Joshua Barsczewski
@joshuabarsczewski.bsky.social
Writing professor and WPA @ Muhlenberg College.
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
Let my gravestone read "PUNCTUATION GOES INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS."
November 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Let my gravestone read "PUNCTUATION GOES INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS."
The epidemic of people using “performative” to mean something other than what it means needs to end
November 10, 2025 at 4:47 PM
The epidemic of people using “performative” to mean something other than what it means needs to end
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
Strikes me that arguments that AI will make xy & z intellectual work obsolete are broadly similar to arguing that food delivery apps make kitchens obsolete.
At a superficial level you understand the point, but there's no escaping the fact that someone in the process needs to know how to fkn cook.
At a superficial level you understand the point, but there's no escaping the fact that someone in the process needs to know how to fkn cook.
November 9, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Strikes me that arguments that AI will make xy & z intellectual work obsolete are broadly similar to arguing that food delivery apps make kitchens obsolete.
At a superficial level you understand the point, but there's no escaping the fact that someone in the process needs to know how to fkn cook.
At a superficial level you understand the point, but there's no escaping the fact that someone in the process needs to know how to fkn cook.
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
lol she got his ass and he knows it
November 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM
lol she got his ass and he knows it
It’s not okay. End of discussion
Column: With Thanksgiving coming up, you may have noticed online posts about whether it's okay to charge guests for dinner.
It's part of a larger trend that, depending on your point of view, is either a major breach of etiquette or simply pragmatic.
It's part of a larger trend that, depending on your point of view, is either a major breach of etiquette or simply pragmatic.
Column | I’m on a budget but I want to host Thanksgiving dinner. Can I charge guests?
The trend of transferring financial responsibility from the host to the guest is turning fellowship into a monetary affair.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:39 PM
It’s not okay. End of discussion
Okay, this is embarrassing but every writer has a moment where they come up with a clever phrase and cling to it relentlessly even though it doesn’t make sense or fit the context we try to shove it in. I just know the writer was super chuffed about this sentence
This is why editors need backbone 😂
This is why editors need backbone 😂
November 8, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Okay, this is embarrassing but every writer has a moment where they come up with a clever phrase and cling to it relentlessly even though it doesn’t make sense or fit the context we try to shove it in. I just know the writer was super chuffed about this sentence
This is why editors need backbone 😂
This is why editors need backbone 😂
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
Hey #writingstudies and #teamrhetoric folks: do you grapple with unrealistic labor expectations? Ever feel like you are just not enough? This collection argues for the enoughness and power of being "adequate," and it's pretty great!
Adequate: Rewriting the Logics of Success in Rhetoric and Composition, edited by @joshuabarsczewski.bsky.social and me, is available for pre-order with a 40% discount with code OLBA26! There's a ton of brilliant writing in here. Please buy it and encourage your library to buy copies too!
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Hey #writingstudies and #teamrhetoric folks: do you grapple with unrealistic labor expectations? Ever feel like you are just not enough? This collection argues for the enoughness and power of being "adequate," and it's pretty great!
Always puzzled by how my lefty academic friends turned on her during Trump’s first term. She was never a progressive savior, but policy-wise she’s probably the most successful Dem legislator ever?? I’m not sure anyone in the pipeline could match that (happy and hopeful to be wrong).
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi won't seek reelection, ending her storied career in the US House.
November 6, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Always puzzled by how my lefty academic friends turned on her during Trump’s first term. She was never a progressive savior, but policy-wise she’s probably the most successful Dem legislator ever?? I’m not sure anyone in the pipeline could match that (happy and hopeful to be wrong).
I think scientists should study exactly how Adam Brody has managed to be exactly as beautiful as he was 20 years ago 😭
‘NOBODY WANTS THIS’ has been renewed for Season 3 at Netflix.
November 6, 2025 at 12:46 AM
I think scientists should study exactly how Adam Brody has managed to be exactly as beautiful as he was 20 years ago 😭
Adequate: Rewriting the Logics of Success in Rhetoric and Composition, edited by @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social and me, is available for pre-order with a 40% discount with code OLBA26! There's a ton of brilliant writing in here. Please buy it and encourage your library to buy copies too!
November 5, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Adequate: Rewriting the Logics of Success in Rhetoric and Composition, edited by @timothyoleksiak.bsky.social and me, is available for pre-order with a 40% discount with code OLBA26! There's a ton of brilliant writing in here. Please buy it and encourage your library to buy copies too!
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
basically every 2024 truism is dead. Trump did not build a lasting multiracial coalition or turn young men into committed Republicans. You don’t need to cave on trans rights to win. The pundits have nothing left to tell you.
