2w ago

Conservatives have not only been "complaining" about academia for decades, they've been using politics, the law, policy, social media and the mainstream media to shape public trust/distrust of academia. But I suppose you need to keep pushing your argument higher ed is distrusted because of woke

Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo One of the most frequent responses to me about the loss of public trust in academia is that it's not their fault, it's the result of a decades-long conservative campaign. Why don't I talk about that? Well, because you can't explain a change with a level. 12:41 PM · Jul 24, 2026 · 7,116 Views Relevant Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo · 1h Conservatives have indeed been complaining about the academy for decades. Yet in 2015 almost 60 percent of Americans told Gallup they had a great deal/quite a lot of confidence in higher ed. Now it's 38%. Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo · 1h It's a straight line down until 2022, bottoms out, thermostatically rebounds in 2025, probably *as a result of administration attacks on higher ed*, then returns to its previous abysmal level. This does not look like conservative attacks working. Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo · 1h Rather it looks like academia going crazy and the public responding. That's not the only thing happening--there's also a cost problem, and the fact that the wage premium for college degrees has been stagnant, so people are questioning the cost/benefit.
Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2w ago

Conservatives have not only been "complaining" about academia for decades, they've been using politics, the law, policy, social media and the mainstream media to shape public trust/distrust of academia. But I suppose you need to keep pushing your argument higher ed is distrusted because of woke

Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo One of the most frequent responses to me about the loss of public trust in academia is that it's not their fault, it's the result of a decades-long conservative campaign. Why don't I talk about that? Well, because you can't explain a change with a level. 12:41 PM · Jul 24, 2026 · 7,116 Views Relevant Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo · 1h Conservatives have indeed been complaining about the academy for decades. Yet in 2015 almost 60 percent of Americans told Gallup they had a great deal/quite a lot of confidence in higher ed. Now it's 38%. Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo · 1h It's a straight line down until 2022, bottoms out, thermostatically rebounds in 2025, probably *as a result of administration attacks on higher ed*, then returns to its previous abysmal level. This does not look like conservative attacks working. Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo · 1h Rather it looks like academia going crazy and the public responding. That's not the only thing happening--there's also a cost problem, and the fact that the wage premium for college degrees has been stagnant, so people are questioning the cost/benefit.
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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · 2w ago

I've been thinking about this one more since I recorded the video. Here are photos of the tablet. It's student work, and was found in what was probably a scribal school (edubba) in Nippur.

Catalog image of the tablet CBS 7867, held in the Penn Museum. Description from Be My AI, edited and clarified by me: Circular clay object with cuneiform writing on the front and a central hollowed cavity on the reverse. The main part of the image shows the object from multiple angles against a black background: front, back, side views, and top and bottom. The material appears light brown to beige clay with some darker reddish stains and surface wear, giving it an aged, archaeological look. On the broad, flatter side, shallow straight grooves divide the surface into horizontally ruled lines, and within these bands there are small wedge-shaped impressions that make up cuneiform signs. the surface is cracked in several places. The edges are irregular and slightly chipped, and the profile is somewhat lens-shaped, tapering to a thinner rim. On the reverse side, the object has a large, rounded central depression or bowl-shaped cavity, smooth inside and surrounded by a thicker rim of clay. Near the outer edge on this side, there is a hand-written catalog number “7867” in dark ink. The side views show that the object thickens around the central cavity and narrows toward the inscribed face, emphasizing its disk-like shape.
Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · 2w ago

Have you been thinking to yourself, "my collection of childish schoolhouse insults needs some material from ancient Mesopotamia?" Well, look no further than today's #AncientSayings! Ancient Sayings #74: Butt week! On Noxious foods https://youtu.be/5QW369ls2qY

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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · 2w ago

I've been thinking about this one more since I recorded the video. Here are photos of the tablet. It's student work, and was found in what was probably a scribal school (edubba) in Nippur.

Catalog image of the tablet CBS 7867, held in the Penn Museum. Description from Be My AI, edited and clarified by me: Circular clay object with cuneiform writing on the front and a central hollowed cavity on the reverse. The main part of the image shows the object from multiple angles against a black background: front, back, side views, and top and bottom. The material appears light brown to beige clay with some darker reddish stains and surface wear, giving it an aged, archaeological look. On the broad, flatter side, shallow straight grooves divide the surface into horizontally ruled lines, and within these bands there are small wedge-shaped impressions that make up cuneiform signs. the surface is cracked in several places. The edges are irregular and slightly chipped, and the profile is somewhat lens-shaped, tapering to a thinner rim. On the reverse side, the object has a large, rounded central depression or bowl-shaped cavity, smooth inside and surrounded by a thicker rim of clay. Near the outer edge on this side, there is a hand-written catalog number “7867” in dark ink. The side views show that the object thickens around the central cavity and narrows toward the inscribed face, emphasizing its disk-like shape.
Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · 2w ago

Have you been thinking to yourself, "my collection of childish schoolhouse insults needs some material from ancient Mesopotamia?" Well, look no further than today's #AncientSayings! Ancient Sayings #74: Butt week! On Noxious foods https://youtu.be/5QW369ls2qY

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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · 2w ago

As a field, Assyriology doesn't talk about butts nearly enough—especially considering it's right there in the name! Well, we're rectifying that this week on Ancient Sayings with a fine selection of patootie-related proverbs. Enjoy!

Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · 2w ago

DID YOU KNOW that ancient Mesopotamians had butts, just like us? They did, and they also liked to talk about them! Welcome to Butt Week on #AncientSayings! Ancient Sayings #71: Butt week! On being amply supplied with dubious resources https://youtu.be/5a3jnV2GX54

Guardian US@us.theguardian.com · 2w ago

"There are other capable progressives weighing a run in 2028," writes @sunraysunray.bsky.social. "However, none of them can do the two things AOC can do at once: run a serious national campaign as one of the most recognized figures in the country, and pull an entire movement into being behind it."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should run for president | Bhaskar Sunkara

The congresswoman can run a serious national campaign on the left and pull a movement in behind it. She should get in early

theguardian.com

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Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.@blindscholar.bsky.social · 2w ago

As a field, Assyriology doesn't talk about butts nearly enough—especially considering it's right there in the name! Well, we're rectifying that this week on Ancient Sayings with a fine selection of patootie-related proverbs. Enjoy!

Parchment & Clay@parchmentandclay.bsky.social · 2w ago

DID YOU KNOW that ancient Mesopotamians had butts, just like us? They did, and they also liked to talk about them! Welcome to Butt Week on #AncientSayings! Ancient Sayings #71: Butt week! On being amply supplied with dubious resources https://youtu.be/5a3jnV2GX54