R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
@kataplexis.bsky.social
Ancient Historian and Professor. First gen, public school, state college kid teaching at a SLAC. PhD OSU, BA UCSD. “Come on down here, third string. Let me show you how outclassed you are.” ~Full Metal Alchemist
Pinned
Help support students w/o the means participate in excavations, summer programs abroad or summer language programs? Help us build our s holarship endowment! We currently have no departmental endowed funds, but our students need financial support that the uni & external scholarships can’t provide.
The fact that Brutus has such high negatives is interesting considering he literally stopped a tyrant.
Cleopatra is the single most popular ancient figure* among Americans. Big potential support base for the "attractive maniac" candidate
* they didn't poll for Jesus, but to be fair I suspect he'd take the crown.
* they didn't poll for Jesus, but to be fair I suspect he'd take the crown.
December 3, 2025 at 4:42 AM
The fact that Brutus has such high negatives is interesting considering he literally stopped a tyrant.
Opinions that college degrees “aren’t worth the cost” because jobs don’t pay enough. Anyone ever thought that maybe the real problem is that employers prefer profits for execs and shareholders over paying employees? Colleges can’t change that, only employers can.
December 1, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Opinions that college degrees “aren’t worth the cost” because jobs don’t pay enough. Anyone ever thought that maybe the real problem is that employers prefer profits for execs and shareholders over paying employees? Colleges can’t change that, only employers can.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
JUST IN: Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88
The Czech-born British playwright is known for Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Coast of Utopia. Stoppard also wrote screenplays for Brazil and Shakespeare in Love.
n.pr
November 29, 2025 at 6:16 PM
JUST IN: Acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Jimmy Cliff, the charismatic reggae pioneer and actor who preached joy, defiance, and resilience in classics such as “Many Rivers to Cross” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and starred in the landmark movie “The Harder They Come,” has died.
Jimmy Cliff, reggae giant and star of landmark film ‘The Harder They Come,’ dies at 81 - The Boston Globe
His family posted a message on his social media sites that he died from a “seizure followed by pneumonia.”
trib.al
November 24, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Jimmy Cliff, the charismatic reggae pioneer and actor who preached joy, defiance, and resilience in classics such as “Many Rivers to Cross” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and starred in the landmark movie “The Harder They Come,” has died.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Medicare for All would save $450B a year.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
November 18, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Medicare for All would save $450B a year.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Lots of good stuff in here, including my chapter on how modern scientific race was built from ancient ideas.
November 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Lots of good stuff in here, including my chapter on how modern scientific race was built from ancient ideas.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Perhaps on #OnThisDay in AD 130, Antinous drowned in the Nile during the festival celebrating the death of their god Osiris. Antinous was immediately deified and associated with Osiris, and Hadrian created a new city, Antinopolis.
Read more 👉 followinghadrian.com/2016/10/02/t...
Read more 👉 followinghadrian.com/2016/10/02/t...
October 24, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Perhaps on #OnThisDay in AD 130, Antinous drowned in the Nile during the festival celebrating the death of their god Osiris. Antinous was immediately deified and associated with Osiris, and Hadrian created a new city, Antinopolis.
Read more 👉 followinghadrian.com/2016/10/02/t...
Read more 👉 followinghadrian.com/2016/10/02/t...
Just saw an ad for a company called Kalshi and they talked about how good they are at calculating odds. They showed the Spartans at Thermopylae and a 1% chance of victory. They aren’t wrong—remember that the Spartans lost that battle. They way it was set it up, you’d think the Spartans won.
October 22, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Just saw an ad for a company called Kalshi and they talked about how good they are at calculating odds. They showed the Spartans at Thermopylae and a 1% chance of victory. They aren’t wrong—remember that the Spartans lost that battle. They way it was set it up, you’d think the Spartans won.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Solidarity!! Last week, Indiana University fired the director of student media & halted print on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. Yesterday, Purdue’s student paper printed the banned edition & drove two hours to deliver it. Incredible www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/l...
Purdue student journalists deliver special 'solidarity' newspaper to IU Bloomington campus
The special edition blasted across town features columns from IDS and Exponent editors, alongside QR codes to support both student papers.
www.heraldtimesonline.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Solidarity!! Last week, Indiana University fired the director of student media & halted print on the Indiana Daily Student newspaper. Yesterday, Purdue’s student paper printed the banned edition & drove two hours to deliver it. Incredible www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/l...
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Join us starting tonight for the annual fall meeting in Lincolnshire, IL. On-site registration available!
Talks include keynote by @kataplexis.bsky.social & papers by @vickyausten.bsky.social @magistracohen.bsky.social @nimiumamatrix.bsky.social & many more IL classicists!
#IllinoisClassicsEvents
Talks include keynote by @kataplexis.bsky.social & papers by @vickyausten.bsky.social @magistracohen.bsky.social @nimiumamatrix.bsky.social & many more IL classicists!
#IllinoisClassicsEvents
October 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Join us starting tonight for the annual fall meeting in Lincolnshire, IL. On-site registration available!
Talks include keynote by @kataplexis.bsky.social & papers by @vickyausten.bsky.social @magistracohen.bsky.social @nimiumamatrix.bsky.social & many more IL classicists!
