David J. DeVore
@devoretext.bsky.social
Ancient Mediterranean historian, Cal Poly Pomona. History, the human past (those 2 aren't the same), politics, some baseball. Views here not of my institution.
Pinned
David J. DeVore
@devoretext.bsky.social
· Nov 26
The Nexus Between Conscious but Long-Deceased Narrator, Elaborated Narrative, and Events in the Distant Past | L.I.S.A. WISSENSCHAFTSPORTAL GERDA HENKEL STIFTUNG
The Jacobi Fellowship of the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy for doctoral students celebrates its 20 th anniversary in 2025. In this anniversary year, we will be presenting twelve former ...
lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de
Interview w me just published by the Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy, where I did a semester of research in grad school. I got to brag about @calpolypomona.bsky.social & discuss my research and teaching! lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/20_jahre_jac...
Reposted by David J. DeVore
the system works
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1) Epistemology
2) Euripides
3) History of Rock Music
4) Dead Sea Scrolls & Apocrypha
5) Twentieth Century US Political History with @rauchway.bsky.social
1) Epistemology
2) Euripides
3) History of Rock Music
4) Dead Sea Scrolls & Apocrypha
5) Twentieth Century US Political History with @rauchway.bsky.social
January 31, 2026 at 2:57 AM
the system works
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1) Epistemology
2) Euripides
3) History of Rock Music
4) Dead Sea Scrolls & Apocrypha
5) Twentieth Century US Political History with @rauchway.bsky.social
1) Epistemology
2) Euripides
3) History of Rock Music
4) Dead Sea Scrolls & Apocrypha
5) Twentieth Century US Political History with @rauchway.bsky.social
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Sophomore Economics Tutorial
Sophomore History Tutorial
Sophomore Government Tutorial
#CSS #Wes
Ibsen and Shaw
Worlds of Music
Sophomore Economics Tutorial
Sophomore History Tutorial
Sophomore Government Tutorial
#CSS #Wes
Ibsen and Shaw
Worlds of Music
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
Urban politics
Urban sociology
Mid 20th century U.S. History
Gender and Politics
World History (I'm sorry for sleeping through this at 8am, but the prof was so nice in office hours, I will always pay that forward)
January 31, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1) Epistemology
2) Euripides
3) History of Rock Music
4) Dead Sea Scrolls & Apocrypha
5) Twentieth Century US Political History with @rauchway.bsky.social
1) Epistemology
2) Euripides
3) History of Rock Music
4) Dead Sea Scrolls & Apocrypha
5) Twentieth Century US Political History with @rauchway.bsky.social
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Look, it’d be hypocritical for me to say “we don’t need any more professional opinon-havers,” but opinion writing in 2026 doesn’t need the institutional support of a newsroom, and certainly not as a priority over reporting. Canning journalists to purchase more takes is a betrayal of mission.
The new CBS contributors:
Elliot Ackerman, Peter Attia, Masih Alinejad, Arthur Brooks, Caroline Chambers, Clare de Boer, Niall Ferguson, Roland Fryer Jr., Andrew Huberman, Coleman Hughes, Mark Hyman, Janna Levin, Casey Lewis, HR McMaster, Patrick McGee, Reihan Salam, Lauren Sherman, Derek Thompson
Elliot Ackerman, Peter Attia, Masih Alinejad, Arthur Brooks, Caroline Chambers, Clare de Boer, Niall Ferguson, Roland Fryer Jr., Andrew Huberman, Coleman Hughes, Mark Hyman, Janna Levin, Casey Lewis, HR McMaster, Patrick McGee, Reihan Salam, Lauren Sherman, Derek Thompson
January 27, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Look, it’d be hypocritical for me to say “we don’t need any more professional opinon-havers,” but opinion writing in 2026 doesn’t need the institutional support of a newsroom, and certainly not as a priority over reporting. Canning journalists to purchase more takes is a betrayal of mission.
Ausgezeichnet! Ich freu mich viel an dieses Element!
January 16, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Ausgezeichnet! Ich freu mich viel an dieses Element!
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Please share widely! 3-year Postdoc in Early Christian Studies. Deadline: 8 March. Let me know if you have any questions or want to nominate a colleague.
Postdoc Position: Early Christian Studies | Radboud University
Do you want to work as a Postdoctoral Researcher: Early Christian Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies? Check our vacancy!
www.ru.nl
January 16, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Please share widely! 3-year Postdoc in Early Christian Studies. Deadline: 8 March. Let me know if you have any questions or want to nominate a colleague.
Agreed.
One factor that should be noted is co-authored publications (I say from disciplines where co-authorship remains exceptiona, and those pubs that are co-authored rarely have more than two authors).
One factor that should be noted is co-authored publications (I say from disciplines where co-authorship remains exceptiona, and those pubs that are co-authored rarely have more than two authors).
