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Courtney Weiss Smith

@cweiss-smith.bsky.social
1.8K followers 654 following 256 posts

professor @ Wesleyan, editor @ History & Theory and Norton Anthology of English Literature, mother @ home, lover of poetry and tv and good cheese @ all the times…

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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I’m a sucker for a Seventeen-style quiz, but I found this one—that I heard about on the Secret Life of Books podcast—genuinely intriguing. Among different types of readers, I am a *listener*: does this explain everything about me?! readerbank.org/experience/i...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
You guys, I finally bought blinds for my home office—because I felt like during zoom calls people kept staring at my sweet neighbors getting into their car; anyway this continues to be my favorite room of the house…
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Jessica R Valdez @jrvaldez.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We're hiring in the long eighteenth century at LSU. Please spread the word and let me know if you have any questions. It's a wonderful department to work in! lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0210...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor - 18th-Century British Literature
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
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Alexander Huber @c18ah.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today in eighteenth-century poetry: date of birth of James Thomson (1700-1748), Elizabeth Rowe (née Singer) (1674-1737), and Joanna Baillie (1762-1851). Poems are included in the #EighteenthCenturyPoetryArchive: www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org #c18th #poetry #DH #OTD
James Thomson (1700-1748) / © National Portrait Gallery, LondonElizabeth Rowe (née Singer) (1674-1737) / © National Portrait Gallery, LondonJoanna Baillie (1762-1851) / © The Hunterian Museum
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I got a beautiful treat in the mail today You all should read Alexis’s wonderful book…
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Just re-upping this, as everyone starts to think towards the semester. Help us spread the word that Wesleyan is hiring a tenure track professor of early modern literature! Deadline September 15!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I haven’t yet seen the Odyssey so I have nothing to add to The Discourse except these amazing sculptures of sirens, which I just encountered at a museum:
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I’m sorry to hear this news—what an amazing scholar!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Any ideas for great undergraduate-friendly scholarly readings to be paired with Midsummer Night’s Dream on an introduction to the major course? (So a course not terribly historicist in general bent…) Also welcome ideas for fun theory readings that can stand alone to get prospective majors excited?!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
I’m about to submit the final version of my book: coming soon! <but first all those hitting-send 🦋 🦋 🦋…>
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
You all, it was a *huge* success. My students had a beautiful encounter with historical books that don’t ever leave Special Collections. Here is an English professor, two librarians, and a prison educator with a trunkful of rare 17-18thc books! More books in prison! Library access for everyone!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I’m so excited! This week in my @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social Center for Prison Education course—rare books! I’ve been working with our amazing Special Collections librarians to facilitate bringing some early editions of 17th, 18th, and 19th century poetry into the prison…
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Monica Carol Miller @monicacmiller.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
6/26/26 Palindrome Day
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
I am *thrilled* to share that we are hiring again! A tenure track job in early modern literature! I’ve found Wesleyan a terrific place to work—help us spread the word? wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/career...
wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Professor of English
The Department of English at Wesleyan University seeks a scholar-teacher of early modern literature for a tenure-track appointment beginning July 1, 2027. We are open to candidates with comparative ap...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I am so proud to be part of this program! Shakur celebrated on campus this weekend, and I just left the commencement ceremony inside the prison today. A student provided artwork for the leaflet:
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
in Estonia for the international network for the theory of history conference; have decided that this will be the vibe I’m aiming for this summer—somehow both jaunty & nonplussed…
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
A Comment on Our Times; Or, Laurence Sterne predicted AI?
