Daniel C. Smith
@dcsmith.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at Whitman College. Writing on bodies, rituals, and social history in the Roman Empire
Of the endless possible topics for their final papers in my course, "The Bible and the Body: Gender, Race, Disability, Affect," a surprising number of my students chose to write about Paul. Where did I go wrong?? WHo will rescue me from this Canvas marathon of death?
December 20, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Of the endless possible topics for their final papers in my course, "The Bible and the Body: Gender, Race, Disability, Affect," a surprising number of my students chose to write about Paul. Where did I go wrong?? WHo will rescue me from this Canvas marathon of death?
My book, _An Exotic Apocalypse: Revelation and the Appropriation of Judaism in the Roman Empire_, is officially forthcoming with Penn State University Press. It'll be the inaugural book in their _Religions in the Ancient Mediterranean_ series.
December 15, 2025 at 8:55 PM
My book, _An Exotic Apocalypse: Revelation and the Appropriation of Judaism in the Roman Empire_, is officially forthcoming with Penn State University Press. It'll be the inaugural book in their _Religions in the Ancient Mediterranean_ series.
Academics, I'd appreciate feedback on this: For a scholarly monograph, which should an author prioritize?
a) Footnotes with full bibliographic entries on first use + "select bibliography" at the end of the book
OR
b) short citations in all the footnotes + full bibliography at the end of the book.
a) Footnotes with full bibliographic entries on first use + "select bibliography" at the end of the book
OR
b) short citations in all the footnotes + full bibliography at the end of the book.
December 10, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Academics, I'd appreciate feedback on this: For a scholarly monograph, which should an author prioritize?
a) Footnotes with full bibliographic entries on first use + "select bibliography" at the end of the book
OR
b) short citations in all the footnotes + full bibliography at the end of the book.
a) Footnotes with full bibliographic entries on first use + "select bibliography" at the end of the book
OR
b) short citations in all the footnotes + full bibliography at the end of the book.
Amid the atmospheric river of academic austerity nonsense lately, I must admit that students presenting their final papers and excitedly discussing them with one another remains such a source of joy.
December 9, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Amid the atmospheric river of academic austerity nonsense lately, I must admit that students presenting their final papers and excitedly discussing them with one another remains such a source of joy.
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
New issue of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament - Vol. 48, No. 2 (2025) journals.sagepub.com/toc/jnta/48/2 @sagepub.com @jaxhidalgo.bsky.social @ntright.bsky.social @clarissabreu.bsky.social @lhuber.bsky.social The Future of Revelation and Gender Studies
Journal for the Study of the New Testament - Volume 48, Number 2
Table of contents for Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 48, 2
journals.sagepub.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:54 PM
New issue of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament - Vol. 48, No. 2 (2025) journals.sagepub.com/toc/jnta/48/2 @sagepub.com @jaxhidalgo.bsky.social @ntright.bsky.social @clarissabreu.bsky.social @lhuber.bsky.social The Future of Revelation and Gender Studies
After reading Ignatius to the ROmans and Perpetua & Felicity this week, my class discussed the logics of ancient martyrdom. Students were ...uh... quite enthusiastic about contemporary parallels. The first time I think I've ever replied "no comment" to a student's question.
December 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
After reading Ignatius to the ROmans and Perpetua & Felicity this week, my class discussed the logics of ancient martyrdom. Students were ...uh... quite enthusiastic about contemporary parallels. The first time I think I've ever replied "no comment" to a student's question.
Proofs day for my chapter in _Listen to the Sibyl: The History, Poetics, and Reception of the Sibylline Oracles_ (ed. Olivia Stewart Lester et al)! The volume should be out in February via JSJSupp: brill.com/display/titl...
brill.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Proofs day for my chapter in _Listen to the Sibyl: The History, Poetics, and Reception of the Sibylline Oracles_ (ed. Olivia Stewart Lester et al)! The volume should be out in February via JSJSupp: brill.com/display/titl...
I swear I am incapable of remembering how many words I can read aloud per minute.
November 19, 2025 at 8:38 PM
I swear I am incapable of remembering how many words I can read aloud per minute.
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
It’s an exercise in infantilization to do everything you can to prevent a student from taking a shortcut. Let them develop their own agency if they want to. Use your time as an educator to come up with assignments that are good on their own merits & not bc they flummox a probability machine.
November 14, 2025 at 3:13 PM
It’s an exercise in infantilization to do everything you can to prevent a student from taking a shortcut. Let them develop their own agency if they want to. Use your time as an educator to come up with assignments that are good on their own merits & not bc they flummox a probability machine.
