Anne Taylor, PhD
@annetaylor.bsky.social
Writer. Theorist. Sociology Professor @MtHolyoke. https://annetaylor.substack.com/
I write about meaning making and belonging in culture, religion, travel, media, sport.
I write about meaning making and belonging in culture, religion, travel, media, sport.
A quiet, foggy day before the students arrive 😍
January 16, 2026 at 12:03 PM
A quiet, foggy day before the students arrive 😍
Looking for alternatives to Mills for my Intro class, and am going to try a short essay from Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass called "The Gift of Strawberries." In talking about the gift economy vs. property economy, she sketches the two-way relationship between humans and society!
January 15, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Looking for alternatives to Mills for my Intro class, and am going to try a short essay from Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass called "The Gift of Strawberries." In talking about the gift economy vs. property economy, she sketches the two-way relationship between humans and society!
Manifesting this vibe today:
January 15, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Manifesting this vibe today:
Wait… in my lifetime, they tore down the old Mile High stadium and built a new one… and now we need a newer new one?
The Denver Broncos announced their new stadium will be privately financed, but across the 5 major sports leagues, only 20% of facilities are actually privately owned.
A scholar of sports finance explains what "private" really means (it often uses tax dollars): buff.ly/aYmUe5s
A scholar of sports finance explains what "private" really means (it often uses tax dollars): buff.ly/aYmUe5s
Broncos say their new stadium will be ‘privately financed,’ but ‘private’ often still means hundreds of millions in public resources
Rarely are sports stadiums financed entirely with private funds.
theconversation.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Wait… in my lifetime, they tore down the old Mile High stadium and built a new one… and now we need a newer new one?
An excellent article on resisting AI in schools:
“It took software developers in an METR study who used AI tools 19 percent more time to do their work. Nevertheless, because they expected to save time, they believed their work had been sped up by 20 percent.”
(Via @allisonpugh.bsky.social)
“It took software developers in an METR study who used AI tools 19 percent more time to do their work. Nevertheless, because they expected to save time, they believed their work had been sped up by 20 percent.”
(Via @allisonpugh.bsky.social)
Rethinking Schools published my article about pushing back on some of the arguments made by those seeking to rush AI tools into schools.
Resisting AI Mania in Schools
A former English teacher takes on many of the arguments of AI promoters.
rethinkingschools.org
January 15, 2026 at 1:04 PM
An excellent article on resisting AI in schools:
“It took software developers in an METR study who used AI tools 19 percent more time to do their work. Nevertheless, because they expected to save time, they believed their work had been sped up by 20 percent.”
(Via @allisonpugh.bsky.social)
“It took software developers in an METR study who used AI tools 19 percent more time to do their work. Nevertheless, because they expected to save time, they believed their work had been sped up by 20 percent.”
(Via @allisonpugh.bsky.social)
@tisawenger.bsky.social's new book "Spirits of Empire: How Settler Colonialism Made American Religion" is out in March! It argues that American religion was shaped from the start by the governing imperatives of US empire. Pre-order and ask your library to purchase! uncpress.org/978146969362...
Spirits of Empire
The Declaration of Independence depicted Native Americans as bloodthirsty savages, and from its founding the United States aimed to expand westward by seizin...
uncpress.org
January 15, 2026 at 12:41 AM
@tisawenger.bsky.social's new book "Spirits of Empire: How Settler Colonialism Made American Religion" is out in March! It argues that American religion was shaped from the start by the governing imperatives of US empire. Pre-order and ask your library to purchase! uncpress.org/978146969362...
Dusting off my ol' Substack newsletter and officially re-launching today! Introducing: Weird Charisma annetaylor.substack.com
Weird Charisma | Anne Taylor | Substack
Exploring the sacred in travel, religion, and culture with researcher-storyteller Anne Taylor. Click to read Weird Charisma, by Anne Taylor, a Substack publication. Launched 3 years ago.
annetaylor.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Dusting off my ol' Substack newsletter and officially re-launching today! Introducing: Weird Charisma annetaylor.substack.com
Good morning ☕ my cup is a prayer: literacy and justice for all.
January 12, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Good morning ☕ my cup is a prayer: literacy and justice for all.
