Joanna Kenty
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jokenty.bsky.social
Joanna Kenty
@jokenty.bsky.social
1K followers 660 following 210 posts
Former professor of Latin/Roman history, author of Cicero’s Political Personae (2020). I write Humanist, a blog about teaching humanities in higher ed (humanist.ghost.io), and write about democracy for The Renovator (therenovator.substack.com). She/her
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Reposted by Joanna Kenty
phillewis.bsky.social
A federal judge warned Justice Department lawyers that their statements on a slavery exhibit display in Philadelphia were "horrifying."

"You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it. It doesn’t work that way"
Judge Calls DOJ's Statements On Slavery Exhibit Display 'Dangerous' And 'Horrifying'
Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe told the Justice Department's attorneys, "“You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it. It doesn’t work that way.”
www.huffpost.com
January 31, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
grubstreetwomen.bsky.social
One of my most cherished classes is my 18th century novels course where the primary learning objective is "learn how read long novels." We did a "couch to 5k" approach to attention span and note-taking.
walshbr.bsky.social Brandon Walsh @walshbr.bsky.social · 21h
My hot take about the “students cannot read whole novels / watch whole films / etc.” is that they can learn to do it. None of us are born with attention spans suited for long media. It is a learned skill and can be developed with practice.
January 31, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
greatergoodmag.bsky.social
Discover what happens to our well-being when we respond to suffering with compassion, collective action, and why choosing to care can help us hold on to our shared humanity. Learn more by listening to our latest podcast episode!
How to Keep Your Humanity
Discover what happens to our well-being when we respond to suffering with compassion and collective action, and why choosing to care can help us hold on to our shared humanity.
greatergood.berkeley.edu
January 30, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
bcmerchant.bsky.social
Hundreds of ICE Out protestors at the Amazon building in Santa Monica. Tech workers, high school students, soccer moms and dads. Constant honking in support, even from local cops. Amazon employees entering the building overheard discussing how they did not know the company works with ICE.
January 30, 2026 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
aearhart.bsky.social
TAMU ended our women and gender studies program, degrees and certificates today. Apparently they aren’t allowed under the new don’t mention gender or sexuality in the classroom rules our board passed. I am so saddened by this. I worked as a grad asst to wmst (no gender in the 90s) for a few years
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
bedoyausa.bsky.social
ICE isn’t just brutal. It’s also big business. From 2008 to 2021 ICE spent *$1.2 billion* on geolocation tracking, $561M on data analysis, $252M on government databases, and $97M on data brokers. Most of that went to companies who will lobby for this system to stay in place.
January 28, 2026 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
susanrinkunas.com
"households are under threat of eviction due to either their primary breadwinner being detained or not going to work out of fear of being detained."
January 30, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
theotherrbg.bsky.social
momentary exception to not posting to amplify how beautiful & powerful this Providence protest is #ICEout
January 30, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
hypervisible.blacksky.app
“The Evidence for Justice Lab, at the Washington, D.C., university’s McCourt School of Public Policy, published the Justice AI Tracker, or JAI-T, documenting where and how AI technologies are being piloted, tested or implemented in law enforcement, courts and corrections.”
New 'Justice AI Tracker' watches how police, courts are using AI | StateScoop
The Evidence for Justice Lab has launched new interactive tool aimed at bringing transparency to how AI is being used across the criminal justice system.
statescoop.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
vincedmonroy.bsky.social
HAPPENING NOW: Aerial coverage of a HUGE CROWD peacefully demonstrating in L.A. to protest the Trump administration and lCE

📍Los Angeles, California

#NationalStrike
January 30, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
geoffhing.bsky.social
A massive, blocks-long march protesting immigration enforcement and broader anti-immigrant policies heads away from its start at the Federal Building in Tucson, Arizona.
January 30, 2026 at 10:17 PM
jokenty.bsky.social
Since “Remaking the World” feels as urgent as it could possibly be, I’m spending time reading the great @astra.bsky.social’s essays this week, including this 2019 gem which feels as relevant as ever.

