James Pilgrim
@jbpil.bsky.social
art historian at the university of illinois urbana-champaign.
www.jamespilgrim.org
www.jamespilgrim.org
Reposted by James Pilgrim
The politics here are reprehensible but also really sad. He was a great scholar once. He had philological skills that no one has anymore. There are very few people who could produce that kind of work today. And to some extent, that's what this is about. He's mad that our field lost its former status
The reason this Harvard history professor decided he was done with one of the best and most privileged jobs in the world was, in his own words, because he was forced to lecture in a mask during peak Covid.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
December 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The politics here are reprehensible but also really sad. He was a great scholar once. He had philological skills that no one has anymore. There are very few people who could produce that kind of work today. And to some extent, that's what this is about. He's mad that our field lost its former status
Reposted by James Pilgrim
NARRATOR: The War Powers Resolution does not let Trump do this
appears that the line is going to be that the war powers act lets trump do this. hearing it from a lot of people on tiktok who i am certain have never thought about that law prior to this evening
June 22, 2025 at 3:20 AM
NARRATOR: The War Powers Resolution does not let Trump do this
Reposted by James Pilgrim
AOC: “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
June 22, 2025 at 2:03 AM
AOC: “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Is AI a good thing?
May 6, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Is AI a good thing?
Reposted by James Pilgrim
One of them, a 4-year-old boy who has cancer, was flown to Honduras without medication.
Trump Deported 3 Children Who Are U.S. Citizens
One of them, a 4-year-old boy who has cancer, was flown to Honduras without medication.
www.thecut.com
April 29, 2025 at 2:40 PM
One of them, a 4-year-old boy who has cancer, was flown to Honduras without medication.
Reposted by James Pilgrim
BREAKING: Police just surrounded Rev. William Barber, prominent activist and pastor, as he and others prayed in the U.S. Capitol Rontunda.
Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them.
I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.
Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them.
I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.
April 28, 2025 at 5:59 PM
BREAKING: Police just surrounded Rev. William Barber, prominent activist and pastor, as he and others prayed in the U.S. Capitol Rontunda.
Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them.
I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.
Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them.
I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.
Reposted by James Pilgrim
💯
That fear you have, that maybe even small decision to limit what you say or where you go, even for US citizens, it means we’re living under authoritarianism.
We're going from "foreign tourists afraid to visit the US" to "US citizens afraid to go abroad because of what could happen when they return to their own country"
April 21, 2025 at 2:27 AM
💯
Reposted by James Pilgrim
April 17, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Please, if you love anything about this life, stop using ChatGPT and other GenAI. Just stop. Don't use it to dunk on it, don't use it for a laugh, just stop and let that shit wither.
April 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Please, if you love anything about this life, stop using ChatGPT and other GenAI. Just stop. Don't use it to dunk on it, don't use it for a laugh, just stop and let that shit wither.
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Harvard University will not change its policies and practices in response to a fresh round of demands from the Trump administration. chroni.cl/42svwvQ
Harvard’s President Says the University Will Not Comply With Trump’s Demands
As a sparring match continues between major research universities and the Trump administration, Alan M. Garber’s letter represents an attempt to punch back.
chroni.cl
April 14, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Harvard University will not change its policies and practices in response to a fresh round of demands from the Trump administration. chroni.cl/42svwvQ
Reposted by James Pilgrim
They definitely voted for this
April 13, 2025 at 12:44 PM
They definitely voted for this
Reposted by James Pilgrim
i think about this photo a lot
April 12, 2025 at 3:34 PM
i think about this photo a lot
Reposted by James Pilgrim
German businesses heard a similar pitch in 1940.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Ice director wants to run deportations like ‘Amazon Prime for human beings’
Todd Lyons said he wanted US immigration agency to be ‘like a business’ in its deportation process
www.theguardian.com
April 10, 2025 at 9:18 PM
German businesses heard a similar pitch in 1940.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Are you a woman who changed your name when you got married?
Congress is considering a bill that could make it much harder for you to vote.
Call your rep—this is not a drill. indivisible.org/resource/cal...
Congress is considering a bill that could make it much harder for you to vote.
Call your rep—this is not a drill. indivisible.org/resource/cal...
April 9, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Are you a woman who changed your name when you got married?
Congress is considering a bill that could make it much harder for you to vote.
Call your rep—this is not a drill. indivisible.org/resource/cal...
Congress is considering a bill that could make it much harder for you to vote.
Call your rep—this is not a drill. indivisible.org/resource/cal...
