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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele

@heyitsaugusta.bsky.social
7.3K followers 2.2K following 3K posts

Higher ed professional, scholar of contemporary African and diasporic literatures, Nigerian, Ohioan (+ a sprinkle of Masshole) 1/3 of @specsntexts.bsky.social lnk.bio/heyitsaugusta

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 06/10/2026
Nine out of 10 unvaccinated individuals who come in contact with measles will get sick.
inquirer.com
Chester County has more measles cases than most entire states in the country
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Some thoughts on Foluso Agbaje's new novel, The Talk of the Party heyitsaugusta.substack.com/p/respectabi...
heyitsaugusta.substack.com
Respectability, Messiness, and the Politics of Interiority
Thoughts on The Talk of the Party by Foluso Agbaje
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thread below: www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Riot police clash with students as education protests rage in France
About 735 schools have faced disruption as violent protests over standards and lack of teachers continue.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Mark Anthony Neal (@NewBlackMan on X) @markanthonyneal.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Unsung Women Behind America’s Most Celebrated Civil Rights Protest The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Marcia Chatelain revisits the 1963 March on Washington, placing overlooked Black women at the center of the story. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/b...
nytimes.com
Book Review: ‘How Bright the Path Grows,’ by Marcia Chatelain (Gift Article)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Marcia Chatelain revisits the 1963 March on Washington, placing overlooked Black women at the center of the story.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
"Heterosexuality is also a sexuality. We have simply spent so much time treating it as the default that some people don’t recognize it as representation." bossip.com/4639392/the-...
bossip.com
Hillman Was Never Straight: The LGBTQ+ 'Agenda' In 'A Different World' Is Just Black Life [Op-Ed]
"Black queer people are not an LGBTQ+ agenda being inserted into the Black community."--Dominique Morgan
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
k’eguro @keguro.blacksky.app · 25/09/2026
We alone are responsible for the preservation and future of our literature. If we don’t buy our books, they won’t get published. If we don’t talk about our books, they won’t get reviewed. If we don’t write our books, they won’t get written. —Melvin Dixon, “I’ll be Somewhere Listening for My Name"
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The youngest person his pager attack killed was 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, who had just started 4th grade. The pager was on a table when it went off and she picked it up to take to her dad. It exploded in her face and reports said it covered the room in her blood. She wanted to learn English.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Michelle @michelleroy78.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
You can be having the best damn day and then all the sudden some ugly ass Cybertruck will appear and ruin it for you.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The fact that people were really out here begging for fall? Disgusting. It has been grey and nasty out since this cursed season began. I'm already over the cold 😭🫩🥶
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
George Wallace @mrgeorgewallace.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Drag queens ain't done shit to you
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Happy September! A new month means a new pick in the African Lit Salon. Join us as we read Maame by Jessica George all month! fable.sng.link/Ali7l/etuk?_...
A screenshot of an announcement on the Fable app that the user has switched their club's book. The background of the graphic shows the precious month's selection, Daughters of Silence by Rebecca Fisseha with a cursive "past" at the top of the cover. In the foreground, the cover of the book Maame by Jessica George is featured with the word "new" above the top left corner of the cover. The bottom of the screenshot shows the title of the club, The African Lit Salon along with a line that describes the club as "reading (mostly) novels from African authors.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Here I am, once again, yelling that we (the adults) are the problem. Because why am I reviewing an application from a student who has a 5.30 GPA?!?!
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Bahaha, thank you for the correction!
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
keep the stuff!!!
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I just want the world to know that I fixed a tech problem all on my own, AND the solution involved using a cable from my basket of tangled miscellaneous cords and old phones. So, you know, women in STEM and all that...
static.klipy.com
Yep, Woman Shrugs and Smiles
Alt: A GIF of Rihanna standing on a stage with wood paneling on the wall behind her and a podium with a microphone in front of her. She is wearing a grey, off-the-shoulder long-sleeve sweater dress. She is smiling cheekily and pulls on her long ponytail as if to emphasize a brag or an accomplishment. She turns her head to flick the ponytail behind her as she starts to laugh.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
I watched the Odyssey and it made me think about what epics I'd recommend. Here's the list I compiled: substack.com/@heyitsaugus...
A clip showing a new post on the author's Substack. The image shows the closing title card of the Odyssey movie. The title of the post, "On Epics" appears underneath the image with the subtitles "The ones I've read, and the ones I want to read" underneath it. Below this line is the title of the Substack, "Dispatches from a Lapsed Academic" and the website's URL. In the bottom right corner of the image is the Substack logo.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I cannot overstate how much I hate when people are dicks about babies crying in public (especially airplanes). Do you think the parent is having a good time right now?? Do you think they are not aware of the situation??? Are you going to negotiate with a literal infant????
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This shit with Taylor Farms is exactly what I’m talking about when I say you may say you “don’t do politics,“ but politics are more than happy to do you. The microbes political bribes got out the door and into your intestines don’t particularly care that you find it all beneath you.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
So frustrating. Rest, on its own, is not revolutionary. And the systems will absolutely continue to oppress us if we continue to act like facials, manicures, and naps are tools of resistance.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Gordon Gartrelle @mrgartrelle.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is part of a general cultural trend of defining resistance all the down until the bar is on the ground, so your favorite billionaire pop star, Ivy League academic, prestige TV writer, political pundit is actually a radical feminist thinker/ pro-Black freedom fighter /anticapitalist crusader.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is a very important assessment of the contemporary discourse around rest and resistance. Read it. Then go follow @jennmjacksonphd.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/jennmjac...
open.substack.com
Rest is not resistance: Commodification, Capitalism, and the Cult of Self-Care
We have to start using words with intention if we are to fight the battle ahead.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Enjoy!!
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Steve Rattner @steverattner.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
President Trump used to brag about all the money we were making from tariff revenue. Last month, that trend flipped to a $26 billion loss as the government started paying back the tariffs the Supreme Court ruled illegal. The refund bill is just getting started.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Oh yes, I've read this one. The family dynamics were definitely interesting!
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Auntie Social @auntiesocial.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
If you're arresting people at the airport on their way OUT of the country, your goal.was never border security. It's filling for-profit concentration camps.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Breddrin @learnedbreddrin.blacksky.app · 17/06/2026
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Ooh, what did you read recently that you'd categorize as a family journey through time?
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Ok, well I'm still writing. Check out my thoughts on why I love a messy family narrative and which books I'd recommend: open.substack.com/pub/heyitsau...
open.substack.com
Why Messy Family Narratives Always Draw Me In
Why I like fiction about complicated families and which novels I'd recommend
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I have been meaning to read this book for ages. So, I'm very excited that the members of The African Lit Salon bookclub picked this one for July. I'm looking forward to seeing what's behind this gorgeous cover. Join us! fable.sng.link/Ali7l/etuk?_...
This picture shows the hardcover edition of Saara El-Arifi's novel, The Final Strife. The book has a blue ankara pattern motif as a  background image. The foreground shows a drawing of a young Black woman with braids and beads in her hair. She's wearing a golden decorative cuff on her bicep and is looking directly at the observer with a pensive look.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Ok, well, I'm writing again 🫣 open.substack.com/pub/heyitsau...
open.substack.com
By way of introduction
I'm finally writing...
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Lukaku coming on the field and scoring within seconds??! An absolute legend. My goodness
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
fluffy fairy 🧚‍♀️ @beigewunder.blacksky.app · 20/04/2026
I'm never bored because there's always something to overthink about.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13/04/2026
Cardinal Cupich: "We're dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people & killing of children & our own soldiers into entertainment. To splice together movie cuts w/ actual bombings & targeting of people for purposes of entertainment is sickening. This is not who we are."
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I am so confused by how often I get caught in "reply all" hell. Why can't y'all just send an email directly to the person you want to correspond with?!?
media.tenor.com
a woman in a white jacket is asking " now why am i in it "
Alt: A GIF of Nene Leakes during a reunion show for her Real Housewives season. She is in a white jacket, asking, "now why am i in it?" while looking off to her right at someone outside the frame. The words appear at the bottom of the GIF
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 12/04/2026
It’s almost like WE ALL SAID THIS WOULD HAPPEN fortune.com/2026/04/10/a...
fortune.com
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies | Fortune
Millions were spent putting laptops in every student’s hands. Now schools want them back as technology in the classroom is turning out not to be the miracle solution it was sold as.
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
Laurie Ulster @floobish.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Octavia E. Butler, 1998:
From EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING