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
Disturbing news out of Auburn University, where the admin is pressuring professors to sign a statement saying they're complying with an "anti-DEI" law and TPUSA is holding a rally and trying to record classes.
I hear faculty are terrified to sign, worried this is a pretense for mass firings.
I hear faculty are terrified to sign, worried this is a pretense for mass firings.
Auburn University requires faculty to review courses to comply with anti-DEI law
Auburn's provost office posted a web site on how to comply with state and federal DEI mandates on Oct. 31.
www.al.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Disturbing news out of Auburn University, where the admin is pressuring professors to sign a statement saying they're complying with an "anti-DEI" law and TPUSA is holding a rally and trying to record classes.
I hear faculty are terrified to sign, worried this is a pretense for mass firings.
I hear faculty are terrified to sign, worried this is a pretense for mass firings.
"We seek early career scholars with a specialization in Religion and Health. The fellow may specialize in any contemporary religious or secular tradition and any methodological approach"
The Department of Religious Studies is seeking to appoint a one-year postdoctoral fellow with a specialization in Religion and Health.
Please visit tinyurl.com/3tf6cftf for the job posting and more information. Review of applications will begin Dec. 1, 2025.
Please visit tinyurl.com/3tf6cftf for the job posting and more information. Review of applications will begin Dec. 1, 2025.
October 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM
"We seek early career scholars with a specialization in Religion and Health. The fellow may specialize in any contemporary religious or secular tradition and any methodological approach"
"a status as patron saints to middle-aged men with emotional impairments" well hey now who are we calling midle aged?
A new story I'm pretty pumped to share. It's about words, and our pastime, and changing your traumas by changing your patterns.
On Matt Berninger, and the baseballs of writing:
On Matt Berninger, and the baseballs of writing:
Matt Berninger traded his notebook for a baseball. And the words kept coming
For The National’s frontman, the way forward was written on rawhide.
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
"a status as patron saints to middle-aged men with emotional impairments" well hey now who are we calling midle aged?
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
it’s officially book promo time! so, hey, i wrote this book; it comes out in a week! would you mind signal boosting and asking your library to buy it? if you’d like a copy, the code AUFLY30 will get you 30%off.
global.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:44 AM
it’s officially book promo time! so, hey, i wrote this book; it comes out in a week! would you mind signal boosting and asking your library to buy it? if you’d like a copy, the code AUFLY30 will get you 30%off.
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
In a cautionary rebuke to the governing establishment, Ireland elects a leftist president who campaigned on economic justice at home and fury over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza abroad. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Ireland elects a leftist who campaigned on economic justice, Gaza
Catherine Connolly, an independent endorsed by Sinn Fein, campaigned on calls for urgent domestic reform with an unflinching critique of Israel’s war in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM
In a cautionary rebuke to the governing establishment, Ireland elects a leftist president who campaigned on economic justice at home and fury over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza abroad. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Dan-el Padilla Peralta already said this in his blurb but Maia's book really transformed me. Give yourself over to its lyrical powers!
My book is now officially out - a little early!
And what luck, you can now get it for 50% off (Or for 40% off after this sale ends with code E25KTRST)
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky #byzantinebluesky
And what luck, you can now get it for 50% off (Or for 40% off after this sale ends with code E25KTRST)
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky #byzantinebluesky
Duke Press sale! 50% off! FALL25! get @maiakotro.bsky.social's book for a steal!
www.dukeupress.edu/after-transf...
www.dukeupress.edu/after-transf...
October 21, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Dan-el Padilla Peralta already said this in his blurb but Maia's book really transformed me. Give yourself over to its lyrical powers!
As a student, professor, and colleague, I have often wanted this website. Eric has done us all a tremendous kindness by compiling into one place all the (often elusive or opaque) information needed to learn or teach several ancient languages using braille and describing the process with clarity.
Today I published a new section of my website with resources for those who wish to learn, study, and/or teach ancient languages using braille. It rests on work we did over the past year to expand screen reader access to these languages through the LibLouis library. Check it out and share around!
New: Braille Resources for Reading Ancient Languages
[Photo by me. Tactile graphic by Crystal Peng.] I recently created a new section of my website, which provides educational resources for anyone who wants to read ancient Middle Eastern and North …
www.blindscholar.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:54 PM
As a student, professor, and colleague, I have often wanted this website. Eric has done us all a tremendous kindness by compiling into one place all the (often elusive or opaque) information needed to learn or teach several ancient languages using braille and describing the process with clarity.
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
Please reskeet: CFP is open for the North American Patristics Society meeting, May 21-23, 2026 in Chicago
Submit abstracts either for the general call or to a pre-arranged theme, or you can submit a whole planned session!
