iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr Marian Kelsey

Joe Scales @josephscales.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This is now available as a pdf, if like me you prefer reading articles in that format

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 10/09/2026

Publication day is one of my favourite days! Even better when its shared with a friend (@josephscales.bsky.social) Hot off the presses: "Did the Romans Think Jews Wore Trousers?" brill.com/view/journal...

Abstract
It is well established that Jews in the ancient Mediterranean were indistinguishable from their neighbours in terms of their dress behaviours. As Greco-Roman clothing (of the Second Temple era) did not include trousers, one should not expect to see representations of Jewish bodies in artwork of the period where they are depicted as wearing trousers. Yet, there are three such representations of Jewish trouser-wearers claimed in scholarship. The first is found on the enigmatic Bacchius Iudaeus issue, the second on a Titus capta issue, while the third is found on a Flavian period cuirass. This article will examine whether any of these images can credibly be claimed to be depictions of captured or submissive Jews, which would imply that Roman and particularly Flavian authorities intended to use the image of the trousers to associate the Jews with “barbarians,” most particularly in their defeat.

Keywords: Judaea Capta; Bacchius Iudaeus; clothing; dress; propaganda; Flavians; iconography

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 09/09/2026

“If you don’t go to synagogue you cannot understand the fear antisemitism has wrought” is a unbelievably offensive & ignorant thing to say. Nazis didn’t check synagogue membership before sending Jews into the gas chambers. Jewish identity extends far beyond schul and so too does anti-Jewish hate.

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Dr Marian Kelsey @merkelsey.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The near irresistible urge to put the lampshade you just bought on your head as a hat during the bus journey home

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Mark D Russ @markdruss.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Today I passed my PhD viva with minor corrections. I had the honour of being supervised by Michael Burdett and Patrice Haynes (pictured) and Ben Wood, and the honour of being examined by Rachel Muers and Selina Stone. I'm elated , relieved, and exhausted. #PhDsky

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Jon Hoover @jhoover04.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Thank you to the Oases of Wisdom podcast for interviewing me on Ibn Taymiyya. Topics include grave visitation; the Prophet's birthday (mawlid); Sufism; God, time, and space; prophetic infallibility and the Satanic verses; and the duration of Hell-Fire. www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8WZ...

youtube.com

Did Ibn Taymiyya Believe Hellfire Will End Someday? - Prof. Jon Hoover

YouTube video by Oases of Wisdom

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Dr Marian Kelsey @merkelsey.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I'm working on a module that includes examination of Christian attitudes to other religions/none. I want to include classic theologians and need good and up to date scholarship on them. Really enjoying this by Sven Ensminger, anyone got some other suggestions? www.bloomsbury.com/us/karl-bart...

bloomsbury.com

Karl Barth’s Theology as a Resource for a Christian Theology of Religions

This book uses Karl Barth's theology as a resource for Christian theology of religions. For this purpose, it examines Barth's theology under the doctrinal aspec…

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Ramblers Scotland @ramblersscotland.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Remember when a Perthshire landowner blocked access to 4 Munros for 2 months last year? 🗻 Well, sadly he's at it again - and we really need your help. ✅ Sign our petition today at www.ramblers.org.uk/glenlyon @scotways.com @walkhighlands.co.uk @ramblers.org.uk

ramblers.org.uk

Campaigning for walkers’ access in Glen Lyon

Ramblers Scotland is campaigning for walkers’ right to enjoy 4 popular Munros in Glen Lyon, one of Scotland's most beautiful glens.

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 09/08/2026

My wonderful other half is *finally* filling an Etsy store with some of his art (after much encouragement). Give him a follow and maybe even buy something?

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gooser @gooser.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

It’s Bandcamp friday which is a good time to remind anyone that they are free to purchase 13songsworth of my bullshit. If you already did that then may all your dreams come true 💫 sarahfarrell.bandcamp.com/album/stoat-...

sarahfarrell.bandcamp.com

Stoat-hearted Woman, by Sarah Farrell

13 track album

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 02/08/2026

Where's the righteous anger the news about Exeter has engendered? Where are the think pieces about learning loss and unconscionable redundancies? The problem will never be understood or *addressed* if we do not, collectively, respond to the full scale of it.

