iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Jolyon Thomas

Benjamin Tausig @burrata.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

“Universities must stop falling in love with every new piece of software … that the tech industry pitches as essential. Administrators spend on software as if it is a durable investment, when all of the evidence shows that it … makes bloat worse.” globecollegetown.substack.com/p/higher-ed-...

globecollegetown.substack.com

College campuses need to be liberated from their administrators

Higher ed is being strangled by absurd and costly rules. What message is that sending to students?

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Penn Religious Studies @upennrels.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Interested in applying to the Department of Religious Studies at Penn? We're offering an online information session for prospective doctoral students from 5:00–6:00pm ET on Monday, Oct. 19! Further details and the Zoom link are available here! rels.sas.upenn.edu/events/2026/...

rels.sas.upenn.edu

RELS Information Session for Prospective Doctoral Students | Department of Religious Studies

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

After the May hack and amidst ongoing concerns about protecting student IP, I completely ditched Canvas this term. Recommended! Everything is on paper or distributed via email. My grad seminar shares a Zotero library. Who needs an LMS? (Yes, I know some unis require it; no, this is not a dig at OP.)

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is clearly what Kite is for.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Should also add that the AI "tell," even before the authors' explicit statement acknowledging use, was that they repeatedly cited key books as saying precisely the opposite of what those books actually say! Absolute trash.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Update: Just got a follow-up message from the editor agreeing that this should have been a desk reject and saying it just slipped through the cracks. Academic integrity for the win.

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Penn Religious Studies @upennrels.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Happening this week! The Foucault Century 2026 Boardman Symposium Sep 24–25, 2026 Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, 6th Floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center (A Zoom streaming option is available for Friday, Sept. 25) Free registration is available here: www.library.upenn.edu/events/fouca...

The Foucault Century
2026 Boardman Symposium
Sep 24–25, 2026
Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, 6th Floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center

Free registration is available here:
https://www.library.upenn.edu/events/foucault-century
Registration is separate for each day. Please register for either or both days you will be attending.

Speakers

Sabeen Ahmed
Amy Allen
Verena Erlenbusch-Anderson
Niki Kasumi Clements
Penelope Deutscher
David Halperin
Amy Hollywood
Lynne Huffer
Daniele Lorenzini
Donovan Schaefer

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I just agreed to review an article, opened it, saw it was written by Claude, and immediately wrote to the editor rescinding my agreement to review. Should have been an automatic desk rejection IMO.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Please see below for an exciting job opportunity in Jewish studies at Penn. The successful applicant will join one of three departments (French, Italian, and German Studies; Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures; or Religious Studies) while actively contributing to the Jewish Studies program.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Very excited for this talk by a leading ethnographer of contemporary Japanese Buddhism at Penn on Thursday! Population decline, waste, material religion, and more! In-person and online options.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Fellow authors, when you get that email from Anthropic marked "Settlement Claim Notice," be sure to carefully check who has laid claim to your copyrighted work. To add insult to injury, apparently 5 jerks out there thought it would be a good idea to steal my settlement $ after Anthropic stole my IP.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

“This shows that large US corporations really do have leeway and the ability to sort of do noncompliance to executive branch pressure and end up fine.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

theguardian.com

US firms that kept DEI policies despite ‘go woke, go broke’ threats thrived

Exclusive: Companies that kept policies did just as well financially, even after Trump’s executive order, as those that didn’t

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I thought with this book by Finbarr Curtis a lot, both while writing this review and in the months since. Can’t stop thinking about it, TBH. Great book; recommended! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Cover of Finbarr Curtis’s book Going Low depicts a dumpster fire.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Mourning Sonny Rollins (RIP), but also celebrating Miles Davis, who would have been 100 today.

Two turntables, with Side A of Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue on Deck 1. The album sleeve is displayed over the rotary mixer between the decks.

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Reposted by Jolyon Thomas

Hakeem Jefferson @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

“That’s where billionaires like yourself come in. For a mere $10 million gift, you can help us remake the intellectual landscape by endowing a prestigious chair in an underrepresented subfield, such as geocentric astronomy, high-energy phlogiston physics, or patriotic history.“ 😂

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Thrilled that we can finally share this great news! So proud of Dr. Sokolow’s excellent work so far, and so excited to see what this next chapter brings.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

There's a new Dr. in the house! Dr. Sokolow's dissertation is a sophisticated reframing of the history of Buddhism in the US, a novel take on prison religion, and a compelling investigation of intersections between race, religion, and governance in the contemporary US. Stay tuned for the book!

