Adam Matvya
@adammatvya.bsky.social
History PhD student at Notre Dame // British Empire, South Asia, Muslims, and emotions // Betis and Everton fan // London-based
“A letter arrived from the Duchy of Cornwall..on behalf of the deli owner as her landlord. The letter argued in support of the deli’s right to trademark the word sabzi, a plot twist so colonial that I had to check whether the East India Company had been revived.”
www.theguardian.com/food/comment...
www.theguardian.com/food/comment...
I called my recipe book Sabzi – vegetables. But the name was trademarked. And my legal ordeal began
The granting of patents and trademarks to foods and words from the global south is part of a long colonial grab. It’s time to realise we share what we cook, and what we call it
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:32 AM
“A letter arrived from the Duchy of Cornwall..on behalf of the deli owner as her landlord. The letter argued in support of the deli’s right to trademark the word sabzi, a plot twist so colonial that I had to check whether the East India Company had been revived.”
www.theguardian.com/food/comment...
www.theguardian.com/food/comment...
There is so much incredible jazz music coming out these days. However, there is often no consensus across various 'best of' lists. Best of Jazz is my steady go-to. And I like their format of dividing by sections (solos, duets, trios, etc.). Anyway, the 2025 list: bestofjazz.org/best-jazz-al...
The Best Jazz Albums of 2025 (Final List)
Discover the best jazz albums of 2025. A curated, non-ranked selection organized by format (solo, duet, trio, quartet, ...). Explore the
bestofjazz.org
December 1, 2025 at 9:30 AM
There is so much incredible jazz music coming out these days. However, there is often no consensus across various 'best of' lists. Best of Jazz is my steady go-to. And I like their format of dividing by sections (solos, duets, trios, etc.). Anyway, the 2025 list: bestofjazz.org/best-jazz-al...
Derby days with Betis peña in London 💚
November 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Derby days with Betis peña in London 💚
Reposted by Adam Matvya
this is gorgeous and moving
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
this is gorgeous and moving
Reposted by Adam Matvya
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
Reposted by Adam Matvya
Cas Mudde spells out what has become largely the consensus among researchers: moving right on immigration will not weaken the far right nor strengthen social democracy. If your reaction is "but in Denmark" please at least familiarize yourself with Danish politics
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The ‘Danish model’ is the darling of centre-left parties like Labour. The problem is, it doesn’t even work in Denmark | Cas Mudde
This week’s local elections are the latest reminder that when social democrats move rightwards, they’re making a mistake, says academic and author Cas Mudde
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Cas Mudde spells out what has become largely the consensus among researchers: moving right on immigration will not weaken the far right nor strengthen social democracy. If your reaction is "but in Denmark" please at least familiarize yourself with Danish politics
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Adam Matvya
'Australia’s major research universities have warned that declining support for the humanities could threaten the country’s ability to operate in its region.' 1/3
Humanities decline ‘threatens Australia’s regional capability’.
Group of Eight tells parliamentary inquiry Job-Ready Graduates scheme should be “dismantled”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-aust...
Group of Eight tells parliamentary inquiry Job-Ready Graduates scheme should be “dismantled”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-aust...
Humanities decline ‘threatens Australia’s regional capability’ - Research Professional News
Group of Eight tells parliamentary inquiry Job-Ready Graduates scheme should be “dismantled”
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:41 PM
'Australia’s major research universities have warned that declining support for the humanities could threaten the country’s ability to operate in its region.' 1/3
Reposted by Adam Matvya
today, 11/06! Book launch at NYU *Decolonizing Afghanistan* (@dukepress.bsky.social, 2025 )with MATTHIEU AIKINS, WAZHMAH OSMAN, ZOHRA SAED, MORWARI ZAFAR! Come thru! docs.google.com/forms/d/19ZG...
November 6, 2025 at 12:09 PM
today, 11/06! Book launch at NYU *Decolonizing Afghanistan* (@dukepress.bsky.social, 2025 )with MATTHIEU AIKINS, WAZHMAH OSMAN, ZOHRA SAED, MORWARI ZAFAR! Come thru! docs.google.com/forms/d/19ZG...
'Abundance' folks and data wonks won't like this analysis, but, that's the point—this is excellent from Adom Getachew. The knee-jerk 'tack right, tack left' style of commentary misses how broader structures of material power & human complexity shapes political life.
www.equator.org/articles/he-...
www.equator.org/articles/he-...