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Dr Marian Kelsey @merkelsey.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

A horror story in two parts: Oh, I hear the cat found the squeaky mouse toy downstairs! No wait, the mouse toy is here upstairs...

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Dr Marian Kelsey @merkelsey.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Petition for it to be illegal to serve cooked breakfast with only one hash brown See also: a single tomato half. GIVE ME THE OTHER HALF OF MY TOMATO!

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Francesca Stavrakopoulou @proffrancesca.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

The excellent reputation of our humanities degrees has been built on years of research-led teaching. Students are taught by top academics producing cutting edge research within their own sub-disciplines. We are not generalists. We are not interchangeable. #DefendExeterUni

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 30/06/2026

Quite. I have seen brilliant friends be made redundant over the last couple years with minimal outrage (if any). But students at Nottingham (for example) are no less deserving of a quality education from secure faculty than those at Exeter. Solidarity needs to look beyond Russell Group.

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Dr Kate Cook @katexe.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I think this quote really demonstrates for me something that is quite weird and hard about watching reactions to sector redundancies while precarious - because I am expected to do exactly this next year. And no one seems to find it a problem. (1/2)

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 25/06/2026

The last three years have seen over 30,000 jobs lost in UK Higher Ed. Acting as if this doesn't grievously impact the economy, and the nation's future prospects in all areas, is, at this point, nothing short of wilful self-harm / purposeful vandalism.

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Jon Hoover @jhoover04.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

So true about UK unis! "Heavily metricised, buried in audit and groaning under the weight of paperwork, no one seems to have told universities that these techniques were tested and found wanting by most private sector companies in the 1980s and 1990s" 1/2 isrf.org/blog/what-do...

isrf.org

What Does It Feel Like to Live Under the Threat of Redundancy?

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James F. McGrath (ReligionProf) @religionprof.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Congratulations to Sara Parks! ‘Dr. Sara Parks received the Norman E. Wagner Award from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies for "Q According to U," a video project that will gather responses to the reconstructed sayings source known as Q.’

stfx.ca

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

This week on Untitled History pod @katieturnerphd.com and I talk about what Greco-Roman people in Judea ACTUALLY dressed like in the 1st Century CE. Find on your pod app of choice or watch below. Subscribers: YOU get the bonus answer to the biggest question of all: Did Jesus wear socks? #history

youtube.com

Everyday Clothing in Roman Judea | Untitled History Podcast Episode: 18

YouTube video by The Untitled History Podcast

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Minimus @minimuslatin.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

#fabulamurina (mouse story) 512 sol lucet inter imbres (The sun is shining between showers). Minima lenticulum gubernat, dum Minimus remigat (Minima is steering the boat while Minimus rows). Silvius in prorā sedet et laete circumspectat (Silvius sits in the prow and looks around happily).

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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Some time ago I mentioned working on a paper with @lukaslarge.bsky.social about a parrot that doesn't exist. Now its out. Extinct species, gunsmiths, and a 2007 anonymous Japanese website. Strap in. 🧵

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Stewart J. Brookes @stewartbrookes.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Has anyone got any clever ideas as to what this might say? Adam… Chava… ??? It’s on an endleaf in MS. Canon. Liturg. 216 medieval.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/catalog/manu...

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Brandon Hurlbert @brandonhurlbert.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Got to ramble on about Judges for the Biblical Time Machine podcast. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

podcasts.apple.com

The Judges of Ancient Israel

Podcast Episode · Biblical Time Machine · June 1 · 43m

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Brandon Hurlbert @brandonhurlbert.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Trying to come up with a good AI policy and/or AI resilient assessments for future classes. Any ideas or examples ?

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Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

We’re seeing the reemergence of academia as a sport of the leisure class.