Choose your leaders

with wisdom and forethought.

To be led by a coward

is to be controlled

by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool


is to be led

by the opportunists

who control the fool.

To be led by a thief

is to offer up

your most precious treasures

to be stolen.
To be led by a liar


is to ask

to be told lies.

To be led by a tyrant

is to sell yourself

and those you love

into slavery.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
It's actually such an incomprehensible sentiment.
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Steven D. Greydanus @decentfilms.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
This may be a fundamentally new kind of sin blending blasphemy, idolatry, divination, and simony, among others. Those who are not horrified at this may be entirely lacking in authentic religious awareness and feeling.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
I'm excited to see which book wins!
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Thanks, Christen. 💚 That's exactly how I've been thinking about him this past week. We were lucky to have had him, and now the loss is so very palpable
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Rest well, Uncle BJ. Thank you 💚
A picture of the late Marxist Nigerian literary academic, Dr. Biodun Jeyifo, addressing someone off-camera. He is sitting in a leather chair against a dark brown background. His hand is open in a gesture in front of his chest. A screenshot of two citations in a bibliography. One of an article written by Augusta Irele and the second entry by Prof Biodun Jeyifo
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Reposted by Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 18/02/2026
Despite the caricature his critics created, Jesse Jackson’s “political vision was always inclusive, always multiracial, and always opposed to bigotry and prejudice of all kinds,” Adam Serwer argues.
bit.ly
Do Not Be Cynical About Jesse Jackson
He was never the caricature his critics wanted him to be.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
I know the reunion between him, my dad, and my uncle was loud and sweet. I miss them all acutely in a way that compounds. I am also so, so grateful to Uncle BJ for the way he poured into us all. He was so important to us Ireles. A model I aim to emulate in many ways.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
For the past week, my grief has also been intertwined with deep gratitude for the cornerstone position Uncle BJ held in the village that raised us. I recently stumbled upon a dissertation that cited the two of us. There was Uncle BJ, in the bibliography next to me. He had my back, as always.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
When I was young, he gifted me a set of The Lord of the Rings books that I still count as one of my most treasured possessions. I aunty the way I do because of how Uncle BJ uncled me. He listened to us, he saw us, he loved us. He was always there. And now he's gone.
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Dr. Augusta Atinuke Irele @heyitsaugusta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
When he eventually moved next door, it made so much sense. He was a classmate of my dad's younger brother. He'd been the witness at my parents' wedding. When we said goodbye to my dad in the hospital, Uncle BJ was there with us. He made logistical decisions alongside us. He called my dad "ẹgbọn"
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