January 14, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Agreed.
One factor that should be noted is co-authored publications (I say from disciplines where co-authorship remains exceptiona, and those pubs that are co-authored rarely have more than two authors).
One factor that should be noted is co-authored publications (I say from disciplines where co-authorship remains exceptiona, and those pubs that are co-authored rarely have more than two authors).
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Many of you have become drama-addicted doomers, and you seem to think it's important for the rest of us to join you.
Yes, things are bad. But change is within our power. Grow up. Act like sober, responsible adults in a democracy instead of cynical, all-is-lost teenagers.
Now get off my lawn.
/5x
Yes, things are bad. But change is within our power. Grow up. Act like sober, responsible adults in a democracy instead of cynical, all-is-lost teenagers.
Now get off my lawn.
/5x
January 10, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Many of you have become drama-addicted doomers, and you seem to think it's important for the rest of us to join you.
Yes, things are bad. But change is within our power. Grow up. Act like sober, responsible adults in a democracy instead of cynical, all-is-lost teenagers.
Now get off my lawn.
/5x
Yes, things are bad. But change is within our power. Grow up. Act like sober, responsible adults in a democracy instead of cynical, all-is-lost teenagers.
Now get off my lawn.
/5x
Uh, why is Plato getting canceled?
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
January 6, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Uh, why is Plato getting canceled?
Reposted by David J. DeVore
In our latest blog post, Isabel K. Köster shares how her book "Stealing from the Gods: Temple Robbery in the Roman Imagination" deals with some of the ancient equivalents of the 2025 Louvre theft! Read more at press.umich.edu/Blog/2026/01...
How to Write About a Robbery
Publishes award-winning books that advance humanities and social science fields, as well as English language teaching and regional resources.
press.umich.edu
January 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM
In our latest blog post, Isabel K. Köster shares how her book "Stealing from the Gods: Temple Robbery in the Roman Imagination" deals with some of the ancient equivalents of the 2025 Louvre theft! Read more at press.umich.edu/Blog/2026/01...
Reposted by David J. DeVore
One of the joys of being an academic is being told you are wrong all the time--by reviewers, mostly. So, we get used to admitting that we are wrong (see my posts about election predictions after most elections).
January 4, 2026 at 2:20 PM
One of the joys of being an academic is being told you are wrong all the time--by reviewers, mostly. So, we get used to admitting that we are wrong (see my posts about election predictions after most elections).
Reposted by David J. DeVore
"Ignorance as an indicator of trust" is a great encapsulation of part of what I'm thinking about the current state of history as public knowledge.
An essential development over the past decade-plus is that the ignorant went from feeling chastened when their ignorance was revealed to banding together and deciding that, actually, they were right. They might disagree at times, but they agreed that ignorance itself was an indicator of trust.
December 29, 2025 at 4:55 PM
"Ignorance as an indicator of trust" is a great encapsulation of part of what I'm thinking about the current state of history as public knowledge.
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Reposted by David J. DeVore
If you think I'm going to pay $80k a year in tuition you better believe I want my kid taught by an underpaid human TA who is slowly beating eaten alive by ennui and his marinating feelings of grievance over the impossibility of ever landing a tenure track job.
December 18, 2025 at 6:40 PM
If you think I'm going to pay $80k a year in tuition you better believe I want my kid taught by an underpaid human TA who is slowly beating eaten alive by ennui and his marinating feelings of grievance over the impossibility of ever landing a tenure track job.
Reposted by David J. DeVore
I'm gonna make some of you mad by saying this, but please don't do this.
I do not hope for, or celebrate, any human being's death. (Which is not to say I cry when guys like Bin Laden are taken out.)
But don't let Trump make you into this.
I do not hope for, or celebrate, any human being's death. (Which is not to say I cry when guys like Bin Laden are taken out.)
But don't let Trump make you into this.
December 18, 2025 at 4:28 AM
I'm gonna make some of you mad by saying this, but please don't do this.
I do not hope for, or celebrate, any human being's death. (Which is not to say I cry when guys like Bin Laden are taken out.)
But don't let Trump make you into this.
I do not hope for, or celebrate, any human being's death. (Which is not to say I cry when guys like Bin Laden are taken out.)
But don't let Trump make you into this.
Reposted by David J. DeVore
I'd take this discourse more seriously if there wasn't so much focus on academia, journalism, show business, and other fields where success has always been a longshot.
December 17, 2025 at 1:46 AM
I'd take this discourse more seriously if there wasn't so much focus on academia, journalism, show business, and other fields where success has always been a longshot.
Hmm...what is a historian like me supposed to think about Trump calling the US navy an "armada"?
December 16, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Hmm...what is a historian like me supposed to think about Trump calling the US navy an "armada"?