Very happy to be back in New England so I can pop down to @yaledivinityschool.bsky.social for lunch with friends and mentors! Oh and Noah Kahan/Boston I love u 4ever
May 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Very happy to be back in New England so I can pop down to @yaledivinityschool.bsky.social for lunch with friends and mentors! Oh and Noah Kahan/Boston I love u 4ever
Reposted by Anne Taylor, PhD
I was thrilled to talk to @bradleyonishi.bsky.social (who knows a thing or two about podcasts, evangelicals, and extremism) about my new documentary podcast, *When the Wolves Came: Evangelicals Against Extremism*. Listen here: www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/min...
Mini-Interview: Dr. Ruth Braunstein on Resisting Evangelical Extremism – Straight White American Jesus
www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com
April 26, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I was thrilled to talk to @bradleyonishi.bsky.social (who knows a thing or two about podcasts, evangelicals, and extremism) about my new documentary podcast, *When the Wolves Came: Evangelicals Against Extremism*. Listen here: www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/min...
Just realized it's the first year since '22 that I won't be setting off in April for field work in Europe. Feeling so so grateful that Yale and the Macmillan Center sponsored my research. Studying the ways people imagine nationalism, citizenry, and religion thru tourism is more important than ever!
March 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Just realized it's the first year since '22 that I won't be setting off in April for field work in Europe. Feeling so so grateful that Yale and the Macmillan Center sponsored my research. Studying the ways people imagine nationalism, citizenry, and religion thru tourism is more important than ever!
Interesting story on Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. His political performances capture the sacrality of both left and right audiences (e.g. gets AOC's praise, stands up to Biden, and is a former soldier with a Bronze Star).
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/o...
Opinion | The Democratic Party’s New Recruiter Has a Theory
The Democrats’ best chance to constrain President Trump is retaking control of the House in 2026. Here’s how they might do it.
www.nytimes.com
March 19, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Interesting story on Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. His political performances capture the sacrality of both left and right audiences (e.g. gets AOC's praise, stands up to Biden, and is a former soldier with a Bronze Star).
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/o...
I'm being reminded today that friendship is such a tonic amidst all the chaos. One friend wrote me to ask if I'd read their book draft. Another wrote me asking if they could read my thesis. In a world where everything that is meaningful can be discredited as cringey, embrace 👏 your 👏 friends.
February 27, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I'm being reminded today that friendship is such a tonic amidst all the chaos. One friend wrote me to ask if I'd read their book draft. Another wrote me asking if they could read my thesis. In a world where everything that is meaningful can be discredited as cringey, embrace 👏 your 👏 friends.
New article from Yağmur Karakaya on how the AKP uses the Hagia Sofia in its populist strategy and "leverages the monument's history to create a sense of yearning among the Turkish people while positioning itself as the sole entity able to fulfill this yearning." Check it out! doi.org/10.1057/s412...
Gifting of Hagia Sophia: icon’s role in extractive sacralization - American Journal of Cultural Sociology
This paper examines the sacralization of politics in authoritarian populisms through a case study of the conversion of Hagia Sophia, a fifteen-century-old monument from the Byzantine era into a mosque...
doi.org
February 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
New article from Yağmur Karakaya on how the AKP uses the Hagia Sofia in its populist strategy and "leverages the monument's history to create a sense of yearning among the Turkish people while positioning itself as the sole entity able to fulfill this yearning." Check it out! doi.org/10.1057/s412...
Reposted by Anne Taylor, PhD
Some BIG news: the trailer for my new doc podcast is out today! WHEN THE WOLVES CAME is about how Christian nationalism has divided white evangelical churches, and how one Phoenix pastor & some unlikely allies are at the forefront of a growing resistance. More at open.substack.com/pub/ruthbrau...
February 19, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Some BIG news: the trailer for my new doc podcast is out today! WHEN THE WOLVES CAME is about how Christian nationalism has divided white evangelical churches, and how one Phoenix pastor & some unlikely allies are at the forefront of a growing resistance. More at open.substack.com/pub/ruthbrau...
