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Ryan Richard Overbey

@overbey.bsky.social
149 followers 329 following 104 posts

Buddhology, &c.

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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I’ve always thought fraud like this should result in a blacklist. Journal editors should name names and post a list of authors who submitted papers with such citations. This behavior should have real consequences for people’s careers, and a simple rejection is not enough.
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Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
BREAKING: Boston University's English department (my dept) recently voted to approve new learning outcomes for the English major, including an anti-AI provision that requires students to “craft and revise writing that is sustained, original, and generated without the assistance of AI."
bu.edu
New Learning Outcomes Announced | English
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Erin L. Thompson @artcrimeprof.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In 1965, an American scholar bought her first stolen god from two boys outside a Kathmandu temple. Grains of rice were still stuck to it — offerings from worshippers. She paid less than $2 and wrote in her diary: "I don't think the temple will miss it at all." 🧵 www.himalmag.com/mary-slusser...
himalmag.com
Mary Slusser’s secret loot of Nepal’s sacred art and heritage
A US scholar made her name as an expert on Nepal’s cultural heritage – while illicitly buying sacred artefacts and smuggling them out to the United States
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This sent me down the Wiki rabbit hole and man oh man is the article on Emo Subculture a hoot to read. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo_sub...
en.wikipedia.org
Emo subculture - Wikipedia
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Filling out my American Academy of Religion research interests profile and deciding whether I’m more interested in Ecomonics or Emobodiment
A drop down list of research interests on the American Academy of Religion website with hilarious typos: “Ecomonics” for Economics and “Emobodiment Studies” for Embodiment Studies.
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
much love to co-author @profgabriele.com and to all our fellow religionists living in austere times. we keep doing the work, friends. 💜
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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
On students, primary sources, and the evident interpretive dangers LLMs pose: www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
hnn.us
AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine
Real voices from the past are threatened by chatbots designed to amplify — and ultimately become — the loudest voices in the room.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Its just like Zhiyi said,Three Thousand Tang Dynasties in a Single Moment
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The Tang dynasty did not exist! There was no single dynasty lasting from 618 to 907. There were two Tang regimes: one from 618-690, the other from 705-907. Let’s not erase the glorious Zhou!
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I went all paper course packs last academic year, and students loved it. Having the physical course pack feels special to them. My students at least are going all in on 90s nostalgia, analog cameras, etc. aesthetically, so giving them an analog classroom will actually delight many!
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
On the train from Boston, super excited to be heading to Princeton @princetonccsr.bsky.social for the Black Buddhism Faculty Training workshop! bbft.ccsr.princeton.edu
bbft.ccsr.princeton.edu
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A Minnesota religious studies professor is facing six years in prison, with the DOJ saying he is part of an "antifa" conspiracy against ICE Erik Davis speaks out about his prosecution, largely based on a handful of his comments in Signal chats. He's not accused of any violence “It’s petty revenge"
theguardian.com
The professor facing prison in ‘antifa’ case: ‘They want to scare all who oppose ICE’
Erik Davis is accused by the government of a ‘conspiracy’ to obstruct ICE – experts say it’s part of a pattern to criminalize lawful organizing and ruin activists’ lives
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
The monograph is real! What a strange feeling.
A box containing copies of the author’s new book
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
When people ask me what the phrase "artificial intelligence" means, my short answer is, it means "venture capitalists, give me some money". But OUP asked me for a longer answer, given here and summarized in the section headings: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
Screencap of page for linked article, reading: 

Contents
Introduction
AI Is a Research Field
AI Is an Approach to Cognitive Science
AI Is a Parlor Trick
AI Is an Ideology
AI Is a Way to Hide and Devalue Human Labor
AI Is a Way to Shift Accountability
AI Is a Way to Centralize Power
Conclusion
Notes
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
VIE —> BOS
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Austin R. Pick @fudomouth.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
"Lots of people are urgently wrestling with 'big questions' about the nature of reality. They want help from an expert, and they still believe that a public university is where they might find one." Good read on #religion and #reality from @thebaffler.com & @josephlaycock.bsky.social
thebaffler.com
Territorial Spirits | Joseph P. Laycock
He didn’t realize his dream job would involve desperate strangers asking him to save them from demonic oppression.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Wien Zentralfriedhof has a Buddhist cemetery complete with stūpa.
A Buddhist stupa in the middle of the Vienna Central Cemetery
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Die Fledermaus, Pride Edition, at the Vienna Volksoper was, as expected, a campy great time. What I didn’t expect was beautiful and moving political writing in the dialogue. Bravo!
Image of the cast of die Fledermaus during applause.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Went to see Die Zauberflòte at the Viennese Staatsoper. The singers and orchestra were amazing. Kudos to the artists who made something lovely out of one of the dumbest pieces of narrative writing I’ve ever experienced.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Tijana Krstić kicking off this exciting workshop on preaching in Eurasia at CEU, Vienna. events.ceu.edu/2026-06-25/p...
Prof. Krstić giving opening remarks
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Flying to Vienna today for this exciting conference on medieval preaching! events.ceu.edu/2026-06-25/p...
events.ceu.edu
Preaching and Preachers as Brokers of (Inter) Communal Dynamics across Late Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
1.0 FTE defined as 35-hour work week, so 31.5 hours just on the edge. Also LOL at the idea that anyone working a 1.0 FTE in the UK system actually works only 35 hours per week…
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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
AI cannot fail, it can only be sabotaged. You must stay ever-vigilant against Trotskyist wreckers.
Are your employees sabotaging your AI strategy?
As AI transforms the workplace, one-third of resistant employees cite fears of devaluation rather than technological concerns—revealing the deeply human challenge at the heart of digital transformation.Your employees are sabotaging your AI strategy.