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Looks like today is a good day to remember my 2025 Halloween costume.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Damn. Sorry. I have used the toothpick trick a few times now. Good luck!

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I had this problem and it turned out there was just lint jammed into the charging port. Gentle swipe with a toothpick and good as new. Worth trying.

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Reposted by Jolyon Thomas

Jeffrey Vagle @jvagle.me · 21/02/2026

“Everyone thinks universities have to do what donors want because they pay the bills. But that gets it backward, and not just at Hopkins.” I highly recommend reading this piece. www.publicbooks.org/the-misuses-...

publicbooks.org

The Misuses of the University - Public Books

Have the funds that might have trained the next generation of scholars at the nation’s first research university have been blown on ostentatious new buildings?

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Reposted by Jolyon Thomas

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

While MLPS was a victory, moral and tangibly, for ICE resisters, don't call it 'a retreat.' The dystopia is just getting started Thousands of new agents. 150 new offices in every state. And the nationwide gulag archipelago. The fight has just begun My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/ice-...

inquirer.com

No, ICE isn’t ‘retreating.’ It’s loading up to invade your town. | Will Bunch

A much-hyped ICE pullback from Minneapolis is a blip in a looming nationwide surge of arrests, concentration camps.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

I learned so much from reading this paper! It complicates a commonplace claim about unique zones of vulnerability to hazards while still offering an alternative vision of justice and care. Recommended for people thinking about environmental harms, environmental justice, and disability.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Starting the year off with an ab workout thanks to LOLing at this string of zingers. Just ruthless.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

This story was both exactly what I thought it was based on the title and nothing like what I expected. Recommended! www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-b...

bostonreview.net

A Brief History of AI Psychosis - Boston Review

A short story.

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

A pleasure to talk about our edited volume with Raditya for this recent podcast!

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

But humans are consistently inconsistent. People regularly act contrary to stated principles, and people often invent principles (including religious doctrines) after the fact to explain and excuse their own and others’ behavior. Buddhists are no different from anyone else in this regard. /end

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

More importantly, doctrine does not dictate behavior. The whole idea of religious people as hypocritical typically assumes that people (esp. clerics) should act consistently with whatever doctrines they purportedly espouse. 3/?

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

To be clear, it’s important to disrupt the notion of “Buddhism=nonviolence,” which ignores all sorts of evidence to the contrary. The author does that well. But the notion that ahimsa (nonviolence) is THE central doctrine of Buddhism is factually incorrect and distorting. 2/?

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Not to pick on the author of this piece, who did important journalistic work with a range of relevant parties, but the assumption that doctrine is anterior to political stances is so flawed. 1/? www.theguardian.com/news/2025/no...

theguardian.com

The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’

The long read: Still largely viewed as a peaceful philosophy, across much of south-east Asia, the religion has been weaponised to serve nationalist goals

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de’on @justkeepskeeting.pro · 25/11/2025

this is mesmerizing

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Reposted by Jolyon Thomas

kia speaks @kiaspeaks.us · 21/11/2025

My favorite piece of content today.

actuallychloehayes
› millennials 20h
serious question for the millennials... my older cousin said she used to 'burn' cds for her crush. like... with
?
was that a ritual? did it work? you guys were literally practicing witchcraft just to get a text back. i'm scared of y'all.
Q 2.9K

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Reposted by Jolyon Thomas

Lupita Nihongo @otsumamiboy.blacksky.app · 21/11/2025

I love that type of energy that's like, "Every now & then I just gotta pop back out & remind y'all I'm one of the baddest people walking." This Erykah Badu did that.

youtube.com

Erykah Badu - ...& On (LIVE) | Spotify Anniversary

YouTube video by Erykah Badu

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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

It was a privilege to contribute to this forum in Religious Studies Review on Leslie Ribovich's book _Without a Prayer: Religion and Race in New York City Public Schools_. Exciting conversations in the field of religion and education are afoot! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/17480922...

Paradoxes of Education: A Symposium on Without a Prayer
An Author's Response by Leslie Ribovich
The Enduring Question of Purpose by Stephanie Mota Thurston
It's All Connected by Jolyon Thomas
Disciplining Histories by Michael Graziano
Editor's Introduction by Charles McCrary

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