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Sarah Dees

@sarahdees.bsky.social
429 followers 121 following 41 posts

Professional nerd. American & Indigenous religions. History of museums + science + politics + race + empire (+ Dolly Parton). Editorial team @ Material Religion. My views. she/her.

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Reposted by Sarah Dees
Justseeds Artists' Cooperative @justseeds.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
We're having a sale until the end of the month-29% off orders over $20 with the code LEARN at Justseeds.org!
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
My piece for @theconversation.com on Dolly Parton's religious significance theconversation.com/for-some-fan...
theconversation.com
For some fans, Dolly Parton was more than a musical idol – she was a spiritual icon
The legendary singer took on a saint-like aura for some fans.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
If you need a bit of Dolly this holiday season, I made a playlist and post about some of my fav Dolly xmas songs. open.substack.com/pub/sarahdee...
open.substack.com
May I Present: A Holly Dolly Xmas
And a happy new blog!
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
I'll have my robots talk to your robots
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Kaleb E. Goldschmitt @kgoldschmitt.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
In addition to many other important programs, IU Bloomington is eliminating its Folklore and Ethnomusicology Department, one of the most storied and successful in the country.
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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
👀 The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy has just published an article by A3P Sr. Counsel Josh Hammer, Timon Cline, & Yoram Hazony. It calls on SCOTUS to reverse the 1947 Everson case, which held that the Establishment Clause applies to the states & requires a separation of church & state. 1/
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Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
So, here it is. Thanks to a new state law that was NEVER DEBATED, Indiana University has committed itself to abolishing majors in African-American/African Diaspora Studies: American Studies; Art History; French; Italian; Religious Studies etc. DOZENS of majors. www.ipm.org/news-section...
ipm.org
Indiana public colleges cut almost 20% of degrees
Public Indiana colleges and universities have eliminated 19 percent of their degree programs to meet requirements added to the state’s budget, according to the Commission for Higher Education.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
The result of a Google search I just did for “famous Peters.” Maybe AI should rewrite history after all
A picture of comedian Pete Davidson with a caption that says “One of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ. He was a close friend of Jesus and is involved in many of the most famous Gospel stories.”
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
I've been thinking about public education and education as a public good this week, and it reminded me of the amazing work by @justseeds.bsky.social. So much great education-themed art! (Like this one by Pete Railand.)
Print of two people reading books in front of a skyline and blue sky, with the words "dream," "empower," "question," and "study" floating upward from the books.
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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Just for the record. See? Sovereignty-wise, Tribes outrank states. No supremacy clause for them.
Article VI, Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound
thereby,
any
Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State
to the Contrary notwithstanding.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
I received tenure so I might do something wild like add a ridiculous quotation to my email signature "May each step you take bring you closer to the things you seek to find" - George Jones
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Adam DJ Brett @adjb.co · 16/05/2025
Indigenous leaders call on new Pope to return thousands of artifacts | CBC News www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Indigenous leaders call on new Pope to return thousands of artifacts | CBC News
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) is calling for the Vatican to return sacred First Nation artifacts that were taken from Indigenous communities during the residential school era.
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American Council of Learned Societies @acls1919.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Yesterday, ACLS, @historians.org, and @modernlanguage.bsky.social filed a Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for a preliminary injunction to reverse the cancellation of grants and the firing of NEH staff. Read it in full here: bit.ly/3Sr4oJf
Graphic with ACLS, AHA, and MLA logos with excerpt: “Congress believed NEH to be essential to the functioning of our democracy, and the public interest would be served by honoring that determination."
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Grading papers in this early age of AI raises so many thoughts/feelings. Concern that so many students appear to be turning to algorithms to produce writing for them. Frustration at trends in higher education (and the world) that have laid the foundation for this largely uncritical turn to AI.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
From @us.theconversation.com: Universities in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union thought giving in to government demands would save their independence theconversation.com/universities...
theconversation.com
Universities in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union thought giving in to government demands would save their independence
Before the Nazis, German universities were among the best in the world. Step by step, the universities gave up their independence until they were instruments of the state.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
It's publication day for this volume! Please consider requesting it as a library purchase if you're able to do that. I don't have a copy yet, so I haven't been able to read any of the other chapters, but they look great. www.routledge.com/The-Routledg...
routledge.com
The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Indigenous Religions
Exciting developments in research among, with and by Indigenous scholars and communities are enriching a wide range of disciplines, methodologies and trans-disciplinary conversations. This growing fie...