#IllinoisClassicsEvents
Talks include keynote by @kataplexis.bsky.social & papers by @vickyausten.bsky.social @magistracohen.bsky.social @nimiumamatrix.bsky.social & many more IL classicists!
#IllinoisClassicsEvents
I work at a university that decided to replace two administrative position openings with only one person, saying we did not need both positions. This included getting rid of a VP level position. I really do love my university.
October 13, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I work at a university that decided to replace two administrative position openings with only one person, saying we did not need both positions. This included getting rid of a VP level position. I really do love my university.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Today’s mandatory faculty mental health slideshow, “Going Through the Motions: How to Function Despite the Fact Your Supervisors Hate You and Your Job Is Destroying You Spiritually,” has been postponed again.
The Faculty Mental Health Fair Has Been Postponed Again
Dear Faculty: Due to concerns expressed by the students, parents, and staff, you are invited to attend a mandatory emergency mental health fair in ...
buff.ly
October 9, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Today’s mandatory faculty mental health slideshow, “Going Through the Motions: How to Function Despite the Fact Your Supervisors Hate You and Your Job Is Destroying You Spiritually,” has been postponed again.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
The Trump Administration’s “Compact of Excellence” for Universities is... far from excellent! Indeed, it’s unconstitutional. In this post, let me count the ways.
blog.dividedargument.com/p/the-uncons...
blog.dividedargument.com/p/the-uncons...
The Unconstitutional Conditions Doctrine and the Compact for Excellence
Members of the Trump administration love to say that federal funding is a privilege not a right and therefore something that can be granted or withheld based on changing administrative priorities.
blog.dividedargument.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The Trump Administration’s “Compact of Excellence” for Universities is... far from excellent! Indeed, it’s unconstitutional. In this post, let me count the ways.
blog.dividedargument.com/p/the-uncons...
blog.dividedargument.com/p/the-uncons...
got the new covid shot today, no hassle, at a cvs. getting ahead of campus disease cycles.
September 16, 2025 at 11:01 PM
got the new covid shot today, no hassle, at a cvs. getting ahead of campus disease cycles.
On MWF, I teach ancient Greek for 4 hours, only 1 of those hours is on load teaching. For a dept that supposedly is destroying the discipline because our major isn’t language-centered, we sure do teach the languages a lot.
September 13, 2025 at 12:17 AM
On MWF, I teach ancient Greek for 4 hours, only 1 of those hours is on load teaching. For a dept that supposedly is destroying the discipline because our major isn’t language-centered, we sure do teach the languages a lot.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Philology: the Best of All Possible Methods? A response to the apology.
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
The Best of All Possible Methods
The Gold and Katz Defense of Philology
planudes.medium.com
September 9, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Philology: the Best of All Possible Methods? A response to the apology.
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
Philology: the Best of All Possible Methods? A response to the apology.
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
The Best of All Possible Methods
The Gold and Katz Defense of Philology
planudes.medium.com
September 9, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Philology: the Best of All Possible Methods? A response to the apology.
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
planudes.medium.com/the-best-of-...
Published last month, after 5 years with editors and press… Volume looks amazing. I am ch 16.
August 6, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Published last month, after 5 years with editors and press… Volume looks amazing. I am ch 16.
Almost finished with this baby. Only took me 4 years to write. All that is left is a final round of clean up edits, some additional notes, and then some backmatter and the image permissions (I will make my maps when I am back in the US). So happy to be publishing this with @yalepress.bsky.social.
July 18, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Almost finished with this baby. Only took me 4 years to write. All that is left is a final round of clean up edits, some additional notes, and then some backmatter and the image permissions (I will make my maps when I am back in the US). So happy to be publishing this with @yalepress.bsky.social.
For those who have access, my new entry for “metics” in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (replacing D. Whitehead’s) has gone live. much more thorough and includes non-Athenian metics.
oxfordre.com/classics/dis...
oxfordre.com/classics/dis...
oxfordre.com
June 19, 2025 at 11:35 AM
For those who have access, my new entry for “metics” in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (replacing D. Whitehead’s) has gone live. much more thorough and includes non-Athenian metics.
oxfordre.com/classics/dis...
oxfordre.com/classics/dis...
Proofs. Chapter 5 of the forthcoming Cultural History of Poverty, edited by Claire Taylor.
May 24, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Proofs. Chapter 5 of the forthcoming Cultural History of Poverty, edited by Claire Taylor.
Reposted by R F Kennedy (not Jr.)
Translated primary sources for teaching the history of ethnicity in medieval China. A fabulous resource! #GlobalMiddleAges #MedievalSky www.academia.edu/community/ln...
April 14, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Translated primary sources for teaching the history of ethnicity in medieval China. A fabulous resource! #GlobalMiddleAges #MedievalSky www.academia.edu/community/ln...
Help support students w/o the means participate in excavations, summer programs abroad or summer language programs? Help us build our s holarship endowment! We currently have no departmental endowed funds, but our students need financial support that the uni & external scholarships can’t provide.
March 23, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Help support students w/o the means participate in excavations, summer programs abroad or summer language programs? Help us build our s holarship endowment! We currently have no departmental endowed funds, but our students need financial support that the uni & external scholarships can’t provide.