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Happening tomorrow!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
I had an Athena joke, but I can’t remember it, what with this terrible headache…
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Meredith Martin @mmvty.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
so exciting that this book is in the world it is fierce and rigorous and also fun to read
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Lisa L. Moore @lisalmoore.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Now that Faculty Council has been dissolved and our administrators from the Dean level up have been replaced by political appointees, a free press is the only place UT Austin faculty have to speak up. www.austinchronicle.com/news/ut-head...
austinchronicle.com
UT Head of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Speaks Out • The Austin Chronicle
On Monday, the Chronicle spoke with Lisa Moore, who has served since 2023 as the chair of UT-Austin’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department – a department that is now being collapsed with ...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Friends! We are looking for a visiting assistant professor with expertise in 17th century literature. Help me spread the word? It’s limited term, but I can promise wonderful students and lovely colleagues for a very nice bit of teaching experience… wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/...
wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Visiting Assistant Professor of English
Visiting Assistant Professor of English: Seventeenth-Century Literature The Department of English at Wesleyan University seeks applicants for a full-time Visiting Professor with expertise in seventeen...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
PSA @weslpress.bsky.social is now accepting applications for its Cardinal Poetry Prize, for poets over 40 who have not published a poetry book. www.weslpress.org/the-cardinal...
weslpress.org
- Wesleyan University Press
$1,000 cash prize and publication by Wesleyan University Press  Submissions will be open February 1–28, 2026. Click here to submit! Guidelines Author
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
What a set of lines!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
7year old this morning: Mama can I look up where brain rot came from? Me: Oh, sure—I think it’s an internet thing but look it up… 7: It says here it’s from some author, Henry David Thoreau?! Me: ?!?!?! Dying laughing—but the OED also cites Walden for the first usage of the word…
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
It’s here! I’m delighted to share a new theme issue of @histandtheojrnl.bsky.social, “Philology Now.” Valeria López Fadul and I edited this issue, featuring smart contributions by Emily Apter, Peter de Bolla, Alan Durston, Cymone Fourshey, Claire Gilbert, Anthony Grafton… historyandtheory.org/64-4
historyandtheory.org
Philology Now – Volume 64, Number 4 — History and Theory
History and Theory, Volume 64, Number 4
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Has anyone written about nonmetrical rhyming in contemporary poetry? Like in Maggie Millner’s Couplets? I want to read something about how people (who aren’t carrying around the kind of historical associations I am) understand forms and formings and breakings in this kind of verse…
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Cate Marvin’s “Death of the Humanities”:
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
I’m so excited for this book!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
First sign (literally) on campus of something I’m REALLY looking forward to this fall! www.wesleyan.edu/dac/exhibiti...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Ah! I just saw that Ruth Mack’s new book is out! Forget what I was planning to do today, will be reading instead 🤩 www.sup.org/books/litera...
sup.org
Handicraft Philosophies | Stanford University Press
The term "Enlightenment" still carries its tie to a grand philosophical tradition that in Britain moves through Bacon, Locke, and Hume. But the literature and philosophy of the Enlightenment was full ...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
We are hiring a tenure track poet! I’m so excited / spread the word… wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/career...
wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor of English
The Department of English at Wesleyan University seeks a published poet for a tenure-track appointment beginning July 1, 2026. Teaching responsibilities include two courses per semester in introductor...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
being in Indonesia and having a perfect breakfast is not going to go wasted on me which is why I’m telling you about it… :)
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Johanna Winant @johannawinant.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
in CLOSE READING FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social and I wrote a 36 page three-part introduction: What Close Reading Is, What Close Reading Does, and What Close Reading Has Been 30 pages of it is now online at @princetonupress.bsky.social press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
press.princeton.edu
Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century
A user’s guide to the fundamental practice of literary studies, providing context, examples, and practical exercises
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
I’m feeling pretty obsessed by @publicdomainrev.bsky.social / CP Cranch’s “literal renderings” of Emerson’s figures. The transparent eyeball! publicdomainreview.org/collection/c...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Writing the introduction to my book and basically trying to be reading and citing all of these books at the same time; gotta keep them all right next to me so I can delusionally attempt to simultaneously treat all of them in coherent sentences, going poorly…
