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Dr. Chance Bonar

@chancebonar.bsky.social
5.9K followers 1.9K following 1.8K posts

Advisor and Lecturer @ UVA Working on early Christianity, slavery, & Roman Palestine Cat dad | Minnesotan | 🏳️‍🌈 | chancebonar.com Books: bit.ly/3R8LXbo + bit.ly/4iMBSwy + bit.ly/4dBmCSk

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Reposted by Dr. Chance Bonar
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 22h
Seeing this just fills me with absolute despair at the climate situation. We are still at peak emissions. We haven't even begun decreasing emissions and even if we did, the warming that's baked from past emissions will last for centuries. We're cooked.
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Reposted by Dr. Chance Bonar
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science: For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.
nytimes.com
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"The current level of political animosity is exactly what one would expect to see if an extremist faction attempted to rescind the hard-earned rights of the vast majority of the country’s citizens." There are not enough exclamation points to convey how I felt reading this paragraph
Screenshot of article which reads: From this perspective, the “both sides” frame falls apart. The prob-
lem is not that the parties are divided. The problem is the existential 
threat that a reempowered ethnonationalist strain poses to pluralistic 
U.S. democracy writ large. The current level of political animosity is 
exactly what one would expect to see if an extremist faction attempted 
to rescind the hard-earned rights of the vast majority of the country’s 
citizens. The only way to re-oppress most of a country is to use anti-
democratic and authoritarian tactics. And the only way to oppose those 
tactics is to push back as a population and clearly reject them. This is 
the argument happening in the United States, and its pathology is not 
anger—it is the movement to undermine a generation of rights.
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Steven L. Johnson @stevenljohnson.org · 01/10/2026
Cville residents — get a free tree! www.charlottesville.gov/m/newsflash/...
charlottesville.gov
Charlottesville Utilities is Offering Free Trees to City Residents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 1, 2026Charlottesville Utilities is Offering Free Trees to City ResidentsCHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Charlottesville Department of Utilities is excited to announc
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Hannah Čulík-Baird @opietasanimi.com · 30/09/2026
It is my enormous pleasure to share the most recent issue of #ResDiffJournal: Res Diff 3.1 (2026) With contributions from Jody Valentine, Sarah Cullinan Herring, Joy Woolley and Paul Robertson, and Sally Mubarak #OpenAccess resdifficiles.com/res-diff-3-1...
resdifficiles.com
Res Diff 3.1 (2026)
Jody Valentine, What is a Classic? Experimenting with Engaged Scholarship Keywords: classical tradition, critical self-reflection, reflexive antiracism, Sappho, subjectivity, White privilege. Abstr…
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
very few religious studies scholars here (which is different from religious scholars). i’m really fucking tired today so i got nothing except wishing folks understood the value of religious studies as a field.
nytimes.com
Is Claude Conscious? Inside Anthropic’s Quest to Instill Morality Into Its A.I. Models (Gift Article)
In a series of private meetings, the company consulted religious scholars to help instill morality into its A.I. models — and make the case that Claude could be conscious.
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
TIL: portions of Vine Deloria Jr.'s famous essay "Anthropologists and Other Friends" was originally published in Playboy
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Disappointed yall didn’t find this as funny as I did
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Looking forward to seeing how the labor lawsuit against Harvard for the compensation of res life staff progresses www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
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Anne Helen Petersen @annehelen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is *the* piece. Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell, speaks truth to the totality of failures at the university — and why students protesting the war in Gaza have faced far harsher consequences than any of the Cornell 7: www.thecut.com/article/what...
thecut.com
What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now
As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.
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Dr. Anca Wilkening @historianca.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Back in 2017 I co-organized an event collecting stories of sexual and gender-based misconduct and violence at Yale Divinity School. Several of the submitted stories concerned abusers being able to graduate without penalty etc. despite leadership knowing. Nothing changed. No one really cared.
