Jacob Tootalian
@jtootalian.bsky.social
Scholar, teacher, parent. Interested in (early modern) literature, rhetoric, and the history of science. Co-General Editor of the Complete Works of Margaret Cavendish. Co-Director of Digital Cavendish.
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
My book, *Sweet Taste of Empire* is a Thanksgiving book (kinda) It teaches much about the dynamics of hospitality & the meanings of the foods on your plate. as in this discussion of George Percy’s description of being fed by an Algonquian leader:
![Banqueting Stuff
113
ters with Indigenous peoples, begins with fruitfulness and "civility" but ends with dearth and mortality. The list of food opportunities is replaced by a final page with daily records of deaths.
The interlopers consider their first extended contact with the Algonquian very promising because it consists of a meal and "entertainment" that follows an order seemingly recognizable to the Europeans, complete with status hierarchy: elites seated by rank; the serving of "dainties", 94 an after-the-meal treat (in this case, tobacco); and a final performance, which the captain rewards with a gift. Even if religion and warfare practices remain mysterious, this hospitality is a moment of promise for the prospective set-tlers. Rendered familiar, Algonquian hospitality is, for Percy, a harbinger of future amity. Their ordered meal suggests an ordered society with an attention to rank that matches the English, similarities that suggests them as potential allies. And, indeed, the first years of settlement were relatively peaceful, and food became both a source of and a means of communicating conflict.'5 For several days, the party visits a range of Indigenous communities;
Percy's description of his dealings is shot through with a sense of wonder until he reaches Paspahegh territory: the encounter begins with the promise that their leader "would be merry with us with a fat Deare."9 That initial promise is followed by other promises and signs of friendship, but Percy's account alternates between paradisal appraisals of the land and mutual accusations of threat and trickery. The colonists are sent a deer in a stately fashion, but, by the time of its arrival, Percy's suspicion is evident, "[He] sent forty of his men with a Deere, to our quarter: but they came more in villainy than any love they bare vs."'7 He concludes, though, that "Pasphia was as good as his word; for hee sent Venison, but the Sawse came within few dayes after."98 Nonetheless, the encounter is wr…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hqklsosnm7fhf4buq275kgbe/bafkreietlg3fihuljbvbxzktvbwo47apbw27c4xv22hphjak7d3nfrgv7q@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
My book, *Sweet Taste of Empire* is a Thanksgiving book (kinda) It teaches much about the dynamics of hospitality & the meanings of the foods on your plate. as in this discussion of George Percy’s description of being fed by an Algonquian leader:
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
“Going forward, there’s a lot of pressure on the university to respect shared governance and to at least generate … buy-in from faculty for any decisions that are made."
- Bill Knight, AAUP Portland State University
@psuaaup.bsky.social
- Bill Knight, AAUP Portland State University
@psuaaup.bsky.social
A University Gets Dinged for Failing to Involve Faculty in Budget-Cut Talks
An arbitrator says Portland State must reinstate 10 faculty members who were laid off.
www.chronicle.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
“Going forward, there’s a lot of pressure on the university to respect shared governance and to at least generate … buy-in from faculty for any decisions that are made."
- Bill Knight, AAUP Portland State University
@psuaaup.bsky.social
- Bill Knight, AAUP Portland State University
@psuaaup.bsky.social
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
It’s all happening: Shakespeare in the Kitchen is slated for publication in April 2026 🍽️📗🎉 www.routledge.com/Shakespeare-...
Shakespeare in the Kitchen
Audiences and scholars alike have long remarked that Shakespeare’s poems and plays record the pleasures and perils of the table. Shakespeare in the Kitchen asks what Shakespeare’s works can tell us ab...
www.routledge.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:04 PM
It’s all happening: Shakespeare in the Kitchen is slated for publication in April 2026 🍽️📗🎉 www.routledge.com/Shakespeare-...
This is great news. AAUP's arbitration win and our adjunct union's unfair labor practice victory will hopefully force Portland State's administration to back down from its anti-labor agenda www.opb.org/article/2025...
November 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
This is great news. AAUP's arbitration win and our adjunct union's unfair labor practice victory will hopefully force Portland State's administration to back down from its anti-labor agenda www.opb.org/article/2025...
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
Portland State University AAUP won their arbitration regarding the layoffs of 10 non-tenure track faculty!✊
An arbitrator ruled the university bypassed shared governance protocols required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
All 10 laid-off faculty must be reinstated!
@psuaaup.bsky.social
An arbitrator ruled the university bypassed shared governance protocols required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
All 10 laid-off faculty must be reinstated!
@psuaaup.bsky.social
PSU AAUP | PSU-AAUP wins NTTF arbitration judgment
psuaaup.net
November 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Portland State University AAUP won their arbitration regarding the layoffs of 10 non-tenure track faculty!✊
An arbitrator ruled the university bypassed shared governance protocols required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
All 10 laid-off faculty must be reinstated!
