Russell T. McCutcheon
banner
mccutcheonsays.bsky.social
Russell T. McCutcheon
@mccutcheonsays.bsky.social
I’m University Research Professor in the Study of Religion and was a longtime Dept Chair but now teach, read, write, and have opinions on the fate of higher ed.
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
NAASR has finally finished up its 2025 Annual Meeting!

Thank you to all of our panelists for participating and sharing their work.

Thank you to Prof. Tomoko Masuzawa for giving our keynote address.

Until next time! #naasr2025 #naasr25 #aarsbl2025
November 24, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
First NAASR Conversation of the New Year! Join us January 22nd at 1PM EST!

#naasr #naasr26 #religiousstudies #religion #criticalreligion #critical
January 6, 2026 at 3:21 PM
That simultaneous head/belly patting routine…?
How else can professors prove "merit" besides SAT scores? Wrong answers only. I'll go first: ability to do sixth-grade geometry homework (two professors in my house fail)
January 2, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
“There is no condition in which the humanities are under attack in which the whole university is not under attack.”
www.chronicle.com/article/the-crisis-of-the-humanities-is-over-thats-not-a-good-thing
The ‘Crisis of the Humanities’ Is Over. That’s Not a Good Thing.
All of higher ed now suffers the attacks of politics and technology.
www.chronicle.com
December 29, 2025 at 4:07 PM
What’re you readin’?
December 29, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Don’t disagree but the sites from which the one can be implemented are disappearing quickly, hence my thoughts on a pivot at the degree/curriculum/research level is needed. The humanities model needs rethinking.
December 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Look forward to chatting if anything sparks a thought or two. Safe travels.
December 29, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
On a train now, so forgive the terseness—although this is what I’m now reading so I no doubt will have more (& hopefully better) to say soon!
December 29, 2025 at 1:41 PM
From where I sit it’s the wide presumption among scholars that religion is obviously special that holds us back from responding to the moment—we just cannot imagine why others don’t agree that it needs specialists to interpret its deep meaning. Meanwhile, wholesale liberal arts cuts proceed…
December 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM
I see a lack of inventiveness to pivot the field for these times. Instead, there seems a presumption that degree programs will remain a basis for action—but they’ve already disappeared in many places & even the so-called Ivies are clearly no longer safe. In fact, we needed new models decades ago.
December 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
The field collectively hasn’t understood how, for various reasons & at least in its traditional humanistic form, its end as part of higher ed may be immanent. Whatever expertise its members have will therefore be diffuse or they’ll be unemployed in academia—not much of a resource to draw on…
December 29, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
my demands are simple, mr. bond
December 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
Pretty sure that some of the colleges playing in these weird-ass bowl games are made up
December 27, 2025 at 2:56 PM
A few more?

Dr.; No, Not Mister.

Never Cite Yourself Again

License to Reprint

Quantum of Praise from the Provost
December 27, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Make a Bond movie academic

The Spy Who Reviewed My Submission

You Only Report Productivity Twice

Em Dash Another Day
Make a Bond Movie academic

Best, Russia
Make a Bond movie casual

From Russia with Best Wishes
December 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
Anyway. They spent the last decade telling us STEM degrees were the future and the Humanities were worthless then they spent hundreds of billions of dollars to build a glitchy Humanities robot.
December 26, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
When I'm feeling particularly hopeless about the future of professoring as a profession, I try to remind myself: That's what they want. They want us to not want to be professors anymore.
December 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
The star of A CHRISTMAS STORY remains this kid
December 20, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
OK friends, time to turn it up to 11. Now watching:
a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the woman is wearing a skeleton tank top .
ALT: a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the woman is wearing a skeleton tank top .
media.tenor.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
Oh wow, absolute power corrupted you absolutely? That’s so weird, I got absolute power last year and my subjects say I’ve only gotten wiser and more virtuous
December 13, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Who held the meeting to tell online cooks that their reels needed quick cuts and they should make a mess like they don’t care?
a man with a beard is mixing something in a bowl with the word trendizsst on the door behind him
ALT: a man with a beard is mixing something in a bowl with the word trendizsst on the door behind him
media.tenor.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Russell T. McCutcheon
How this Christmas will be different for single digit billionaires.
December 13, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The rhythm of the wording & the repetition suggests they were too.
December 13, 2025 at 12:41 PM