November 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
basically every 2024 truism is dead. Trump did not build a lasting multiracial coalition or turn young men into committed Republicans. You don’t need to cave on trans rights to win. The pundits have nothing left to tell you.
Scholar friends: how do you deal with peer reviews that are completely off the mark?
Not in an offensive way but in a way that indicates the reviewer didn’t understand what you were trying to do and whose suggestions would be helpful but are geared toward a very different type of project?
Not in an offensive way but in a way that indicates the reviewer didn’t understand what you were trying to do and whose suggestions would be helpful but are geared toward a very different type of project?
November 5, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Scholar friends: how do you deal with peer reviews that are completely off the mark?
Not in an offensive way but in a way that indicates the reviewer didn’t understand what you were trying to do and whose suggestions would be helpful but are geared toward a very different type of project?
Not in an offensive way but in a way that indicates the reviewer didn’t understand what you were trying to do and whose suggestions would be helpful but are geared toward a very different type of project?
!!
Republicans thought they had a permanent hold over young men. They didn't.
Spanberger wins men 18-29 by 14%, Sherrill by 10%, and Mamdani by a stunning 40%.
Spanberger wins men 18-29 by 14%, Sherrill by 10%, and Mamdani by a stunning 40%.
November 5, 2025 at 12:04 PM
!!
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
At this point, anyone—a university, a law firm, a corporation, a Democrat—bending the knee to Trump is doing it because they want to, not because of any political reality.
November 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
At this point, anyone—a university, a law firm, a corporation, a Democrat—bending the knee to Trump is doing it because they want to, not because of any political reality.
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
Dear Bluesky:
Wow it turns out the entire country is not permanently reactionary because Trump won an election by 1.5%
November 5, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Dear Bluesky:
Reposted by Joshua Barsczewski
From Evan: it's a huge night of hope for the trans community. The Republicans went all in on anti-trans ads in multiple races and so far there's no sign it got them anything.
Perhaps the page can be turned on blaming us for Harris' loss last year.
Perhaps the page can be turned on blaming us for Harris' loss last year.
November 5, 2025 at 1:51 AM
From Evan: it's a huge night of hope for the trans community. The Republicans went all in on anti-trans ads in multiple races and so far there's no sign it got them anything.
Perhaps the page can be turned on blaming us for Harris' loss last year.
Perhaps the page can be turned on blaming us for Harris' loss last year.
Let’s fucking go
BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani is projected to win the New York City Mayoral election, reports @decisiondeskhq.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Let’s fucking go
My grandmother would be so happy. ❤️❤️She loved his father (a former mayor who died in office)
BREAKING: Democrat Corey O’Connor is elected Pittsburgh mayor, defeating Republican Tony Moreno.
Follow AP for live updates.
Follow AP for live updates.
Live updates: US voters head to the polls in first general election since Trump's return to power
One year after Donald Trump retook the presidency, 2025 Election Day includes closely watched races for New York City mayor, New Jersey governor and California's Proposition 50.
bit.ly
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 AM
My grandmother would be so happy. ❤️❤️She loved his father (a former mayor who died in office)
Thank fucking god. 2 months ago she was running what I thought was a monumentally inept campaign and was headed to lose. But she listened to the right people and changed her strategies
NEW: Decision Desk has called New Jersey governor for Sherrill. election-night.decisiondeskhq.com/date/2025-11...
November 5, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Thank fucking god. 2 months ago she was running what I thought was a monumentally inept campaign and was headed to lose. But she listened to the right people and changed her strategies
Remember that time Dick Cheney shot a guy?
Fun times
Fun times
November 4, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Remember that time Dick Cheney shot a guy?
Fun times
Fun times
Just saw a job ad that asked for teaching evaluations from every single course taught for the past 3 years. Mama, y'all are doing too much. That's potentially 30 courses for some people. Ain't nobody on your little committee reading all that on an initial screening.
November 4, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Just saw a job ad that asked for teaching evaluations from every single course taught for the past 3 years. Mama, y'all are doing too much. That's potentially 30 courses for some people. Ain't nobody on your little committee reading all that on an initial screening.
Having an academic mama bear moment because an article I was an anonymous reviewer on finally got published 😍😍
(I feel like most of the articles I've reviewed haven't been published? Is that just me? Am I the problem?)
(I feel like most of the articles I've reviewed haven't been published? Is that just me? Am I the problem?)
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Having an academic mama bear moment because an article I was an anonymous reviewer on finally got published 😍😍
(I feel like most of the articles I've reviewed haven't been published? Is that just me? Am I the problem?)
(I feel like most of the articles I've reviewed haven't been published? Is that just me? Am I the problem?)