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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Are eels Biblical? No...not really. But they do get a shoutout in the Vulgate! In his prologue to The Book of Job, St Jerome wrote that understanding the text is like trying to hold an eel: the harder you squeeze -- the more you try grasp its meaning -- the faster it slips away. 🗃️🧪

Meme. Painting by Caravaggio, “Saint Jerome Writing,” c. 1607. The image shows Jerome, naked from the waist up, writing at a table. The background is dark, and he is wearing a red toga or blanket over his lap, and one hand. There is a skull on the table, because he saw himself as an early-days E.A. Poe. He has a graying beard, and receding hairline, and he is looking down at his writing with great concentration.

This version of Jerome is very muscular, and clearly does a crossfit routine that includes both biblical translation AND strength training. It's possible that he skips leg days, though. It's hard to tell.

Non pictured: either Paula or Eustochium. You know...for a dude who complained so much about the spurs of lust, he sure did like to travel with a bevy of female groupies.

Meme text reads:
"Take this Job and shove it
Eel ain't working here no more"

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weird medieval guys @weirdmedieval.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

A pneumatic goblet designed by Ismail al-Jazari in the 13th century. When the goblet is filled with wine, the duck on top begins to scream and rotate before stopping with its beak pointed at a random partygoer. It doesn't stop screaming until the chosen person has drained the goblet completely.

a medieval drawing of an ornate goblet with a bird ornament on top and pipes within

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gooser @gooser.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

i have a bandcamp friday confession to make: i've made an album and it's on bandcamp. you can listen to or purchase it here, if you want!!!!! if you want it but are strapped for cash then pls dm or contact via the bc page, i'm more than happy 2 share ❤️ sarahfarrell.bandcamp.com/album/stoat-...

sarahfarrell.bandcamp.com

Stoat-hearted Woman, by Sarah Farrell

13 track album

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Minimus @minimuslatin.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

#fabulamurina (mouse story) 501 Minimus et Minima plaustrum ponderosam per harenam trahunt (Minimus and Minima are dragging the heavy wagon through the sand). plenum est Silvio et amicis, qui laete exsiliunt! (It's full of Silvius and his friends, who jump out happily!)

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Maladroithe @maladroithe.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

I love the Talmud

rimonoroni Follow
christians: what could possibly be in that evil book.... what horrible spells does it hold within its pages... what black magic does it propagate....
the talmud: so if you send your kid off to Torah school but he has a really hard time with it, send him back home and go to school yourself instead so that once you've learned Torah you can go and teach your entire family. in fact, once some rabbi went out to go to Torah school and do just this, and on his way he came through this town and he asked if he could stay in the synagogue for the night. and of course the rabbi said yes but weird enough no one was in the streets and something was kind of off about the whole place. so our hero went into the synagogue only to find a seven headed demon just hanging out in the library!! our hero is terrified and prays super hard and because of this the demon is vanquished. he goes back to the rabbi and is like "dude wtf" and the rabbi was like "listen i know this is unorthodox but you're well known for how good at praying you are and this demon has been terrorizing us for well over a month and we were desperate. we knew you wouldn't die" and the guy was like "i didn't know that!" who do you think is in the right? hm. tough question. anyway. what were we talking about again? oh right. what if you make your sukkah doorway 1/7 of a cubit too short. would that be fucked up or what
rimonoroni Follow
#what?
look up Bavli Kiddushin 29b <3

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Kym Deyn @kymdeyn.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

LONDON POETRY PEOPLE. Um. do you, maybe want to come to my book launch? www.outsavvy.com/event/34936/...

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Big Green Books @biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

More amazing #buyastrangerabook day action. @nealdm86.bsky.social is offering to buy one lucky person a copy of Fifth Season by N K Jemisin. If this is something you're after, get in touch! UK only

Fifth Season.

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS . . .

FOR THE LAST TIME. IT STARTS WITH THE GREAT RED RIFT across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. IT STARTS WITH DEATH, with a murdered son and a missing daughter.