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Something I’ll be talking about in a November conference paper is how many horrible fucking pedophiles (+pedo enablers) work on ancient pedophilia or pederasty to justify their actions and proximity to power
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Heartbreaking to wear my new mallard duck earring for our augury class, and *not a single student* commented on it
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Love googling Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus only to have a picture of Jeb Bush come up
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Thiago Krause @thiagokrause.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Call for proposals for a workshop, my people! Slavery and transimperial trade next March at William & Mary. Please spread it far and wide: I want to read your many great proposals!
atlanticexchanges.wm.edu
2027 Workshop Call for Proposals - Atlantic Exchanges Workshop
Atlantic Exchanges 2027 Slavery and the Commercial Machinery of Empires The Atlantic Exchanges Workshop invites proposals for its second edition, […]
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Reposted by Dr. Chance Bonar
Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My latest for National Geographic is on a stunning new ‘Fulgur Conditum’ inscription from Hadrian’s Villa that tells us a lot about how Romans reacted to lightning ⚡️ striking objects & the creation of sacred space. Thx 🙏 to Elizabeth Meyer & Alberto Samonà. www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...
nationalgeographic.com
The Ancient Romans Had a Strange Ritual After Thunderstorms
Archaeologists excavating at Hadrian’s Villa outside of Rome have unearthed a marble slab dedicated to Summanus, the god of nocturnal lightning.
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Imani Gandy @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
fucking really
thehill.com
Education Department formally rescinds Title IX protections for LGBTQ students
The Education Department announced Monday it has formally rescinded the Biden-era Title IX interpretation that gave sex-based discrimination protections to students on the basis of sexual orientati…
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Reposted by Dr. Chance Bonar
Cadence “Not A Coffee Civet” Andrysiak @supportourpoops.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“But this will also affect other people who benefit from these patronage networks and not just the Bad People” correct
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nick @unionnick.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
On the *same day* the Cornell Seven drugged and raped Jane Doe, Cornell banned four students (including the President of Cornell JVP) from campus for three years for nonviolent, pro-Palestine protests. The same Cornell officials let the rapists off with apology essays.
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 27/09/2026
Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/kQdKbY1
trib.al
Trump Moves to Cut Off Student Loans for Tons of Degrees
Under a new rule, if your degree doesn’t make enough money, you won’t be able to get a student loan.
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Candida Moss @candidamoss.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New Stones and Bones is out on Polar Bears and new Odyssey fragments. Featuring Michael Kulikowski, @sarahebond.bsky.social, Christopher Epplett, Nandini Pandey, and @sentantiq.bsky.social www.nationalgeographic.com/newsletters/...
nationalgeographic.com
Polar Bears in the Roman Colosseum?
It isn't as far-fetched as it sounds.
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Ancient Jew Review @ancientjewreview.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today, James Nati reviews Susan Niditch's Ethics in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond. www.ancientjewreview.com/read/2026/9/25/book-review-ethics-in-the-hebrew-bible-and-beyond
ancientjewreview.com
Book Review | Ethics in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond — ANCIENT JEW REVIEW
Those who seek moral guidance from the Bible are faced with a further challenge: how does one interpret, distill, and apply the sheer variety of ethical views contained in these diverse texts in…
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Reposted by Dr. Chance Bonar
Francois Soyer @fsoyer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
First proofs of the forthcoming book have arrived in my email inbox from Bloomsbury. In classic fashion: in the middle of frantic marking and at the start of the school holidays. 🤦🏻‍♂️
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I think about this a lot in terms of languages. Some depts expect/are expected to train students in the requisite math, coding, and technical knowledge to understand the material in more depth Most humanities courses don’t expect/aren’t allowed to require students to know requisite languages
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Professor Nutella @jpnudell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is one of the challenges in drawing students to humanities majors. Either the subjects are frivolous so why take them, or students are shocked that the teachers expect them to do work so they seek easier pathways that promise greater material rewards.