Reposted by James Pilgrim
🚨House voting on SAVE Act today, worst voter suppression bill ever considered by Congress. Could disenfranchise:
-21 million w/out access to citizenship docs
-69 million women who took spouses last name
-ends online + mail registration & voter reg drives
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
-21 million w/out access to citizenship docs
-69 million women who took spouses last name
-ends online + mail registration & voter reg drives
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
House Republicans are set to pass a voter suppression bill that would disenfranchise millions
“It's a five-alarm fire for American voters and for election officials”
www.motherjones.com
April 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
🚨House voting on SAVE Act today, worst voter suppression bill ever considered by Congress. Could disenfranchise:
-21 million w/out access to citizenship docs
-69 million women who took spouses last name
-ends online + mail registration & voter reg drives
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
-21 million w/out access to citizenship docs
-69 million women who took spouses last name
-ends online + mail registration & voter reg drives
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Another day wasted when university presidents & chancellors could have been in front of microphones. The total lack of loud public collective action condemning this & explaining to Americans why this is a complete disaster is utterly maddening.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
April 8, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Another day wasted when university presidents & chancellors could have been in front of microphones. The total lack of loud public collective action condemning this & explaining to Americans why this is a complete disaster is utterly maddening.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by James Pilgrim
This is really unfair to everyone who just voted for him for the racism.
April 7, 2025 at 12:18 AM
This is really unfair to everyone who just voted for him for the racism.
Reposted by James Pilgrim
my offer to america: we bring woke back
April 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
my offer to america: we bring woke back
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: "The speed and scale of what's happening in this country doesn't have a parallel even in the early months of the autocrats we know and do not love today ... this is somebody in partnership with Putin."
April 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: "The speed and scale of what's happening in this country doesn't have a parallel even in the early months of the autocrats we know and do not love today ... this is somebody in partnership with Putin."
Reposted by James Pilgrim
Just a legal historian here reminding everyone that “high crimes and misdemeanors” do not need to be felonies.
They can include political abuses and stupidity, like, hypothetically, destroying the economy and wiping out people’s savings in 3 days.
They can include political abuses and stupidity, like, hypothetically, destroying the economy and wiping out people’s savings in 3 days.
April 7, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Just a legal historian here reminding everyone that “high crimes and misdemeanors” do not need to be felonies.
They can include political abuses and stupidity, like, hypothetically, destroying the economy and wiping out people’s savings in 3 days.
They can include political abuses and stupidity, like, hypothetically, destroying the economy and wiping out people’s savings in 3 days.
Reposted by James Pilgrim
And note that last fall the Naval Academy also canceled @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social who was invited to give the presitigious Bancroft Lectures there due to pressure from Republican members of Congress. So it's been in the crosshairs.
pen.org/press-releas...
pen.org/press-releas...
Cancellation of Naval Academy Lecture by Ruth Ben-Ghiat at Behest of Republican Politicians Threatens Institutional Autonomy - PEN America
PEN America sharply criticizes some Republican members of Congress for scrutinizing academic decision-making at the Naval Academy, including insinuating that a lecture invitation to scholar Ruth Ben-G...
pen.org
April 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
And note that last fall the Naval Academy also canceled @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social who was invited to give the presitigious Bancroft Lectures there due to pressure from Republican members of Congress. So it's been in the crosshairs.
pen.org/press-releas...
pen.org/press-releas...
Reposted by James Pilgrim
"Academic freedom today is under attack in ways the country has not seen since the cold war. Yet at the very moment it is most needed, universities seem reluctant to defend it."
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Academic Freedom in Peril | David Cole
Two books by leading First Amendment scholars offer a timely defense of the principle that politicians should not try to control what universities and professors teach their students.
www.nybooks.com
April 3, 2025 at 11:04 PM
"Academic freedom today is under attack in ways the country has not seen since the cold war. Yet at the very moment it is most needed, universities seem reluctant to defend it."
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by James Pilgrim
TOMORROW: 400,000+ RSVPS, 1,000+ events, 50 states
It’s time to fight back
It’s time to end DOGE
It’s time to say… HANDS OFF!
It’s time to fight back
It’s time to end DOGE
It’s time to say… HANDS OFF!
April 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
TOMORROW: 400,000+ RSVPS, 1,000+ events, 50 states
It’s time to fight back
It’s time to end DOGE
It’s time to say… HANDS OFF!
It’s time to fight back
It’s time to end DOGE
It’s time to say… HANDS OFF!
Reposted by James Pilgrim
In which I try to call things what they are. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
Opinion | Unmarked Vans. Secret Lists. Public Denunciations. America’s Police State Has Arrived.
Those of us who’ve seen secret police in action can’t shake a feeling of dreadful familiarity.
www.nytimes.com
April 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
In which I try to call things what they are. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...