Mary Beth Mathews
@marybethmathews.bsky.social
Professor of religious studies, especially the history of religion in the U.S. Knitter of all the things.
Look for me wherever there are cats
Look for me wherever there are cats
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
NEW: Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who ICE agents in Minneapolis nabbed last week and shipped off to a Texas detention facility with his dad, is now in poor health, his school superintendent told me today www.huffpost.com/entry/liam-c...
5-Year-Old in ICE Detention Is Sick, Says Top School Official
The 5-year-old who was taken by federal agents in Minneapolis is being held behind bars with his father in Texas.
www.huffpost.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:59 PM
NEW: Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who ICE agents in Minneapolis nabbed last week and shipped off to a Texas detention facility with his dad, is now in poor health, his school superintendent told me today www.huffpost.com/entry/liam-c...
My neighborhood had a small vigil for Alex Pretti. Grief, anger, and resolve were among the comments I heard tonight. #AlexPretti #justice
January 27, 2026 at 1:28 AM
My neighborhood had a small vigil for Alex Pretti. Grief, anger, and resolve were among the comments I heard tonight. #AlexPretti #justice
Preach
Being surprised in this political climate is such a tell and a privilege.
January 25, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Preach
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
in case you're curious about how angry Minnesota is about ICE, it was -20 today
January 24, 2026 at 12:38 AM
in case you're curious about how angry Minnesota is about ICE, it was -20 today
The banality of ignorance
Surprise! Mike Johnson says he hasn't seen any of Trump's (bonkers) speech in Davos
January 21, 2026 at 4:51 PM
The banality of ignorance
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
The 25th Amendment must be invoked by the cabinet. I’m all for pressuring them. Congressional Dems should lead the charge. Not on Bluesky or Threads. Let’s do it.
January 19, 2026 at 10:28 PM
The 25th Amendment must be invoked by the cabinet. I’m all for pressuring them. Congressional Dems should lead the charge. Not on Bluesky or Threads. Let’s do it.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
I agree.
Cong Dems cannot make this happen. But they should be calling for it.
-The world's most important alliance is being destroyed by one mentally disturbed man.
-That man outright says there is *no* limit on his power except his own "morality"[sic]. Including to make war
Which side are we on?
Cong Dems cannot make this happen. But they should be calling for it.
-The world's most important alliance is being destroyed by one mentally disturbed man.
-That man outright says there is *no* limit on his power except his own "morality"[sic]. Including to make war
Which side are we on?
The 25th Amendment must be invoked by the cabinet. I’m all for pressuring them. Congressional Dems should lead the charge. Not on Bluesky or Threads. Let’s do it.
Invoke the 25th Amendment.
January 19, 2026 at 11:08 PM
I agree.
Cong Dems cannot make this happen. But they should be calling for it.
-The world's most important alliance is being destroyed by one mentally disturbed man.
-That man outright says there is *no* limit on his power except his own "morality"[sic]. Including to make war
Which side are we on?
Cong Dems cannot make this happen. But they should be calling for it.
-The world's most important alliance is being destroyed by one mentally disturbed man.
-That man outright says there is *no* limit on his power except his own "morality"[sic]. Including to make war
Which side are we on?
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
Demonizing specifically white women who act in solidarity with racial minorities isn’t new. Here’s a southern political cartoon depicting Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1853. Surrounded by devils, she‘s holding a book titled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Subtitle: “I Love the Blacks.”
January 16, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Demonizing specifically white women who act in solidarity with racial minorities isn’t new. Here’s a southern political cartoon depicting Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1853. Surrounded by devils, she‘s holding a book titled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Subtitle: “I Love the Blacks.”
It was a great group of speakers and a moving tribute to Renee Good and all 33 others who have lost their lives while in contact with ICE.
This is a community that cares deeply, spreads kindness, and seeks to build a better world.
Today we remembered the lives lost at the hands of ICE. Tomorrow we continue our work to peacefully build safer communities for all.
Today we remembered the lives lost at the hands of ICE. Tomorrow we continue our work to peacefully build safer communities for all.
January 11, 2026 at 7:19 PM
It was a great group of speakers and a moving tribute to Renee Good and all 33 others who have lost their lives while in contact with ICE.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
Religion in the U.S.
In San Diego, Episcopalian clergy have joined Catholic clergy, rabbis and others to accompany migrants to their court dates or ICE checkins. And while they're trained not to engage or confront ICE, we know ICE doesn't care. So this is not a rhetorical flourish.