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Noel Healy @drnoelhealy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The assault on US universities didn't start in 2025. Our new paper traces the decades of corporate capture that made it possible, and why climate research is a primary target. Open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I have joked too many times about mirroring the choices of Self-Important Departments™ by scheduling distinct lab, discussion section, and exam times that block students from scheduling any other course during those times when enrolling
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Ellen Muehlberger @emuehlbe.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
One option for humanities classes going forward: don't schedule the class, schedule the work
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Laprofmme @laprofmme.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
AP and dual enrollment. And convincing students that these HS courses are not like a real college course, mostly because they are full of HS students, is so hard when they’ve been sold the message that “good” students can do college in HS
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I like that in becoming a nazi, you get glowing coverage as a brave iconoclast, and then when you stop being a nazi, you’re get glowing coverage as a brave dissident. Money coming and going. Only way you lose is having normal opinions like “racism bad” bsky.app/profile/trac...
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Today’s object: a votive statue of Sucellus, a Gallic deity, that was originally set up in a household shrine
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Drew McKevitt @drewmckevitt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is a revelation to me. Are most history depts not already "service depts"? I assumed they were. In any given year I might teach 500 students, most of them in the intro surveys, and maybe 25 of those 500 are history majors. But it's important to note how admins set these classes up to fail.
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Dr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.northsky.social · 26/09/2026
UK Universities not beating the allegations
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Guys is this anything
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Honored to be cited briefly in new work by Ophira Gamliel on "Zionist Land Fetishism and Genocidal Iconoclasm" re: geoeschatology, European visions of colonial expansionism, and Indigenous erasure scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/pir/art...
scholarlypublishingcollective.org
Zionist Land Fetishism and Genocidal Iconoclasm
Abstract. The article argues that Israel’s genocide is grounded in political theologies originating in early-modern Europe alongside colonial exploration and expansion. It characterizes Israel’s genoc...
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Reposted by Dr. Chance Bonar
Alexiana Fry @alexianafry.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A few weeks ago, I shipped off the first draft of Judges for Normal People to my good friends at The Bible for Normal People. This may have been the most fun I've had writing something in a long time. I hope they like it.
the very typical view of microsoft word is open - the document title in the bar as "First Draft", with the document in bold, times new roman font reading centered "Judges for Normal People." A blacked-out bar is below this, along with a little lower the author's name, Alexiana Fry.
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Today's academic job posting bugaboo: your job posting should list the actual salary range, in numbers (even if it sucks) and the actual teaching load, in numbers (even if it is heavy).
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
indeed one might argue that the whole point of admins is to sustain as vibrant a curriculum as possible given how LLMs, the media, and the whole damn US government are actively trying to destroy educational options. if you want to be heroes, admins, you’ve got a great opportunity.
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The fun thing about researching depressing topics (slavery, genocide, etc) is that email headers like this are standard
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
First day of wholly voluntary & packed seats Odyssey reading group ✅
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Millennial Halloween is BACK
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Today’s new house-related skill: re-screening a screen door
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Praying for the 2040s to finally be a safe time to ask college students to talk in small groups for 6 or 7 minutes without instant 67 giggles
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Seth L. Sanders @nabalkattu.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The most plausible way AI is gonna kill a lot more people outside of Gaza is because of how bad it sucks at its job
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
These centers are the guy who thinks hot young women aren’t showing up to the bar he stocked with weird dude things because pink-haired woke commie broads won’t let them.
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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 17/09/2026
“A senior executive at Microsoft said A.I. systems built on the work of others will be seen as ‘an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions’ and possibly the greatest robbery of labor in human history, according to court documents unredacted Thursday in an ongoing Manhattan lawsuit.”
orlandosentinel.com
Docs in A.I. copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’
The admission appeared in a newly unredacted filing in the landmark copyright infringement legal battle playing out between newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel and tech companies Microsoft and OpenAI...
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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 17/09/2026
The new wild cat species is about the size of a domestic kitten and lives in Bolivia.
nbcnews.to
New wild cat species is identified for first time in 100 years, researchers say
A type of tiger cat, the animal is smaller than a house cat, slender and spotted. It lives in the Bolivian cloud forest.
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Candida Moss @candidamoss.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It lives. I was honored to deliver the Hans Lietzmann lecture in Berlin and Jena a few years ago. And I am excited to see the results in print!
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Dr. Chance Bonar @chancebonar.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Everyone wake up @candidamoss.bsky.social published more!!!!
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