Deadline is Nov 19th, details at link:
www.patristics.org/annual-meeti...
Submit abstracts either for the general call or to a pre-arranged theme, or you can submit a whole planned session!
Deadline is Nov 19th, details at link:
www.patristics.org/annual-meeti...
Call for Papers – NAPS – The North American Patristics Society
www.patristics.org
October 15, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Please reskeet: CFP is open for the North American Patristics Society meeting, May 21-23, 2026 in Chicago
Submit abstracts either for the general call or to a pre-arranged theme, or you can submit a whole planned session!
Deadline is Nov 19th, details at link:
www.patristics.org/annual-meeti...
Submit abstracts either for the general call or to a pre-arranged theme, or you can submit a whole planned session!
Deadline is Nov 19th, details at link:
www.patristics.org/annual-meeti...
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
🚨 Postdoc at UT Austin Religious Studies in Religion, Healing, and Magic in Late Antiquity (2 years)! utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UTstaf...
ISAC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Religion, Healing, and Magic in Late Antiquity
Job Posting Title: ISAC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Religion, Healing, and Magic in Late Antiquity ---- Hiring Department: Department of Religious Studies ---- Position Open To: All Applicants ---- Wee...
utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
October 13, 2025 at 4:11 PM
🚨 Postdoc at UT Austin Religious Studies in Religion, Healing, and Magic in Late Antiquity (2 years)! utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UTstaf...
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
ACLS statement against White House “compact”: THIS IS SOVIET SHIT
October 6, 2025 at 4:10 PM
ACLS statement against White House “compact”: THIS IS SOVIET SHIT
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
According to eyewitnesses, armed ICE agents dragged kids out of their beds in the middle of the night, zip tied them and put them in rented vans while raiding an * entire apartment building* on the South Side of Chicago.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...
‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building
YouTube video by MSNBC
www.youtube.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
According to eyewitnesses, armed ICE agents dragged kids out of their beds in the middle of the night, zip tied them and put them in rented vans while raiding an * entire apartment building* on the South Side of Chicago.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
my book_smoke & mirrors_ is out on oxford scholarship online. i have many feelings, mostly good! this was a difficult write for many reasons.
so i hope you find something useful in it if you read it.
so i hope you find something useful in it if you read it.
Smoke & Mirrors: Discourses of Magic in Early Petrine Traditions
Abstract. Smoke & Mirrors: Discourses of Magic in Early Petrine Traditions is a book about how magic disappears from early Christian texts that feature
academic.oup.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:12 AM
my book_smoke & mirrors_ is out on oxford scholarship online. i have many feelings, mostly good! this was a difficult write for many reasons.
so i hope you find something useful in it if you read it.
so i hope you find something useful in it if you read it.
Five weeks into the semester, and I would like an orchestra of the world's smallest violins to perform for me as I reflect on how difficult it has become to sustain critical thought on anything other than the most immediate task in front of me.
October 1, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Five weeks into the semester, and I would like an orchestra of the world's smallest violins to perform for me as I reflect on how difficult it has become to sustain critical thought on anything other than the most immediate task in front of me.
Got my covid/flu twofer yesterday to avoid turning my post-SBLAAR Thanksgiving plans into a superspreader event.
September 25, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Got my covid/flu twofer yesterday to avoid turning my post-SBLAAR Thanksgiving plans into a superspreader event.
Reposted by Daniel C. Smith
CHOTINER: And you didn’t know this person - what did you call him again?
CELEBRIMBOR GREATEST OF THE ELVEN SMITHS: Right, his name was Annatar but
CHOTINER: And you taught him to create a ring harnessing all his malice and cruelty?
CELEBRIMBOR: Well I mean I was deceived
CHOTINER: So you’ve said
CELEBRIMBOR GREATEST OF THE ELVEN SMITHS: Right, his name was Annatar but
CHOTINER: And you taught him to create a ring harnessing all his malice and cruelty?
CELEBRIMBOR: Well I mean I was deceived
CHOTINER: So you’ve said
September 24, 2025 at 11:02 PM
CHOTINER: And you didn’t know this person - what did you call him again?
CELEBRIMBOR GREATEST OF THE ELVEN SMITHS: Right, his name was Annatar but
CHOTINER: And you taught him to create a ring harnessing all his malice and cruelty?
CELEBRIMBOR: Well I mean I was deceived
CHOTINER: So you’ve said
CELEBRIMBOR GREATEST OF THE ELVEN SMITHS: Right, his name was Annatar but
CHOTINER: And you taught him to create a ring harnessing all his malice and cruelty?
CELEBRIMBOR: Well I mean I was deceived
CHOTINER: So you’ve said