Shaily Patel
@vox-magica.bsky.social
historian of christianity | scholar of magic & heresy | critic of empires | neurospicy | unabashedly hopeful and generally sincere | author of magic and heresy (https://bit.ly/4mo1fY4) and smoke & mirrors (https://bit.ly/43ygshX) | she/her
Reposted by Shaily Patel
I just read a Dogrates 15/10 post about a dog rescued after…I won’t share the details but it was deliberate animal cruelty…and it seems like a good time to revisit “Good Bones.” Maybe you need it today too.
December 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I just read a Dogrates 15/10 post about a dog rescued after…I won’t share the details but it was deliberate animal cruelty…and it seems like a good time to revisit “Good Bones.” Maybe you need it today too.
why am i so excited about a possible snow day when i’m teaching online this term?
December 4, 2025 at 10:15 PM
why am i so excited about a possible snow day when i’m teaching online this term?
Reposted by Shaily Patel
December 4, 2025 at 4:15 PM
a worthy addition to the JECS color range!
Anyway, all the cool people know that the *real* color of the year is the new cover color for next year's Journal of Early Christian Studies---subscribe now and get four issues in Pantone 165, a gorgeous, nicely saturated orange for 2026
December 4, 2025 at 7:05 PM
a worthy addition to the JECS color range!
some good news!
U.S. reinstates all canceled library grants after court order www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/1...
U.S. reinstates all canceled library grants after court order
A court ruled that Trump’s effort to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the only federal agency dedicated to funding libraries, was unlawful.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM
some good news!
Reposted by Shaily Patel
Today! Free book talk on HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY, hosted by the Linda Hall Library:
7-8pm CST (8-9pm EST)
Register to get the Zoom link.
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #ancient #medieval #renaissance #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH #politics
7-8pm CST (8-9pm EST)
Register to get the Zoom link.
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #ancient #medieval #renaissance #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH #politics
Free book talk on HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY, hosted by the Linda Hall Library:
Thurs Dec 4th, 7-8pm CST (8-9pm EST)
Register at link below.
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💙📚 🧪 🗃 #ancient #medieval #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH
events.lindahall.org/humansamonst...
Thurs Dec 4th, 7-8pm CST (8-9pm EST)
Register at link below.
1/
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #ancient #medieval #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH
events.lindahall.org/humansamonst...
December 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Today! Free book talk on HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY, hosted by the Linda Hall Library:
7-8pm CST (8-9pm EST)
Register to get the Zoom link.
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #ancient #medieval #renaissance #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH #politics
7-8pm CST (8-9pm EST)
Register to get the Zoom link.
💙📚 🧪 🗃 #ancient #medieval #renaissance #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH #politics
Reposted by Shaily Patel
The last Pasts Imperfect of 2025 is out! The incomparable @toriflee.bsky.social has our annual ancient world gift guide. Then, saving Sudan's cultural heritage, cats in Ancient China, Indigenous canoe-making, ancient disability, new ancient world journals by @yaleclassicslib.bsky.social & much more!
Pasts Imperfect (12.4.25)
This week, the one and only Tori Lee returns with her annual ancient world gift guide. Then, racing to preserve Sudan's cultural heritage, a new study on domestic cats assesses the leopard cats of anc...
pasts-imperfect.ghost.io
December 4, 2025 at 11:52 AM
The last Pasts Imperfect of 2025 is out! The incomparable @toriflee.bsky.social has our annual ancient world gift guide. Then, saving Sudan's cultural heritage, cats in Ancient China, Indigenous canoe-making, ancient disability, new ancient world journals by @yaleclassicslib.bsky.social & much more!
this is actually a pretty good explainer on masking for folks who’re unfamiliar.
Everyone Uses This Coping Strategy. When Does It Become a Problem?
www.nytimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:32 PM
this is actually a pretty good explainer on masking for folks who’re unfamiliar.
Reposted by Shaily Patel
DEADLINE IN ONE WEEK: The NBER Race and Stratification Working Group will have its annual meeting on Friday, March 27, 2026. @franciscaantman.bsky.social, Bocar Ba, Robynn Cox and I are organizing the program. Submit your paper by December 11, 2025! @nber.org #Econsky www.nber.org/conferences/...
Economics of Race and Stratification, Spring 2026
www.nber.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:56 AM
DEADLINE IN ONE WEEK: The NBER Race and Stratification Working Group will have its annual meeting on Friday, March 27, 2026. @franciscaantman.bsky.social, Bocar Ba, Robynn Cox and I are organizing the program. Submit your paper by December 11, 2025! @nber.org #Econsky www.nber.org/conferences/...
Reposted by Shaily Patel
I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Sharif. Sharif and his wife came to Egypt prior to the war to get IVF treatment- which was successful and they had twins Husam and Ahmad. Husam has a congenital heart disorder. They have not been able to go back but also cannot work in Egypt.
December 4, 2025 at 11:50 AM
I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Sharif. Sharif and his wife came to Egypt prior to the war to get IVF treatment- which was successful and they had twins Husam and Ahmad. Husam has a congenital heart disorder. They have not been able to go back but also cannot work in Egypt.
this is amazing.