“I have asked the clergy of the diocese to make sure their affairs are in order and they have written their wills.,not the time for statements. It is time to put our bodies between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable”. Rob Hirschfeld, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire
January 11, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Religion in the U.S.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
Religion in the U.S.
At last night’s candlelight vigil for Renee Nicole Good, Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire announced he had asked the clergy of the diocese to get their affairs in order and to make sure they have their wills written ...,
January 11, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Religion in the U.S.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
“I understand that VP Vance believes shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not. That is a fundamental difference between VP Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.”
January 10, 2026 at 3:12 PM
“I understand that VP Vance believes shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not. That is a fundamental difference between VP Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.”
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
“No one teaches the Western canon anymore!”
“Look, Plato’s Symposium is right here on my syllabus!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—not that!”
“Look, Plato’s Symposium is right here on my syllabus!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—not that!”
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
dailynous.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:58 AM
“No one teaches the Western canon anymore!”
“Look, Plato’s Symposium is right here on my syllabus!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—not that!”
“Look, Plato’s Symposium is right here on my syllabus!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—not that!”
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.
January 4, 2026 at 5:04 AM
It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
I went to bed in 2026 and woke up in 1898.
January 3, 2026 at 4:55 PM
I went to bed in 2026 and woke up in 1898.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
If 2025 didn't stop you nothing will
January 1, 2026 at 10:55 AM
If 2025 didn't stop you nothing will
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
Years and years ago at an AHA, a reporter at the Chronicle asked me what I'd like to see from them in the coming year and I said "Try to go a week without quoting a professor from an Ivy league school."
I am re-upping that request but I'd like to broaden the publications it applies to.
I am re-upping that request but I'd like to broaden the publications it applies to.
December 31, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Years and years ago at an AHA, a reporter at the Chronicle asked me what I'd like to see from them in the coming year and I said "Try to go a week without quoting a professor from an Ivy league school."
I am re-upping that request but I'd like to broaden the publications it applies to.
I am re-upping that request but I'd like to broaden the publications it applies to.
This
Yes, this!: "this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning"
I'm finding that I don't have just to change assignments. I have to **abandon my entire teaching strategy**, which has always been built around scaffolded independent projects across the semester.
I'm finding that I don't have just to change assignments. I have to **abandon my entire teaching strategy**, which has always been built around scaffolded independent projects across the semester.
It is EXHAUSTING not only being made responsible for coming up with new kinds of assignments for our students; it's also tedious reading op-eds that suggest the core problem is a crisis in teaching. But, as Chris and I lay out here, this isn't a crisis in teaching; it's an attack on learning.
December 26, 2025 at 3:44 PM
This
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
🧊 WAREHOUSING HUMANS 😲
ICE plans to herd their captives "into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation." www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
ICE plans to herd their captives "into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation." www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
ICE documents reveal plan to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses
The Trump administration wants to build seven large-scale deportation hubs to speed up deportations, internal ICE documents show.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM
For my second book, I used some sources I discovered accidentally in libraries and archives that had only passing mentions of them. One of those cases was in the Library of Congress in a physical card catalogue.
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
December 22, 2025 at 1:24 PM
For my second book, I used some sources I discovered accidentally in libraries and archives that had only passing mentions of them. One of those cases was in the Library of Congress in a physical card catalogue.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
It’s the entire point. There’s no plan to make this meaningful for students. No plan to use it administratively. Its design and implementation signals its only real intent. It’s best and easiest use case is for systematic harassment and to scare faculty into complying in advance.
We know the students don’t read the syllabuses. So who will? Right-wing activists looking for excuses to hound profs.
December 20, 2025 at 12:47 PM
It’s the entire point. There’s no plan to make this meaningful for students. No plan to use it administratively. Its design and implementation signals its only real intent. It’s best and easiest use case is for systematic harassment and to scare faculty into complying in advance.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
I’m praying for all of the victims, their families, and the entire Brown University community as it grieves this horrific act of gun violence.
How many more tragedies, more lives lost, more grieving families, before we act?
We can and we must end our gun violence epidemic.
How many more tragedies, more lives lost, more grieving families, before we act?
We can and we must end our gun violence epidemic.
December 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I’m praying for all of the victims, their families, and the entire Brown University community as it grieves this horrific act of gun violence.
How many more tragedies, more lives lost, more grieving families, before we act?
We can and we must end our gun violence epidemic.
How many more tragedies, more lives lost, more grieving families, before we act?
We can and we must end our gun violence epidemic.
Reposted by Mary Beth Mathews