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Cleanth Brooks writing about “the much advertised demise of the Humanities” in 1947 😳
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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
say it again: 4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities ROI for NIH and NSF for local economies is conservatively 4x, often close to 10x demolishing higher education is economic sabotage
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Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Who Wore It Better, Met Gala 2025 celebrities or Duke University Press book covers? Ava DuVernay or Work! by Elspeth H. Brown? #MetGala
Ava DuVernay poses on a blue floral carpet at a formal event, wearing a dramatic black-and-white gown with a full skirt and horizontal silver stripes, a white blouse-style bodice with puffed sleeves, a black wide-brimmed hat, and a netted veil. Her hands are on her hips as she stands confidently in front of a floral backdrop and photographers. Overlaid on the image is the book cover for Work! A Queer History of Modeling by Elspeth H. Brown, featuring a black-and-white photo of a poised Black model in a sheer, striped gown with outstretched arms.Ayo Edebiri stands smiling on a floral blue carpet at a formal event, wearing a striking black-and-white gown with a dramatic deep V neckline and an eye-catching red beaded design that loops around her neck and drapes down the front in a large U-shape. She pairs the look with a black floor-length coat with wide lapels and extended train-like sleeves. Behind her, photographers and onlookers are gathered near a wall of white flowers. Overlaid on the image is the book cover for Good Night the Pleasure Was Ours by David Grubbs, featuring a bold, abstract image of concentric black and red arcs on a white background above a stylized cityscape with train cars.Cardi B poses on a floral blue carpet at a high-profile event, wearing an opulent green velvet coat dress with intricate textures, beaded details, and ruffled trim in a slightly lighter green. The coat is open at the front to reveal black trousers or a skirt underneath, and she accessorizes with a dramatic afro hairstyle and a white flower brooch. She stands confidently against a backdrop of cameras and floral arrangements. Overlaid on the image is the book cover for Black Gathering: Art, Ecology, Ungiven Life by Sarah Jane Cervenak, featuring a ser
ene photo of a Black woman standing in a shallow stream surrounded by lush greenery, wearing a green-and-white patterned dress and casting a fishing line, with forested hills rising in the background.Chappell Roan poses on a floral-patterned blue carpet at a formal event, wearing a vibrant, hot pink sequined pantsuit with a bold zigzag pattern. The flared pants have dramatic slits at the bottom, and the fitted jacket features a plunging neckline. Her voluminous red hair and theatrical eye makeup complete the striking look. Behind her, other attendees and photographers can be seen. Overlaid on the image is the book cover for The Queer Games Avant-Garde: How LGBTQ Game Makers Are Reimagining the Medium of Video Games by Bonnie Ruberg, featuring bold yellow and pink typography and an illustrated anthropomorphic figure in a dress with a snarling wolf head held aloft, dripping blood, in a surreal, graphic art style.
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
The muse of poetry, looking appropriately un-chill.
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Fun etymology in class today as we talk about how the word “vaccine” is from the Latin word for “cow.” Also nice to see 18thc English folks being super chill about vaccination, no modern parallels here… 😳
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Rhyme-lovers, a call for papers! David Caplan is hosting another symposium on poetic form at SMU—the first one was *fabulous*, generating real conversation among scholars & poets. Propose a paper to join us for the second iteration?! www.smu.edu/dedman/acade...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
We’ve just started the show but I’m actually cackling at Parker Posey on White Lotus. People are saying it’s a bonkers accent or she’s unrealistic, but let me tell you I’ve MET this woman!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
I write on Elizabeth Elstob in this book I’m trying to finish—she’s completely fascinating!
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Posting again for the Friday crowd: What are some interesting models for non-workshop format creative writing courses, as a supplement (not replacement) for small workshops!?
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
My department is brainstorming ways to scale up to some larger classes. We have plans on the scholarly side, but I want to ask hive mind: does anyone know of good innovative models for non-workshop style, slightly larger courses in creative writing? (To be taught in addition to small workshops ofc)
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Here are some neat historical resources for teaching if you, like me, are obsessed with Tyehimba Jess’ sonnet crown about the Fisk Jubilee singers! bookshop.org/p/books/olio...
bookshop.org
Olio
Check out Olio - <b>Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry</b> <p/><b>Winner of the 2017 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Poetry</b> <p/><b>Winner of the 2017 Book Award from the Society of Midland A...
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Courtney Weiss Smith @cweiss-smith.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Will someone talk to me about this wild moment in Phillis Wheatley’s “On Messrs Hussey and Coffin” when she breaks her couplets with a prose (?) wish? I can’t think of anything like it in period poetry. Can you? Has anyone written on this?!
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