Dan Walden
@dwaldenwrites.bsky.social
Philologist, critic, insufferable theatre queen. Assistant Prof. at the University of Tulsa
For @thepointmag.bsky.social I wrote one of the most personally important essays I’ve ever written. Please give it a read if you’re someone who cares about education. thepointmag.com/examined-lif...
The Left Case for Great Books | The Point Magazine
A great-books model at the undergraduate level is, in fact, so consonant with Freire’s radical critique that it represents a far better path forward for a left-wing vision of education than virtually ...
thepointmag.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:20 PM
For @thepointmag.bsky.social I wrote one of the most personally important essays I’ve ever written. Please give it a read if you’re someone who cares about education. thepointmag.com/examined-lif...
I was delighted to be part of this forum in The Point, writing about education and great books not only as part of the good life that those of us on the left are trying to make possible for everyone but as an invaluable way to help us become free enough to live that life.
Issue 36—which features a forum on the left and the good life—is coming soon. Check out the annotated table of contents for an extended preview:
Issue 36 | The Point Magazine
The annotated table of contents below offers a sneak peek at what’s in issue 36.
thepointmag.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:24 PM
I was delighted to be part of this forum in The Point, writing about education and great books not only as part of the good life that those of us on the left are trying to make possible for everyone but as an invaluable way to help us become free enough to live that life.
My philological bias is showing, but absolutely the fake Hebrew one
November 21, 2025 at 3:42 PM
My philological bias is showing, but absolutely the fake Hebrew one
Reposted by Dan Walden
Just so you know, this is what 13-10 felt like.
November 5, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Just so you know, this is what 13-10 felt like.
Reposted by Dan Walden
The Wolvere was a stout carl for the nones;
Ful thyc he was with adamantine bones.
“The best ther is, bubb,” he wuld oft advyse,
“Bot that I do, hit ys nout verry nyce.”
Ful thyc he was with adamantine bones.
“The best ther is, bubb,” he wuld oft advyse,
“Bot that I do, hit ys nout verry nyce.”
adrian vermeule's research program insists that the constitution is a blueprint for a catholic theocracy, which is the legal academic version of a tenured english professor whose entire research program is insisting that the x-men are in canterbury tales
August 12, 2025 at 6:56 PM
The Wolvere was a stout carl for the nones;
Ful thyc he was with adamantine bones.
“The best ther is, bubb,” he wuld oft advyse,
“Bot that I do, hit ys nout verry nyce.”
Ful thyc he was with adamantine bones.
“The best ther is, bubb,” he wuld oft advyse,
“Bot that I do, hit ys nout verry nyce.”
Reposted by Dan Walden
yes, and this includes realizing that we don’t need to take seriously the work of people who are mainly working out their exvangelical daddy issues in public rather than doing serious theology for the benefit of God’s people
January 17, 2025 at 8:34 PM
yes, and this includes realizing that we don’t need to take seriously the work of people who are mainly working out their exvangelical daddy issues in public rather than doing serious theology for the benefit of God’s people
there are people who suffered permanent brain damage from reading Wonkette in 2012
This might be the best paragraph ever written in human history.
From @chuckwendig.bsky.social’s Gentle Writing Advice.
From @chuckwendig.bsky.social’s Gentle Writing Advice.
January 17, 2025 at 8:24 PM
there are people who suffered permanent brain damage from reading Wonkette in 2012
Reposted by Dan Walden
It’s because a lot of liberals are homophobic. Their “support” of gay and trans people is theoretical / transactional and subject to change at any time
Seriously why are so many liberal memes homophobic. Like saying Trump or zuck is secretly gay isn’t helping anyone?
January 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
It’s because a lot of liberals are homophobic. Their “support” of gay and trans people is theoretical / transactional and subject to change at any time
this happens to all artists, but it's more intense for women. people want them to be tragic geniuses without real intellectual command of their artistic resources. calls worked like a dog and the idea that she wouldn't know at all times what her voice was capable of is absurd
January 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
this happens to all artists, but it's more intense for women. people want them to be tragic geniuses without real intellectual command of their artistic resources. calls worked like a dog and the idea that she wouldn't know at all times what her voice was capable of is absurd
incisive, funny, and much-needed. callas could not have become spectacle were she not, first and foremost, a consummate and dedicated artist. i wish directors were interested in her artistry, but unfortunately they probably don't like how she shows them up
I saw the movie Maria, and I, uh, didn’t love it. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ja...
Ben Miller | Undoing Maria Callas
Callas has not been represented well by others, on stage or screen. Terrence McNally’s trashy play Master Class is...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 14, 2025 at 6:12 PM
incisive, funny, and much-needed. callas could not have become spectacle were she not, first and foremost, a consummate and dedicated artist. i wish directors were interested in her artistry, but unfortunately they probably don't like how she shows them up
Reposted by Dan Walden
Will be worth making some time today or this weekend to read @dwaldenwrites.bsky.social's lovely review of David Bentley Hart's big book on mind, All Things Are Full of Gods. www.thebulwark.com/p/god-talk-d...