newrepublic.com/article/1538...
The old liberal consensus issued from the blithe insistence that the marriage between democracy and capitalism, between free elections and free-ish markets, was a charmed and stable union that would yield prosperity and justice everywhere. Those foundational precepts look more and more fanciful as acute conditions of economic inequality and democratic deficit continue to deepen. Many establishment liberals still hope that the partnership between untrammeled capitalism and liberal democracy can be patched up, but a growing and restive chorus of radical and reformist voices roots for their separation. People are beginning to say long-unspeakable thoughts aloud: If we want to salvage democracy, and many of the liberal rights and protections we associate with it, we'll have to do more than reform or temper capitalism; we must find a way, rather, to jettison and transcend it. left. In my own comments from the podium, I tried to dispel two stubborn misconceptions about today's socialist revival. First, its adherents do not criticize liberal democracy because they discount its vaunted rights and freedoms, but because they seek to create the conditions under which such principles might at last be fully enacted and ideally expanded. (You're far more likely to hear young socialists talk about enhancing democratic processes by, say, enfranchising felons or making Election Day a national holiday than promoting a vanguard-led dictatorship of the proletariat.) Second, the central political and social challenges we now face stem not from the fabled "tyranny of the majority" — the wayward passions of the masses-but from the impunity of a greedy and blinkered minority. This model of oligarchic rule is
January 30, 2026 at 10:44 PM
jokenty.bsky.social
It doesn't work. By rejecting the very idea of defunding the police, our political leaders left open the door for what is happening now. They left voters with no opposition party, with no alternate scenario. They left the Overton window of our mainstream political commentary with no faction of intellectuals making the wild, controversial argument that filling your house with more and more guns does not make you safer, and that filling your cities with more and more armed men does not solve our social problems, and that making the United States military more and more powerful does not make the world a more just and peaceful place. The entire vision that peace, justice, and happiness might increase as a result of moving resources away from armed men and into health and education was tossed in the trash by a united, bipartisan front of political leaders.
January 30, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
jeffsharlet.bsky.social
The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
College approached and paid student to write op-ed in The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth ran the article on Nov. 17 without knowledge that the College had been involved. 
www.thedartmouth.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
musicologyduck.bsky.social
people are out here in a bitter cold windchill suiting up in Marie Antoinette outfits
Protester in a historical dress and wig, another holds a sign that says let them eat Whole Foods
January 30, 2026 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
joolia.bsky.social
I feel very strongly that now is the time for NIMBY’s to shine. Every regulatory and procedural lever should be tested. Slow them down.
January 30, 2026 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
jokenty.bsky.social
What would it look like to teach historical thinking in an inquiry-based way in a Roman civ lecture? I'm thinking about a "thought experiment of the week..."
Teaching about history: not just names, dates, or "one f-ing thing after another"*
Everyone knows what history is until he begins to think about it. After that, nobody knows. —Alan Griffin Note: Alan Griffin, “History,” in World Book Encyclopedia, 1962 ed. (Chicago: Field Edu- cati...
humanist.ghost.io
January 28, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
jokenty.bsky.social
New post on Humanist! I dug into history education pedagogy - I'm working on at least one more post about it because it's such a rich topic, but I started out with the topic of "historical literacy."

#AncientBlueSky
#ClassicsBlueSky
#TeachLearnSky
#EduSky
#AcademicSky
Teaching about history: not just names, dates, or "one f-ing thing after another"*
Everyone knows what history is until he begins to think about it. After that, nobody knows. —Alan Griffin Note: Alan Griffin, “History,” in World Book Encyclopedia, 1962 ed. (Chicago: Field Edu- cati...
humanist.ghost.io
January 28, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
jamesbrandt.bsky.social
I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:

"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."
January 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
equitablegrowth.bsky.social
In a new Siegel Family Endowment Q&A, Megan Rivera, fellow for Policy and Advocacy, breaks down how policymakers can regulate AI to create a fairer economy, potential for integrating worker voice into decision-making around AI, & more! See the full interview ⬇️
www.siegelendowment.org/insights/ai-...
AI and the Labor Market: Megan Rivera on How Policymakers Can Regulate AI to Create a Better Economy for All - Siegel Family Endowment
Megan Rivera was a 2024-2025 Siegel Research Fellow and is a fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, where she studies the impact of AI on the labor market and economy, among other…
www.siegelendowment.org
January 16, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
sergioperez.bsky.social
It drives me absolutely insane that the money I give to the federal government is being used to brutalize our families and our children.

Our money should be feeding, clothing, and educating Liam.
tusk81.bsky.social Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 3d
“Liam is a bright student,” said the five-year-old’s preschool teacher. “He is very kind and caring, and his classmates miss him. He comes to class every day and brightens up the classroom. All I want is for him to come home safe and sound.”
tusk81.bsky.social Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 3d
“According to limited data compiled by the Deportation Data Project, ICE took 3,800 children into immigration detention with their parents between January and October 2025, including children as young as one or two years old.” english.elpais.com/usa/2026-01-...
January 28, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
crampell.bsky.social
"Federal troop deployments to U.S. cities cost a total of $496 million in 2025, CBO estimates. Continuing current deployments will cost $93 million a month; 1,000 Guard personnel deployed to a city will cost at least $18 million a month." www.cbo.gov/publication/...
January 28, 2026 at 9:54 PM
jokenty.bsky.social
If the Minnesota resistance has an overarching ideology, you could call it "neighborism" —a commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from. The contrast with the philosophy guiding the Trump administration couldn't be more extreme. Vice President Vance has said that "it is totally reasonable and acceptable for American citizens to look at their next-door neighbors and say, 'I want to live next to people who I have something in common with. I don't want to live next to four families of strangers. " Minnesotans are insisting that their neighbors are their neighbors whether they were born in Minneapolis or Mogadishu. That is, arguably, a deeply Christian philosophy, one The next day, I drove around with another pair of commuters who went by "Judy" and "Lime" Both told me they were anti-Zionist Jews who had been involved in pro-Palestinian and Black Lives Matter protests. Lime's day job is with an abortion-rights organization, and Judy is a rabbi. "I did protective presence in the West Bank," Lime told me, referring to a form of protest in which activists try to deter settler violence by simply being present in Palestinian communities. "This is very similar." McFarland's remarks reminded me of something Stephen Miller, the Trump adviser, had written: "Migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands." In Minnesota, the opposite was happening. The "conditions and terrors" of immigrants' "broken homelands" weren't being recreated by immigrants. They were being recreated by people like Miller. The immigrants simply have the experience to recognize them.
January 28, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
ziibiing.com
people are always like “what link do i give to?!”

one giant pile of money is actually not a great way to help people. people choosing a variety of places to give helps keep the money moving. no one org gets flooded to the point of breaking.

a PTA, the mutual aid venmo, can move $ even faster.
January 28, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Joanna Kenty
sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com
not an accident that habeas corpus is one of the absolute foundational rights--and not an accident that ICE is working overtime to undermine it as much as possible
kathleenclark.bsky.social Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 3d
Excellent explanation of how ICE moves immigrants from one prison facility to another to deny them access to justice.
January 28, 2026 at 5:18 PM