‘He’s an African Leader’ • Articles • EQUATOR
Why my Ethiopian relatives voted for Trump
www.equator.org
November 1, 2025 at 12:17 PM
'Abundance' folks and data wonks won't like this analysis, but, that's the point—this is excellent from Adom Getachew. The knee-jerk 'tack right, tack left' style of commentary misses how broader structures of material power & human complexity shapes political life.
www.equator.org/articles/he-...
www.equator.org/articles/he-...
Reposted by Adam Matvya
Equator is live today. Read about our mission and our first pieces, which include works of reportage, essays, memoirs, poetry, and fiction from around the world: www.equator.org
EQUATOR
Equator is a magazine of politics, culture and art.
www.equator.org
October 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Equator is live today. Read about our mission and our first pieces, which include works of reportage, essays, memoirs, poetry, and fiction from around the world: www.equator.org
Reposted by Adam Matvya
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student
Fitzwilliam Museum has uncovered student’s work from 1977 that revealed Cambridgeshire location of child’s burial place
An A-level pupil found the lost grave of the Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano’s daughter, revealing a story of love and solidarity in 18th-century rural England.
Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), also known as Gustavus Vassa, escaped enslavement to become a celebrated author and campaigner in Georgian England. His memoir, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, was a bestseller. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student
Reposted by Adam Matvya
uh, that’s not “reimagining” the novel. that’s…the novel.
Del Toro's new Frankenstein adaption reimagines Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel. Frankenstein was like a tech bro: "creating something without considering the consequences," he explains. n.pr/3L5exuu
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro says 'I'd rather die' than use generative AI
Del Toro's new Frankenstein adaption reimagines Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel. Frankenstein was like a tech bro: "creating something without considering the consequences," he explains.
n.pr
October 26, 2025 at 1:38 AM
uh, that’s not “reimagining” the novel. that’s…the novel.
Reposted by Adam Matvya
Thank you, Chicago.
October 25, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Thank you, Chicago.
Reposted by Adam Matvya
This is a fabulous and important essay.
"In the end, generative AI might be a blip in tech history, over-promising and under-delivering until finally the cash runs out. But it seems it’s arrived just in time to shove universities over a cliff edge they’d already walked themselves up to."
"In the end, generative AI might be a blip in tech history, over-promising and under-delivering until finally the cash runs out. But it seems it’s arrived just in time to shove universities over a cliff edge they’d already walked themselves up to."
Wrote a thing on the hot summer of uni AI adoption for @defector.com
A huge thanks to @nathankhensley.bsky.social and @anniemcc.bsky.social. @brandyjensen.bsky.social is a legend. And anything smart in hear is thanks to hours of discussion, texting, and draft reading by @smosment.bsky.social
A huge thanks to @nathankhensley.bsky.social and @anniemcc.bsky.social. @brandyjensen.bsky.social is a legend. And anything smart in hear is thanks to hours of discussion, texting, and draft reading by @smosment.bsky.social
Higher Ed’s Rush To Adopt AI Is About So Much More Than AI | Defector
If you don’t work at a university or have college-age kids, you may have missed the flurry of news stories and social media banter about AI adoption in higher ed, stories which have snowballed into th...
defector.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:57 PM
This is a fabulous and important essay.
"In the end, generative AI might be a blip in tech history, over-promising and under-delivering until finally the cash runs out. But it seems it’s arrived just in time to shove universities over a cliff edge they’d already walked themselves up to."
"In the end, generative AI might be a blip in tech history, over-promising and under-delivering until finally the cash runs out. But it seems it’s arrived just in time to shove universities over a cliff edge they’d already walked themselves up to."
Reposted by Adam Matvya
National Army Museum identifies portrait of Black Waterloo veteran:
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
#Hstory #BlackHistory 🗃️
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
#Hstory #BlackHistory 🗃️
London museum identifies black Waterloo veteran in rare 1821 painting
‘Honourable’ bandsman Thomas James will feature in display at National Army Museum highlighting service of black soldiers in Napoleonic wars
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:39 AM
National Army Museum identifies portrait of Black Waterloo veteran:
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
#Hstory #BlackHistory 🗃️
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
#Hstory #BlackHistory 🗃️
That Enoch Powell went from imperialist and aspiring viceroy of India to ‘England-first’ nationalist with some liberal social views and conservative proto-Thatcherite economics should warn us against all the dominant frameworks for studying the contemporary far-right.
October 20, 2025 at 7:08 AM
That Enoch Powell went from imperialist and aspiring viceroy of India to ‘England-first’ nationalist with some liberal social views and conservative proto-Thatcherite economics should warn us against all the dominant frameworks for studying the contemporary far-right.
Reposted by Adam Matvya
wrote briefly about architecture and the situation at u Chicago www.thenation.com/article/cult...