@psuaaup.bsky.social
An arbitrator ruled the university bypassed shared governance protocols required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
All 10 laid-off faculty must be reinstated!
@psuaaup.bsky.social
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
"It was a heady few days, that’s for sure. But we now face a critical crossroads: Do we allow the rising tide of animus to continue to swell against the jackboots of these rancid, grotesque husks of humans? Or do we think the death cultists learned their lesson?"
We’ve Defied President Nyarlathotep’s Psychic Siege Long Enough
Well, everyone, it was a valiant and brave endeavor. We refused to capitulate during the Dread Lord Nyarlathotep’s nationwide psychic siege for ove...
buff.ly
November 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
"It was a heady few days, that’s for sure. But we now face a critical crossroads: Do we allow the rising tide of animus to continue to swell against the jackboots of these rancid, grotesque husks of humans? Or do we think the death cultists learned their lesson?"
Much has been said about the lackluster literary merits of early SF, but I'd argue that the greatest aesthetic sin of EE Doc Smith's Skylark of Space (1928) is that we don't find out until half way through his interplanetary adventures that the hero's had on a Hawaiian sport shirt the whole time
November 9, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Much has been said about the lackluster literary merits of early SF, but I'd argue that the greatest aesthetic sin of EE Doc Smith's Skylark of Space (1928) is that we don't find out until half way through his interplanetary adventures that the hero's had on a Hawaiian sport shirt the whole time
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
New awareness campaign
November 3, 2025 at 3:23 PM
New awareness campaign
With only a few days left on the court-ordered deadline, Portland State admin *still* has not released the hardship funds to affected adjunct faculty members
In case you missed it, administrators at my university have been illegally holding hardship assistance for vulnerable adjunct faculty members hostage since July in a scheme to weaken our union. Thanks to the bravery and solidarity of the people affected, we were able to fight back and win
Portland State University violated labor law, state employment board rules
The Oregon Employment Relations Board has ordered PSU to release certain funds to members of the university’s adjunct faculty union.
www.opb.org
October 29, 2025 at 2:43 PM
With only a few days left on the court-ordered deadline, Portland State admin *still* has not released the hardship funds to affected adjunct faculty members
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
this is the website for elder millenials with humanities degrees. everyone has done the reading on why people invest meaning in public buildings. you can’t fool me
October 23, 2025 at 11:53 PM
this is the website for elder millenials with humanities degrees. everyone has done the reading on why people invest meaning in public buildings. you can’t fool me
In case you missed it, administrators at my university have been illegally holding hardship assistance for vulnerable adjunct faculty members hostage since July in a scheme to weaken our union. Thanks to the bravery and solidarity of the people affected, we were able to fight back and win
Portland State University violated labor law, state employment board rules
The Oregon Employment Relations Board has ordered PSU to release certain funds to members of the university’s adjunct faculty union.
www.opb.org
October 22, 2025 at 1:43 AM
In case you missed it, administrators at my university have been illegally holding hardship assistance for vulnerable adjunct faculty members hostage since July in a scheme to weaken our union. Thanks to the bravery and solidarity of the people affected, we were able to fight back and win
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
In food history, we notice how super-refined foods--gelatin, vienna sausage, white bread--lose class and become horrifying once they become industrialized. Suddenly, fingermarks in bread dough demonstrate skill, not clumsiness.
Post-chatGPT, I'm feeling this about writing. Smoothness feels gross.
Post-chatGPT, I'm feeling this about writing. Smoothness feels gross.
October 1, 2025 at 3:05 AM
In food history, we notice how super-refined foods--gelatin, vienna sausage, white bread--lose class and become horrifying once they become industrialized. Suddenly, fingermarks in bread dough demonstrate skill, not clumsiness.
Post-chatGPT, I'm feeling this about writing. Smoothness feels gross.
Post-chatGPT, I'm feeling this about writing. Smoothness feels gross.
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
A huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.
Melvyn Bragg decides to step down from presenting In Our Time
After 26 years on the programme, the legendary presenter bids farewell to the series
www.bbc.co.uk
September 3, 2025 at 10:48 AM
A huge moment -- Melvyn Bragg steps down from In Our Time after over a quarter of a century. What a programme and what a legacy! Just a model for how to make great, clever, engaging radio, and a twenty-seven-year experiment that proves there's a huge global audience for smart, scholarly programming.
I'm a humanities scholar who teaches science writing to undergraduates and graduate students in STEM fields. I have some profound objections to this rage-bait piece
In which a Yale prof calls for jettisoning humanities to make way for science-only universities.
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
Unyoke the Sciences From the Humanities
Arts and sciences typically cohabitate. Should they?
thedispatch.com
August 14, 2025 at 12:26 AM
I'm a humanities scholar who teaches science writing to undergraduates and graduate students in STEM fields. I have some profound objections to this rage-bait piece
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
In which a Yale prof calls for jettisoning humanities to make way for science-only universities.
