Samira K. Mehta
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samirakmehta.bsky.social
Samira K. Mehta
@samirakmehta.bsky.social
460 followers 410 following 31 posts
Scholar of American religion, especially American Judaism, focusing on Religion and Reproductive Politics in the US, Interfaith Families, Jews of Color. Knitter, cellist. Dogs and cats, living together!
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samirakmehta.bsky.social
God Bless the Pill is available for pre-order on the UNC Press site!
sonyabonczek.bsky.social Sonya Bonczek @sonyabonczek.bsky.social · 9d
God Bless the Pill by @samirakmehta.bsky.social

Religion, sex, and the birth control pill...but not quite the story you think. Shows how mid-century faith leaders actually embraced contraception as part of building the American Dream. uncpress.org/978146969343...
God Bless the Pill
Most people today understand contraception as central to women’s liberation, and when the birth control pill arrived in 1960, the media thought it would us...
uncpress.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:49 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
For wedding season….
July 9, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
hadassahbrandeis.bsky.social
Today! Join HBI at 7 pm (EDT) in person or online when @samirakmehta.bsky.social delivers this year's Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights, “God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion”. bit.ly/HBIMarkowicz 1/
Top text Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights, Today, God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion, Below, left, photo of Samira Mehta, right text Samira K. Mehta, Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder, March 9, 7 pm EDT, hybrid, 6:30 Dessert Reception at HBI, below text Brandeis, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute
March 9, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
hadassahbrandeis.bsky.social
Join us tomorrow, March 9, 7 pm EDT in observance of International Women's Day for “God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion” presented by @samirakmehta.bsky.social at HBI’s Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights. Hybrid. bit.ly/HBIMarkowicz
Top, text Brandeis, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights. Below, left, photo of Samira Mehta, right, text God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion, Samira K. Mehta, Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder, March 9, 7 pm EDT Hybrid
March 9, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
warren.senate.gov
One thing Trump didn't talk about last night: his plans to abandon American women’s right to abortion care in medical emergencies.

I wonder why he wouldn't want anyone to know that.
March 6, 2025 at 12:57 AM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Boston friends, come and see me on Sunday night!
hadassahbrandeis.bsky.social Hadassah Brandeis Institute HBI @hadassahbrandeis.bsky.social · Mar 5
Join us this Sunday for “God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion” with @samirakmehta.bsky.social who will deliver the Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights. March 9, 7 pm (EDT) in-person at HBI & online, registration and info: bit.ly/HBIMarkowicz 1/
Top, text Brandeis, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights. Below, left, photo of Samira Mehta, right, text God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion, Samira K. Mehta, Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder, Sunday, March 9
March 5, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
cujewishstudies.bsky.social
The Program in Jewish Studies & CU Libraries support visiting scholars whose research interests take advantage of unique resources in the Innovations in Jewish Life Collections.

tinyurl.com/ShneerFellow...

DEADLINE: March 1, 2025

@samirakmehta.bsky.social
@hfalbk.bsky.social
White text on maroon background. Shneer Family Fellowship in Innovations in Jewish Life. This $2500 fellowship is open to faculty and doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy. Recipients of the annual award must be in-residence for a minimum of four days. Recipients must use the research funds during the 2025-2026 academic year. Recipients will present a faculty and graduate student colloquium related to their research project during their visit.
February 27, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
chrismurphyct.bsky.social
This is insane. If you wonder why some of us think the rule of law is about to fall, it's this.

The U.S. Attorney for DC is not "President Trump's lawyer" and its job is not to "protect his leadership" nor prosecute people who "refuse to put America first".
February 24, 2025 at 11:20 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
I had this conversation just the other day….
epopppp.bsky.social Beth Popp Berman @epopppp.bsky.social · Feb 24
There are so many reasons university endowments can't make up for the dramatic cuts the Trump administration has planned for science.

Here are a few. Thanks to @donmoyn.bsky.social for the platform.
No, University Endowments Can’t Replace Federal Science Funding
How Endowments Actually Work
donmoynihan.substack.com
February 24, 2025 at 8:33 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
The incomparable @lauraleibman.bsky.social will be at CU on Monday the 3rd! Join us, in person or on Zoom!
cujewishstudies.bsky.social CU Boulder Program in Jewish Studies @cujewishstudies.bsky.social · Feb 24
Join the Program in Jewish Studies March 3 for our 2025 Annual Bender Visiting Scholar Public Lecture by Dr. Laura Arnold Leibman. This event is free and supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Details and zoom registration at: tinyurl.com/2axxsdbd

@samirakmehta.bsky.social
@hfalbk.bsky.social
February 24, 2025 at 8:29 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
I am so honored to be invited to give the 2025 Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights!
hadassahbrandeis.bsky.social Hadassah Brandeis Institute HBI @hadassahbrandeis.bsky.social · Feb 11
On March 9, International Women's Day, HBI is honored to host @colorado.edu professor Samira K. Mehta @samirakmehta.bsky.social as the 2025 Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights guest speaker. Mehta will speak on contraception and sexuality in American religion. bit.ly/HBIMarkowicz
Top, text Brandeis, Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights. Below, left, photo of Samira Mehta, right, text God Bless the Pill: Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion, Dr. Samira K. Mehta, University of Colorado Boulder, March 9, 7 pm EDT.
February 13, 2025 at 3:47 AM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
I am very excited (or as excited as I can be while the world burns) about this book, by Susannah Heschel and @prof_girlfriend, otherwise known as Sarah Imhoff.
February 5, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
cujewishstudies.bsky.social
Join the Program in Jewish Studies and Jews of Color: Histories & Futures on Feb. 11 for our 2025 Embodied Judaism program. This event is free and supported by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Details and zoom registration at: tinyurl.com/48nttjmu