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American Council of Learned Societies @acls1919.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
ACLS member societies have released statements a responding to recent Executive Orders and federal budget cuts that target academic freedom, higher education, and other issues related to their fields: bit.ly/426DqLb
bit.ly
ACLS Member Societies Respond to Executive Orders Impacting Higher Education
ACLS member societies have released statements and advocacy efforts responding to recent Executive Orders and federal budget cuts that target higher education.
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American Council of Learned Societies @acls1919.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Today, ACLS issued a joint statement with The Phi Beta Kappa Society on the March 20, 2025, executive order to close the US Department of Education: bit.ly/4hwNfb9 Dismantling of the Department of Education will result in catastrophic implications for students, faculty, communities, and the nation.
bit.ly
Joint Statement on Executive Order to Dismantle Department of Education
ACLS has issued a joint statement with The Phi Beta Kappa Society.
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The Organization of American Historians @oah.org · 13/03/2025
📢 History should be told as it happened—not erased, distorted, or manipulated. The OAH, together with the @historians.org, condemns recent efforts to censor historical content. Read the statement: 🔗 ow.ly/1cY650VhEw9
American flag washed out
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Brian Taylor @bdtaylor-su.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Getting informal reports that as part of the mass layoffs at the Department of Education, the International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Office has been "abolished." IFLE administers Title VI and Fulbright-Hays grant and fellowship programs. A disaster. www.ed.gov/about/ed-off...
ed.gov
International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE)
The International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) office administers Title VI (domestic) and Fulbright-Hays (overseas) grant and fellowship programs.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Reflecting on the talk I had w my upper-level class about sources yesterday, I had the thought that AI-produced info = beepboops of primary sources + summaries & syntheses of secondary sources (so, tertiary sources), all masquerading as legit secondary sources (analyses of primary sources).
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Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture @csraac.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
The latest issue of Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation is now available through Cambridge University Press. The Journal explores the interplay between religion and other spheres of American culture. Follow along as we share more about these articles!
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
I would like to respectfully request that Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, and/or Taylor Swift purchase the Washington Post.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Not only do I read in bars, I carry around a small unobtrusive book light so dimly lit bars do not foil my plans to read in them!
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The Organization of American Historians @oah.org · 05/02/2025
The OAH & @historians.org advocate for the importance of history in American public life and for education that prepares students for informed citizenship and work. We have issued a joint statement on the EO “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling." 🔗 ow.ly/t1fj50UUl1z
American flag in empty classroom
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 11/02/2025
in what meaningful way can we say that the constitution is in effect when an unelected and unaccountable billionaire is wielding state power to unilaterally cancel congressional appropriations?
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Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Musk is rumored to spend $40M on Super Bowl ads with his wildly distorted claims attacking USAID. Don’t believe them. The last round are debunked below. wapo.st/3ErHBZM And I'll unpack the reality in this 🧵, too. 1/13
wapo.st
Analysis | The White House’s wildly inaccurate claims about USAID spending
Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.
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Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Watching AI corrode my students' ability to formulate their own ideas and take stock of what they actually think about a text or idea in front of them, this is my nightmare. Cruising toward a fully two-tiered workforce, those who can reflect, communicate, and create on top, everyone else below.
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UNC Press @uncpress.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Why are university presses important? A thread 🧵
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Just in case you have some thoughts you'd like to share: Guest.Service@target.com
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Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.
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Daniel Wise @danielswise.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
This is horrible. The Theosophical Society has had a massive influence on spirituality throughout the world. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced by it. Modern astrology was shaped by it. So much that now or has been labeled New Age or metaphysical spirituality has been shaped by it.
Image of the Thesosphical Society in Altadena near Pasadena, along with a post by Wouter J. Hanegraaff: Horrible, deeply dramatic news for anybody who cares about the preservation of Theosophical heritage.
I was just told that the entire property of the Theosophical Society in Altadena near Pasadena has been completely destroyed by the fires in Los Angeles. This was the world's largest archive of Theosophical materials, including a library with 40.000 titles, the entire archive of the history of the TS, including ca. 10.000 unpublished letters, pertaining to HPB, the Mahatmas, W.Q. Judge, G.R.S. Mead, Katherine Tingley, and G. de Purucker, membership records since 1875, art objects, and countless other irreplaceable materials. The archives also contained works of Boehme, Gichtel, donations from the king of Siam including rare Buddhist scriptures, and so on. [with thanks to Reinout Spaink for the information]
This is obviously just one part of an even much larger drama that is currently unfolding, but one that deals a devasting blow to the modern study of esotericism and of modern Theosophy more in particular. It is hard to fathom but it seems to be true.
