David Barral
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thoreaupeutic.bsky.social
David Barral
@thoreaupeutic.bsky.social
High school English Lit program in the French system

Thoreau studies (philological/philosophical wordplay) & translation; Lit; pragmatism | indie research

WIP « La résistance au gouvernement civil », traduction annotée : https://thoreaupeutic.net
Pinned
I dwelt before, perhaps, in the illusion that my life passed somewhere only between heaven and hell, but now I cannot persuade myself that I do not dwell wholly within hell. … Life itself being worth less, all things with it, which minister to it, are worth less. (1/3)
Reposted by David Barral
I do not like that universities feel the need to “brand” themselves. Find your “identity” as a department, they say. Revise your “mission.” I believe our mission is advancing knowledge in all areas. That hasn’t changed in a thousand years.
November 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
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"What, in essence, has changed? What in the simplest possible terms distinguishes this world from the previous one, demanding that we discard the word capitalism and replace it with technofeudalism? The triumph of rent over profit."

Varfoufakis
November 30, 2025 at 4:57 PM
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November 30, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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Given how well received it's been this weekend, I'm hoping to do some more giveaways of books that I wrote next week. These three are in contention!
November 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
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He’s taking a battering.
November 30, 2025 at 7:15 AM
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Just added a substack version of the review I wrote of one of the best books on Medieval hygiene I've ever read.

You can find it here;
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/book-revie...

The wordpress version is here;
fakehistoryhunter.net/2024/07/13/b...
Book review: 'Urban Bodies: Communal Health in Late Medieval English Towns and Cities' by Carole Rawcliffe (2013)
I’ve just finished reading ‘Urban Bodies: Communal Health in Late Medieval English Towns and Cities’ by Carole Rawcliffe, Professor of Medieval History, University of East Anglia.
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:47 AM
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Love that there's a gif of me marking
Death Note GIF
ALT: Death Note GIF
media.tenor.com
November 30, 2025 at 7:45 AM
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New publication on active life of lit-> "How does the study of literature, language, and humanities help build critical capacities? How do we address the current state of the humanities in the age of AI? What are examples of applied humanities programs and careers?"
asterismbooks.com/product/buil...
November 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
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“In our work, [my students and I] assumed—before anything else, before any evidence—that there was meaning, and that we were rational, and we decided that we treat texts, ourselves, and each other this way. This is truly and always radical”.
November 30, 2025 at 6:33 AM
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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...
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 3:14 PM
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Citation is feminist memory.
The whole point of citations beyond "showing your work" is so it's clear where your evidence is coming from. I'll be the last person to be a stickler about the specifics of a given style other than my deep and abiding hatred for APA but citations matter! They matter so much!
November 30, 2025 at 5:21 AM
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Hagueseth
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
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Look, we could have all seen this coming with Hagueseth. The man cares so little about keeping his hands clean he doesn't wash them after taking a crap
November 30, 2025 at 5:48 AM
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We seem to be getting stupider when we could really use our wits. The antidote? Reading more. Also a good antidote against the evils of social media, from distraction to misinformation. And did I mention the pleasure of it? Don't miss out on the pleasure... #books
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
Is the decline of reading making politics dumber?
As people read less they think less clearly, scholars fear
www.economist.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
medium being the message and all
as much as I understand where this comes from, I’m not quite sure turning into the logorrheic, all-cap wielding, epithet-slinging other guy is the best strategy
November 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
as much as I understand where this comes from, I’m not quite sure turning into the logorrheic, all-cap wielding, epithet-slinging other guy is the best strategy
November 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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When will I be represented by my government??
Ted Cruz’s Bigfoot porn thing aside, the federal government is severely lacking in the monsterfucker department.
November 28, 2025 at 11:54 PM
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November 28, 2025 at 6:36 PM
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👇
November 28, 2025 at 9:16 AM
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Your universe is a photocopy of a photocopy of a…
on.ft.com/4ahkNKa
November 27, 2025 at 10:36 PM
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The true academic method: open 12 papers, read none of them, feel intellectually intimidated
November 28, 2025 at 9:15 AM
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Happy Birthday to William Blake, who knows where the wild things are...
November 28, 2025 at 6:17 AM
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“What is analytic philosophy? A vexed question indeed. Whatever it is, it gets a thorough bashing in Christoph Schuringa’s new social history, an unremittingly hostile survey of the subject.”

The opening of Sarah Richmond’s superb review of Schuringa’s new book.

www.the-tls.com/philosophy/h...
What they mean
What is analytic philosophy? A vexed question indeed. Whatever it is, it gets a thorough bashing in Christoph Schuringa’s new social history, an
www.the-tls.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:30 PM