Why Did UChicago Destroy the Humanities?
The answer is simple: to spend untold sums on useless buildings by starchitects.
www.thenation.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:03 PM
wrote briefly about architecture and the situation at u Chicago www.thenation.com/article/cult...
"If the ceasefire holds, this language is an augur of the future. One where there is no reckoning, no addressing of root causes. Only a hurtling into the imperatives of cleanings-up and workings-out. All the while illegal occupation continues..."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
While the perpetrators of Gaza’s genocide pose as its saviours, survivors return home – to a wasteland | Nesrine Malik
Western leaders attending the Sharm el-Sheikh summit have enabled and sponsored this slaughter. They are in no position to build a Palestinian future, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:25 AM
"If the ceasefire holds, this language is an augur of the future. One where there is no reckoning, no addressing of root causes. Only a hurtling into the imperatives of cleanings-up and workings-out. All the while illegal occupation continues..."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A truly model club
October 4, 2025 at 7:29 PM
A truly model club
Reposted by Adam Matvya
Historians, community leaders, activists and Philadelphians gathered Saturday at The President’s House, located at 6th and Market streets, to oppose potential changes to the historic site’s exhibit on slavery during George Washington’s presidency. whyy.org/articles/sla...
Philly activists rally to save exhibits depicting slavery at President’s House
The Trump administration has given a Sept. 17 deadline for federal agencies to remove materials that highlight the darker parts of American history.
whyy.org
September 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Historians, community leaders, activists and Philadelphians gathered Saturday at The President’s House, located at 6th and Market streets, to oppose potential changes to the historic site’s exhibit on slavery during George Washington’s presidency. whyy.org/articles/sla...
A special treat from the Together for Palestine event last night in London.
Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side
And surely that ain't right
Surely that ain't right
The words cut deeper than ever before.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Am...
Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side
And surely that ain't right
Surely that ain't right
The words cut deeper than ever before.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Am...
‘Roads’ 2025 – Together For Palestine
YouTube video by Portishead
www.youtube.com
September 18, 2025 at 12:26 PM
A special treat from the Together for Palestine event last night in London.
Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side
And surely that ain't right
Surely that ain't right
The words cut deeper than ever before.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Am...
Frozen to myself
I got nobody on my side
And surely that ain't right
Surely that ain't right
The words cut deeper than ever before.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Am...
"One foundation of that wall of fear has been the association of the words “Palestine” and “terror” – the result of a deliberate, decades-long campaign to conflate the two. That same conflation was made in the 1980s with Nelson Mandela."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Why I’m hosting a concert for Palestine at Wembley Arena | Brian Eno
I hope tonight’s gig will have the same galvanising effect as the 1988 Nelson Mandela concert – and give people courage to speak out about Gaza, says music producer Brian Eno
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:52 PM
"One foundation of that wall of fear has been the association of the words “Palestine” and “terror” – the result of a deliberate, decades-long campaign to conflate the two. That same conflation was made in the 1980s with Nelson Mandela."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Adam Matvya
Terrible. Most of the Post's left-leaning columnists had departed, as it became clear it would be harder to publish our views under the new mandate for the Opinion section and/or we were encouraged to go. Karen stayed. But it seems clear the Post was not open to that and found a way to fire her.
Some personal news:
I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Thread incoming.
substack.com/@karenattiah...
I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Thread incoming.
substack.com/@karenattiah...
The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.
substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Terrible. Most of the Post's left-leaning columnists had departed, as it became clear it would be harder to publish our views under the new mandate for the Opinion section and/or we were encouraged to go. Karen stayed. But it seems clear the Post was not open to that and found a way to fire her.
Deossa is very good. Betis have a real talent on their hands. He might be too good to leave out even once Isco returns.
September 14, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Deossa is very good. Betis have a real talent on their hands. He might be too good to leave out even once Isco returns.
Reposted by Adam Matvya
bari is a very familiar figure for anyone with experience in authoritarian states; the most sophisticated and careerist variety of informer.
"The pattern is clear: if you work at a liberal institution and you want the Trump-controlled federal government to step in and discipline it, Bari Weiss is there to help."
Disgruntled NYT journalist to ‘anti-woke’ power grab: how far can Bari Weiss go?
After leaving the New York Times, she turned her Substack into a unshakeable pro-Israel voice. Now as Paramount eyes acquisition of her company, Weiss is poised to become Trump’s ally among media elit...
www.theguardian.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:37 PM
bari is a very familiar figure for anyone with experience in authoritarian states; the most sophisticated and careerist variety of informer.