IT STARTS WITH BETRAYAL, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

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Siobhán Jolley @siobhanjolley.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

📅 We hope you'll be able to join us on 16th March to celebrate the project launch and hear from the artist, Sarah Lightman and her long-time collaborator @dawnllewellyn.bsky.social - book your free ticket at tinyurl.com/BibWomen

tinyurl.com

Encountering Biblical Bodies: Sarah Lightman’s Biblical Women

Join us for an informal research cafe and exhibition viewing of Sarah Lightman’s Biblical Women.

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

What a week and it's only Wednesday! BL Add 10294; Morte Artu; c.1316 CE; France, N. (Saint-Omer or Tournai); ; f.94r @blmedieval.bsky.social

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Siobhán Jolley @siobhanjolley.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

We're filling up fast for Monday's celebration of Sarah Lightman and the launch of our new @uomreligion.bsky.social project, Encountering Biblical Bodies! Book your place and please share if you know folks around Manchester who have a body (biblical or otherwise) at tinyurl.com/BibWomen

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 04/02/2026

Here's the thing...the government could just fund universities. It's a CHOICE not to. "public spending can be deployed as a potent weapon against many of the challenges we face today" – so why isn't this weapon being used? That's the question we *must* be asking. neweconomics.org/2018/10/a-go...

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UoM Religion @uomreligion.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Lecturers in Biblical Studies have been awarded a Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies Grant for the project "Encountering Biblical Bodies". Holly Morse & @siobhanjolley.bsky.social are working with colleagues across @uomsalc.bsky.social to host an exhibition & and symposium. Watch this space!

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 28/01/2026

Letting Higher Ed die (bc we “can’t afford to do something about it”) while spending tax money to prop up a (foreign) private industry that steals, drains resources, and harms its users is going to be this government’s toxic legacy.

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Jewish Historical Society of England @jewishhistorical.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Apply for a #grant of up to £4k for research related to Anglo-Jewry. Individuals and institutions may apply: professional or lay scholars, PhD students, organisations, museums, libraries, archives. Deadline: April 2026 Visit: www.jhse.org/jhse-awards www.jhse.org/post/jhse-gr...

jhse.org

JHSE Grant Applications

Apply for a grant of up to £4,000 to facilitate research and publication on topics related to Anglo-Jewry and its wider context. Both individuals and institutions are eligible to apply including profe...

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Dr Marian Kelsey @merkelsey.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Also, get rid of the jobs that literally don't fit within 40hrs. My second uni contract required *by their own timing standards* (which we all knew were BS underestimates), 53 hours a week. They only had to calculate the hours because they paid me as casual labour. It was a normal lecturer role.

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Joe Scales @josephscales.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

My latest (published) article “Responsibility for Murder: The Background of Judith’s Legal Argumentation” Journal of Biblical Literature 144.4 is now available. I spoke about the argument with the folk at MF Norwegian School of Theology (recorded and available in the link): youtu.be/tN_6LwMqOVs?...

Email notice for article: Responsibility for Murder: The Background of Judith’s Legal Argumentation

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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

For context, my most cited paper is a decade old and has 600 citations. I literally reach more people through this book in 6 months than my "best" paper has in 10 years. Academics have a really skewed way of looking at and valuing written outputs.

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Katie Turner @katieturnerphd.com · 08/01/2026

This past autumn, I developed a schools programme focusing on religious diversity in East London from the Roman era to today (bc there has ALWAYS been migration). The kids particularly enjoyed learning about the large Black British community living in the Parish of St. Botolph's in the 16th C.

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Joe Scales @josephscales.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

This arrived, just in time to be packed up for moving. My chapter on the Apocryphon of Ezekiel argues that it was not a single composition in antiquity, and it mostly made up of independent short sayings. Thanks to the editor Marieke Dhont and @tandtclark.bsky.social for publishing. Happy new year

Photo of T&T Clark Handbook of Hellenistic Jewish Literature in Greek on otherwise empty bookshelves.

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Dr Marian Kelsey @merkelsey.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

I was repeatedly told by mentors in my department that I would have no problems finding a job because I was a woman. That same department has hired nothing but white (Protestant) men for the last half dozen or so hires in my field.

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