Colby Townsend
Dual PhD student (English/religious studies) @ IU Bloomington studying religion and literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He/him
- Reposted by Colby TownsendNew issue of the Journal of the Bible and its Reception Vol. 12, No. 1 (2025) www.degruyterbrill.com/journal/key/... @degruyterbrill.bsky.social @colbytownsend.bsky.social @dorhamidbar.bsky.social
- I’m always a little surprised by how much attention some of my essays get online but the attention over the last month that my newest essay (www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...) has received is surprising. Two podcasts covered the journal last month and, at least on YouTube…
- New rule: if you claim DEI is racist or otherwise criticize it in nefarious ways then you are parroting the ideology of New Racism.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendWith the CFP out, we are well on our way towards the C19 Conference in Cincinnati, OH on March 12-14, 2026! Please consider donating to our Travel Fund for C19 members with limited access to travel funding, especially graduate students and contingent faculty. www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...
- My essay is now available in its online version through the Journal of the Bible and its Reception. Apparently they publish them first this way and then in whatever issue of the journal it’ll be in later this year. I’m so glad to see this one out in the world. www.degruyter.com/document/doi...
- Reposted by Colby TownsendJust a few months ago, The Economist described the US economy as the envy of the world. www.economist.com/special-repo...
- Reposted by Colby TownsendTrump is STILL - RIGHT NOW - tweeting about Tesla. He's spent more time protecting the richest man in the world's profits than he has protecting healthcare, education, jobs, or veterans in the last 6 weeks as president.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendWe—Americans—are in enemy territory now. The regime—today is the day I think it crossed the line from awful government to actual regime—has fully switched sides in a war with an avowed enemy of the U.S. and of democracy.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendWie verdorben und rassistisch die Migrationsdebatte ist, sieht man auch daran, dass sich inzwischen viele Menschen hart daran stören, wenn Studien darauf hinweisen, dass „der Ausländer“ nicht grundsätzlich krimineller ist. Völlig Panne.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendDemocracies rely on educated citizens to function and, as a result, they seek to invest in both education (schools) and information (public media, research, etc). Dictatorships rely on the opposite—ignorant subjects—and so invest in neither.
- And somehow teaching critical thinking and writing skills to undergrads isn’t deemed that important by far too many administrators at universities these days.
- Reposted by Colby Townsend“There are currently four people remaining over there to do the work of 15 people. The danger to the national airspace can’t be understated." "This is a very real threat to the American flying public.” EXCLUSIVE ⤵️
- Your periodic reminder that bibliographies of bibliographies exist.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendA non-government business that contracts with the federal government received notice today that in order to do business with the government they must certify that they don’t participate in DEI. So it’s not just the feds, it’s any private biz that contracts with the feds. Here’s the message they got:
- Reposted by Colby TownsendAmerica First Policy Institute, Project 2025’s Cousin, Has Taken over the Department of Education
- My friend @ppirli.bsky.social and I recently interviewed Dr. Amy Gore about her new book, Book Anatomy: Body Politics and the Materiality of Indigenous Book History, for the G19 Collective. The interview is now up, with an edited transcription. It’s a fantastic book and I recommend reading it!
- Pres. Whitten needs to go. The Indiana University Board of Trustees should have fired her last year after a 94% no-confidence vote from the faculty. If this doesn’t do it then they’re really off the deep end. www.chronicle.com/article/that...
- I am very excited to announce that my friend, Abby Clayton, and I have just signed an advanced contract with the University of Illinois Press for an edited collection titled Printing New Religion: Transatlantic Movements in the Long Nineteenth Century.
- I’m happy to announce my essay, “The Political Context of Secret Societies in Joseph Smith’s Rewritten Scripture,” has been accepted for publication in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (University of Illinois Press). Always thankful to Taylor Petrey for his high-level skills as an editor!
- Grades are officially in for my two classes. This was a rough one for a lot of my students. I don’t know exactly what’s going on but I’ve never had attendance this low and everyone seems to be struggling in one way or another.
- For those of you interested in the study of American gothic literature, the new Society for the Study of the American Gothic is now open for memberships. Their membership tiers are great, based solely on income, and they’ll have the first issue of their semi-annual journal out probably next year.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendTim Walz needs a podcast to help get us through the next 4 years. Do you agree?
- I never expected that being an adult would mean spending so many hours of my life removing stickers from everything.
- What is the best seasoning in the world and why is it ajika?
- Reposted by Colby TownsendIf Trump can install walking honeypot marks like Pete Hegseth and Matt Gaetz into his cabinet, it will tell us all we need to know about how unchecked his power is. These are obscene nominations.
- Trump and his cabinet picks.
- Reposted by Colby TownsendIn two months, Trump will stand on the steps of the Capitol that he sent a violent mob to storm 4 years ago, place his hand on a book he has never read, and swear an oath he has previously violated, as administered by the Chief Justice who placed him above the law.
- Yesterday I think I got 100+ new followers on here. Is this evidence of a big migration away from Twitter or is this something else?