@samirakmehta.bsky.social
@hfalbk.bsky.social
Image of 3 guest scholars. White text on dark blue background: Jews of Color in the United States and Israel. Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 7:00pm. In person at Norlin Library, CBIS (5th floor) and streaming via zoom. This year’s Embodied Judaism highlights the oral histories of Jews of Color that are being added to our archive through the Jews of Color: Histories and Futures project, made possible by funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. Please join Ilana Kaufman (the Jews of Color Initiative), Marc Dollinger (San Francisco State University, author of Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s), and Bryan K. Roby (University of Michigan, author of The Mizrahi Era of Rebellion: Israel’s Forgotten Civil Rights Struggle, 1948-1966) for a panel discussion about the lives, experiences, and histories of Jews of color in the United States and Israel.
January 28, 2025 at 12:24 AM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
I felt the need to share this article today.
Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I’m His Uncle.
If my nephew’s ideas on immigration had been in force a century ago, our family would have been wiped out.
www.politico.com
January 21, 2025 at 2:35 AM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
May her memory be for a blessing. This was a hard loss, especially today.

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...
Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards dies at 67
Cecile Richards, a longtime advocate for women’s rights and Planned Parenthood leader, died of brain cancer at 67, her family said.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 20, 2025 at 7:46 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
I am excited and curious to read this book by my colleague, neighbor, and friend, Adam Rovner. www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
THE JEW WHO WOULD BE KING | Kirkus Reviews
Delving into a little-known odyssey.
www.kirkusreviews.com
January 17, 2025 at 6:12 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Join us!!!!
January 13, 2025 at 7:36 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Thank you to @joelhs.bsky.social for posting this piece from a couple of years ago—I love when pieces continue to resonate.
January 1, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
geauxgabrielle.bsky.social
The city of New Orleans uses the Mississippi River as drinking water. Our current governor begged the state to remove funding from the city of New Orleans to fix the pumps and the decaying sewage and water system UNTIL the DA agrees to prosecute women for abortions. www.essence.com/news/louisia...
Louisiana's Governor-Elect Wants To Withhold Funds For New Orleans® Decaying Water Infrastructure Until Women Who Seek Abortions Are Prosecuted ——— IN A HORRIFYING INTERSECTION OF REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, JEFF LANDRY HAS URGED THE STATE TO WITHHOLD FUNDS BECAUSE OF HIS PERSONAL FEELINGS ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.
December 31, 2024 at 4:30 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Check out the amazingly @imorianderson.bsky.social on the subject of New Year’s mochi in Japanese American life. www.cbsnews.com/video/how-ja...
How Japanese mochi brings communities in America together
Mochi, a doughy cake made from steamed sweet rice, is more than just a nostalgic taste of Japan; the very act of making mochi – a "mochitsuki" – takes on special significance on New Year's Day. Corres...
www.cbsnews.com
December 29, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Samira K. Mehta
shaenon.bsky.social
Dirty Dancing teaches that abortion rights are good and you should never date a guy who reads Ayn Rand, which is 90% of what you need to get through life
epicciuto.bsky.social Elizabeth Picciuto @epicciuto.bsky.social · Dec 27
What’s a good movie that makes a strong political or moral point?
December 27, 2024 at 5:26 AM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! www.chicagotribune.com/2024/12/25/f...
For Chicago’s interfaith families, Christmas and Hanukkah are a chance to explore new traditions
Hanukkah beginning on Christmas Day brings already-intertwined traditions into even closer proximity for some families.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 25, 2024 at 6:08 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Thank you to @therevealer.bsky.social for the compliment!!!!
therevealer.bsky.social The Revealer @therevealer.bsky.social · Dec 19
Looking for articles about the winter holidays that are both moving and insightful?

Check out our all-time *top 3* favorite winter holiday articles that we've published featuring @jeichlerlevine.bsky.social, @nberlat.bsky.social, & @samirakmehta.bsky.social. therevealer.org/winter-holid...
Winter Holiday Articles We Love — The Revealer
The Revealer’s favorite articles about the December holidays
therevealer.org
December 20, 2024 at 3:37 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
It’s my public scholarship time of year, and here I am, interviewed in Moment Magazine!

momentmag.com/chrismukkah-...
Chrismukkah: As Defined by a Jew Who Celebrates
I’ve always loved being Jewish, but growing up, I felt lucky that my dad was Christian. Unlike many of my Jewish friends, every winter my sister and I had
momentmag.com
December 13, 2024 at 4:20 PM
samirakmehta.bsky.social
Jewish Studies friends, please circulate widely.
cujewishstudies.bsky.social CU Boulder Program in Jewish Studies @cujewishstudies.bsky.social · Dec 5
The Program in Jewish Studies & CU Libraries support visiting scholars whose research interests take advantage of unique resources in the Innovations in Jewish Life Collections.
tinyurl.com/ShneerFellow...
Note: this website is under construction and will be updated 12/10

@samirakmehta.bsky.social
White text on maroon background. Shneer Family Fellowship in Innovations in Jewish Life. This $2500 fellowship is open to faculty and doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy. Recipients of the annual award must be in-residence for a minimum of four days. Recipients must use the research funds during the 2025-2026 academic year. Recipients will present a faculty and graduate student colloquium related to their research project during their visit.
December 6, 2024 at 3:40 PM