God Talk
David Bentley Hart’s exploration of our deepest and oldest questions rehabilitates a form that modern thinkers typically avoid: the philosophical dialogue.
www.thebulwark.com
January 3, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Will be worth making some time today or this weekend to read @dwaldenwrites.bsky.social's lovely review of David Bentley Hart's big book on mind, All Things Are Full of Gods. www.thebulwark.com/p/god-talk-d...
makes perfect sense to me! jews and christians construct the problem of god very differently, so there’s no reason why this abstracted category of solutions that we call “atheism” would look remotely similar between those two frames of reference
December 23, 2024 at 10:08 PM
makes perfect sense to me! jews and christians construct the problem of god very differently, so there’s no reason why this abstracted category of solutions that we call “atheism” would look remotely similar between those two frames of reference
yes, the miraculous is not part of the logic of history. by trying to make it such you foreclose the miraculous entirely and also abandon your ethical duties. god redeems and raises up failure, but failure means having actually really tried to do something
November 25, 2024 at 4:23 PM
yes, the miraculous is not part of the logic of history. by trying to make it such you foreclose the miraculous entirely and also abandon your ethical duties. god redeems and raises up failure, but failure means having actually really tried to do something
optimist: the cup is half full
pessimist: the cup is half empty
philologist: Νεστορος : ε[ιμ?]ι : ευποτ[ον] : ποτεριον :
ͱος δ'α<ν> τοδε π[ιε]σι : ποτερι[ο] : αυτικα κενον
ͱιμερ[ος ͱαιρ]εσει : καλλιστε[φα]νο : Αφροδιτες
pessimist: the cup is half empty
philologist: Νεστορος : ε[ιμ?]ι : ευποτ[ον] : ποτεριον :
ͱος δ'α<ν> τοδε π[ιε]σι : ποτερι[ο] : αυτικα κενον
ͱιμερ[ος ͱαιρ]εσει : καλλιστε[φα]νο : Αφροδιτες
Optimist: the cup is half full
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Religion scholar: the cup represents liminality
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Religion scholar: the cup represents liminality
Optimist: the cup is half full
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Semanticists: is this a cup or a bowl or what
Pessimist: the cup is half empty
Semanticists: is this a cup or a bowl or what
November 23, 2024 at 7:20 PM
optimist: the cup is half full
pessimist: the cup is half empty
philologist: Νεστορος : ε[ιμ?]ι : ευποτ[ον] : ποτεριον :
ͱος δ'α<ν> τοδε π[ιε]σι : ποτερι[ο] : αυτικα κενον
ͱιμερ[ος ͱαιρ]εσει : καλλιστε[φα]νο : Αφροδιτες
pessimist: the cup is half empty
philologist: Νεστορος : ε[ιμ?]ι : ευποτ[ον] : ποτεριον :
ͱος δ'α<ν> τοδε π[ιε]σι : ποτερι[ο] : αυτικα κενον
ͱιμερ[ος ͱαιρ]εσει : καλλιστε[φα]νο : Αφροδιτες
“george mason econ gay” is a recipe for the absolute worst takes you have ever seen in your life
November 23, 2024 at 7:15 PM
“george mason econ gay” is a recipe for the absolute worst takes you have ever seen in your life
actually a crime that jerry hadley never got to do West Side Story for real because holy shit he sings the best "Maria" i have ever heard www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_AA...
Jerry Hadley - Maria - West Side Story
YouTube video by Virginia Abrahamse
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2024 at 3:38 AM
actually a crime that jerry hadley never got to do West Side Story for real because holy shit he sings the best "Maria" i have ever heard www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_AA...
chapter 1 is just potshot after potshot at the hated swiss pervert (rousseau)
November 19, 2024 at 5:32 PM
chapter 1 is just potshot after potshot at the hated swiss pervert (rousseau)
rereading mary wollstonecraft, the OG feminist killjoy, and remembering why she's so much fun. "hmm what if instead of relegating women to innocence and idiocy we allowed them to cultivate intelligence and actual virtue?"
November 19, 2024 at 5:32 PM
rereading mary wollstonecraft, the OG feminist killjoy, and remembering why she's so much fun. "hmm what if instead of relegating women to innocence and idiocy we allowed them to cultivate intelligence and actual virtue?"
i’m fond of it for the gay stuff and also for his perfect grasp of the geography of my prep school
November 19, 2024 at 5:17 AM
i’m fond of it for the gay stuff and also for his perfect grasp of the geography of my prep school
marketing copy: we teach the great ideas and inculcate virtue through study of the classics
syllabus design: i am hunting for the walter benjamin essay that will have the best chance of inducing a fugue state
syllabus design: i am hunting for the walter benjamin essay that will have the best chance of inducing a fugue state
November 17, 2024 at 12:28 AM
marketing copy: we teach the great ideas and inculcate virtue through study of the classics
syllabus design: i am hunting for the walter benjamin essay that will have the best chance of inducing a fugue state
syllabus design: i am hunting for the walter benjamin essay that will have the best chance of inducing a fugue state
one of the perils of teaching in a great books program is that you start designing syllabi around the question "how can i make my students as insane as possible?" but you have to come up with a professional-sounding reason as well
November 17, 2024 at 12:21 AM
one of the perils of teaching in a great books program is that you start designing syllabi around the question "how can i make my students as insane as possible?" but you have to come up with a professional-sounding reason as well
Reposted by Dan Walden
ERIC GARLAND AS NATHAN DETROIT IN “GUYS & DOLLS:” time for some dame theory
November 16, 2024 at 11:29 PM
ERIC GARLAND AS NATHAN DETROIT IN “GUYS & DOLLS:” time for some dame theory
in retrospect asking my (female) best friend to homecoming with a stunt involving a red rose and the Phantom soundtrack was perhaps a sign that i would very shortly no longer be asking girls on dates
November 16, 2024 at 12:02 AM
in retrospect asking my (female) best friend to homecoming with a stunt involving a red rose and the Phantom soundtrack was perhaps a sign that i would very shortly no longer be asking girls on dates