(41% admit to doing that, but there's more)

I've just read the 2025 AI adoption report by WRITER.

This point immediately caught my eye: 

"41% 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘯 𝘡 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺’𝘴 𝘈𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴.
31% of employees are ‘sabotaging’ your gen AI strategyWhy Your IT Team Is Sabotaging Your AI Strategy

Jake Dunlap
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2025
AI-Powered Seller EP9 - IT is blocking AI adoption in sales, and it’s costing your company more than you realize.
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American Society for Premodern Asia @aspa1842.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Issue 146:2 of JASPA (former JAOS) is out online lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/ja... on: Karna in Jain epic, Song of a Yue Person, Old Persian Hinduš & Gandāra, Chan in Tangut, Hymn to Ninurta as Savior, Uriah the Hittite, Shah Safi Safavi, al-Ghazālī on pleasure, & Jingjiao stele Christians
TOC of JASPA 146.6
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Aghast at this quote from the school’s dean: “Byrne said she believed religious studies students would actually have a better experience after the department closure with incoming lounges, better advising and more interdisciplinary learning.” Lounges? Really? www.denverpost.com/2026/06/09/u...
denverpost.com
University of Denver to close departments, merge schools as part of academic restructuring
DU leader acknowledged that the changes will eliminate an unspecified number of jobs, but said the organizational realignment is “not really a part of” addressing the institution’s larger budget short...
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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 06/06/2026
For any Sinology homies who missed it: I have a *very rough* conversion of Hucker for Pleco that is definitely buggy but may make life easier anyway. If you're up for beta-testing, check it out. 🀄📚
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
A former professor & VP of @hampshirecollege.bsky.social, my alma mater, weighs in on what reads to me as not its inevitable death but its murder. This may seem like just one sad higher ed story, but I believe it's emblematic of all that's REALLY wrong with higher ed.
amherstindy.org
Opinion: Hampshire College Didn’t Fail; Society Failed Hampshire - Amherst Indy
Since the public announcement of its imminent closure on April 14, many have opined on why Hampshire College "failed." Many of the reasons offered on outlets ranging from new social media to establish...
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Setting up elfeed in Doom Emacs and so psyched to live in a world of RSS once more.
A screenshot of elfeed, an emacs-based RSS reader
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Hot off the presses: Yi Ding’s new book on _zhai_ in medieval Chinese Buddhism!
An image of Yi Ding’s new book “Observances, Feasts, and Scripts”
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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
UC Berkeley Law creates new AI policy that bans AI for "conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising, translating, or editing any work submitted for credit" or exams because "thinking remains the sine qua non of good lawyering (and of a quality legal education)." That's what I'm talking about.
Rule:
The use of AI is prohibited for aid in conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising,
translating, or editing any work submitted for credit. AI use is prohibited for any use for
any purpose in any exam situation. Students may not upload course
materials—including assignments, readings, slides, class recordings, or other class
content—into generative AI systems. AI can be used for research on papers ONLY for the
limited purpose of identifying sources, such as cases, statutes, or secondary sources.
Students are responsible for the accuracy of their research and all other aspects of their
submitted work. Citations to sources that do not exist will raise a presumption of
prohibited AI use
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
The toxicity this policy will introduce in both students and faculty will be off the charts. But most of all I worry about how this will impact vulnerable graduate student teaching fellows who do the bulk of the teaching & grading at Harvard. www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
thecrimson.com
70% of Faculty Vote to Overhaul Harvard Grading With A Cap | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard faculty voted to impose a roughly 20 percent cap on A grades beginning in fall 2027, approving the College’s most aggressive attempt to reverse grade inflation and reshape academic standards.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
This bandcamp Friday I am jamming out to Chariots Overdrive’s _The End of Antiquity_, a charmingly retro tribute to old-school metal by some very talented Chinese students in Atlanta. chariotsoverdrive.bandcamp.com/album/the-en...
chariotsoverdrive.bandcamp.com
The End of Antiquity, by Chariots Overdrive
9 track album
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
I nominate these epithets from Zhuangzi’s 逍遙遊 chapter: 至人無己,神人無功,聖人無名。
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Matthew J Kuiper @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Don’t miss this. “ASU Atomic is the first to combine verified university content with adaptive AI that builds learning modules unique to each learner.” It figures that profs’ materials were harvested and used by ASU - without their consent - from… Canvas.
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Chris Hanlon @chrishanlon.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Meet “ASU Atomic,” a subscription platform that claims to offer customized learning modules for fee-paying users. None of the ASU faculty whose course materials were harvested for the module I generated were aware that their image, lectures, lessons, or other teaching materials are being used.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Bumping for visibility. 2-year VAP opportunity!
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Colleagues, Skidmore’s Religious Studies department is looking to hire a 2-year VAP in American Religions on a very short timeline. I’d appreciate your help in getting the word out to your networks! Happy to answer any questions, just send an email or DM. eodq.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
eodq.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com
Visiting Assistant Professor, Religious Studies
The Department of Religious Studies at Skidmore College invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure track Visiting Assistant Professor position in Religious Studies with specialization in America...
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Colleagues, Skidmore’s Religious Studies department is looking to hire a 2-year VAP in American Religions on a very short timeline. I’d appreciate your help in getting the word out to your networks! Happy to answer any questions, just send an email or DM. eodq.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
eodq.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com
Visiting Assistant Professor, Religious Studies
The Department of Religious Studies at Skidmore College invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure track Visiting Assistant Professor position in Religious Studies with specialization in America...
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Reading Mir’s poem about his favorite cat, one realizes that toxoplasmosis is perhaps the only human cultural universal.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 16/04/2026
It is very fun to get google alert hits for my own name now that reveal completely fabricated statements / quotes thanks to reliance on chatbots. Absolutely wild how the choking pollution of our information environment is being powered by literal choking pollution from fossil fuelled data centres
🟢 The energy shock is now going global