Considering the current chaos, it's worth reflecting on one of the most sacred ideals of a democratic society - truth-telling - and how we relate to it. Check out this great article from @jgotzsche.bsky.social in @sociologicaltheory.bsky.social on the topic
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
February 11, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Considering the current chaos, it's worth reflecting on one of the most sacred ideals of a democratic society - truth-telling - and how we relate to it. Check out this great article from @jgotzsche.bsky.social in @sociologicaltheory.bsky.social on the topic
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Anne Taylor, PhD
Rethinking JOY, in the latest #UncommonSense we look at joy and protest with Akwiugo Emejulu – Is joy a palliative for the world’s troubles or is it something more fleeting? buff.ly/4jkrhdl
January 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Rethinking JOY, in the latest #UncommonSense we look at joy and protest with Akwiugo Emejulu – Is joy a palliative for the world’s troubles or is it something more fleeting? buff.ly/4jkrhdl
Reposted by Anne Taylor, PhD
Who gets to claim #MLK? @profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social's research reveals how different groups have strategically interpreted Dr. King's words to advance their own causes—often in ways that directly conflict.
Find our 2024 conversation on the @contexts.org blog ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
Find our 2024 conversation on the @contexts.org blog ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
January 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Who gets to claim #MLK? @profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social's research reveals how different groups have strategically interpreted Dr. King's words to advance their own causes—often in ways that directly conflict.
Find our 2024 conversation on the @contexts.org blog ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
Find our 2024 conversation on the @contexts.org blog ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
Looking for the light today ✨
January 20, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Looking for the light today ✨
Reposted by Anne Taylor, PhD
Read this new article by Johan Gøtzsche-Astrup and Kaspar Villadsen entitled "The dispositif is alive! Recovering social agents in Foucauldian analysis".
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ https://buff.ly/4a4DJtw
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ https://buff.ly/4a4DJtw
January 15, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Read this new article by Johan Gøtzsche-Astrup and Kaspar Villadsen entitled "The dispositif is alive! Recovering social agents in Foucauldian analysis".
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ https://buff.ly/4a4DJtw
#EarlyView in #BJS ➡️ https://buff.ly/4a4DJtw
Reposted by Anne Taylor, PhD
Rep Landsman: "You're just picking on children. Our government is not supposed to be this intrusive. Your government has become incredibly intrusive. You're in our doctors offices banning treatments. You're in our classroom banning books. Now you're in my daughter's locker room"
January 14, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Rep Landsman: "You're just picking on children. Our government is not supposed to be this intrusive. Your government has become incredibly intrusive. You're in our doctors offices banning treatments. You're in our classroom banning books. Now you're in my daughter's locker room"
Republicans: we want government out of our lives! Don’t control us! Wahh!
Also Republicans: except when we want to control women’s bodies and tell them they cannot play sports! Then more government!
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/u...
Also Republicans: except when we want to control women’s bodies and tell them they cannot play sports! Then more government!
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/u...
House Passes Bill to Bar Trans Athletes From Female School Sports Teams
Republicans’ decision to push through the measure early in the new Congress indicated their belief that the issue is politically potent for them. Its future in the Senate is uncertain.
www.nytimes.com
January 14, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Republicans: we want government out of our lives! Don’t control us! Wahh!
Also Republicans: except when we want to control women’s bodies and tell them they cannot play sports! Then more government!
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/u...
Also Republicans: except when we want to control women’s bodies and tell them they cannot play sports! Then more government!
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/u...
Writing and listening to Max Richter - truly the best combo on this chilly morning in Colorado: youtu.be/oNLDJp83YAQ?...
Max Richter: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
YouTube video by NPR Music
youtu.be
January 14, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Writing and listening to Max Richter - truly the best combo on this chilly morning in Colorado: youtu.be/oNLDJp83YAQ?...
Bluesky (and Twitter before it) felt so unusable the more people I followed, so I actually made use of the List function. It's a game changer!
January 14, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Bluesky (and Twitter before it) felt so unusable the more people I followed, so I actually made use of the List function. It's a game changer!
Everything feels really horrible right now, so I'm just gonna post this recipe for "cure me chicken soup" that I have been making nonstop for a few months. www.handmethefork.com/recipes/cure...
cure me chicken soup — Handmethefork
all i’m saying is it worked for me
www.handmethefork.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Everything feels really horrible right now, so I'm just gonna post this recipe for "cure me chicken soup" that I have been making nonstop for a few months. www.handmethefork.com/recipes/cure...