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
Unyoke the Sciences From the Humanities
Arts and sciences typically cohabitate. Should they?
thedispatch.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
In which a Yale prof calls for jettisoning humanities to make way for science-only universities.
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
She's here and ready for your eyes! repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150...
The whole volume, Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians, eds. Whitney Kramer, Evan Muzzel and Iliana Burgos, is headed to the printers and will be linked when its out. But for now enjoy this ACRL-approved preview
The whole volume, Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians, eds. Whitney Kramer, Evan Muzzel and Iliana Burgos, is headed to the printers and will be linked when its out. But for now enjoy this ACRL-approved preview
August 13, 2025 at 4:30 PM
She's here and ready for your eyes! repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150...
The whole volume, Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians, eds. Whitney Kramer, Evan Muzzel and Iliana Burgos, is headed to the printers and will be linked when its out. But for now enjoy this ACRL-approved preview
The whole volume, Text and Data Mining Literacy for Librarians, eds. Whitney Kramer, Evan Muzzel and Iliana Burgos, is headed to the printers and will be linked when its out. But for now enjoy this ACRL-approved preview
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
a university is not for generating profit, it provides cultural enrichment via weird little gremlin people who love visigoths or haikus, and very occasionally a scientist who figures out faster than light travel
August 12, 2025 at 9:54 AM
a university is not for generating profit, it provides cultural enrichment via weird little gremlin people who love visigoths or haikus, and very occasionally a scientist who figures out faster than light travel
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
'I've just finished writing a Jesuit sci-fi'
'wow is it going to be an exploration of conscience and theology in a context echoing the historical experiences of jesuit missionaires'
*hiding my cover image of a Jesuit holding a laser and kissing a space babe alien* 'why yes'
'wow is it going to be an exploration of conscience and theology in a context echoing the historical experiences of jesuit missionaires'
*hiding my cover image of a Jesuit holding a laser and kissing a space babe alien* 'why yes'
June 23, 2025 at 6:49 PM
'I've just finished writing a Jesuit sci-fi'
'wow is it going to be an exploration of conscience and theology in a context echoing the historical experiences of jesuit missionaires'
*hiding my cover image of a Jesuit holding a laser and kissing a space babe alien* 'why yes'
'wow is it going to be an exploration of conscience and theology in a context echoing the historical experiences of jesuit missionaires'
*hiding my cover image of a Jesuit holding a laser and kissing a space babe alien* 'why yes'
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
Philosopher Helen De Cruz has died.
Helen De Cruz (1978-2025) - Daily Nous
Helen De Cruz, professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, has died. Professor De Cruz specialized in philosophy of religion and cognitive science. They were the author of Wonderstruck: How Won...
dailynous.com
June 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Philosopher Helen De Cruz has died.
I couldn't help but get pedantic at the No Kings protest.
June 15, 2025 at 12:46 AM
I couldn't help but get pedantic at the No Kings protest.
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
When we come through all this and it turns out Africana Social Epistemology was what yinz needed all along everyone will look up to me and cry out "save us", and I'll look back whisper lol, lmao even. Cite me.
May 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
When we come through all this and it turns out Africana Social Epistemology was what yinz needed all along everyone will look up to me and cry out "save us", and I'll look back whisper lol, lmao even. Cite me.
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
For those who missed it: The English Short Titles Catalogue (ESTC) has finally been relaunched with the help of the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) following the cyber-attack on the @britishlibrary.bsky.social. Find it here: datb.cerl.org/estc/
May 18, 2025 at 11:26 AM
For those who missed it: The English Short Titles Catalogue (ESTC) has finally been relaunched with the help of the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) following the cyber-attack on the @britishlibrary.bsky.social. Find it here: datb.cerl.org/estc/
Reposted by Jacob Tootalian
***Attention fellow historians, scholars, and concerned individuals***
The California Digital Newspaper Collection is under financial threat, facing a $300,000 deficit.
If you would like to keep this essential resource afloat, please consider donating:
www.givecampus.com/campaigns/61...
The California Digital Newspaper Collection is under financial threat, facing a $300,000 deficit.
If you would like to keep this essential resource afloat, please consider donating:
www.givecampus.com/campaigns/61...
May 1, 2025 at 12:37 AM
***Attention fellow historians, scholars, and concerned individuals***
The California Digital Newspaper Collection is under financial threat, facing a $300,000 deficit.
If you would like to keep this essential resource afloat, please consider donating:
www.givecampus.com/campaigns/61...
The California Digital Newspaper Collection is under financial threat, facing a $300,000 deficit.
If you would like to keep this essential resource afloat, please consider donating:
www.givecampus.com/campaigns/61...