This is the part many people still underestimate.

Economist Steve Hanke warned the conflict has restricted the free flow of critical goods from the Gulf — including helium and fertiliser. 
 
Energy analyst Ketan Joshi suggested fuel rationing and work-from-home rules could become enforced measures as governments urgently try to reduce reliance on complex global fossil fuel supply chains.

Multiple countries showed signs of the spreading impact:

Sri Lanka ordered street lights, neon signs and billboard lighting switched off to cut energy consumption by 25%.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Academic life goals being achieved right here.
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I am broken-hearted at the terrible news that my alma mater, @hampshirecollege.bsky.social, after 56 yrs, is closing. Its death is a victory for conformism, for corporatism, for higher education's dull love of hierarchy & status. It's a grievous defeat for imagination & experimentation.
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Just sent off edited page proofs and the index to SUNY Press. Monograph is one step closer to reality! sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-...
sunypress.edu
The Vaults of Buddhas
View Table of Contents
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Mike Schuster @mcs212.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Currently, the all-time most blocked accounts on Bluesky are: 1. JD Vance 2. The White House 3. ICE 4. Bluesky's AI app that was announced 24 hours ago
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Oberlin students showing how it’s done!
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
After binge-watching Heated Rivalry with my partner over Spring Break I kept wondering why the show was hitting all the ladies of my generation so hard. And then I had a realization.
A poster for the old TV show "Saved by the Bell", with superimposed photo of Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, stars of "Heated Rivalry”
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Smith College just posted a 2-year lecturer position in Buddhist Studies: apply.interfolio.com/182632
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Ryan Richard Overbey @overbey.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
I wanna read this to see how it compares with Aleister Crowley’s “translation”!
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Daniel C. Smith @dcsmith.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
My colleague @rhcraig.bsky.social is in the next issue of JAAR with a fascinating comparative study of Early Christian preaching manuals, African-American homiletics, and early Buddhist preaching: academic.oup.com/jaar/article...
academic.oup.com
Preacher and Audience Studies: Reading the Dharmabhāṇakaparivarta and Sukhavihāraparivarta of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra as Homiletic Manuals
ABSTRACT. The study of homiletics, preachers, and their audiences constitutes an important subfield in Christian studies. In Buddhist studies, the study of
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