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 30/12/2024
Did you see this experiment my colleague Kristina conducted not just at my university but *in my department*? She and the male instructor assumed eachothers’ names for an online course: and the difference in feedback they received was horrifying.
slate.com
Student Evaluations Can’t Be Used to Assess Professors. They’re Discriminatory.
And that means they’re illegal.
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
file under: why shaily gets upset every time social media profs berate colleagues who set boundaries with students or who aren’t endlessly accommodating. yes, we should do our best to meet students where they are. no, this work is not equally distributed.
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
And we get worse evaluations (including more spurious comments about our looks or “agenda”). This was really brought home to me when I co-taught a graduate class with a male instructor and could see both sets of our evaluations. 🙃
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Benjamin Park @benjaminepark.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
The Mormon History Association is gonna be in Vegas in 2026, and I’m thrilled to announce that Demi from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives provided us a great promo.
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Writing is thinking. It’s not a part of the process that can be skipped; it’s the entire point.
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Sacred Writes Public Scholarship @sacredwrites.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Sacred Writes is thrilled to announce we will offer FOUR public scholarship trainings for scholars of religion, gender, and sexuality in 2025, funded by the Carpenter Foundation. First up: a PAID January Intensive! Apply by Dec. 16th! More info below!
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I just looked up my upcoming AirBnB reservation, saw the address on a map, and immediately thought "HECK YES it's by a CEMETERY"
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Gareth Knapman @garethknapman.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Mike Pickering has written a related article on workplace health and safety for trauma and sacred items that shouldn’t be shared. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
The supernatural and sensitive Indigenous materials: a workplace health and safety issue?
Australian museums that care for Australian Indigenous collections, appropriately attempt to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees for these custodial roles. Rarely, however, do in...
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Adam DJ Brett @adjb.co · 09/12/2024
**New publication** alert #acrel #amrel Brett, Adam DJ, and Betty Hill (Lyons). 2024. "Documenting Domination: From the Doctrine of Christian Discovery to Dominion Theology" Religions 15, no. 12: 1493. doi.org/10.3390/rel1...
doi.org
Documenting Domination: From the Doctrine of Christian Discovery to Dominion Theology
The Doctrine of Christian Discovery is a series of fifteenth-century papal bulls that served as the theological and legal justification for the colonization of the world and the enslavement of the Ori...
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Completely reasonable and not at all delusional goals for the day: *Get through my enormous backlog of emails! *Finish grading all the student work I have so far! *Bake something marvelous!
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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
I'm teaching "Theory and Method in Religious Studies" for the first time next semester. For those who have taught a version of this course before, curious to hear: what readings would you recommend? What worked well? #ReligiousStudies #StudyOfReligion #Amrel
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Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
"Every once in a while, an academic book comes along that crystallizes a broad scholarly conversation in a particularly artful way. Charles McCrary's _Sincerely Held_ is such a book." From my contribution to a review forum, out today with Religious Studies Review: doi.org/10.1111/rsr....
doi.org
Why So Serious?
Click on the article title to read more.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
A fun thing about winter is thinking things like “hmm, this is pretty warm for 19” or, “ugh, this feels cold for 38”
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bethanyhughes.bsky.social @bethanyhughes.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
"In her compelling debut, Bethany Hughes investigates the history of “redface” in the US. Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, this volume sheds light on colonial legacies of racial constructions and performativity." msmagazine.com/2024/12/03/b...
msmagazine.com
December 2024 Reads for the Rest of Us - Ms. Magazine
The best feminist books written by women, Black, brown, AAPI, LGBTQ, Native, disabled, trans, nonbinary writers in December 2024.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
*engage grading beast mode*
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Joseph Stuart @jstuart.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
I put together the #SBLAAR24 discount codes for American religion: usreligion.substack.com/p/sblaar24-p...
usreligion.substack.com
#SBLAAR24 Press Discount Codes
Books are good.
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Sarah Dees @sarahdees.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
This semester has been unrelenting… so I am very excited to be headed to San Diego soon for #AARSBLR24 #SBLAAR24! (picture from last year’s journey)
Car with license plate “U R GOD” driving on a highway
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