I read the academic section of the article excerpted👇. The subject applied for "nearly 50 jobs" the 1st yr on the market & "dozens more" thereafter. The article blames his failure on DEI.
I applied to 100 each of my 1st 2 yrs & scores more 3 years after. Got 3 offers. Pretty sure it wasn't DEI. 1/
I applied to 100 each of my 1st 2 yrs & scores more 3 years after. Got 3 offers. Pretty sure it wasn't DEI. 1/
Wow, the horror. Completely shut out of an industry that … promoted him to senior reporter by 40
December 16, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I read the academic section of the article excerpted👇. The subject applied for "nearly 50 jobs" the 1st yr on the market & "dozens more" thereafter. The article blames his failure on DEI.
I applied to 100 each of my 1st 2 yrs & scores more 3 years after. Got 3 offers. Pretty sure it wasn't DEI. 1/
I applied to 100 each of my 1st 2 yrs & scores more 3 years after. Got 3 offers. Pretty sure it wasn't DEI. 1/
Or referred to “Code Red“ or barked, “You can’t handle the truth!”? Or asserted that men & women can’t be friends? Or declared something “mostly dead”?
Taking a break from the sickening tragedy to focus on the beauty for a moment. Rob Reiner achieved something so rare and coveted that artists and entertainers dream of and rarely achieve: cultural permanence. How many times have you made a reference to something going to 11? Shouted "Inconceivable"?
December 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Or referred to “Code Red“ or barked, “You can’t handle the truth!”? Or asserted that men & women can’t be friends? Or declared something “mostly dead”?
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Wrote about how the late, great Rob Reiner had the most impossible 7-movie beginning to any director's career, and yet that's not even what he was most famous for:
December 15, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Wrote about how the late, great Rob Reiner had the most impossible 7-movie beginning to any director's career, and yet that's not even what he was most famous for:
Reposted by David J. DeVore
everyone discovers MoE when the trendline budges in the direction they don't like and then promptly forgets it when it budges the opposite way
December 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
everyone discovers MoE when the trendline budges in the direction they don't like and then promptly forgets it when it budges the opposite way
It's not just the Dodgers' money. Tho' that's prob the biggest part, both NY teams, Toronto, Philly, etc. have that.
LA also has wicked-smart, attentive player development coaches.
LA has a professional but joyous players' culture & a huge, enthusiastic fanbase.
LA has, well, a winning dynasty.
LA also has wicked-smart, attentive player development coaches.
LA has a professional but joyous players' culture & a huge, enthusiastic fanbase.
LA has, well, a winning dynasty.
Dodgers only negative was their bullpen and they just added Edwin Díaz. This is not the Dodgers' fault. Other teams shouldn't have allowed it. They should've done everything in their power to stop it, namely they should've paid more money than the Dodgers. Unfortunately, half the league cries poor
December 9, 2025 at 9:38 PM
It's not just the Dodgers' money. Tho' that's prob the biggest part, both NY teams, Toronto, Philly, etc. have that.
LA also has wicked-smart, attentive player development coaches.
LA has a professional but joyous players' culture & a huge, enthusiastic fanbase.
LA has, well, a winning dynasty.
LA also has wicked-smart, attentive player development coaches.
LA has a professional but joyous players' culture & a huge, enthusiastic fanbase.
LA has, well, a winning dynasty.
Movie you’ve watched more than six times in a gif. Hard mode (which is easy mode for me): no Star Wars, Marvel.
December 9, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Movie you’ve watched more than six times in a gif. Hard mode (which is easy mode for me): no Star Wars, Marvel.
Yes! Learn other languages when you can.
I’ve always wanted to speak multiple languages and I spent many years studying Spanish. I almost double majored in Spanish because I really wanted to put in all of the work I could to become a bilingual person.
Read more: zerlinamaxwell.substack.com/p/moving-to-...
Read more: zerlinamaxwell.substack.com/p/moving-to-...
December 8, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Yes! Learn other languages when you can.
Reposted by David J. DeVore
Writing is thought-organizing. I’m usually better in interviews when talking about something I’ve recently written, with relevant facts at my fingertips and a logical progression in which to present them.
Having a machine write for you is cheating yourself. And brain scans evidently confirm it.
Having a machine write for you is cheating yourself. And brain scans evidently confirm it.
“When participants used ChatGPT to draft essays, brain scans revealed a 47% drop in neural connectivity across regions associated with memory, language, & critical reasoning.
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
December 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Writing is thought-organizing. I’m usually better in interviews when talking about something I’ve recently written, with relevant facts at my fingertips and a logical progression in which to present them.
Having a machine write for you is cheating yourself. And brain scans evidently confirm it.
Having a machine write for you is cheating yourself. And brain scans evidently confirm it.