I'm going to reproduce a saucy thread I did some years ago in the other place. It is divisive and produces many odd statements and flushes out parochial opinions.
🧵 (1 of many)
🧵 (1 of many)
December 4, 2025 at 11:36 AM
this is amazing.
this movie is so good!
Had to go back..LOOK AT HER
Revisit Dangerous Liaisons AKA Glenn Close the movie
Revisit Dangerous Liaisons AKA Glenn Close the movie
December 4, 2025 at 3:48 AM
this movie is so good!
bluesky will really argue with something as simple as “communicate clearly” and i just want to remind everyone that naps are good.
December 4, 2025 at 3:46 AM
bluesky will really argue with something as simple as “communicate clearly” and i just want to remind everyone that naps are good.
james rives, y’all. we should all be lucky enough to know and to learn from james rives.
December 3, 2025 at 10:07 PM
james rives, y’all. we should all be lucky enough to know and to learn from james rives.
Reposted by Shaily Patel
here's another way to think through this assignment: can you clearly explain your thesis, your evidence, etc, to HS students? a lot of HS English and/or History teachers would love to let you come to class and try -
this is my #1 advice to grad students: anyone can reproduce jargon; the bigger flex is being able to make the argument in straightforward prose. clarity is indicative of deep thought and engagement. even chatGPT can write word salad.
i strongly, strongly believe that good writing is downstream of clear thinking and a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand. without fail, tortured writing comes from writers who don’t know and can’t think clearly about anything.
December 3, 2025 at 9:33 PM
here's another way to think through this assignment: can you clearly explain your thesis, your evidence, etc, to HS students? a lot of HS English and/or History teachers would love to let you come to class and try -
Reposted by Shaily Patel
For ABSOLUTELY NO REASON at all, did you know that the Critical Ancient World Studies volume has three chapters on critical philology which are all OPEN ACCESS?
December 2, 2025 at 9:31 PM
For ABSOLUTELY NO REASON at all, did you know that the Critical Ancient World Studies volume has three chapters on critical philology which are all OPEN ACCESS?
this is my #1 advice to grad students: anyone can reproduce jargon; the bigger flex is being able to make the argument in straightforward prose. clarity is indicative of deep thought and engagement. even chatGPT can write word salad.
i strongly, strongly believe that good writing is downstream of clear thinking and a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand. without fail, tortured writing comes from writers who don’t know and can’t think clearly about anything.
Oh man! This paragraph is brutal. The best thing about this review is it's not trying to be mean. It's just listing how bad the writing is.
December 3, 2025 at 7:36 PM
this is my #1 advice to grad students: anyone can reproduce jargon; the bigger flex is being able to make the argument in straightforward prose. clarity is indicative of deep thought and engagement. even chatGPT can write word salad.
Reposted by Shaily Patel
the CPL system is an absolute gem of a library. this is cannibalizing one of the city’s greatest assets.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed disastrous cuts to our city's libraries while setting aside $5M for a ShotSpotter replacement. As library associate Sara Heymann told me, “Libraries embody everything we need to fight back against fascism.” My piece on what’s at stake and how to fight back:
You Can’t Fight Fascism While Defunding Libraries
“Libraries embody everything that we need right now to fight back against fascism," says Sara Heymann.
organizingmythoughts.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM
the CPL system is an absolute gem of a library. this is cannibalizing one of the city’s greatest assets.
@baselanas.bsky.social is an aspiring doctor and could use our help. please give if you can and signal boost.
I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Anas. Anas had just enrolled in college in Khan Younis when the war started and his brother Ahmad who is 14 excelled in math and wanted to be a doctor. They’ve been deprived of education for 2 years and desperately want to continue it.
December 3, 2025 at 6:41 PM
@baselanas.bsky.social is an aspiring doctor and could use our help. please give if you can and signal boost.
Reposted by Shaily Patel
December 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
i mean, i think i have to own it. hi, i’m shaily, everyone. and i’m the magic man! 🪄
But also I’m sorry I see this gif every time I talk to Shaily
Talledega Nights Cal GIF
Alt: Talledega Nights Cal GIF
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
i mean, i think i have to own it. hi, i’m shaily, everyone. and i’m the magic man! 🪄
drafting and talking to myself like, “okay, let’s rewrite that, shaily. only @drewjakeprof.bsky.social will know what you meant. and @jeremiahcoogan.bsky.social would want you to be more precise, too.”
great editors edit for life, what can we say.
great editors edit for life, what can we say.
December 3, 2025 at 4:31 PM
drafting and talking to myself like, “okay, let’s rewrite that, shaily. only @drewjakeprof.bsky.social will know what you meant. and @jeremiahcoogan.bsky.social would want you to be more precise, too.”
great editors edit for life, what can we say.
great editors edit for life, what can we say.
this is a must-read for anyone in higher ed.
“The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free.“
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
this is a must-read for anyone in higher ed.